"Believe!" a street preacher in a faded brown suit shouted directly into Alex's ear while trying to shove a "REPENT" card onto him. The man had apparently been handing them out since the '80s…and that was a long time ago. Snu didn't even flinch as she was too busy gawking at the world outside her Dungeon. Alex watched her with a quiet grin. There was something about seeing her this way, all cautious and curious but gaining confidence that made his chest do some stupid fluttery thing.

She took a massive bite of her beef patty with cheeks puffed out, chewing aggressively as she took in Dundas Square. She hadn't fought too hard when the auntie at the stall handed her one on the house after Alex explained she never tried one. After she gobbled down the buttery, crispy, and piping hot meat pasty in three bites, Alex had transferred the vendor twenty five Credits for two more and a malt soda. Handing her the hot pattie had made her light up.

"So rich and warm…and delicious! Thanks!" she had said with an open smile that punched him right through the ribcage.

Guh.

"It's…it's so busy," Snu shrank a little closer to Alex as everything bustled around them. It was a Monday night, but still rammed with tourists, hawkers, and crazies.

"It's a Monday," Alex said. "You should see it when there's a kaiju protest. That is busy."

Alex watched her watch everything happening. An army of knockoff costume mascots swarmed a pack of Japanese tourists, screaming about photo fees and chasing them off with foam swords. One of the school girls even fired off a [Glass Wall] Skill and a pink bear crashed through. A dance battle was going on between a woman in a business suit and a teen wearing a shifting t-shirt. A puppeteer was making his legion of wooden dolls dance for children in the corner with his mind. Giant screens wrapped around every building and flashing in overstimulating high def. There were ads for hair restoration potions, body mods with money back guarantees, relic deals, and of course make up ads. Monster workers with slug bodies and glowing vests slithered around and scooped up garbage while birds above dropped off 'gifts' and howled in chirps. Snu's mouth hung open in between her chomps.

Snu turned to him with wide eyes, mouth full of flaky crust and spiced beef. She swallowed and pointed excitedly. "What's that? That glowing stuff? I can practically feel it in my Core, like it wants it."

Alex followed her finger. "That's the Essence Spring. Most major cities have them. People donate mana or take a top-up, kind of like a fun little community tap. With all the Essence around absorbed directly into Cores, not necessary but…still a nice thought." He squinted. "Next to it is…uh. That's just a water fountain. But it's a fancy one!"

She grinned and took another chomp, brushing crumbs off her shirt. "That guy just paid the woman in a robe to Buff him. Just out in the open like that? I felt it!"

"Your Essence sense is super high, I can barely feel any of that stuff. Just how strong are you?" Alex asked a bit teasingly. Some people could feel Essence better than others, and clearly Snu was strong in that department to feel it from so far. Probably something to do with her being a literal succubus.

She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Wouldn't you like to know," she gave him a wink. "But pretty strong," then she turned to take it all in. "I like it. It's loud. Loud as fuck, but I like it."

"You get used to it," Alex said, watching her face again. "Eventually the Monsters and Familiars and screaming birds just kind of get normal."

Her smile wavered a bit. "It's changed so much."

That definitely caught him off guard. "Changed?"

Snu didn't say anything for a bit. The woman in the business suit won the dance battle and the puppeteer was just getting to his second act with the wooden dolls fighting with little light Skills for spells. "Yeah," she said. "It was similar, almost like less than this. But also more…I don't know."

Alex wanted to press, and wanted to ask about how she knew what it used to be like. Had she always been a Dungeon Boss? Or turned into one like…Nope not thinking about her on his date. What did she mean by more? Then she chomped the last bit of her beef patty, sucked her thumb, and once again looped her arm into his.

"You promised me a surprise," she said all bright again. "You said fun. I'm hoping cute and fun. Where is it?"

Alex laughed and started to push through the crowd with her next to him. "Alright, alright. It's this way, Miss Dungeon Boss. Try not to fall over yourself with excitement."

"Oh, it better be good," she said dramatically. "Girl's got to have standards for her 'suitors'."

"You heard that? Why does no one ever hear my cool lines?" Alex wasn't that embarrassed, but he played it up.

"You don't have any cool lines." She answered.

"Not yet I don't!"

They ducked down a side street that was tucked between two overgrown condo towers. The glass facades had been consumed by fancy colourful moss and phosphorescent vine bridges that looped into themselves. Blossoms dropped from the greenery, and the whole street had that effortlessly cool vibe. Trendy shops lined the way with names spelled out in bright neon. There was Polyester Prophet, Silk & Teeth, and a store dedicated purely for nuts. Who even went to those? After dodging a pretzel cart pushed by a goblin in a hoodie and crocs, which had never gone out of style, he led her to their first stop.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The Trinket Trap had a maroon sign penned in pretentious cursive. From the outside, it looked harmless. Just a nice, little boutique.

"Wait. Wait-ow-stop pinching me, we're literally here," Alex said as Snu got excited at their approach. "Behold!" He swung the door open to reveal the store inside.

Inside it smelt like metal and cinnamon. Bright light bounced off handcrafted displays and floating shelves. Local art filled the walls, the kind that literally looked at you. One of the portraits was smoking a guache cigarette, the artist trapped in their own pocket dimension? The picture person watched from their permanent window and it gave Alex the heebies.

The place was a slow moving moshpit of excited whispers, clinking bracelets, and everyone had a clever tote bag. Girls circled tables to skim the endless trays of tiny charms.The Trinket Trap let you sort through and build your own charm bracelet, and Alex hoped Snu would like it. There were fake gold letters, miniature blooming flowers, hourglasses that endlessly flipped themselves, seashells that always smelled like saltwater. It was cute, or so he hoped. Right above the counter was a simple wooden sign and a stack of simple metal bracelets waiting under a glass container to be customized.

"50 CREDITS - 5 CHARMS & A BRACELET"

Alex strolled over to the counter, transferred the Credits on the sticker covered pay pad, the glass lifted, and a bracelet shot into his hand. He watched Snu's eyes light up as he handed her the bracelet while a unicorn charm made a bit of a pervy sound from his right.

[CREDITS: 238 -> 188]

Snu began. "Oh. My–For me? You get to," she looked around at the trays of charms like they were candy. Guess she liked the idea. "You get to put whatever you want on them? Five of them?"

"Yep," Alex responded. "But make sure you pick good…I'm pretty there's a no return–,"

She was already bouncing up on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss on his cheek before darting off at full speed. Right into the section marked "BDSM,". The girls in the shop giggled and shot him side glances as her curly hair flopped as she began sorting through miniature whips and chains.

Alex sighed. "Of course."

When Alex had been thinking on where to bring her for the date, he'd scoured the forums looking for recommendations. It was a lot to sort through. After an hour of panic at his distinct lack of ingenuity on being cute, he just went with his gut after asking him one not so simple question. How can I show her a good time, buy her something, and still come off thoughtful? That led him down the arts forums, and twenty more minutes of scrolling later, voila. Charm bracelet shop

Que the bracelet building montage..

Snu was equal parts thoughtful and impulsive, which Alex found endearing. She'd hover, nose scrunched, then snatch a charm. She tried multiple dozens before locking in her choices. A miniature silver cuff, which she immediately clipped onto his pinky 'for balance'. Next was the pink 'S' that sparkled, a tiny rose that was somehow alive and in bloom, a glossy red chili pepper for goodluck and warding off evil, and a knobbly gray pebble she insisted was a real meteorite. They teased each other the whole way through. She laughed more than she probably realized, and when she finally held up her finished bracelet, Alex helped her slide the thin metal on her wrist. Her fingers teased him as he clipped it on, then she twisted the charms up in the air and gasped about how pretty they were. As if she hadn't picked them for herself. She immediately looped her arm again after another wet cheek kiss and tugged them out the door, bragging to the incoming new customers about how she already had the best bracelet.

"I looooove it," Snu said while staring at her bracelet as they walked deeper down the side street. "I love love it. It's perfect. Right?" She smiled up at him, and Alex realized how much fun she was having. Next up, he wanted to bring her to a little board game cafe and have a sweet with her. That'd be a good idea.

"Oh, it's the best. The meteorite? What a lucky find!" Alex teased.

"Right? Can't believe I snatched it. See? Dungeon Boss powers." She flipped her hair as she passed by more strange stores. Alex shook as the smell of her shampoo hit him. Snu stopped right under a particularly low hanging set of flowers. Big, juicy purple ones. They stood facing each other as the crowd flowed around their little cute bubble. Behind Alex was a gashapon store, where little vending machines dolled out manufactured Familiar Toys for too many Credits, and behind her there was a noodle shop that specialized in raw meat. Yuck. Still a good enough place as any in his mind. Such is living in the city.

Snu looked up at him, biting her lower lip just enough to highlight the freckles on her cheeks as she gave him a dangerous look.

God she is beautiful. Keep it together, bud.

"I just wanted to say thank you," she said. "For taking me out, and showing me Toronto. It's really not so scary…," she went on her tiptoes and looked at his lips. It made Alex's stomach flip. Even though they had already been together, this felt much more personal. He thought it was adorable how she could be so insecure about some things, yet so bold about others. So he leaned down and closed his eyes.

And kissed the air. Alex opened his eyes with still puckered lips.

Snu was still on her tiptoes, yes, but her head had swiveled to look over Alex's shoulder. She was staring past him with flaring nostrils.

"What—" he started.

"Alex," she hissed. "What the fuck is that?"

He turned, and about ten feet away was the gashapon store. It was like all the others in the city. Aggressively lit and like someone had trapped anime into vending machines. Groups of teens crowded around walls of machines and dished out Credits to twist knobs. The little balls clattered down the cutes and were cracked open as the customers hoped for a rare Familiar Toy to add to their collection.

"Oh…" Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "That's just one of those gashapon shops. You pay some Credits, you get a random Familiar Toy from a set. Some are rare or something. Most suck apparently. It's like…gambling for kids. And weebs. You know what weebs are right?"

"You don't have any Familiar TOYS, do you? I can FEEL their CORES. They MADE these?" She wasn't even looking at him.

"No, noooo way. I have Emilio, and he's not even…wait, yeah. I haven't told you about my cat!"

She was already stomping across the lane. Some poor man who happened to be in her path got shoulder checked so hard he flew into a very angry garbage can. The teens didn't notice, until Snu planted herself dead center infront of the store with fists clenched at her sides like she was about to transform into her Giantess form.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?" she bellowed.

The lightbulbs in the shop flickered. Every head in the shop snapped toward her.

"Uh oh," Alex said, already speeding after her as she stormed in.

"WHERE IS THE OWNER?!" Snu yelled much louder and scarier as the teens scrambled out while juggling their 'toys,'. "THEY'RE PRISONERS!"

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