"See, I knew you'd approve. And I promise to bring anything I borrowed back in one piece."

Oh no, I broke her and she's speaking in the third person.

Okay, Halloween costume finished! Dressing as Illyana? No, that's preposterous. She's a friend. I'm completely unrelated hit video game character, Magik! (Did a lot of this costume come from Illy's closet? No comment.)

"I think freedom of speech is fundamentally important." (Ben says something) "Voice boxes were a mistake in evolutionary design."

One thing you have to appreciate about Ben Reilly is how consistent he is. It's not consistently good, but it is consistent.

not all humans are monsters just like not all mutants are heroes. doesn’t mean we destroy everyone.

Well, having a feral demon running around might throw a kink into quiet Netflix time, admittedly.

No training today, no obligations, and I'm taking a day off from my studies. It all sounds like a lot of not wearing pants and binging Netflix in the apartment for today.

My wardrobe has definitely become more colorful since the incident. I feel like part of me wants to instinctively be dressing in flowers, and this is the compromise.

"No, I understand. The Darkchylde. That's a real concern," she admitted. "But I'm also not a fragile flower here; if Illy needs me to get her back in line, I'm going to do what I have to for her."

She smiled, always comforted by that protective instinct of his. "I promise to be safe. Yu has given me very clear guidelines about demons and soul magic, and I follow those guidelines." Mostly. "And Illy wouldn't let anything bad happen to me in her realm."

"In the innocent sense. I think. Mostly. Like I said, there's a nymph haze hanging over a lot of my interactions. But she's been a wonderful person to talk magic with, and she's invited me to limbo, which I'm eager to take her up on."

Summer obliged to the stubby little beast, scratching the spot behind his ears. She sighed. "Who knows? We're all adults. We're living our lives, and I'm sure we'll iron out the details when we have time." She wasn't in a rush to have that conversation. "I've spent more time with Illyana lately."

"Haha, yeah. I mean, maybe. It's hard sometimes to know where things stand when I've been so wrapped up in my magic and the job. But the rumors are helpful regardless."

She snorted; that sounded like Remy and Rogue. "You should have more confidence in the girls. It is 2025, after all. But for the most part, they have behaved. It doesn't hurt that they hear rumors that I am seeing a god-tier psychic and a clawed Canadian. That usually gives them second thoughts."

"Of course. I don't plan on leaving the school high and dry. If I wake up in the woods or a strange bed, you will be my first call. It is nice having people in my life who have dealt with so much that my issues are just more of the same."

"Oh, you know. The rare desire to flee responsibility and dance in the forest. The occasional mischievous impulse. The instinct to use my allure to lead people astray. Little Chaotic impulses that I manage with meditation and training. But it does feel like super ADHD when I have deadlines."

She sighed. It was a fair concern. "No. Emma and Jean did a great job. No remnants of Sinister in the corners of my mind. Occasionally, I struggle with a memory, but when I'm reminded, it clicks back into place. The closest thing I get to delusions are stray 'fey thoughts,' which are fleeting."

Sure, you don't need to tell anyone. I've been well. At this point, I'm breathing in Mana without thinking about it. I feel like a plant photosynthesizing sometimes, the way ambient nature energy leaves me refreshed. I also feel less drained after using my optic blasts. Things just... come easier.

What? You wouldn't squish my neck. I'm your favorite. 🥺

&& ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋆˚࿔ 𝐷𝛤𝛴𝛥𝐷𝛴𝐷 𝑃𝛴𝛤𝑆𝛴𝑃𝐻𝛳𝛱𝛴 𝜗𝜚˚⋆ 𝓦𝑒 a̳l̳l̳ ǝʌɐɥ ⠀ ⠀ ͣ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ₗᵢₜₜₗₑ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𖦧𖧥𖦪𖢉ꛘ𖠢𖨚𖨚 ⠀ ⠀ 𒐕𒐖 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ u⃣s⃣ °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

"...........I mean, there's worse people to catch the eye of. I'm just saying."

"The vibes are very different over there. But hey, if the caped crowd wants to take care of things their way, I can focus on other things. ... though which ones were fancying me? Hypothetically."

❝ 𝙊𝙧 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛.ᐣ ❞

"OH. Really? I can't remember the last time I even crossed the river over to Gotham..."

... The ninja turtles? I'm lost.

Neighbors? What did I even do?

❝ 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 ❞ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀◤ ♡ + ⇄ ◥

laylily Me looking at Summer and Dixie: No one pay attention to how much I clearly enjoy wholesome father/daughter interactions built on unwavering support. This is not something I need to unpack right now.

Unfortunately for you, silver foxes are in fashion. And you're very silver. It's the burden you must bear.

Summer with everyone else: I'm in my late 30s and I'm a leader people respect. Summer with Magneto: My age won't change the fact that I'm a brat here to give my dad a headache.

Clearly, it's something you've gotten better at with age. So, so much age.

I can't believe you're bullying me. What kind of father figure would do this?

laylily Gabbey has a superpower where, regardless of if the writer tag is added to the account bio, I NEVER realize it's Gabbey.

It means to get everything you need to do in order. ...I do not know why it's ducks. It just is.

This isn't even that uncommon of a phrase! This isn't young people slang or something.

Already? The semester is flying by. I guess I'll get ducks in a row for the students' midterms.

laylily Tiktok is feeding me Katyana propaganda, and I'm not complaining because Kitty and Illyana might be my favorite X-Men ship.

Some "cozy" Friday Night Rivals! I even made sure to enable drops for MR players looking for loot. Come say hi! #twitch #vtuber #marvelrivals www.twitch.tv/laylabellvt

I ran some Danger Room training. I am drained and sore all over. It's very possible I slacked with my physical training as I've been absorbed in my magical studies. I'm just going to lie here, pathetic for a bit.

It's nothing. Just a little gesture to thank you for all the support you've given me and my studies. I was able to create a new garden, and those are the fruits of my labors. Er, flowers of my labors?

Starbolt has joined the battle! 💫Some lovely rivals-style art for Summer from Mfzero!

"Well, that's... is this other version of you still alive?" What was the better answer to that question?

My... well, shucks, now it just sounds like I'm copying.

She counted events on her fingers since her technical creation. "And I... resurrected in error on Krakoa, spent months hidden by Jean, started learning magic from Yu, got kidnapped by Sinister, got grafted with fey DNA, and worked with other mages on a neutral pseudo-plane. So I've been busy, too."

Goodness, I really have been missing in action too long with my studying. I guess it's easy to just not cross paths after Krakoa feel.

Once more, the legal department at the Mansion wants me to clarify that I am distinct but clone-adjacent. The resurrection protocol stuff wasn't exactly cloning, but for paperwork, that's what fit best.

Summer's cheeks flushed as ruby red as her old glasses. She muttered, "You know you have permission to poke around up there anyway." And she had never been above leaving little treats in Summer's mind. "Honestly, it's been funny to realize how many X-Men assumed my eyes were literally red."