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visionsofmagic · 1 year

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red hood/jason todd x black widow!reader

[masterlist]

🍓 summary: the enemy of yours, jason for sure was annoying as hell but there was something that pull you two together and he knew this damn well.

🍓 wc: 2.4k

🍓 warnings&tags: fluff, flirting, sarcastic!jason, kissing, cursing, teasing, touching, enemies to lovers, hidden feelings, confession [kinda]

🍓 author's note: so, this was a request from an anon but I assume they were @chaoticsomeone, and it took me long to write but finally, I did it! hope you enjoy; both anon and you all! ^^

jason was so annoying, you should give him that. but for some reasons, he seemed more annoying than ever and no, it wasn't because of you started to feel any emotion towards him which he wouldn't notice due to hiding them in deep down but hiding was hard to endure since you wanted to kiss him right before the mission, during the mission and especially, after it.

it wasn't usual of you to have feelings for an enemy but he was different. he felt different. you were still trying to decide whether the tension between you caused this or not. however, you couldn't think about its reasons. you just tried to focus on only to report the mission to the batman who was in touch you throughout it.

knowing jason's past was a peck, indeed, even if you never talked about it 'till he did. you respect him even though he was your enemy. you remembered what alfred told you about your relationship with jason, seeing it like the bond cat woman and the batman shared.

you didn't know their true identities but encouraging some of their missions together with some bat-fam members, jason right beside you, you saw the high tension and pull they both shared. it somehow seemed so - familiar. maybe alfred was right after all and tonight, you felt his rightness at the highest level, especially when jason put a smirk on his face after you looked at him shamelessly for a while as you realized in the last moment before turning to sky above you with a blushed face.

"don't give me that smirk." you said, rolling your eyes for calming yourself down because you knew jason's sensitive hearing abilities, probably could hear your heart beats which were running fast.

"what smirk?" he sounded like he didn't know what you were talking about but from the corner of your eyes, you saw how his smirk grew as he put his palms on the ground he was sitting on, leaning towards them and opening his thick thighs wider. his red mask were standing on the ground beside him and you could see his dark black hair fly with the power of night's wind.

he was more than attractive and you always thought about it whenever you saw him. it was like a natural habit of yours to think about jason all the time. you knew it was a habit of a lover than an enemy but you couldn't face with it since you believed you would become worse if you did.

"and what was with that girl back there?" you asked out of sudden. even though it wasn't intentional in the first place, you tried to act cool, reducing rising jealousy and curiosity on your system because of that unknown girl you saw in the mission field. she happened to be familiar with jason, knowing him from past. she didn't look like an ally or enemy but for sure, she was clingy towards jason, touching him freely from here to there, putting some kisses to his masked face, calling him pretty boy and acting like he owned her. it made your blood boil with pure rage, because of both dislike how the girl touched jason and not being able to do the same.

it was sad seeing how easy for another one to do what you wanted to do for such a long time.

"cherish?" he questioned, looking not interested in the topic but still answering your question, "she helped me in the past while tracking down someone."

"oh, so she's an ally?" you asked in a low tone, not looking at his eyes.

"kinda." jason said, looking at the sky as he threw his head. "why?" he questioned after a certain silence, taking your blurry mind back to him.

shrugging, you said, "just curious."

"I didn't know my fellas seemed interesting for you."

"they didn't but it's just – " you stopped talking, not wanting to give away your little secret of love him this easily. "I assume you only got me as an enemy fella who can be this close to you."

"this close?" he questioned, wanting you to be more open with that statement as he knelt down towards you, getting closer with each second 'till you chuckled nervously. he began to act a little odd out of nowhere and it was making you nervous, not being able to say what's on your mind completely.

"I mean look at us," you said, pointing to him and you after getting up and walking on the rooftop. "they see us as enemies. we should try to kill each other, not watching sunrise together. shouldn't we?" you asked to him because deep down, you wanted him to say a negative answer. love was like a fire under the skin but when it came to you, you liked the feeling that fire was giving. it was effect of jason on you after all.

what you were doing as a black widow included a great number of dangerous events, but, being in love with jason could be the most dangerous one which continues inside and outside a mission; a lifetime danger.

therefore, you chose to hide it for as long as you can. however, it looked like tonight was the end of it, you realized when jason asked "and what about 'u?" instead of answering the question after taking some time, looking at his hands.

as his eyes connected with yours, you forgot to breathe. the expression he had on his attractive face was unreadable and you had to try hard to understand meaning of his gazes. finally, you acknowledged some curiosity and sadness on them.

confused as ever, you thought loudly. "what about me?"

he shook his head, making his black hair move freely, looking hot like he was in a hair advertising scene.

"what do you think about this – " he stopped for a second, gathering enough strength to say what he is going to say aloud. "our relationship?"

your mind spent a quite time to comprehend what jason told about your relationship; calling it ‘our’. tonight, he was more open than ever and he didn’t help you even at slightest, instead, giving a headache while thinking about what to say – truth or just a tease.

if jason had a magic on you, you could believe with entire soul of yours. if he, now, told you he was joking, you would just laugh and get over with it. but none, jason did none of them. on contrary to these options your mind were thinking as likely events would take place from now on, he got up, not waiting for your answer. he took a few steps towards you, slowly but heavy. with each step, you took deep breaths, trying to find a way out from this because not knowing his intentions, you felt fear – fear of not being able to hold yourself and kiss him right here.

“jason –“ you tried to say, “I –“ the power you were holding was not working when you were alone with him. you knew this well but you couldn’t wait to spend more time after every mission you did together. beside them, there would a few occasions in which you two could get together. however, except some flirting, explicit comments and teasing, there wasn’t anything serious in these events you two shared. yes, there were moments you believed you and jason were pulling to each other with a ghost rope between your bodies and maybe, this night, it wouldn’t be a ghost or invisible rope. you were scared of this – scared of crashing a cold chest.

as fear began to rise inside enough to make scarecrow smell of it if he weren’t in arkham, jason spoke again, giving you something to hold to breathe and act properly.

he was both weakness and strength of you.

“didn’t answered my question.” he marked, and you gulped. trying to act confident and fearless, you shrugged.

“and I will not answer it ‘till you say what is the meaning of such question.” it was best option to gain more time. however, when jason smirked, you knew it didn’t work on him – not after he knew so much about you.

“there, there, acting like knowing nothing.” jason crossed his arms together, looking damn tall as he left just inches between his well built chest covered with a black silky suit and yours which was exposed a little, showing collarbone to eyes.

“you know I know so much.”

“except the meaning of the question, apparently.”

furrowing, you said while crossing your arms, copy him. “I can’t understand it if you have a closed mouth like that. you could ask it,” you showed your forefinger, “one, just to tease,” you added another finger, “two, getting a new information from me to keep it ‘till you will have a chance to hit me with it.” you added a last one, “three, maybe curiosity got its best out of you, huh?”

he shook his head, not impressed at the options, instead, looking bothered with them. “oh yeah, you are definitely clever as they said. sure.”

he turned to other side, going to pick up his mask as you realized how he used a dry sarcasm right there.

when that fact hit you, you felt anger. he was the one with a dumb brain not you. you weren’t the one talking like a close box, no, he was.

with that anger, you held his shoulder after he got his mask on his hands. squeezing the flesh under your palm that was full of muscles enough to make your mind go crazy once again, you said in pure annoyance, “what is wrong with you? you are asking odd questions and wait for me to understand the meaning of it right away with that unreadable expression of yours.” he looked at you and you felt confident than before, gladly, so, you added, “if you wanna say something, say it. and if you don’t, just leave it. don’t play with me.”

he turned to you when your hand on his shoulder stayed same, staring to your face with dark green eyes of his you loved to look at under every light or darkness because in every damn moment, his eyes were beautiful, taking breath away from your lungs and tonight, it was no different – maybe, it was more powerful even, not only taking breath but mind from you.

what was the time? where were you? why you were waiting in here? – they all seemed become silent each passing second as you kept looking at his eyes.

then, finally, he said, “you are the one who is playing with me.” to strengthen his words – to make it clear this time, he found your free hand, taking it as your breathes pitched, putting it right on his chest – where his heart rested.

without thinking twice, you closed your eyes, obeying what he wanted with simple gesture – you knew him well, not waiting for him to say what he wanted you to do.

the moment you closed your eyes, his heart’s beats began to flow from his chest to your hand, and to your heart from there – it was fast, so fast. it wasn’t because of any physical movement, no, it was all because of – you.

in the end, you found enough energy to open your eyes, looking at his dark green ones, and without putting any second to think about it, you just raised on your tiptoes, reaching his lips and kissing him – the thing your whole body pushed you to do, desired the most and when your lips touched to each other – as his mask hit the ground underneath your foot with a loud pump sound – as both of his hands found your waist, pushing it to his chest more, making your bodies crush into each other with raising heats from them.

your hands found his neck, hugging him tightly, a hand began to flow into his dark black hair, feeling his heart under yours.

the gotham city was so noisy in nights due to lots of different reasons but tonight – tonight, it was the quietest because your mind rejected it completely – it rejected the whole world, only to focus on just him – that fucking jason todd whose lips were kissing yours like it was the last thing he could get a taste of.

then, when he decided he couldn’t get enough, his hands found your ass, holding them to make your body jump higher, getting between his arms, hugging him stronger for avoiding any falling ‘till he made his way into a higher point in the rooftop on which you could sit.

placing your body on the nearest point, he left your messy lips for a second, looking at you from head to toe – a complete mess totally because of him, he smirked proudly, tilting his head a little to kiss the corner of your lips.

“well, not so dumb after all.”

rolling your eyes, you punched his shoulder gently, but smiling widely. indeed, you understood what he meant to refer with that question in the end; getting that hidden feeling out of you which were mutual. you could think he was playing with you but he wasn’t that guy – jason had a pure heart under that chest even though he wasn’t believing to have it on his own, however, you saw it and you believed him – you believed jason so much that you let him kiss you once again, hungrier and rougher this time, but still, giving away his true feeling within it as he hugged you from back, making your back arch, chest touch his, hands on his shoulders.

between kisses – lots of kisses you shared that night, you told him the answer of his question and so much more, finally getting chance to open your heart to him without fearing anything. and jason listened you carefully – closely. he didn’t say how much he loved you in return aloud, instead, he chose to use his lips, hands, and eyes with his entire body to show how he cared for you – how you meant like a lover rather than just an enemy. you took all of what he gave you gladly and from that night, a new journey in your relationship began.

maybe alfred was right; you two were like cat woman and batman. even though it looked like it, deep down, you believed it would become more with hope. you didn’t want jason stop kissing you, teasing you while flirting openly, touching you from here to there freely and letting you do the same to him, looking so happy with a simple look into your eyes.

love was dangerous path and you began to walk on it while holding jason’s hand with pleasure.

the end. 🍓

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vegasandhishedgehog · 1 year

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It's easy to complain about how MSP left any address toward homophobia to the last episode and it remained fairly mild but I really wanted to point out what things about it were incredibly significant.

They could have kept it like Bad Buddy where it was a universe where it didn't really exist or just wasn't mentioned. They could have totally done that. I wouldn't have blamed them for that choice either, considering the tone of the series remaining so lighthearted throughout. Homophobia is more than just a serious issue - it can have dangerous implications. The closest this show wanted to get with danger was Gun's mom needing surgery, so before watching the episode I was really curious about how they would handle it.

Starting from the beginning of the episode and seeing the contrast between Gun telling his mom about Tinn, and Tinn's mom seeing how scared her son is and deciding not to ask. Gun has such a wonderful relationship with his mother. She's all he has for family and they have come to love and depend on each other so much, and the show has given us enough clues to the way she thinks that her supporting her son without issue was no surprise. Tinn's mother has been set up to appear that she feels differently, but it all boils down to her worrying for him rather than about him. Tinn gets his supportive, protective way of loving from her (which is the sweetest thing to me, considering their relationship isn't as strong). All she wants is for him to go through life without having to jump over hurdles for his happiness. Considering the privileges he's had as her son, it troubles her that he felt any reason to hide his true relationship with Gun and only wants to assure him that he could have come to her about it earlier. She sees his fear and rightly decides to let him come forward when he chooses.

The deal with the photo outing them and how all that goes down was interesting. It goes without saying, whoever took the picture had no business posting about them and it's unfortunate they never get found and reprimanded for their actions. What I loved was how the show chose to demonstrate how attitudes have really changed among younger generations. The whole conversations about "no one cares!" and "I think we were too afraid in the beginning," were really great points to make. The more exposure the younger generations have had to queer identities through media and people being open about them in real life, the more freedoms we have gained. Sometimes letting fear hold you back can suffocate you. Being outed is awful, but showing that you can not be a jackass about it is important. Also, don't go after my boy Gun for trying to give them a cover story, because this was the one circumstance where he saw Tinn being more at risk than him and he acted the way he thought Tinn would for him. It ended up not really mattering anyway, because people supported them and Tinn understood that's what Gun was trying to do.

And then we got the few bad opinions from the older generation. From a teacher they had all previously respected! Because unfortunately, disappointingly, that is so incredibly common. Even his way of trying to explain "oh I don't actually hate you guys I just don't take you seriously," was so important to include. Homophobes will try to twist their ideas into something that's less than the hateful bullshit it is and out themselves being as reductive as they truly are. Of course, it got escalated for the sake of run time and getting the issue dealt with immediately. Thank you Kajorn for having a pretty awesome come to jesus gay moment.

Finally, my favorite part!! Tinn's mom not only making it clear she's okay with his relationship but explaining just how offensive his teacher had actually been. I really thought her position as the school principal would remain as a wedge between her and Tinn because it was treated that way for so long. I didn't expect it to have any more use than that. But having an authority figure of a school openly call out their colleague and show support for her students meant so much to me! Reminder: this story sets out to say that teen's experiences are not trivial and they're people with hopes and dreams and struggles and have much less say in their daily lives. Adults stepping up and supporting children is so necessary. Adults stepping up and protecting queer children is a desperate need. Any other school principal doing less than that is unworthy of their job. And it goes without saying that being his mother and being so openly supportive before he's even had a chance to ask her is just the cherry on top.

The homophobia arc wasn't for everyone but it had intent and purpose and it executed it just right for me. It said "yeah we know it's there but it's horseshit tbh so we're having our boys sing to each other on stage knowing the most important people in their lives have their back." And then they got to say "I love you" and share their first kiss in the privacy they deserved.

#my school president #my school president the series #msp #tinngun #guntinn

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acourtofthought · 7 months

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My eyes were bleeding after putting together the above post yesterday, staring at the screen so long, so I didn't add any thoughts to it all.

But that man......

Every single line with Lucien is categorized in one of a few ways.

He's either sarcastic, sassy or witty.

He speaks up in bravery when others can't / won't do it for themselves. There are multiple examples of this in ACOTAR where he tells the Attor to burn in Hell for Tamlin (it literally says "Lucien replied for Tamlin). He spits at the feet of the most powerful High Lord in the history of Prythian and tells him to watch his mouth when he threatens his mother. He stood up to Amarantha on multiple occasions and was punished every single time. He tried to stand up for Feyre even though Tamlin punished him for it.

However, he knows when to keep his mouth shut in order to show respect when it's necessary. Think about it. Tamlin, Rhys, Amarantha, knowing what they had done or could do to him, he still stood his ground and spoke his mind as much as possible.

Yet with Amren, Nesta, Az, and Graysen, he kept his mouth shut. Nesta probably deserved to be told off for the way she treated Lucien around Elain yet he never said anything to her. I'm guessing Lucien suspects something is going on with Az especially because Az can't seem to stop himself from acting moody whenever Lucien's name is mentioned (I doubt he's any better when they're face to face) yet Lucien hasn't called him out. He's never done anything to Graysen even knowing his identity versus Cassian who wants Tomas's name to hunt him down.

He's willing to let go of old prejudices. How quickly, after learning the NC wasn't his enemy, was he going out of his way to make himself useful to the IC? Asking if he might offer advice in the upcoming High Lords meeting, offering to do research, offering to look over the maps, offering to find Vassa.

He's loving to his friends. Even knowing Feyre was hiding something, he still went out of his way to comfort her when he thought she was having a nightmare. Knowing she just destroyed the court that was his home, he still ensured she was warm by giving her his jacket while he was left shivering. He speaks highly of his friend at Dawn Court. He speaks highly of Vassa. He speaks highly of Jurian, expressing gratitude for him. Tamlin abused him yet he's still going out of his way to be there for him, as Tamlin once did for him.

People love trying to spin it as if he's got a thing for Vassa but the truth is, he' just openly expresses affection for those that are important to him. He wasn't blushing over his feelings for Vassa but blushing because Feyre was making it out to be something it wasn't while in front of his mate.

He embodies the "brave, strong, protector / provider" type: he hunts, he fishes, he camps, he rides horses, he can be a warrior when it's necessary, he talks sports with the group. But he's also a distinguished gentlemen: he's well dressed, well spoken, polite, refined, appreciates quality, etc.

And he is intelligent. Feyre is constantly noting how he's always observing, calculating, watching, thinking. Rhys even shows approval for Lucien's plans and ideas. Rhys, the king of schemes, acknowledges Lucien to be clever like a fox. Finally getting his POV is going to be the most exciting thing ever.

He is the son of a powerful mother from Autumn and the son of a High Lord from a different court.

He is nothing but respectful to Elain. He's a bit awkward around her which I find to be adorable because he's so uncertain as to how to approach this female he's so drawn to, who almost makes him lose control every time he's near, and who he's sure doesn't want him because she was in love with another man. He's giving her distance to figure out what she wants while subtly making it known that he's not given up. He brings her beautiful gifts and tries so hard to hide his longing and disappointment though it's evident to anyone looking.

SJM broke the mold with this one.

#pro lucien vanserra #lucien spell cleaver #lucien supremacy #lucien vanserra #high king lucien #pro lucien #acotar characters #sarah j maas #lucienweek2023

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maxislvt · 1 year

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thank u for the most recent wanda x spider reader i love it so much thank u😭😭😭more please its so good

warnings: very brief mentions of arguing, brief injury

I'm considering making it a full fic but some headcanons for now!!!

When you guys first start dating, she catches you at really bad times. your identity is a secret so you have to keep explaining to her how you somehow escaped the bank that almost got robbed safely via an alleyway that doesn't connect to the other side of the street

Wanda can tell you're lying but can't really figure out why for a while. It makes her a little nervous so maybe she peaks into your mind and that's how she finds out you're Spider-Punk. For a long while she doesn't say anything. One, because she feels bad for not trusting you. Two, because now that she knows it's really obvious and she's embarrassed that she didn't catch on sooner

It's not that you don't do a good job of hiding your identity from the public, you're just really bad at lying to Wanda. Even small things like if you had breakfast or not make you crack under pressure

After a few months of dating, you do come clean and tell Wanda. She tries to act shocked but she's really bad at it, so Wanda just tells you she already knew but didn't want to tell

Despite the awkwardness of the confession, it makes things a lot easier but can be the cause of some arguments.

Sometimes you come home and look like shit cause some guy with super strength slammed a car into your body or you somehow a building collapsed on you and Wanda can't stand seeing you like that. Of course you understand but it's upsetting because she's always trying to convince you to take a break or even step down after rough fights but you never stop her from being an avenger. Even when she's gone for weeks at a time. Even on the worst days you two still love each other and sleep in the same bed. Maybe it takes a while, but you two will be fine again

Despite her concerns, or maybe because she'll never stop being concerned, she takes pride in being the one to patch you up. Wanda would never really do anything to stop you from being Spider-Punk, but she can at least stop you from getting some nasty infection. There's an odd calmness in it. It's late, you're both tired, and want nothing more to snuggle into each other and not worry

As you two get older and enter more committed stages of your relationship, I do see Wanda trying to convince you to become an Avenger. You're apprehensive at first. Your priority has always been the city. It wasn't that you didn't care about other worldly threats, but you're not willing to abandon the place you grew up in. Eventually you settle on being a part time avenger. Not having to build your stuff in the garage certainly aided that choice

Wanda hoards all your little sketchbooks. She doesn't understand most of the math or chemistry scribbled into but they have so much of your personality in them she can't help but love them. Everything from the coffee stains to the doodles of what you wanted for lunch that day.

Oh and she definitely cashes in on all the official merch you get once you become an avenger. All the little plushies, bandaids, and posters??? Oh she's buying all of it. There's something so ironic about you having to prompt a non-stick skillet despite being an absolute menace in the kitchen .

#panther speaks #anon #panthers headcanons #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff headcanons #wanda maximoff fluff #wanda maximoff #spiderpunk!r

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ghostflowerhotpotch · 9 months

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So I'll just tell myself all of the things I can't say to you yet (Fic)

Third Chapter here!

Pairing: Ghostflower (Miles x Gwen.)

Chapter: 4/4.

Summary: The plan was easy, get her dad out of the apartment, and made sure Miles didn't see her embarrassing song lyrics about him, nor the rest of things she keeps from him; how wrong could this go?

(What she didn't think, is that sometimes things can go wrong in the best way possible.)

Gwen was mad at herself for still not being able to find a way to get her dad out of the house.

Funnily enough, is not something she ever really had to worry about before the "incident" happened. Despite trying to keep an entire identity a secret, she never had trouble ensuring to do it when her dad wasn't looking or needing to be too careful when coming home; since he was a police officer he did a lot of night shifts, all of them becoming more prominent when he became a Captain.

Is funny how she remembers being bitter about it when she was younger, resenting the number of times her dad called May to look after her when he needed to leave out of nowhere because of work. She becoming grateful about it when she became spider-woman was a surprise, and most of all to miss it now.

"It doesn't help needing to hide a friend was something I definitely never had to deal with," She thought bitterly, as her dad inspected the door she stupidly had tried to use as an excuse.

Her first idea has been to ask if he was going anywhere or if he needed to buy anything; with his new job as a coach he has started to look at places and prices to see what he could ask the university to get and what could be better than what they have; this has somehow reminded him that Gwen asked about getting oil because her squeaking door.

As he inspected the door, Gwen decided to hope he was busy enough to realize Gwen was looking around clearly trying to find something.

That wasn't exactly distressing; knowing how Hobie's watches worked she knew he didn't hop to another dimension because the spectacle those do would have to show up even with a wall in between. The guy was also able to become invisible, though she wasn't sure if he was going to do that with the wounds he had, she hoped he didn't. The possibility of him jumping out of the window is always high with any spidey-person in general.

But she didn't hear the window, which she should have even if she was focused on her dad. Her Spider-sense also was telling her there was a spider-person close, even if it couldn't indicate exactly where; so he wasn't far. There was only one door in her room too, the place wasn't also insanely big; the space below her bed was so small only a cat could get down there, so really the only other place she could think of-

"No," Her eyes fly to the closet, feeling her heart stops as she considers the possibility, "Please tell me he isn't there."

Because she didn't think of him opening the damn closet, she didn't try to cover or hide anything, just left it on the floor of the closet. There is no way he wouldn't see it, goddammit considering they both have excellent night vision for all she knows she may be reading some of her half-made lyrics.

Walking slowly, keeping in mind her dad was still looking at the hinges (he liked to act like he knew what he was doing even with things he had no clue of,) until she was finally in front of the closet. Trying to be casual, she gave one tap to the door,

Ruffled sounds came from the closet, as if someone was fighting her jackets and, pages? (Oh no,) the doors opened a little, as the furniture itself was startled. She thought she saw something fly from the closet as if its contents were trying to go away, and she put her hands to close it shut without a second thought (too much time hiding secrets give you those habits.)

"Gwen?"

She turns to her dad, who has stopped mumbling to himself about AW-04 or something else, and was looking at her mildly concerned and confused.

Trying to play dumb, she said "Oh, I may need to organize my closet better?" She tries to say, probably sounding less convincing than she could.

Because freaking Miles was in her closet, probably looking at her embarrassing crush shit!

Saying Gwen was screaming inside would be an understatement, and yet below the gaze of her father, she just smiles awkwardly and tries to pretend she is not about to lose it.

As she was trying to process that, she didn't look too much into what has escaped from it; yet the fact seemed to have caught the attention of her father. As he walked towards her, she casually positions herself between the closet and him, hoping he wouldn't look there.

Just when Gwen realizes her dad was concentrating on what fell on the floor, the man is kneeling to pick up the first picture of her and Miles, the same one she treasured for months before having new ones.

Her dad arches an eyebrow as he gets up with the Polaroid in hand, and says "You know? With how much you treasure this thing, I would think you would put more effort into safekeeping in a better place."

"Oh this has to be a joke," She thought to herself, imagining what Miles would think if he had the chance to see this pic and realize what her dad means, and the answer was probably more likely than she wanted it to be.

"Treasure seems kind of a strong word, don't you think?" She replied, awkwardly laughing.

Yes, she knows she is doomed, she has a notebook full of his name with way too corny lyrics, pictures, and a plushie; she couldn't look more desperate than that. Miles already had seen enough, he didn't need to hear about how much that photo meant to her.

Sadly, the universe seemed to hate her because her dad refused to accept the dismissal.

"Are you serious?" He says baffled, the rumble of his laughter in the back of his voice "Gwen, you disappeared for months, and the only reason you set foot on this place, aside from not having a way out of this dimension; was to get this picture. You literally ignored my presence, took the Polaroid, and try to leave before I could wake up. If of everything out of this house, this was your primary concern, doesn't that have to mean something?"

"Wow dad, I could almost be impressed you caught all of this, in any other moment EXCEPT THIS." She thought to herself, wanting nothing more than to take a pillow and scream.

The notebook wasn't enough, the pictures weren't enough, and the plushie wasn't enough. No, her dad needed to give a discourse about how much of a goner she was.

Was this how Miles felt when she was in front of his parents? Somehow, she felt she had it worse because at least his mom didn't mention him being so corny as to keep a picture around almost like a charm.

As her dad give her the polaroid (with her keeping it close to her chest as a reflex; honestly most of the time she was very mindful with the photo.) He moved away quickly enough, as she let her head fall down defeated and tired.

"Mmm, I'm kind of hungry, what do you think of getting chinese?"

"NOW is that you find an excuse to leave?" Gwen thought exasperated.

Taking a deep breath to remember she would rather not let her dad see her crush hiding in the closet with probably just half of his clothes; Gwen keeps her composure enough to say "Sure! Sounds good, Do you think you could go and order there directly? You know, less time for the food to get colder."

Knowing exactly what place her dad would go, since they have menus of some of their favourite take-out places; she tried to think of something that could take some extra time since she still wasn't sure if Miles was feeling okay enough to go to his dimension yet, or perhaps crash someone's else.

She may or may not have been reading it from beginning to end just to avoid needing to talk to Miles about, this, but who could say?

Once she decided on her food (with a comment from her dad for taking too long,) she stood at the entrance of the apartment as her dad closed the door behind him, and just on cue, she overheard her closet being opened.

Letting her head go against the door, she thought "Ground swallow me up."

As her indeed, annoying bedroom door squeaked open, she heard Miles say "For the record, my middle name is Gonzalo."

"Great, he read at least one of the songs, wonderful."

As she turned around, she saw Miles leaning on the door frame on his side; he had the notebook in his hands, and he smirked mischievously at her; despite still missing his top and having scratches and bandages.

Sighing, she decides she should get over it, "Look, I know this looks bad-"

"Bad?" He says, a bit shocked, the corners of his lips still up as he moves away from the door and walks to her "Hey, I can't say much, you saw all of those drawings I did-"

"That's different." She scoffed, crossing her arms as she looked to the side.

"Yeah? Why is that?"

"At least you are over me now," She said, sounding more bitter than she would have liked to be.

It was dumb- this was her fault, she pushed him away, and she was the one who lied to him to the point he needed to he ask for space. She couldn't seriously get worked up about this.

"Beg your pardon?"

Okay, Gwen didn't really want to look Miles, not wanting to make things worse for herself. However the tone of voice he used caught her attention.

When she looked back at him, just a few feet away from her with the notebook closed; he was looking at her like he needed to make sure his ears were actually working.

Blinking, she bites the bullet "You asked me to give you a few months to be away so you could, process everything? And then I was just one of the spidey-gang to you? What I am missing here?"

Almost in slow-motion, his eyes opened wildly, before running a hand through his hair "So Margo and Hobie weren't exaggerating with me acting differently- I know I was able to tone it down a lot but I didn't think I was playing it off that well."

"Playing it off- Wait, so you mean-"

"I have feelings for you?" The words came almost like a laugh out of Miles, shaking his head "Sorry, is just- after acting like a lovesick puppy around you, and what you told me when we saw each other again, and the after; I thought it would have better to try to move on, not that I ever did. My love for you never went away."

My love for you never went away.

Something about those words made her heart flutter in excitement; she wanted to bask in that feeling, to think of what those words meant.

But she was good at keeping track of the unspoken things in a conversation, as well as keeping an eye on things that would make her miserable.

"Wait, what did I say to you?"

"The bit with Gwen and Spider-man not working out? I thought you well, preferred not to risk it; that was the last time we hinted at the topic."

As the memory of her time in the organization, her old loyalties, and what she did, she felt as if a bucket of cold water dropped on top of her, drowning the previous happiness she was feeling moments ago. With her mouth suddenly feeling dry, she didn't think of a response before Miles was talking again.

"I didn't think you would feel like this- Well, or friends try to tell me about it, if only to push me to move things forward; I thought you just wanted to be friends."

"How could you think that, as if I'm not constantly doing dumb shit because of the exact opposite?" She thought to herself.

Except, she knew exactly why.

Feeling more bitter by the second, she let out a laugh, as her hands formed into first. She was doing it again.

She was doing it all fucking again, wasn't it?

"Gwen?"

"Is just stupid," She says angrily, not bothering to clarify if it was the situation, or her; truth being told, it was both. "I told you that, because I thought it was part of one of the canon events."

"Oh."

"Yeah, those;" She agreed; one of the things they ended up doing while trying to sort the mess after the HQ fiasco, was to realize that canon events weren't really a thing. It was a bunch of complicated crap that she couldn't dwell on right now, but she couldn't believe she had fallen for it too; and had stood aside when Miles has needed her. "But honestly? I mean, I am almost not surprised that I'm doing it again."

"Wait, do what?"

Gwen didn't face Miles, she couldn't take it; not when she was this angry, not when she felt the tears try to build in her eyes as she felt the impulse to throw something. "What I always do, mess things up!

"Miles, hear yourself out," She said, sounding almost maniacally out of the sheer desperation she was feeling "You thought this, for a stupid comment I said. You forced yourself to act differently around me because you thought I was feeling uncomfortable.

"And now look at this!" Turning around, she pointed at the door where her dad had left "I needed to hide you out, I was trying to find an excuse for my dad to leave; because somehow I couldn't find a way of saying 'Hey dad! My friend got injured on a mission! Do you mind if I help patch him up?' No, I try to make a circus because I didn't want him or you to know about this.

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg, that isn't even talking about the messed up things I did! Do you want to know, how many nights I was awake for months, thinking if I had perhaps, just perhaps told my dad about my identity at the right moment, could I have talked about it with him accepting me, instead of him trying to point a gun at me because I waited to the last possible second?

"Want to know what happened to Peter, to my best friend?" Her voice broke at his name, because her heart knew when she meant B and when she meant him, "He tried to become the lizard trying to be like me Miles, because I prioritized being Spider-woman instead of a good friend; and want to know the worst part of it?" She let the words linger, if it was for Miles benefit, or her own cowardice, well, who was to say? "He knew it was me, he said my name, and he tried to take my mask off, to tell me everything was going to be okay."

Gwen hated the feeling of hot tears coming down her cheeks, how she didn't want to try to open her eyes knowing she would just cry so much she would not see straight. The words continue coming out without her permission, the desperate cry she tried to keep hidden for so long was finally coming out, and would do it regardless if she wanted or not.

"I didn't let him," she admitted, ashamed "When he said my name, I try to play dumb, I took his hand away from my mask. My best friend was dying in front of me, and to the last bitter end, I try to keep him at bay, to keep him away from my secret identity. And the last time I saw him alive I was using a mask that only let me see so much, and he couldn't see my face as he wanted. I denied my best friend his dying wish."

It was so fucked up, she was just so messed up.

"I just, keep doing this," She shakes her head, not believing to which degree she would go with this "I didn't say anything to you, to the point I was driving you away. I pretended I could keep my feelings at bay by writing half-baked songs and keeping anything that reminded me of you; but all I did was to do more stupid things trying to hide it. It doesn't matter how many times this keeps happening, I just don't seem to learn my lesson.

"Is not fair," She says as if it doesn't sound childish, the pleas of a girl who is acting as if the reason for her suffering wasn't her own fault, "Is not fair to my dad that even when he is trying, I can't seem to want to bridge the gap. It wasn't fair to Peter that I pushed him away until the bitter end. And is not fair that you need to try to bend backwards, all because I can't seem to open up, because I prefer to write notes rather than tell you to your face that I love you!"

"I'm not-" She couldn't finish the sentence, before more tears came out of her, as she finally couldn't hold it anymore.

God, why she was like this? She just, couldn't.

It didn't matter if it was her dad, her best friend, or her crush- it all happened the same way. She would get afraid, keep something she shouldn't keep, and it would explode in her face. It didn't even need to be someone close to her, what did she do before? Lying to Jessica about the mission so she could go to Earth-1610? Try to keep her whereabouts away from Miguel?

Gwen could be spiderwoman, but there was one part of her she hated with all her being, the one she couldn't seem to shake. Because deep down, she knew she was a coward.

And she didn't deserve the people in her life.

She didn't deserve a father who as flawed as he was, was trying to do the right for her as she keep lies on top of lies. Her friends didn't deserve someone who keep everyone at bay, to the point she tend to pout her feelings more on lyrics than actually speaking about it.

And Miles deserved better than a girl who could only say I love you after admitting it would be better for everyone in her life to leave her. Yet all she could do now was this, cry pathetically after everything she had tried to keep down has refused to disappear.

It was truly a shame how Gwen view herself, as Miles was seeing this in a completely different light.

The smile has been wiped from his face, as he had put the notebook on the table; he felt his own mouth go dry as he watched the girl he loved sobbing for the weight of her own guilt.

Miles knew she was reserved; heck, Margo and Hobie had commented on it, being the reason why they had told him to be the one to do the first step. They didn't think Gwen would try it.

But he doubted they understood to which degree this has affected her.

"Is not fair," He has agreed with her on something, and that it wasn't fair to her. It wasn't fair to carry all of this on your shoulders, to keep quiet about so much. Looking at Gwen, he couldn't help but feel his own heart break "She looks so small."

Gwen was someone he has always admired; from her fighting skills to her quick thinking, she has seemed like the most put-together on their original rag-tag team of Spideys when all of this started for him. Despite being his age, she stood her ground, has been able to hide and adapt better than Peter B and the others; and seemed always in control.

Right now she was hunching, her body facing the side as she herself was ashamed of her feelings and was trying to hide it from Miles, her hands covering her face. She wasn't the badass girl that has hastily told him he didn't get to like his haircut. She was so much more than that.

He wouldn't call her weak, definitely not for this; not for being human. But it reminded him that below the calm, collected mask, was a real person underneath.

As she cried her heart out, she seemed like a normal girl, a stressed-out teenage girl. Because at the end of the day, everyone has their breaking points; Miles just wished he could have been able to do something about it before.

"I may not be able to do something before, but I can for now," thought to himself, as he walked up to her.

While he tenderly touched her shoulder, she went rigid; as if she hasn't expected or heard him come; spiders tended to be that silent.

"Hey," He greeted softly, even if Gwen still had her face covered. Gently, his hand hovered on top of one of hers, fingertips touching softly so as to not impose "Can I?"

Can I see your face? Can I wipe your tears? Can I be the one you lend on?

He wasn't sure what to ask, letting the question open for all the things he wanted to say, to do for her; it was about time that he did so without fear.

She seemed frozen, yet slowly, she moved her hands away. Her eyes were red and puffy, her button nose was also a tone pink he couldn't help but think it was cute, traces of tears were on her cheeks, and more were building on her eyes; however she was still quiet, as if she was containing herself.

He didn't want her to do that ever again.

"Is okay," He told her kindly, as his hand fell on her cheek, cleaning the tears; all moving slowly, giving her the chance to reject it or move away if she needed; she didn't. "Is okay if you are still sad too."

"What are you doing?" She said instead, obtuse.

"Being here for you," He answered without missing a beat, casually wiping away the tears from her other eye, while his other hand still rested on her cheek, "As I wanted to do for a long time."

"Is my-"

"No," he refutes still, not letting her finish the sentence "It doesn't matter anymore."

"It doesn't- Miles, look at this, look at yourself, it keeps happening, I keep doing this." She said with bile, as if she couldn't stand herself at this moment; her gaze going to the side as if even while so close she refused to see him out of anger, "None of you deserve this, I don't deserve-"

"No," he repeats again, adamant.

Scoffing, Gwen says "Miles, cutting me off doesn't change reality."

"It does because it isn't real," he affirms confidently, or perhaps stubbornly; "Not for me, I refuse to accept it."

"You cannot do that."

"You were about to say you don't deserve me?" He pointed out, with her going quiet "To say you don't deserve your dad, or Peter, or the gang? It doesn't matter."

"How can you say that?"

"Because none of us were ever here because we thought we 'deserved' you," He told her straight to the point, his voice firm, before dropping softly "Is because we love you."

She went quiet, looking at the ground but not fighting him anymore.

"Gwen, I don't know who forgot to tell you this, but we aren't here for you because we think we deserve someone like you in our life, we do it because we like being around you, for who you are." He said as he moved a strand of hair away, seeing his face better as she was lifting her head and finally, looking at him. Despite everything, her eyes looked so fearful.

"Even as she looks like she wants to fall apart, she is so beautiful," He thought to herself.

Even with her eyes swollen, looking like she wanted to shut down; she was the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. From her piercings to the watercolor eyes and her tooth gap, he had always remembered to draw (he didn't want an idealized version of her, he wanted to draw her as she was.) As long as it was her, it didn't matter the situation, she would shine.

This wasn't the time to dwell on that, but he would remember to tell her that later, and probably again. He didn't want to keep things hidden anymore, especially not when this mess has partially happened because he also didn't try to talk things over. He also had experience in messing up that way.

"You aren't the only one who has kept secrets they shouldn't," Miles said somberly, gathering Gwen's attention as her eyes opened slightly in confusion and surprise. Is funny, considering she knew about this; "You remember that I lost my uncle, right? Holding his hand in his last moments; and I couldn't talk to anyone about it."

"Miles that wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't," He accepted, and has done for a while. It took him time to realize that; he hopes Gwen realizes that in her own situation too eventually; "How do you think, my dad felt when he realized I kept his lasts words to myself for over a year?"

Gwen stood there in surprise, while Miles himself let that sink as he felt the bitter taste in his mouth at the thought. He still remembers his father's melancholic face, as he took in what his brother said, the grief he still had about the subject, as well as the pain that Miles deprived him of this information for this long.

Miles knew his parents understood that he has been afraid, in all honesty, part of him wished they could have been harsher at him; he would take his dad's anger any day of the week over the disappointment and betrayal those news has been for him. But they were working on it, they were doing their better to talk and understand each other better, even if it wasn't always easy.

He was thankful to them for teaching him that, now more than ever as he consoled Gwen.

"I messed up," He admitted, freely, as he looked into her eyes "In more ways than one, and that wasn't the only time. It happens."

"But I keep doing it-"

"Then try again," He said immediately, softly and without judgment.

Which was all he found in Gwen's gaze as she said "Why? Why would you trust me with that? What makes you think I would not do this again?"

He wouldn't, not that it was the point, he trusted her that much. But there was something about this conversation that brought into mind something Margo mentioned; how Gwen's feelings for him couldn't have been a secret for what she did. Now that he knows how she feels about him, that day feels like it has gained an entirely new meaning.

Yet there was still something he needed to know.

"What you were supposed to do, when we saw each other again?"

"What?"

"That day, when the Spot ended up opening another hole in the multiverse- What were you supposed to do that day in my dimension?"

Looking at him completely at loss, she says "Miles what has this to do with anything?"

"I will tell you once you answer me."

Scoffing, she rolls her eyes before whispering to herself 'fuck it, what difference does make it now.' Taking a deep breath, she says "Spot ended up traveling to a bunch of dimensions on a dime, almost by accident; we caught a whiff of what was going on when he was back in Earth 1610. The original plan was only to monitor him, since he was back in his own dimension; my mission was to watch over him and made sure he couldn't do his hole trick again."

"And, you weren't supposed to see me at all."

Shaking her head, she says "Miguel didn't want to involve you at all, he even had his reservations about me because, you know," She gestured to both of them- wait does that mean Miguel somehow put two and two together about them before Miles even registered it? "Jess was the one who gave me the mission, she trusted me more than Miguel did. But she didn't want to involve you either, if it was for her I would have been hidden below that bridge the entire time until I needed to interfere."

But that was not what she did, she opened the portal to his room; before even realizing it was his room. She was given a mission to keep the lunatic scientist from traveling to other dimensions as he pleased (though none of them realized how dangerous he could be back then,) and what she did was to get to him as soon as she was able and hug him.

As a grin started to appear on his face, Gwen scoffed "Yeah yeah, you can laugh; it was dumb."

"No- I mean, I don't think so;" Could prioritizing seeing someone you had missed over the safety of the multiverse be called dumb? Maybe, would have Miles done things differently had he been in Gwen's shoes? Not in a million years. "I'm just, happy to hear that."

"What, letting a nutjob get away by being too desperate?"

"If it helps, I would have done the same for you in a heartbeat." He says earnestly, still cradling her face as the tears finally started to disappear; even if it was because the topic was less upsetting for her. As he saw her annoyance leave her face, he said "But don't you get it? You were doing it already."

"Doing what?"

"Showing how you feel."

"..."

"Think about it," He says with a smile, remembering that day "You came to see me, and hug me before I even had the chance to register you were here. You spend as much time as you could with me until the watch told you something happened. And then when we saw Margo well, looking back you weren't subtle."

Clicking her tongue, she quickly replies "Okay, at least half the reason for that was Peni-"

"What?"

As if she realized she had said too much, she moves her hand dismissively, "Nevermind."

He probably wouldn't, this reminded him of some things Hobie was talking about before- maybe he should talk to Margo later, if only to find a way to return the favor.

"My point is, all of that was there," He reminds her, going back on topic, "When we were seating in the Tower, I thought you didn't want to be more because of what you say, and somehow didn't think of all the other little things you were doing. Even if you say you have a problem talking things out, you always find a way to show it, right?"

Her lips formed a tight line, unconvinced, and replies "That's not good enough."

"I mean, you can do this," With his hand that is not on her cheek, he takes her own, giving it a tender squeeze, "You just did it, too; you told me what was wrong."

"I didn't have much of a choice."

"You could just say you didn't want to talk about it," he shrugs nonchalantly "You certainly didn't need to tell me about how you feel about your dad, or Peter; but you still did, you are still trusting me that much."

Gwen seemed to want to find a rebuttal, but any words died in her throat, and Miles didn't give her much of a chance before saying.

"Is okay, if is still tough, if you have trouble opening up, all this means is that you just need to continue trying, and we need to remind you that we are here for you, one way or another."

Even after all of this back and forth, it seemed like there was something holding her back, almost like even with Miles telling her it was okay, she couldn't let herself believe it. Without more arguments, she asks a softly, defeated "Why?" She whispers to him "Why after all I told you, after all I did, you still want to be here?"

That has to be the easiest question he has answered all night.

"Because I love you."

He had implied that much before, but hadn't said it yet, funnily enough Gwen technically beat him to the punch earlier in the middle of her rant. If they could talk things out, make this right- he hoped he could get to say it a lot more.

"When I was hiding before, I was thinking about that; how long I had feelings for you, but rather than these feelings changing because of the distance and what happened between us, I realized I just found new ways to love you. To realize there is a lot more than the badass hero I met initially, to love being around you regardless if we are on the suit or not. I saw your lyrics, the pictures, and the plushie, and not even once I thought I was mad at you for keeping this away from me, I was just so happy.

"You used to do ballet, until you needed to leave because Spider-people don't have a good track record with being on time or being there when needed. You had been hitting things with your hands for so long your dad decided to get you a drum set. The first time I saw you fight, you were so swift and well pulled together it made me wish I could train you if only to hope to get half the ability you have.

"You have a tendency to gravitate around people, hitting a shoulder, leaning on someone, hugs- sometimes I think you try to hold those impulses more than you let on" To that comment she suddenly looked to the side, oh he was going to remember that for later, "You remember little things, like how I like to draw, or the name of my parents; even if I don't think I told them their names more than once.

"You are caring, fierce, and once you know what the right thing is you would fight the world and back for it." He continues his praises to the unbelieved gaze of Gwen, that seemed dumbfounded at the idea that he was saying all of this; as if he didn't think that every time he laid his eyes on her. "You are impulsive, a tad reckless, and hold on too much.

"And I love that, because I love you, with all the caveats and falls;" He explains, moving just a bit closer, wanting her to directly look at him and see in his gaze how much she means to him "I didn't fall for you because I thought I deserved you, I just did. It doesn't matter the pain, the misunderstandings, or whatever spidey shenanigans we end up; I still want this, I want to be with you."

Gwen has never been the most expressive person, trying to keep her feelings to herself out of self-preservation. Yet finally after all of this, she was smiling at him, it was small with the tips of her lips just going a bit up, but this one time he saw her eyes shine at him and didn't think he was making it up.

Getting a step closer, their faces inches away from each other, leaving enough space for her to still say no and take a step back "I want to be there for you when you are angry but you don't want to talk about it, when you are sad and you don't know what to do, I want to take you to dates and I want you to get mad at me if I mess up because I would rather have you talking than you hiding from me. I want to go out with you and get to hear all the things you never talk about, good or bad.

"Can I do that? Can I go out with you? To give us a chance?"

Gwen laughs, the same type of laugh he needed to try to contain earlier. As she giggles her face breaks into the biggest smile he has ever seen on her, she looks at him as if she can't believe it; "I don't know how you keep doing it, but you always find the right thing to say."

He smiles at her, and as he looks at her lips, he looks back at her eyes knowing they are way too close for her to not notice that "So, is that a yes-"

"Please," As he hears the laughter in her voice, she takes a step further and kisses him, throwing herself as she put her arms around his shoulders.

Grabbing her waist as he makes sure they don't fall (and kept to himself a groan as the wounds in his back didn't particularly like holding weight all of the sudden,) it only took him a second before he kissed her back. The faint sting of paint wavered as he felt her warm against him, her lips were soft and he tasted the salt of her own tears and took it away as he reciprocated.

The smell of her shampoo filled him as he felt his chest explode in ecstasy, a long dream becoming true yet nothing could have ever prepared for it. No fantasy or dream could ever come close to the feeling of finally having the woman he loved kissing him, hugging him as if the world was about to end.

Even if Gwen wasn't saying anything, just as always, her feelings shine in her actions. The longing for a kiss they both had wanted for so long, the softness of her touch as she tried to be mindful of his back, the want she felt as after breaking apart to breathe she didn't take more time than she needed before kissing him again, showing all those feelings she wanted to keep at bay.

It was a few minutes before they finally stop, Gwen putting her forehead against his.

"So," He says, a bit hazy, the kissing may have messed up with his brain a bit but he was not complaining, "I guess that's a yes on being my girlfriend?"

Chuckling, he can't help but notice that he likes the sound of her laugh just as much as he likes feeling it as they hug, basking in her happiness like a sunflower following the sun "I will be mad if I wasn't."

"Cool"

"Cool," She repeats at him.

And then, out of nowhere an outside voice says "Cool, can I come in now?"

"DAD?!" Gwen screeches as detangles herself from him so quickly he hastily grabs the wall; yeah just because he pretended to be fine didn't mean he was. "What are you doing!?"

"Well, I was calling the restaurant to tell them the order on my way there, and they said the restaurant was packed and it was going take way longer than what I was expecting. I was going to ask if you wanted something else when I heard screaming and figure you didn't want me to be involved."

Gwen's shoulders drop, letting a tired sigh as she said "How much did you hear?"

"Not much, once I heard you talk about Peter and ah, what happened, I went outside to take a short walk, and now I just came back after hearing a bunch of cools, if there anything you want me to know?"

Miles's attention picked at that; not a 'what's going on' or 'what happened,' but directly asking if there was anything she was okay with sharing. Perhaps he has been aware of this issue more than Gwen gave him credit for.

He saw her tense, probably stressed out about what to do; so taking a couple of steps until he was right beside her, he took her hand and says "Hey, whatever you want to do, I'm here in your corner, okay?"

Gwen seemed surprised, before smiling back at him as she squeezed his hand "Thank you."

This was obviously, going to be a long road. The fears Gwen had were bigger than Miles, something more problematic and difficult than just a nice speech and a few kisses; but he was ready to do it all for her.

Because Spider-man doesn't has a 'The End,' just a 'to be continued', and he wanted to see what a route to her beside him would look like.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Oh man how the fuck I made this so goddamn long. This was going on for so long that I almost thought of adding another chapter, but no, I'm done; I have other things to work on. A big chunk of this chapter was written after I had seen the barbie movie, writing a good part on it with a lack of sleep and hearing "What I was made for" on loop at 2 am in the morning, and I think it shows. It wasn't written in one go but boy it wasn't without penance. Even if a lot of this was fueled by existentialism and other things that are illegal in other countries, I don't think this fic was ever going to get a happy, fluffy ending without some angst thrown at it. Aside from the fact that if you look at my other works this is the least surprising thing coming from me, this story has been about it even before I decided it wasn't a one-shot anymore. The fact that Gwen would go to absurd lengths to keep things a secret rather than having a mildly awkward conversation is present ever since the second chapter, and as easy as it could have been "We are both idiots how the fuck we put two and two together," that's not how I roll. I would apologize, but nah, this is my story after all, and it wouldn't be mine without someone losing their shit because believe they aren't good enough or something. I think that's all, I need to eat something (is 3:30 but I refused to eat until this was over,) and do other crap. If you like it please leave a comment and kudos! This story wouldn't have passed the first chapter without them.

#ghostflower #gwiles #miles morales #gwen stacy #fanfics #atsv #across the spiderverse

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panther-os · 2 months

Text

Bastard Children Update: A Surprise Non-Bastard!

Friendly reminder that this au is entirely me doing whatever I want that I think is plausible, because this one reads a little cracky but I promise it works.

Also for clarification, a bastard or illegitimate child in this au is defined as "a child with anyone you are not in a committed relationship with" rather than "a child born out of wedlock". And also Ghost's dad is one of those bastards (as in personality) who's like "it's not cheating if there's only one committed relationship and all the rest is casual" so he did only have one girlfriend or wife at a time.

Anyways, I had this thought in the shower and the process was something like

Remember that one fic where "Price" isn't Price's original surname, he changed it to the kindly neighbor's after escaping his abusive family?

That was some good shit

Okay but what was his original surname?

John Reilly sounds nice

Wait, Riley belongs to another character already

WAIT

Price = bastard big brother????

And then this is what I cobbled together:

Laswell set up an alert for whenever Simon's DNA comes up in the results of a test, that way she can see if it's something innocent or someone getting Too Close to the identity of The Ghost (TM)

They have to run Price's DNA for insert reason here (maybe something something testing for something else and the lab has some deal with law enforcement in the fine print that's supposed to help catch criminals or something) and it comes back with Ghost (and the others) as a 25% match, which is typically grandparents, grandchildren, auncles, niblings, and half-siblings

Price is only three years older than Ghost and he's operating on the assumption it's a mistake, but he's doing his due-diligence and calls his sister to see if there's any family secrets

Turns out his mum is originally from Manchester, she was married and had his older sister there, then she got divorced, got "an evil ex-boyfriend", fled Manchester in the middle of the night with his sister to her family in Liverpool, met and had a one night stand with his dad before being ready to date again a year or two later (he wasn't ready for serious at the time either and became her close friend before anything else)

Price himself was born a questionable amount of time after the fleeing to Liverpool and one night stand and came out looking almost exactly like his mum, so they just crossed their fingers and prayed his dad was also his bio dad, his mum told his dad, and his older sister is capable of doing math

On a very educated hunch, Price sends his sister a picture of Ghost's dad, and sure enough he's the evil ex-boyfriend

Price never tells Simon this because at the time family was still an armed landmine of trauma for him, so instead he just committed to doing what he was already doing and big brothering the hell out of him

Then Simon's doing better and Cam and the groupchat come along and Price is trying to figure out whether or not to fess up to hiding it from him or if it's too late

Enter Cam being like "we should all do 23 & Me! it's not a perfect science but maybe we can find out if Simon and I have even more half siblings and it would be a fun group bonding thing to find out more about our families"

And, well, Price can't exactly be the only one refusing, that would be suspicious, now the only question is if he tells Simon before the tests or acts surprised or what - and also if it's bad that he kind of wants Gaz or Soap's test results to come with major family drama that eclipses his own

#/incoherent noises/#call of duty #cod mwii #cod john price #simon ghost riley #the bastard children of bones riley

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lesvii · 10 months

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Emotion (Part 2)

Link to part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/lesvii/722894732651577344/emotion-part-1

Part 3: https://www.tumblr.com/lesvii/723808271307341825/emotions-part-3

Taglist: @sae1kie

Chapter 2: Truth

Suddenly a quick hard flash hit your face, you tried to move but you had this weird feeling of something blocking your moves. You tried blinking a few times and the feeling of being restrained hits you. You were tied up to a chair, the rope clenching your skin, you felt a burning sensation by it.

``Que paso mi chula, se te cayó el teatrito?´´ (what's up beautiful, did you drop the act?)

Valeria spoke dominantly to you, but you actually didn't see her anywhere in the room, like if she was one in the shadows. Your vision still blurry from the prominent lights in the room, you kept looking in a direction in the room that felt like someone was there by the looks of the shadow, you kept trying to look for her confused and scared, maybe just a little, you're still dealing with the most powerful drug lord after all,

El Sin Nombre.

You felt a heavy touch on your shoulder, by the way you were sitting in a tied position. you couldn't turn your head easily to look, but you either way recognize valeria voice.

``V-Valeria? What's going on you're scaring me´´.

Y/N said with a worrying voice, her gaze shaking looking directly at Valeria now infront of her, she held a golden pistol in her right hand. You can't read Valeria´s emotions, she seemed sad, but disappointed, yet angry at the way she talked to you

´´Really?, do you have the audacity to still play innocent with me? With El Sin Nombre, girl?, you got some balls, that's what i´ll tell you´´.

Valeria scuffed, as she said and walked towards you taking your face into her hand and pulling it towards her. Her raspy voice flooded the lonely room you both were in, she once looked at you with her penetrating gaze and loses the grip in your face, she walked in circles towards you like a predator analyzing its prey, ready to attack at any moment.

´´My men´s got me a little surprise, in which i insisted to not take until i knew what was it really about…´´.

Valeria sounds amused as she passes in the room.

´´Listen Valeria–´´.

You didn't even got to finish the sentence when you got cut off by Valeria, she quickly stood in front of you in a dominant gaze and pose, grabbing your face tightly with her hands as she said.

´´It's El Sin Nombre to you´´.

Her voice was cold and firm, as she stepped away, her gaze still on your face. At that moment your heart broke, you knew getting involved romantically with the drug lord you were suppose to take down wasn't your first plan… but it happened, that's why for the past 6 months you been giving fake intel to your base, of course not all information was fake because you didn't want to them to figure out the fake intel, but mostly was incorrect information. After the first month being a spy on the cartel you quickly figured out El Sin Nombre had their eye on you, all this time getting involved with Valeria thinking she was close to El Sin Nombre, she was suppose to be her personal sicaria, when in reality Valeria is El Sin Nombre.

When you figured that out you knew you were fucked, you fell in love with the drug lord you need to take down, but… what if you dont?. Your love for her was way too strong to bring her down and cause her pain. Valeria was quick to figure out you knew about her real identity, cause you seemed way too nervous sometimes, you tried brushing it off but it never worked, so why hide it anymore, at the end she told you what her real identity was, she choose to be vulnerable with you. You were supposed to tell her your association with the military too but you couldn't bring yourself to do it, betray her trust, and god knows what she would have done if she knew you worked for the people she hated the most and you knew she was El Sin Nombre.

Well know she knows your little secret.

And oh well you’re fucked.

“Val—“

You think before you spoke again as you correct yourself.

“Sin Nombre…. listen is not what you think.”

Y/N said looking towards El Sin Nombre, her prominent state penetrating your whole body. She hums and continues to say:

“Huh, really? How, convince me preciosa,

Go ahead, tell me your part, now.”

Valeria spoke at the same time she demanded of you.

“You’re right… I do worked for the military—- but not in the way you think I do, I had a job to get intel and pass it down to my base, a complicated mission but better alone, at least what I thought before. The mission was initially to capture…. Umm—- well you, El Sin Nombre but— that’s before I knew it was you..’’

Your gaze fell down to the floor, it was humiliating you looked like a kid getting scolded by their mother.

“Listen after I knew it was you who I was after— I— started giving them fake intel, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you, to hurt…. us— But it looks like I already did”

Your gaze comes up again to look at valeria, her face still emotionless just standing in front of you, few seconds pass by waiting for Valeria to answer when she turns back, opens the door from the room and goes away, you watch her disappear. Now you’re left alone too, not scared anymore but you have this weird feeling in your mouth, a bad taste. You should've told Valeria in the first place who you were after she told you her identity, but you can’t turn back now. Your blurry vision comes back again but this time the lights weren’t the problem, your nose getting red as well as your eyes,

you’re crying?

Yeah you’re.

You mumbled into your own breath “im sorry, im sorry” like as if She could hear you. Still tied down to the chair you head looking down at your feet. You hear a door open as you look up in thoughts maybe is valeria again, but is not, is one of her men’s they’ve come to untie you for now.

They grab you by your arm.

“Párate, the boss wants you out. You’re a lucky bitch” (get up).

One of the guys said to you as they grabbed you by your arm still swollen from the rope around your wrists, they take you to a nicer room, not your room by the looks, in fact you’ve never seen this house before, you’ve guess another security house of valeria, one of hundreds. They closed the door and left you once again alone, the room was quite big, had expensive wooden floors, a big king side bed, in front of the bed this chimney that was at the moment not on, you sit on the corner of the bed thinking about how you got so involved in the cartel.

What are you doing for love huh?.

Lost in the thought, you hear the click of the door opening, you look up to see who it was, taller than you, black short hair, big gold chain around her neck, black turtleneck with long sleeves and some military pants. It was Valeria.

#el sin nombre #valeria garza #cod #valeria garza cod #valeria garza x fem!reader #lesbian #call of duty #call of duty valeria #cod fanfic #cod modern warfare #smut #angst #fluff #valeria garza is a lesbian <3

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karuuhnia · 9 months

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Okay, I doubt anyone’s ever gonna read this, but I just need to write down my thoughts on Good Omens Season 2. (Beware of spoilers)

The Characters

First of all, I love, love, LOVE the writing and especially the acting of everyone involved! Both Michael Sheen and David Tennant (and everyone else) gave absolutely stunning performances! I also like that the main cast was a lot smaller than in season 1, so everyone had more time to shine. Great choice! (I did however kinda miss God’s narration and meta commentary).

My favourite new character is Muriel by far. She is like Aziraphale's cute, naive, dorky little sister or niece and I had the biggest smile on my face whenever she was on screen! I hope to see more of her in season 3 (which we probably will since she now runs the bookshop).

What I also liked was that Nina and Maggie don’t just magically fall in love in the end. I mean, they barely know each other and Nina is still in a relationship for most of the season. I liked that they even call out Crowley and Aziraphale for trying to force a romance between them instead of treating them like real humans with free will. (Was that a slight call-out to shippers in fandoms? Who knows lol) I hope they'll find love along the way, but I'm glad they were portrayed as realistic human beings.

Gabriel goes from smug, condescending asshole everyone loved to hate to adorkable himbo and I'm all for it! lol I wasn't in the fandom back in the day, but apparently Gabriel x Beelzebub was a popular ship and I can only imagine how happy the fans must be now that it became canon! I didn't see it coming at all, but it played out really well and didn't come across as forced. I just found it a bit funny and sad that these two fell in love and decided to break away from Heaven and Hell to be together in only a couple of years whereas Crowley and Aziraphale haven't managed to do that in more than 6000 years.

Which brings me to...

The Last Episode

We all know the last 20 minutes of episode 6 were absolutely heart-wrenching, but I wouldn't have it any other way! It was the perfect ending/cliffhanger in all regards and both their decisions make perfect sense. I wouldn't have wanted Crowley and Aziraphale to get their happy end at this point in the story because they're simply not there yet, character-wise.

Also, then a huge plot point and conflict would miss from the final 3rd season. I live for the angst and the drama and I can't wait for satisfying character development and the ultimate, heartfelt conclusion. (Please, Neil! ;__;)

Character Analysis

Crowley:

The most interesting things for me were the several hints that Crowley used to be a very high-ranking and powerful angel before he fell (maybe Gabriel’s predecessor?).

In S2-1 Aziraphale already knows who Angel Crowley is and looks at him with awe and admiration. (In German we have the great expression "jemanden anhimmeln" - roughly meaning sth like "to admire someone as if they came from heaven")

Crowley was part of the designer team of the universe and worked together closely with the higher-ups. He was also entrusted with starting the engine of a quadrant.

He is a creator and visionary who loves the stars, the planets, the whole universe and sees the big picture. He also uses critical thinking and encourages others to do the same.

The miracle he performs with Aziraphale to hide Gabriel’s identity is so strong that Heaven thinks the most powerful of Archangels must have done it. Since Aziraphale hides Gabriel from Hell and Crowley hides him from Heaven, but the alarm only goes off in Heaven, we can assume that Crowley had a bigger part in the miracle.

He can somehow deceive other angels from recognizing him as a demon: Gabriel, Michael & Co. in the Ijob episode and later Muriel when she first comes to observe Aziraphale.

He can change the weather and cause fire or lightning at will.

He still has access to classified files for dominions or above.

He literally brings the guy who was killed by the demon horde back to life like it's nothing. Short update: Neil recently said that Mr. Brown wasn't actually dead but only held captive during the battle. Well, Crowley at least healed Mr. Brown's injuries and removed his traumatic memories.

He is the only one in a room full of high-ranking angels who recognizes Metatron as what he is.

But it’s also implied that Crowley may have memory loss after he was kicked out of heaven because the angels did to him something similar to what they want to do to Gabriel now.

He doesn't remember working on the universe with Saraqael.

He remembers being in the Great War, but not battling right beside Furfur.

He vaguely remembers discussing gravity with the other angels, but he doesn’t remember why it was a good idea.

He seems to know exactly what the amnestic Gabriel is going through (the empty house metaphor, the physical pain of trying to remember etc.)

Crowley is hiding a huge trauma and it becomes really obvious how hurt and lonely he really is.

In S1-5 we learn Crowley was tortured by being thrown into a pool of boiling sulfur, just because he dared to ask a few questions and make suggestions. Heaven is cruel beyond all measure! (But because of their chronic lack of communication I doubt Aziraphale knows exactly how much Crowley suffered both physically and mentally.)

At the end of the Ijob episode in season 2 he laughs at the distraught Aziraphale because he knows what it’s really like to have fallen. The thought of someone like Aziraphale going to Hell is ridiculous to him. And he wouldn’t wish something so terrible on anybody anyway, especially not Aziraphale. He knows first hand what Heaven does to “traitors”.

He’s been tortured and kicked out of Heaven, but he doesn’t resent creation itself like the other demons do, quite the contrary. He often goes out of his way to help humans, even if it means punishment from Hell.

Because both Heaven and Hell are cruel and toxic, he decides he doesn’t want to be on any side in this eternal and pointless conflict. This, of course, leads him on a very, very lonely road.

Maybe this is why he (consciously or unconsciously) latches onto Aziraphale so much: He notices Aziraphale’s own doubts about the heavenly plan really early on. So he constantly encourages him to question his beliefs and own morals.

I don’t think he does it for overly selfish reasons, he just wants to show someone else that not everything is black and white and that Heaven’s plans are not always as good as they want to come across. But of course he also doesn’t want to be all alone anymore.

Aziraphale:

Aziraphale is, first and foremost, a guardian, a protector. But we can’t forget he is also a warrior and a leader.

In the beginning he was wielding a flaming sword, in S1-5 he is supposed to lead the heavenly troops into battle, in 1941 we learn he owns and knows how to use a gun. In S1-6 he is willing to shoot the Antichrist (who is in the body of a child I might add!!), but Madame Tracey stops him.

He likes spending his time helping others and indulging in his quirky little hobbies, but if he needs to, he steps up and becomes a leader (e.g. the stand-off in S2-6 when the demons and angels shout at each other and he takes control of the situation).

Aziraphale embodies many positive core values: Love, loyalty, politeness, kindness, forgiveness - which sometimes lets him come across as naive. He is also a big people pleaser.

In Season 2 we once again see how much Aziraphale values and loves humanity (more than we deserve tbh). His heart is so big and full of love for them. He is his best self when he can do good for humans and he thrives off it. The thought of innocent people, especially children dying is really the only thing that ever convinces him to go against Heaven’s rules/orders (seen in the entirety of season 1 and in season 2 in the Ijob and graverobber episodes).

But because of these core values he sometimes acts pretty holier-than-thou and hypocritical: He tends to try to make others do the dirty work so that he can wash his hands of responsibility.

We also learn that he sometimes abuses his heavenly powers to get what he wants. I mean, organizing a ball itself is a very wholesome idea, but he literally manipulates everyone’s clothes, feelings and behaviours, making them do or feel things they wouldn’t normally do in this situation. Nina is the one affected by this the most: She just got dumped and is sad and angry, but Aziraphale’s magic doesn’t allow her to feel those very valid emotions. He only means to do good, but ultimately he forces his will on the participants of the ball. And he doesn’t even realize it! This is not okay.

There is this one very meaningful line in Season 1 where Aziraphale says: "You go too fast for me, Crowley". And it really shows in every aspect of his personality and character design.

Aziraphale always wears similar, familiar clothes and barely changes his hairstyle over the centuries. Crowley on the other hand looks completely different in each time period we see him. Crowley lives in the present, goes with the time, Aziraphale lives in the past, can’t catch up.

No matter how often Heaven disappoints and mistreats him, he still desperately clings to the idea that their plans and institution are good at their core. Even after more than 6000 years Aziraphale is still so obsessed with the idea of good vs. evil, Heaven vs. Hell and to an extent even Aziraphale vs. Crowley. Yes, the two have become visibly closer and more familiar with each other since season 1, but Aziraphale still thinks in the good side vs. the bad side ("my people" vs. "your people", “Of course you said no to Hell, you [not “THEY”!!] are the bad guys!”) absolute, whereas Crowley has distanced himself from both sides long ago and only wants to be with Aziraphale.

Besides their lack of communication this is their biggest problem: Aziraphale can’t accept Crowley for what he is - or is not anymore.

First there is some sort of resentment and caution towards this fallen angel, of course. But Aziraphale wouldn’t be Aziraphale if his big loving heart held onto those feelings for long. He quickly sees that Crowley isn’t purely evil as demons are supposed to be. He likes and WANTS to see the good in everything and everyone.

Aziraphale begins to enjoy Crowley’s company over the centuries and eventually trusts him completely. But due to his indoctrination by Heaven he still unconsciously believes that Crowley, as an evil demon, is beneath him, Aziraphale, who is a righteous and morally superior angel. And while he has compassion and sympathy for Crowley and his terrible fate - he also somewhat pities him. (And being pitied is certainly nothing Crowley wants.)

This is the reason he is so incredibly happy about the thought that he could give Crowley his angel status back. As sad as it is to see how little Aziraphale understands Crowley after all those millenia, it feels completely in-character why he wants Crowley to be an angel again. He sees that there is still so much good left of the former angel he admired so much. He witnessed how brilliant Crowley used to be, an angel who loved creating and gazed at the universe with such exaltation. How happy he was, how bright, how enthusiastic in what he was doing!

This plays right into Metatron’s hands in the last episode.

Early in the season Crowley is offered a huge promotion in Hell if he finds Gabriel. And Crowley doesn’t even consider it for a single second - even though he hates Gabriel (He still clearly remembers the "Shut your stupid mouth and die" and all the other horrible things). When Aziraphale is offered the new position as Supreme Archangel he hesitates at first, but as soon as Metatron suggests reinstating Crowley to angelic status, he agrees in delight. Aziraphale thinks now they wouldn't have to be separated, they could even be together officially and it wouldn’t be reprehensible anymore because they’d now both be angels, both on the “good” side. They’d finally be equals and could even do good together, change the system.

So of course, from Aziraphale’s perspective, making Crowley an angel again would solve all of their problems (or what he perceives as problems). He, Aziraphale, wouldn't have to have a bad conscience anymore for spending time with someone who should be a mortal enemy. He could finally “fix” Crowley, make him truly good again. But of course it backfires horribly.

Their relationship:

As much as I loved the funny banter, the wholesome and adorable slice-of-life moments, this season made one thing really obvious to me: There is a big power-imbalance (for the lack of a better word) between them in their relationship.

As far as we've seen, Crowley is almost always the one who gives, Aziraphale is almost always the one who takes. When Aziraphale wants something (e.g. protect Gabriel, take the Bentley to Edinburgh, have Crowley take care of the bookshop in his absence, organize a dance etc.), Crowley initially refuses - but in the end always gives in to what Aziraphale wants.

Aziraphale is very outgoing, has a whole little community with the vendors in his street, actively mingles with humans and has hobbies (reading, collecting books, eating at fine restaurants, listening to music, practicing magic, going on little detective adventures etc.). What I’m saying is: Aziraphale has a life for himself, even after becoming a persona-non-grata in Heaven.

Crowley on the other hand... He either goes along with what Aziraphale does/wants or sleeps in his car (and takes care of his plants I guess). That's pretty much it. He doesn’t get any new tasks from Hell and only communicates with Shax on occasion when she brings him his mail or random news. He is so isolated from Hell, Heaven and Earth that literally his only reason for existing at this point seems to be Aziraphale. He practically has no ambitions or life of his own. Aziraphale always lets Crowley be his rescuer because it makes Crowley happy. But isn’t it sad that Crowley is only ever happy when he can protect and be around Aziraphale? Crowley’s whole life revolves around him and nothing else. This is not healthy!

Think back to season 1 when the bookshop burns down and Crowley thinks he’s lost Aziraphale forever. He is a mess, he screams and cries and breaks down. It was only for a couple of hours, but he’s experienced what a life without his one true friend is like and the loss hits him so hard, it hurts even us as an audience!

And the worst thing: I don't think either of them really notice all that - because they don't TALK! Nina and Maggie were so right: The two idiots never really talk to each other about their true thoughts and feelings.

There is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding of each other's needs because of that:

Aziraphale is internally conflicted about what he wants (be a good angel of Heaven vs. be with the enemy, an "evil" demon).

Crowley knows exactly what he wants (to be with and ONLY with Aziraphale), but he can’t muster up the courage to say it. After all, the last time he spoke freely about his thoughts, he was branded a traitor, tortured and cast out by Heaven.

So they constantly fail to find a solution that both of them are happy with:

Both in Season 1 and 2 Crowley asks Aziraphale to leave everything behind and run away with him, not acknowledging Aziraphale's undying love for and loyalty to humankind. And he gets rejected for it both times.

In S2-6 Aziraphale asks Crowley to come to Heaven with him, not acknowledging how Heaven has hurt Crowley, not accepting him for who he is. Instead he wants to fix him. Over the years he has also become so used to Crowley always being there for him, he takes his help for granted. So when Crowley actually stands his ground for once and refuses to do what Aziraphale wants, it shocks Aziraphale to his core. He’s never been rejected like that.

They aren’t humans, they are both ageless, sex- and genderless, asexual, otherworldly beings, so human relationship standards don’t apply to them. We can also see that in Gabriel’s and Beelzebubs relationship. Their love is something emotional, not physical. They don’t kiss or even hug, they just look at each other and sing "Everyday" - their personal love song - before they go off together.

Crowley and Aziraphale have spent so much time away from Heaven and Hell and lead almost human-like lives on Earth. So in a desperate, last ditch effort Crowley chooses to show his emotions in a very physical, human way, a way that beings like them wouldn’t normally do. But it’s his very last chance to make Aziraphale understand. So he kisses him. It’s an angry, sad, messy, utterly unpleasant kiss, it’s painful to look at.

Aziraphale doesn’t kiss back, his hands are erratic. He is so torn. His heart and his brain tell him two different things. He needs Crowley, but Crowley refuses to come to Heaven with him.

And what is the first thing that comes to Aziraphale’s mind after the kiss? “I forgive you!” Because that’s what he’s good at, right? Forgiveness. He told Maggie that in the first episode of the season. I don’t know what exactly he wants to forgive and I’m not sure he knows himself.

When they part they’re both in emotional agony, they both feel betrayed. Crowley storms out, but still waits outside his car. He still has this tiny bit of hope left that Aziraphale will come with him after all. He only gets in and drives off once he sees the doors to Heaven close behind Aziraphale and Metatron.

Metatron’s plan

I read some theories that Metatron poisoned Aziraphale’s coffee, but I really, REALLY hope that this isn’t true. It would take away all the gravity of Aziraphale’s decision if he is just drugged to go along with Metatron and comes to his senses once the drug wears off. That would be boring and lame!

I also don’t think that Crowley and Aziraphale switch appearances again as they did in Season 1: Clearly Metatron would be able to see through the disguise, he is much more powerful than the angels after all.

No, I think Metatron cleverly manipulates Aziraphale by giving him the opportunity (or rather the illusion thereof) to make changes in Heaven with Crowley at his side. Aziraphale is so convinced that Crowley would be full of joy and gratitude at the prospect of becoming an angel again. He once again fails to understand that this is the exact opposite of what Crowley wants.

Metatron on the other hand appears to know Crowley much better in that regard. He remembers how powerful Crowley is and how far he fell for asking the wrong questions. He loathes Crowley and would never want him in a position of power in Heaven ever again. So from the outset Metatron knows that Crowley would not agree to become an angel again, that’s why he makes that specific offer to Aziraphale in the first place. It’s his clever way to make the two fall out with each other, to separate them and still win Aziraphale over for his plan.

I just wonder what his real goal is here. Michael or Uriel seem like a much more logical choice for Supreme Archangel if he really only wants to go through with the next Armageddon. That can’t be everything, right? He knows that Aziraphale actively worked on preventing the first Armageddon. Why would he think Aziraphale would now be on board for the second one? Metatron can’t underestimate Aziraphale that much, right? He’s way too cunning to believe that Aziraphale is weak-minded and gullible.

I mean, I’m not too versed in religious mythology, but doesn’t the Second Coming of Christ mean Judgement Day and that God’s kingdom takes over the world after smiting all enemies? That doesn’t sound like something Aziraphale wants (especially the smiting of all enemies which would include Crowley). So why does he still agree to go with Metatron after learning about this???

Does Aziraphale think he can outsmart Metatron and all the other high-ranking angels and avert the end of the world when he’s in a position of power? I mean, he is intelligent, he must have a plan after hearing about the Second Coming, right? That would at least somewhat explain his very weird and uncanny smile during the credit roll. I just don’t know what to think about all this.

My best guess is that Aziraphale will first try to undermine Metatron and speak to the Almighty Themselves (something he already wanted to do in season 1 but was denied), and also to make positive reforms in Heaven. But Metatron sees this coming of course. To make Aziraphale his obedient puppet he will simply threaten to erase Crowley from the Book of Life should Aziraphale ever dare to step out of line.

Crowley never told Aziraphale about what he and Muriel found out in Heaven - that Michael & Co. were actively planning Armageddon 2.0 before Gabriel went renegade. But now Crowley can’t do anything to help prevent it because he knows that Aziraphale is completely at Metatron’s mercy.

I’m dying to see how this will all play out, but at this moment I’m just confused and unsure about all of this.

So what do I want/expect from season 3?

I want Crowley to overcome his trauma, his pain, his trust issues, all the rejection and loss he faced. I want him to be able to be himself: Free, loved, respected, cared for, accepted. I want him to live a happy life with, but not live FOR Aziraphale. I want him to make other meaningful connections. Maybe with Muriel? She is the only other kind and good-hearted angel we see in the show and a friendship would benefit both of them greatly in my opinion.

I want Aziraphale to fight for Crowley, to protect him for once. When they meet again I want him to do the stupid apology dance for three hours. I want him to finally accept Crowley as his best friend, his soulmate, his true love, his equal. I want him to take Crowley’s glasses off, look him in the eyes and then be the one to lean in for a kiss. A kiss that isn’t forceful and desperate, but heartfelt and genuine.

As for the plot of season 3… I’d really like to see a flashback of the often mentioned Great War between the angels and soon-to-be-demons. I’d also like characters from season 1 to make a cameo appearance if possible. Apart from that I don’t have any predictions or big ideas (as I said before, still very confused about Metatron’s plan).

I will put my faith in Neil Gaiman and Wait and See (TM) what he ultimately comes up with. :’)

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens spoilers #karuuhnia writes

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maboroshi-no · 5 months

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Hamefura Movie Novel Chapter 4 Summary

I am currently reading the light of the novel of the upcoming Hamefura movie and will write summaries as I read.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1: The Foreign Merchant Caravan

Chapter 2: The Emissaries From Mutlaq

Chapter 3: Food Supplies

Chapter 4: Encounter

Katarina fell asleep while thinking hard about how to help Aaqil.

Before the Welcome Party

The next morning, Katarina wakes up and continues thinking about how to help Aaqil. Doing so, she absentmindedly nods whenever her father, her mother, and Keith tell her something.

Before she knows it, she has been taken to the castle all prepped up with makeup and hair done.

After a while, Katarina realizes that she is in the castle and gets confused. Keith sighs. He had the feeling she wasn't listening at all.

Keith explains that they have been called to attend the welcome party of the Mutlaq emissaries. There will only be the royals and the nobles close to them at this party.

The welcome party is held a few days after the Mutlaq emissaries have arrived, but it can't be helped since they arrived earlier than expected. And because of this, the party was prepared in a hurry.

If Katarina hadn't remembered about the otome game, she would have been happy to meet foreigners, talk to them, and eat delicious food. But since she has remembered, she knows their objective. They didn't come to have relations with another country, but to retrieve their sacred beast. And after they do, a tragedy will happen. She can't enjoy this party. She must do all she can for Aaqil and the others.

Keith has said that there were royals among the emissaries. Based on the game, it may be Aaqil. In that case, she should be able to meet Aaqil at this welcome party. Once she does, she should try to probe him for information about the sacred beast. If it goes well, she might even get information regarding the seal.

Katarina feels lucky that she will be able to meet Aaqil today after all. Piyo would be jealous if he knew.

Katarina hits upon a realization. She and Aaqil met each other as a town girl and a caravan member. Under these identities, they could interact without restraint. But once Aaqil learns that she is a Sorcier noble, he might act hostile towards her. And in that case, she won't be able to get any information from him.

Katarina panics about the situation.

The Welcome Party

It is time. Keith escorts Katarina to the party.

The welcome party is held in a wide space where people can dance. Katarina has been there so many times but it is the first time she is so nervous. She would rather avoid meeting Aaqil here and just return to the merchant caravan as a town girl afterward. She doesn't want Aaqil to act hostile towards her. If he rejects her, she won't be able to help him.

Katarina nervously glances around her. Looking at her, Keith tries to reassure her: she doesn't need to be nervous since the Mutlaq people are not fussy about manners. She will just need to greet them normally and then she will be able to enjoy the buffet. Keith seems to have misunderstood her nervousness, but she nods. She really doesn't want to greet Aaqil.

Katarina tries to reassure herself. Aaqil is not necessarily at the party. And if she finds him, she will just need to hide so that he won't find her.

Katarina and Aaqil Meet

Geordo walks up to Katarina with his best smile. He tells her that she has arrived at the right time since he would like to introduce her to someone.

Geordo starts introducing Katarina to someone. Then "he", appears before her. A pretty boy dressed in gorgeous clothes. Upon setting her eyes on him, Katarina freezes. He, too, widens his eyes for an instant. She doesn't know if they are gazing at each other for a long time or an instant.

The boy introduces himself as Chihab Waaqid Aaqil Khalif. Aaqil doesn't look the same as yesterday night at all. He has an artificial smile on his face and he introduces himself with a long name. Katarina is shocked but she manages to give a ladylike bow.

Geordo and Aaqil talk about something but Katarina can't hear them.

Katarina feels upset after Aaqil has looked at her like they were complete strangers.

Geordo and Aaqil are walking away. Katarina runs out of the venue and hides in a corner of the hallway.

Katarina is upset over Aaqil being possibly hostile to her now. Even though they had fun talking and have become friends.

Aaqil has looked at her like she was a stranger and she has felt rejection from him. She may not be able to do anything for him anymore. Awful things await him and she wants to prevent them so badly.

Katarina raises her head. She has been able to prevent her doom, so she should be able to prevent Aaqil's doom.

Katarina and Aaqil Have a Talk

Katarina sees Aaqil going out of the venue. She silently chases after him.

Aaqil stops in front of the garden.

Aaqil: I know you are following me. What do you want?

Katarina appears in front Aaqil.

Aaqil is looking at her with the same cold eyes he had on their first meeting.

Aaqil: Did you approach me from the start to probe me regarding our objective?

Aaqil has said this with a voice as cold as his eyes. Katarina's chest hurts. She realizes that Aaqil thinks she has approached him to deceive him.

Katarina: Not at all. It was a coincidence that I went to the merchant caravan.

Katarina has said this while looking straight into Aaqil's eyes. Aaqil makes a wry face.

Aaqil: A noble lady would go to a merchant caravan for commoners? There's no way it can be true.

Katarina: It totally can! I often go to town to have fun. Like, I buy food there, I buy romance novels and stuff like that. And I also go to farm villages to study.

Katarina has said this in a decisive tone. Aaqil looks surprised.

Aaqil: No, normally, nobles, and especially the fiancée of a prince, wouldn't go to towns so readily. By the way, why do you even go to farm villages?

Katarina: I cultivate fields, so I go to farm villages to learn how to develop them. It's very useful.

Aaqil: ...Fields?

Katarina: Yes, fields! I have cultivated fields in the garden of my house and at the academy. I have graduated from the academy, so my juniors have taken over the ones there. I still plan on working on the ones at home, so I study a lot.

Aaqil: Is it some kind of investigation for the development of your country?

Katarina: No, it's just my hobby.

Aaqil: ...

Aaqil has gotten silent. Katarina doesn't know if it is a good silence or a bad silence.

Aaqil: ...Why did you hide your social status?

Katarina: Because if I told you I was a noble lady, you and the others would fuss about me, don't you think?

Aaqil: Just because of that?

Katarina: Just because of that.

Katarina has said this decisively. Aaqil makes a big sigh.

Aaqil: I feel stupid for getting wary for nothing.

Aaqil has reverted to his usual self. Katarina feels deeply relieved.

Aaqil: I see, it was a coincidence. I'll believe you for the time being. You really don't seem like the type who can act naturally while lying.

Katarina wonders if it is a compliment.

Katarina: Y-Yeah...

Katarina nods.

Katarina: And so, why this "Aaqil"?

Katarina has remembered the game, so she already knows the reason. Still, she wants to hear it from Aaqil's mouth.

Aaqil is silent for a while, then...

Aaqil: I also thought you would fuss about me since I am an emissary from Mutlaq.

Katarina may be dense, but even she can tell that this is not the real reason. She wouldn't believe it even if she hadn't remembered about the game.

Katarina stares at Aaqil in silence.

Aaqil: I guess even you wouldn't swallow that.

Aaqil chuckles. Katarina wonders how stupid he thinks she is. She shows him an angry outraged face.

Aaqil: No, I just thought that, since you're so honest, maybe it would work. Don't be so outraged.

Aaqil chuckles again. Then he lowers his eyes.

Aaqil: I have some circumstances. I can't talk about it in detail but I won't cause you trouble. So please continue to pretend that you don't know me, and then I will disappear from your sight right away.

From Aaqil's sad eyes, Katarina can tell he has no intention to talk. If it were the "her" from yesterday, she would have backed away. She wouldn't have cornered someone who told her with sad eyes that he clearly didn't want her to step further. But if she backed away here, she would probably not be able to see Aaqil ever again.

After he brings back the sacred beast to his country, he will lose the caravan people, and control something that will drain his life. Maybe the heroine who is supposed to save him will appear at some point but she doesn't want such a terrible thing to happen to him. She can't just abandon the caravan people, who have welcomed her so cheerfully.

Katarina Tells Aaqil About Her "Power"

Right now, Katarina needs to probe Aaqil for information about the sacred beast and ensure he won't bring it back to Mutlaq. But what should she tell him? She can't think of anything that sounds good. How should she ask it? How should she extract the information from him? What if she talks to him about the content of the game that she saw in her dream? No, he would probably think she is crazy.

Katarina: The dream...

Aaqil: The dream?

Katarina is so panicked that she has voiced her thoughts.

Katarina: Ah, umm...

Katarina tries to come up with an excuse, but she takes a defiant attitude.

Katarina: Yesterday evening, I had a dream. You took something from Sorcier back to Mutlaq, and because of that, something horrible happened to you.

Katarina has talked about the content of the game while blurring some details.

Aaquil freezes. Then he looks at Katarina with suspicious eyes. Katarina thinks he is probably suspecting her of being a spy.

Aaqil: Is it the power of Sorcier's magic?

Aaqil doesn't seem to be suspicious of Katarina. It appears he doesn't know much about Sorcier since his first time here. He only seems to know that Sorcier people use a wondrous power called "magic". He probably thinks that Sorcier people also have the ability to see the future since they can seal creatures.

Katarina decides to take advantage of it.

Katarina: That's right. It isn't public information but I have the ability to see the future in my dreams.

Katarina fully rides the tide. She feels bad for lying to Aaqil but she can't think of any other way to stop him.

Aaqil: Does magic have this kind of capability?

Aaqil has muttered this with wonder.

Katarina and Aaqil Talk About His Plans

Aaqil suggests they talk in the parlor provided to them, Mutlaq emissaries.

Katarina feels relieved that Aaqil believes the spur-of-the-moment lie that she has uttered. Even if it wasn't all a lie.

When Aaqil and Katarina reach the parlor, Aaqil warily looks around and invites her to enter.

Aaqil asks Katarina how much she saw in her dream. He stares right into her eyes.

Katarina hasn't thought so far. To make up for any blunders further on, she pretends she hasn't seen everything and it was all fragmentary.

Aaqil asks her if what she told him earlier is all she saw. Katarina hesitantly replies that she saw him controlling the creature that came out of the thing that he took from Sorcier. Then she stops, unable to say the rest.

Katarina can't bring herself to tell him that the caravan people were all killed and only one remained to be used as hostage. Fiction is one thing, but this kind of thing is too cruel in real life.

Aaqil sighs and tells her he knows what will happen. Katarina is surprised and wonders if Aaqil knows about the game after all.

Aaqil sadly tells her that he knows that, once he brings the creature back, he will be coerced into controlling it, and then the King will keep using him as a tool.

Katarina is surprised. Aaqil seems to know that the King will coerce him into controlling the sacred beast but he doesn't know that the caravan people will get killed.

Aaqil tells her that he is fine with being a tool if it means that the caravan people will be able to live freely and smile. He shows an awkward smile.

Aaqil seems to believe the Mutlaq King's words promising him that he would set the caravan people free if he brought back the sacred beast. Even though the King didn't mean any of it.

In the game, Aaqil didn't trust people at all because of all of the horrible things that happened in his past. But this Aaqil is different: he spends time with the caravan people whom he considers family, the caravan leader along with the older people dote on him, and he gets along with his friends. As a result of this, he trusts people. While he considers the King as a stranger, he doesn't think he would betray him so cruelly. And that's why he was deceived.

Katarina remembers the words of the caravan leader: he asked her to get along with Aaqil. Because Aaqil has grown up loved by the caravan people, he has become such a gentle and big-hearted boy who will even believe her.

Katarina already found his doom cruel when she was playing the game. It would be way too cruel if it happened in reality.

Katarina: You can't do that, Aaqil! You can't return to Mutlaq! Don't bring back the sacred beast, Aaqil!

Katarina has shouted this. She feels like her heart will burst open because of the cruel reality. Tears overflow from her eyes.

Aaqil is surprised that she even knows about the sacred beast. Then he notices Katarina's tears.

Aaqil: Hey, what are you crying about? I'm just someone you got a little involved with. What a softie.

Aaqil has said this with an awkward expression.

Aaqil decides to tell Katarina about his past since she seems to know most of his plan already.

Aaqil is a royal, but only one among many. His father and blood relatives have always felt like strangers to him, so he was always alone. Because he had a powerful animal-controlling power, he often received orders that he blandly executed. This was how he passed his days.

Katarina stays silent. Even though she already knows his backstory from the game, it feels so heavy when she hears it directly from him. Aaqil talks about it like it is nothing, but they definitely were terrible days.

Aaqil tells her about the day he saw the show of the caravan people. They were making such bright faces that he felt jealous. As a result, he started secretly peeping at them.

Katarina is surprised to hear some details she didn't know. But she is confused about the peeping part. She wonders if Aaqil might have committed some improper deeds and asks him to explain himself. Aaqil smiles.

Aaqil explains that he peeped at the caravan people because he wanted to see them so badly. Then the caravan leader would find him right away, and instead of scolding him, he would drag him to have dinner together, and once they were finished, he would ask him to come back again. Before he knew it, he had become part of the family.

Aaqil has said it with a happy expression.

Aaqil continues. The caravan people taught him about human feelings. If he hadn't met them, he would have probably remained an emotionless tool.

Aaqil explains that "Mutlaq caravan" or "state-managed" are just words. The country doesn't do anything for the caravan. On the contrary, they monitor them and snatch away all their earnings. That's why no matter how much they earn, they remain poor, and they can't do what they want either. They're like slaves owned by the country.

Katarina feels sad upon hearing this. Mutlaq appears to be a more horrible country than she thought.

Aaqil explains that if things go well, the caravan will be free. And then, they will definitely be happy since they have talent and popularity.

Aaqil has said this so happily. Katarina feels sad: Aaqil hasn't included himself in this bright future. On top of this, it won't happen, no matter what he says. If she doesn't stop him, Aaqil will lose everything.

Katarina asks Aaqil if everyone is okay with him carrying all of the burden.

No matter how she thinks about it, Katarina doesn't think that the caravan leader, who considers Aaqil as his own child, and Qumiit, who seems to be his close friend, would be okay with this.

Aaqil tells Katarina that he hasn't told everyone because they would be against it. He asks her to keep it a secret from them too.

Aaqil seems to have decided everything alone.

Katarina: No way! You don't tell them anything and then deceitfully part with them! There's no way they can be happy and smile after that!

Katarina has said this with a strong tone.

Aaqil: But what else can I do?! At this rate, if I don't bring back the sacred beast, I don't know what kind of ordeal they will have to suffer!

Aaqil has replied to her with the same tone.

Katarina realizes that the caravan people will also suffer even if Aaqil doesn't bring back the sacred beast. She thought she only needed to convince Aaqil not to bring it back and everything would be fine, but she was wrong. Mutlaq, or rather its King, is just so awful. She feels sorry for the caravan people, who will need to return to Mutlaq. They would be so much better if they stayed in Sorcier.

Katarina suggests that Aaqil and the others don't return to Mutlaq and just live in Sorcier or even any other place than Mutlaq.

Katarina thinks to herself that, like this, they will naturally fade out from the story. It is such a great idea.

Aaqil thinks it would be wonderful if they could, but unfortunately, it is impossible. Because they are monitored by Mutlaq royals.

Katarina is surprised to learn that one of them is monitoring them. She didn't find anyone like that in the caravan, so it must be among the emissaries at the castle.

Aaqil explains that the ones monitoring them are not people, but animals. Royals are controlling animals and using them to monitor them. The animals are keeping watch to pick up any betrayal. If the caravan people make a suspicious move, the royals will send troops and use animals to purge them.

Katarina is at a loss for words.

Aaqil explains that since they have gone far away this time, they are especially monitored, whether it is in the sky, inside their luggage, or even in the crevices in the area.

Hearing this, Katarina startles and looks around.

Aaqil reassures her: there are no animals watching them here. Katarina is surprised and asks him if he can tell whether there are animals watching. Aaqil says yes since these animals are different from the ones who are not controlled. Even so, there are many of them and he can't do anything against those above. So there's nothing he can do.

From this, Katarina realizes that Aaqil can't run away. He'll suffer if he returns empty-handed, but he'll also suffer if he runs away. He has no choice but to bring back the sacred beast. She can't do anything. Katarina bits her lips.

Looking at her, Aaqil thanks her for thinking so hard for someone she has just met.

Katarina is so frustrated that she can't do anything for him.

Aaqil asks her if she has told anyone about the sacred beast or them. Katarina shakes her head. Aaqil asks her not to tell anyone then. He asks her not to worry because they will be gone soon.

Aaqil turns away.

Katarina: ...Aaqil. Don't get involved with the sacred beast. Stay away from it as much as possible.

Katarina has told him this after seeing his back burdened with such a heavy load. Even though she knew he wouldn't listen to her.

Aaqil awkwardly raises his hand and leaves.

Katarina Is Frustrated by Her Powerlessness

Katarina returns to the welcome party. She is still upset and she is feeling unwell as a result. She looks completely pale, so she is allowed to go home ahead.

Katarina goes home with a worried Anne. While in the carriage, Katarina keeps thinking hard of a way to help Aaqil. But in the end, she is completely powerless.

Once she reaches home, Katarina heads straight to her room. She looks back at the paper where she wrote the information about the game, looking for a hint to save Aaqil. But whether he brings back the sacred beast or not, he and the others won't be safe.

Katarina wonders if it is the influence of the game. After all, in the game, it was because Aaqil was hurt that he crossed the continent, met the heroine, and fell in love with her. It would be so cruel if it were the case. There may be people who love the idea of saving a handsome boy with an unfortunate past, but in reality, it means that this gentle boy and these good people have to suffer because of it.

Just thinking about it, Katarina feels a boundless rage welling up inside her. Katarina already resented the company for the same things they did in Fortune Lover. If she could, she would march into the company and hurled insults at the scenario writers.

Katarina Ask Piyo for Help

Without thinking, Katarina vigorously hits her desk. Because of the noise, Piyo gets startled and chirps from inside the basket. Katarina apologizes to Piyo for startling him.

Katarina gets close to the basket. Piyo hops in her hand. Feeling Piyo's warm fluffy feathers calms Katarina a little.

Piyo has sensed that she isn't like usual. He gives her an anxious look. Looking at him, Katarina wonders if Piyo might actually be smart. He seems to understand what she says and he seems to look at people's expressions. Pochi is very smart (even if he doesn't listen to her at times) and she has been interacting with Piyo the same way. Piyo might actually be very smart.

Katarina tells Piyo that his beloved Aaqil is in trouble. He has to bring back a sacred beast to his country but it is a dangerous creature. And if he doesn't bring it back, the country will make him suffer. While looking at Piyo's eyes, she asks him what she should do.

Piyo jumps down her hand and walks towards her bookshelf. Piyo looked like he understood what she said, but it may have been too difficult for him after all.

Katarina looks back at the paper and starts thinking. Then after a while, Piyo drops a book from the shelf. Katarina is about to scold him for pulling pranks, but then, Piyo keeps jumping on the book as if urging her to do something.

Katarina is confused about why Piyo is jumping. Piyo keeps flapping his wings and pointing at the book. Katarina asks him if he wants her to read the book. Piyo chirps in affirmation. Katarina replies that she is busy and will read the book to him later.

Katarina is about to put away the book, but Piyo fiercely pecks at her hand.

In the end, Katarina gives up and complies with Piyo's wish. She thought Piyo was smart, but he doesn't seem to understand human hearts after all.

Katarina Gets a Lead Toward a Solution

Katarina starts reading the book.

It is titled "The Cursed Dragon and the Saving Maiden". It seems to be a fantasy novel where a cursed dragon and the girl who has become his friend search for a way to lift his curse. In the end, after his curse has been lifted, the dragon turns into a human and marries the girl. It is a good romance novel, but Katarina wonders if it is an interesting story for a chick. Especially since no chick appears in it.

Katarina thinks a bit about the story and realizes that it is similar to Aaqil's route in the game. Katarina puts away the book and rushes to the paper containing the game's information. She reads the part about what happens after Aaqil and the heroine's love has developed. She has been so fixated about the part about Aaqil's past that she didn't notice.

All while controlling the sacred beast draining his life, Aaqil let the heroine into his heart and gradually got charmed by her. He had kept on living with the intention of taking the rampaging sacred beast with him when he died. He only had several years left to live at this rate.

Aaqil tried to use this reason to push away the heroine but she didn't give up. She lifted the curse on the sacred beast that was draining Aaqil's life. Once the sacred beast had regained its senses, Aaqil was freed from the task of forcibly controlling it. He didn't get his life drained anymore either. Then, he and the heroine had their happy ending.

The sacred beast that Aaqil must bring back is actually cursed. Aaqil will need to forcibly control it, and while doing so, his life will get drained. And then the tragedy will happen.

So, in other words, if they lift the sacred beast's curse here in Sorcier, even if Aaqil returns to Mutlaq, nothing will happen. In addition to this, it seems like the sacred beast has become Aaqil's friend at the end of the game. If Aaqil becomes friends with a sacred beast that can destroy a country, even the Mutlaq King won't be able to oppose him. In short, if they can lift the sacred beast's curse, then it will settle everything.

Katarina raises her face and notices Piyo right next to her. He chirps triumphantly. Katarina asks him if, by any chance, he showed the book to tell her a plan that would settle everything. Piyo chirps in confirmation.

Katarina can hardly believe that a chick like him can read characters, or that he can come up with a plan based only on her simple explanation, without even knowing the situation. While full of questions, she believes that Piyo did convey this solution to her. Piyo is a mysterious unidentified chick who suddenly appeared in front of her one day. Katarina has the feeling he is not a normal chick.

Katarina thanks Piyo and assures him that she will do her best. Piyo chirps in encouragement. Katarina strongly nods her head.

Mental Meeting

Katarina starts a mental meeting.

The Katarinas will think of a way to lift the curse on the sacred beast.

A Katarina suggests tearing it off Aaqil like they tore the black snakes off Keith. But they don't know if the sacred beast will entwine itself around Aaqil.

A Katarina invites the others to stop joking around and think about it seriously. Another Katarina replies that they are not joking around since they don't know anything about the curse. In the game, it was only written that the sacred beast was rampaging. It might not be related to Keith's snake case after all.

A Katarina thinks that "sealed in Sorcier" and "cursed" smell like dark magic. The other Katarinas agree.

A Katarina asks the others how the heroine lifted the curse. Another Katarina replies that she just held out her hand and then some light came out of it. It may have been magic.

A Katarina remembers that in the game, it was said that the heroine's mother came from the country of magic, on another continent. She gave birth to the heroine but she knew she couldn't raise her because she was the fruit of her love with a person of different status.

From this, the Katarinas deduce that the heroine's mother actually came from Sorcier. And in that case, her daughter probably possessed magic. And if a light came out of her palm, then it was most likely light magic.

The Katarinas are thrilled that being isekaied enabled them to solve the mysteries of the game.

With this, it is clear that the curse can be lifted using light magic. And Katarina happens to be friends with the heroine of Fortune Lover, who is also the number one Wielder of Light in the country: Maria.

The Katarinas decide they will ask Maria for help. Maria will probably accept if they tell her Aaqil's circumstances.

A Katarina brings to attention that the curse will make the sacred beast rampage. Maria may be able to lift the curse, but it won't be easy for her.

A Katarina asks how the heroine did it. Another Katarina replies that Aaqil controlled the sacred beast to make it stay still. Another Katarina suggests doing the same then. But another Katarina reminds her that they can't let Aaqil take control of the sacred beast.

A Katarina asks what they can do to make the sacred beast stay still. Another Katarina suggests using magic. Another Katarina doubts her Earth Bump will help in any way.

A Katarina suggests asking everyone for help. Aaqil asked her not to tell anyone but it is definitely not something she can solve alone. And if she asks everyone for help, once they learn about Aaqil's situation, they won't abandon him even if it is another country's internal issue.

The Katarinas decide they shouldn't waste any time. They should contact Maria and the others and tell them she would like to talk about something. Tomorrow, she will talk with them and ask them for help.

After the mental meeting, Katarina immediately writes a letter to everyone.

Katarina will definitely break Aaqil's doom flag. She won't lose to the influence of the game. "Don't underestimate the tenacity of a villainess!"

Aaqil's POV

Aaqil Can't Help Thinking About Katarina's Words

Katarina: "...Aaqil. Aaqil, don't get involved with the sacred beast. Stay away from it as much as possible."

Aaqil can't get Katarina's words out of his head.

Aaqil was surprised when he learned that Katarina was a duke's daughter and the fiancée of a prince. For a moment, he suspected her to be a spy who approached him to probe him for information, but after seeing her simple-minded face, his suspicions disappeared at once.

Aaqil is surprised that Katarina can see the future in her dreams. There's a lot he doesn't know about Sorcier's magic, but he can't believe there is this kind of ability. This ability might be the reason why Katarina is engaged to a prince. Looking at it this way, he can rationalize why someone like her has become a prince's fiancée.

Aaqil wonders if Katarina will really leave him alone. She is so softhearted to the point worries so much about someone she has just met. Maybe she is the kind who can't help meddling.

Aaqil needs to leave Sorcier with the sacred beast fast so he won't cause trouble to her. And then, he will go back to being a tool used by the country.

No one knows except the King and his entourage, but Aaqil has the strongest ability in the country. From the moment he received the mission, he knew that once he brought back the sacred beast, he would be the one chosen to control it. Even so, he took the burden because the King told him he would set the caravan people free.

He was a problem child, but the caravan people took him in and cherished him as family. He would be fine with going back to being a tool if it meant they could become free.

Aaqil remembers Katarina's words. She told him there was no way the caravan people would be happy with his sacrifice. Her words pierced his heart. She was right. If the caravan people knew what would happen, they would do all they could to stop him. That's why, once they are back, he intends to go see the King alone. He will also leave a letter saying he wants to go back to his luxurious life as a royal. The caravan leader and Qumiit might doubt his words, but if they go to the royal palace, he won't meet them.

Aaqil wants everyone to live freely in another country. The caravan is full of talented people. They will probably spread their name right away as an amazing caravan. If such a rumor reaches the royal palace, he would be so happy.

Aaqil and Qumiit Discuss About the End of the Mission and After

Qumiit suddenly calls out to Aaqil. Aaqil was lost in thought, so he got startled.

Qumiit is dressed in female clothes since they are in the castle.

Qummit asks Aaqil if he is alright since he has seemed deep in his thoughts. He peers into Aaqil's face with a worried expression.

Aaqil lies and tells him he was just musing about how their mission will end soon. Qumiit tells him it is unusual coming from him. After all, they still need to take out "the thing".

Aaqil is amazed to see his longstanding friend knows him so well. But he can't have him notice anything.

Aaqil tells Qumiit that he has carefully confirmed that there was no coming and going in that place. It is probably some kind of storage room.

Aaqil has followed the presence of the sacred beast and localized the place where it is sealed. The room is locked but he can simply unlock it using a wire. If things go well, they will be able to unlock the room, go inside, take out the thing, and take it back to Mutlaq.

Qumiit asks Aaqil when he will start the operation. Aaqil replies he can't do it tonight since people will get even more suspicious of him if he goes there at night. He intends to do it tomorrow morning. He will go there while pretending to go on a walk, and then sneak inside. Qumiit wants to join him, but Aaqil refuses since they would stand out and it would be troublesome to come up with an excuse. Qumiit reluctantly accepts and asks him to be careful. Besides, there's the issue with the noble ladies.

By "noble ladies", Qumiit is referring to Katarina's friends, who watched the show and attended the closing party. They are also noble ladies and one of them is even engaged to a prince, like Katarina. Aaqil didn't meet them because he met Katarina early in the party, but Qumiit did. He met them while wearing female clothes and a veil on his face, and he changed his voice when talking to them. According to Qumiit, they didn't realize anything. The other caravan people didn't get found out either. Still, there is no guarantee things will go well next time. That's why, he has decided to leave Sorcier fast.

Aaqil has left the welcome party by pretending he wasn't well. He has kept secret that he knew Katarina and didn't talk to her so he won't get found out.

Qumiit probably thinks that Katarina is an average noble. He probably doesn't imagine that she is the fiancée of a prince and that she has a mysterious power. Unlike these noble ladies, Katarina doesn't look like a noble.

Qumiit asks Aaqil with sparkling eyes if they will really be free if the mission is a success. Aaqil says yes. Qumiit asks Aaqil what kinds of countries he would like to go to once they're free. Aaqil returns the question to him. Qumiit tells him he would like to go to a cold country to see the thing called "snow" falling from the sky. He has heard that "snow" is pure white, cold, and very beautiful. Aaqil agrees. Qumiit wonders if they can eat snow. He happily invites Aaqil to try eating snow together when they see it.

Aaqil painfully realizes that Qumiit naturally considers that he will be there once they are free.

After talking about the future, Aaqil and Qumiit each return to their assigned rooms.

Aaqil Retrieves the Sealed Beast

Aaqil goes to sleep early in preparation for tomorrow, but he can't sleep. Qumiit's sparkling eyes while he was talking about the future, and Katarina's words asking him not to get involved with the sacred beast, keep appearing in his mind.

The next morning, Aaqil goes outside early, pretending to go on a walk. He walks around the garden as always. The Sorcier servants recognize him but don't stick to him. They have led them to think that the emissaries and the princess are free-spirited and unruly people.

Aaqil has arrived at his destination. He makes sure there is no one around. He uses the wire he has prepared and easily opens the door. He looks around again and enters the building.

The room is full of dusty furnishings. As he has thought, it seems to be a storage room.

Things are going well so far. Aaqil fires himself up and starts searching for the sacred beast's presence. It was faint when he was in Mutlaq but here it gets stronger the closer he gets. Following the presence, he finally reaches a dusty box with mounted gems. He can tell that the sacred beast is sealed in there.

Aaqil softly touches the box. There doesn't seem to be any problem. He takes the box with both hands and holds it against his chest.

Aaqil has expected the box to give off an eerie feeling, but it actually gives him a nostalgic feeling. A mysterious feeling like he touched it before. Aaqil is confused about why he feels that way but guesses that it must be because of the presence overflowing from the box.

It is not the time to think about this. Aaqil clears his thoughts and puts the box in the bag he prepared. He has worked various measures in cases where the box would be big, but luckily it is way smaller than he thought. He feels relieved.

He just needs to bring the box back to Multaq and then everything will be over. Based on the books, only Sorcier magicians can break the seal, so he has approached a convenient and easy-to-handle noble who possesses magic. He will return to Mutlaq with them.

The King told Aaqil to unseal the sacred beast in Mutlaq. He explained that it was to prevent the Sorcier noble from realizing its grandeur and trying to get it back. Aaqil thinks it is rather to prevent Aaqil from taking control of it and using it to oppose him. The King is wary of this kind of thing.

The sacred beast is said to have mighty power but there are a lot of mysteries around it. Aaqil won't take any risk. He will ensure that the caravan people will be free.

Aaqil nonchalantly gets out of the storage room and returns to his assigned room. He feels relieved that he didn't get found out.

Now, Aaqil only needs to get out of the castle. He will most likely be checked upon leaving like he was upon entry, but during it, he will leave the box to the Sorcier noble cooperating with him. Then, he will only need to return to Mutlaq.

Katarina: "...Aaqil. Aaqil, don't get involved with the sacred beast. Stay away from it as much as possible."

Katarina's words resound in Aaqil's head. Aaqil shakes his head. He must forget them and leave fast before she starts meddling.

Katarina's POV

It is morning. Katarina couldn't sleep well because she had a lot in her head. She wishes she could stay in bed but she can't afford it.

Katarina has the feeling that Aaqil will make a move soon, but she doesn't know if he has already found the sacred beast or if he is still searching for it. In any case, she must hurry.

Katarina has contacted everyone to tell them she had something to talk about with them, and they have all accepted. She has also borrowed a room in the castle.

Katarina fires herself up and gets out of her room. She takes Piyo with her since he wants to come and has helped her come up with the solution. Piyo rides on her shoulder like always. Then, Keith complains, so she puts him in a basket.

Katarina has reached the castle. She doesn't feel any strange feelings: either Aaqil is not making any move, or he has already finished his mission and left. It is probably not the latter or there would be a more tense atmosphere. Things should still be okay.

Katarina and Keith head to the room that she has borrowed. Everyone is already there. As expected of her competent friends, they have come in advance. She feels a bit embarrassed to arrive late.

Geordo asks Katarina if she has summoned them to talk about her Multaq friend. Katarina is surprised he can tell since she hasn't mentioned it at all in her letter.

Geordo explains that he could tell there was something between her and the emissary representative based on her attitude yesterday. And when he asked Mary, she told him that the emissary representative was her close friend.

Katarina is amazed that Geordo has investigated this just because of her reaction at that moment.

Katarina confirms what Geordo said and tells everyone that Aaqil is in trouble. She explains that Aaqil has been ordered by his King to take back the sacred beast sealed by the Sorcier people. Some Multaq people have the ability to control animals and they use it to have the animals watch Aaqil and the others, so Aaqil can't go against his order. And once Aaqil returns to his country with the sacred beast, he will be ordered to control it.

While retelling Aaqil's story, Katarina realizes something.

Katarina was about to tell them that the sacred beast was cursed and that if Aaqil didn't control it, it would destroy Multaq. And that this curse was most likely dark magic, which meant it could be lifted with light magic.

But all this information comes from the otome game. Even Aaqil isn't aware of it. If she tells them, they will ask her how she knows and then she will be troubled. But she currently has great momentum, so she has to take advantage of it.

Katarina tells everyone the rest of the information by pretending she saw it in a dream. She uses the same excuse as with Aaqil. Once she finishes, everyone gives her dubious looks.

Geordo realizes she has stuck her neck in trouble again. He says with distant eyes that aside from Mutlaq wanting to retrieve a sealed sacred beast, everything including the curse and the destruction of Mutlaq comes from a dream.

Mary reminds Geordo that when Maria was kidnapped, Katarina saw in a dream the exact location where she was confined. Sophia seconds Mary.

Alan adds that Katarina seems to have for some reason a good intuition. Keith agrees with Alan.

Maria says with a firm look that she thinks Katarina has an amazing and special power.

Hearing this, Katarina feels bad since she doesn't have a special power, she just frantically played otome games in her past life.

Nicol remembers a record he read while investigating Mutlaq. It is an ancient record written by people who went to a faraway country with many deserts. This country appears to be Mutlaq.

Katarina is surprised that some Sorcier people went to Mutlaq.

Nicol adds that the record didn't mention whether the people went to Multaq only once or if they returned thereafter. But they wrote that the memento they brought back from there needed to be kept carefully. Katarina is shocked and asks about it. Nicol tells her it is most likely the thing in which the sacred beast is sealed.

A deep silence falls into the room.

Geordo concludes that they probably need to act on it.

Katarina feels relieved that her friends believe her. She thanks them and tells them she wants to help Aaqil and the caravan people. She can't do it alone, so she would like to ask for their help.

Katarina bows her head to her friends. They strongly accept.

Geordo asks Nicol if he knows where the memento is kept. Nicol replies that he doesn't know since it wasn't written in the document. It may have been kept at the beginning and then gone missing after some point. Geordo concludes that they must locate the memento first and then talk to the Mutlaq prince.

Geordo asks Nicol where the Mutlaq Prince is. Nicol calls someone outside the door. It is Raphael.

Katarina is surprised to see Raphael again. Nicol explains that he has asked Raphael to monitor the Mutlaq emissaries.

Following Nicol's request to the Ministry, Raphael has been monitoring the emissaries and thus knows where they are. Geordo asks him where the prince is. Before Raphael can answer, they hear a huge explosion.

#hamefura light novel #hamefura movie #hamefura #my next life as a villainess: all route lead to doom #katarina claes #keith claes #geordo stuart #aaqil #qumiit #mary hunt #sophia ascart #maria campbell #nicol ascart #alan stuart #piyo hamefura #raphael wolt

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