This was my first time writing something like this, and I tried to imagine what I would likely do in such a situation. I don't really plan on making this a common occurrence.

Crazy. I had to be. Or dreaming. I looked at the note. I looked at the jewelry. Back and forth between both, multiple times over, and finally up at the two animal-like creatures floating in front of me. I nearly fainted, but I happened to land on my bed instead, hitting my head on the case I had pulled both the ring and the earrings out of.

Ouch, definitely not dreaming then. I won't rule out the crazy part, though, and sit up on my bed, rubbing the newly rising knot in pain. One of the creatures, the one that resembled a weird red and black doll-ladybug hybrid, floated over to check on me with a worried look on her face. Then she started to talk.

"Hey, it's OK! We're not gonna hurt you! I'm Tikki, and it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm the kwami of creation, and that grump over there is Plagg, the kwami of destruction."

I look over at the other creature, what looks like a small black kitten with antenna on its head. It seems to look at me in a judgy manner. Then it speaks too, because of course it could. "Kid, you're not crazy, and it's not a hallucination. I'm also not a genie, and I don't grant wishes, so don't ask. But right now, you need to snap out of your stupor and get a move on. We've got work to do."

I have work to do? If this is anything like the show, im probably about to fight a man controlling pigeons and...

The black kitten, err, Plagg, stops my train of thought. "No, it ain't Mr Pigeon if that's what you were thinking. But there is at least one Akuma out there for now, and this one's a real beast. We only have until tomorrow morning to find and defeat it, as well as any other akumas it creates. Otherwise, it will shift realities and dimensions again, and we start this whole process over again with someone else. It's been a pain to try this the last 3 times, and I'm getting sick of it. You had better get it done, and make sure to feed me too."

"Unfortunately, what Plagg is saying is true," Tikki chimed in. "The past few temporary holders were unfortunately unable to beat this particular Akuma, but unlike the others, this time seems to be different. The last few holders only got one of the miraculous. You got two, and you got the most powerful two. However, I will warn you, along with using both our miraculous together, it will try to have you grant a wish. Whatever you do, don't use the wish. It will have devastating consequences on your world, and there is no taking it back once you do. Do you think you can handle this?"

I look back and forth between the two kwami and i smile. This is gonna be fun.

Reverse the order of the last two phrases for more punch. Ideally, you want the punch line in the last 2-3 words.

Quick and bad version

> despite the implications of this gesture, no silver ring could fix that. There would be no silver bullet.

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I would like more, please.

More likely commission replacement in platinum...

Just tell the truth Already vanish every full moon

Oh, honey, you know that I ain't marrying yo ass without a proper gold ring.

That was exactly the story I had in my mind ;)

As someone with acidic sweat, this is nice. Mine isn’t crazy but if I am sweating bad any paper exposed to it disappears

Generally silver-allergies are because of the nickel in the alloy. Pure silver is hypoallergenic. Source: My wife has this allergy and all her silver jewelry is sterling to avoid the problem.

So one can imagine the werewolf protagonist saying "Aww sorry babe, but I can't handle silver, I'm allergic", and their conscientous loving partner goes and does their due-dilligence and gets a pure-silver ring which shouldn't trigger the allergy..
Except it's not an allergy, it's a supernatural aversion to silver itself, and now they've got no explanation.

I love this video because I know Columbo fans, and I know anime fans, but I don't know a single person who would understand all the necessary context to enjoy it.

The silver band glittered with malevolence.

I wanted to throw my arms around her. I needed to throw my arms around her. But that ring stood between us, bright and sharp and cruel.

Ten seconds since she proposed.

I couldn't take the ring. The flicker of a jogger in my peripheral vision reminded me— revealing my fuzzy nature here would leave me dead at the hands of the elders.

Twelve seconds.

But rejecting it would break her. And that would break me.

Fifteen seconds.

Damned if I do and damned if I don't but maybe there's a middle way. Cornered, I fell back on the thing that had gotten me into this situation in the first place: Smarm.

Smarm on its own is useless, but with genuine, honest passion and goodwill it becomes charm and chutzpah. And if I was lucky, it might just get me out of this situation intact.

I knelt, took her hands in mine— careful to avoid the ring— and looked deep into her eyes.

"I'll marry you, my love. But not yet."

I continued over the her noises.

"There's nothing I want more than to wake up with you every day. I want us to be the first thing we see every day. To be with you forever. To grow old together." I squeezed her hands, reassuring with pressure and warmth.

"You are the sun in my sky. And I'm going to marry you. And, I—" I hesitated, but barreled through. Awkward and cute worked. "I need to tell you some things first." A kiss, soft and passionate against her lips, to stifle her thoughts and fears.

"Nothing bad. I promise. We just need to have a sit-down talk before we're engaged. Once we get home, we can do it. Among," my voice went husky, "other things." We shared another kiss, a little more lustful but no less loving.

"Until then..." I closed her fingers around the ring. The lack of visible silver was like a lack of splinters in my hand.

"Until then, my love, hold on to my ring for me."

—

Feedback appreciated!

I stood stunned as I read the note, and nevously looked over to the dark armor that now held the shine of polished steel instead of 3D printed plastic, and the ridiculously huge sword that leaned against the wall behind it. Somehow it hadn't crushed the wall or the floor it rested on, thank god. The armor was what concerned me the most. Did I want to know what my darkest thoughts really were? I didn't have a goal worth literally tearing myself apart for, but I was dangerously, morbidly curious.

The helmet was in the shape of a skull, before Guts had put it on for the first time. Would it turn into a wolf again, or something else? I didn't necessarily have to do anything strenuous, I could just put it on and sit down. It would turn back into harmless decoration in a few hours anyway, I would only have this one chance to know what it felt like to wear. My curiosity won.

Piece by piece I put on the armor, leather belts snug against my underclothes. Piece by piece, I felt sensation vanish from my body parts. It was like my limbs had vanished even though I was looking at them. The sore back I didn't know I'd been dealing with suddenly didn't hurt, and I sharply reminded myself that it was still there. The gauntlets were next, and then I took a moment to stare into the eyeholes of the skull-like helmet. Everything below my neck was numb, this was the last piece. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I put the helmet on.

I walked up to the mirror on my closet door. The armor fit like a glove, why wouldn't it? I'd never looked scarier. A voice like wind hissing through grass and whistling through broken glass laughed in my ear, and I frantically looke around for the source.

"Why so jumpy? It's only you here. What, scared of your own shadow?" the voice taunted. I reached for the hemet, voices were NOT a good sign. "Running away? How predictable." I stopped. "Thaaaat's it. I'll only be here for a few hours anyway, right? We can get to know each other before then. Go ahead, ask those burning questions rattling away in your head."

"Fine." I took my hands away from the helmet and sat down. "I know you're some primal part of my psyche, the id if we go by Nietzsche's model."

"Spot on; I'm the lizard brain, the bedrock, the survival instinct, that last little bit of caveman we all push down," the voice agreed. "Surprisingly little divides the common man from a beast. Two missed meals and 24 hours are all that seperate us from the animals."

"If that's the case, it's no wonder why Guts was so dangerous in this thing," I thought aloud. "A life like his, where he shoved down all of the unpleasant things in his life, which was A LOT, and it all ended up where you're sitting."

"Mmhm," it hummed in agreement. "You may not be a Guts, but you shoved some garbage down here too. How about we take a trip down memory lane?" My eyes widened.

"Don't." I said quickly, holding my head in my hands. "Don't say another word."

"So quick to run away at every turn." It sounded like it pitied me, I could easily imagine a shaking head. "It's just your memories, your own history, your thoughts... especially your thoughts. What better therapy could you hope for than speaking directly to the garbage man in your head?" I was silent. I couldn't feel my pulse, but I could tell it was hammering at a mile a minute. Either I face this now or I prove this voice right and keep running away... I covered my eyes with my hands.

"Tell me what I put there." I said quietly. The voice chuckled.

"Heh heh heh, not much by any metric, but enough to bring so much shame to you. Let's get started!"

It listed off every thought I'd ever berated myself for even having. Guilty pleasures I hid behind locked doors, secrets I kept from even close friends, thoughts I had about the people around me, lies I told myself so many times I believed them. I had to constantly remind myself to not use any strength or risk breaking bones and tearing muscle with strength beyond what my body was built for. A few minutes later it ran out of things to say and I sighed in relief.

"So much clutter all aired out at last. Like I said, not much." I nodded. It was painful, but hearing the truth often was, and I could move forward from here. I looked in the mirror again, and did a double take. The helmet had changed from a skull to a face. My face, molded in dark steel. Every bump and tiny scar looked hammered with care into the metal. "You faced your own demons, allowed yourself to hear the truth. Now the inside matches the outside. Now you don't hide behind masks and armor. It's there for everyone to see."

I didn't know if I would be able to tell other people the truth like I had myself, but I could try. It was right: no more masks.

Don't have time to do a whole thing either BUT, sample of Columbia mind games and bluntness light would probably be desperately thinking up a way to play off at this point in the story:

"Anyway, what all doesn't add up to me is how this guy or, well or gal I suppose seeing how that all...yeah, but besides that, how they got Johnny's name. We did everything to hide it, like mine, once we figured out names were involved at all. And I been thinking about it, and light, don't mind me for asking, but what was with you that day? You kept glancing over at him all weird. If I was jumpin' to conclusions I'd say...well, I ain't jumpin' to conclusions. Sorry kid, this all's got me real on edge, you know? Paranoid, that's it. Just looking a little too close into how people act. Could be one of us, for all we know, that's the part that wigs me out."

Reminds me of my nickel allergy and choosing a ring. Most jewelry is made of an alloy. I've had reactions to various random metals due to their nickel content. What saves the day? Rhodium coating. Done to white gold to make it more white, and can sometimes even be found in regular cheap-ish jewelery to make it look shinier. Total life-saver.

They could have the ring plated at a jeweler. As a bonus, it won't tarnish.

My fave so far! Dark…

I may not have time to do this one, but Columbo's a perfect match for this. Disarming, relentless, not too bound by ettiquite... and they never gave him a first name, with even the name on his ID being wrong.

Lots of fun in the idea.

Next up: "How do I explain to this person that a stake in the heart will kill me without revealing that I'm a vampire?"

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Oh yeah want weird prompts then? Because I will write weird prompts

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I look down at the love of my life on his knees offering me a ring that makes my heart soar but my stomach drop and the only response I can muster for a bit stunned silence. His face begins to slowly fade from joy to nervousness when I realize I have been quiet for to long.

My love the answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes but please don't be mad at me because there is something incredibly relevant to this that may make you angry at me for not telling you sooner.

Relief wars with confusion and concern for control of face

If the answer is yes then why have you not taken the ring yet and what could you possibly be hiding that would matter? Please tell me you aren't already married to someone else.

I can't help but chuckle a little at hearing that and it's a great reminder of what I love about this man, I really do feel bad about what I am about to do because a marriage shouldn't be founded on a lie but my situation doesn't leave me with many options.

No my love it's nothing like that also I am not hiding anything really it's just something that hasn't come up yet but I probably should have told you. I haven't taken the ring because I can't touch it. I have a severe allergy to silver. I am so sorry that I didn't tell you this earlier, the ring looks amazing and it probably cost a fortune but I even touch it let one wear it, I am so sorry.

Relief washes over his face as he starts comfort me

Plot twist: they're a couple who have clear and healthy communication so the werewolf just says yes, but let's pick a different ring