#I had classmates that asked me to teach them how to draw and when it didn't look good at the first try they abandoned it

[lynaferns]

Thinking about that psychologist that was convinced that the hability to draw good was a gift people were born with. He couldn't understand how I had the patience to draw illustrations like I do. I convinced him that he was wrong.

(whoops, ramble)

I just find the process mesmerizing, my process of art. I can spend hours in the same 1/10 part of the canvas and not get tired. Some artists get tired if their artworks aren't finished in less than 2 hours and abandon it, others spend a year working on the same piece. And each artist has their own tools and techniques. It took me 8 years to find my main artstyle and I'm still exploring what I can do with my art program and custom brushes.

Not everyone learns at the same speed, not everyone has the patience to learn, heck! Not everyone is searching to learn how to draw. Some people draw just because and unintentionally learns something along the way.

Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean that it's a gift you have to be born with.

I don't have patience for fishing, or to learn all of the fundaments of music, or to complete 200 trophies of a game. That doesn't mean people that do have patience for it are gifted.

I will never understand people who think I'm gifted just because "you draw so good and I cOuLd NeVeR dRaW aNyThInG aS gOoD-"

No, you simply have: not enough patience for it, some kind of inability* that makes it difficult for you to learn or you just want it to have it easy.

* I say this because my brother tried to learn to draw in the past but couldn't because he has no perspective vision or background vision, he can't figure out shapes or shadows. Other people can't draw from memory.

Still with all of this there are people who draw.

[organic-bloodbath]

Hiiiiiiii. Could you do a Salesman fic?

I would love to see one where his usual calm and powerful energy is lost around the reader, as he's just enamoured with her. Like no shame, he is down bad and the reader is just flustered and lowkey confused cause they haven't known each other for long.

Idk if this makes any sense to you (up to you if you make it smut i don't really mind)

Teach Ddakji to me

The Salesman x American!Reader

Summary: You play Ddakji with a man at a subway station, but the game brings you two much closer than either of you were prepared to.

A/N: I'm not sure how well i was able to follow the request of how he behaves around the reader but this is what i got ;-; hope you still like 🫶🏻 (i'm so deep in love with this psycho i've been giggling during every other paragraph)

Part 2

♡♡

You rushed down the stairs in the subway station, only one minute until your train was going to leave. You weren't going to make it, but you had to try.

The doors were closing right in front of you and you wanted to scream and let out several different curses, but you didn't want to draw attention on yourself. Your day at the college lectures had just ended and all you wanted to do was to get home, have a dinner and rest.

You heard noise behind a corner, as if someone was slamming something on the floor. You went to see what was going on out of curiosity.

Two men were standing there, the other one tall and dressed in a grey suit, the other one a lot shorter and dressed in a simple hoodie and loose jeans, a worn out cap covering his messy black hair. Suddenly, the man in the suit slapped the other so hard on the face that the man's head turned to the right.

They slammed blue and red squares on top of each other over and over again, and it ended in the man in the suit slapping the other almost every time. Once in a while he handed to the man what looked like a bill of money. You had never seen anything like that happen anywhere and were confused.

You got a notification on your phone, a text message from your classmate.

"Join us for studying and then a dinner? A new restaurant opened nearby, we'll go and try it tonight," she messaged.

"Another day, i don't feel like going out tonight," you replied, getting a thumbs up emoji as a respond.

You put your phone in your pocket and turned around, almost having a heart attack and jumping a step back when you saw the man in the suit standing mere inches away from you, looking down at you with a slight smirk.

"Enjoyed the show, i hope?" he asked and your eyes widened. Fuck, he had noticed you stalking the two of them.

"Yea, um, sure," you said awkwardly. "Though i didn't know what it was, really."

Seeing his face now closer and him staring at you with his dark eyes made your heart beating faster and it wasn't only because of him scaring you for appearing out of nowhere. He was extremely handsome and the way he looked at you made you blush.

"You haven't heard of Ddakji?" he asked, but didn't seem surprised since he figured you weren't local by the looks of you. "It's a Korean game, want me to show you?"

"Sure," you said, nothing else to do than wait anyway. The man took the squares in his hands and offered you to choose one. You took the red one.

He explained the rules to you, it was simple. You only had to hit your square on the blue one and make it turn around, the upper side facing the floor.

It sounded simple but you were hesitant if you were actually able to do it. You threw it on the floor, aiming at the blue square, but it didn't move even an inch in any direction. You let out a frustrated groan.

"It's okay, very few people succeed on their first try," he said in a comforting tone and took a step closer to you, standing right in front of you. "But do you know what losing means to you, hm?"

You had a very good guess after seeing him and the other man play just a while ago.

"You're gonna slap me?" you asked with a grimace.

He smiled. Without a word, you felt a painful sting on your left cheek when he slapped you, not going any easier on you just because you were a woman.

"Jesus Christ!" you gasped and held your hand on your cheek which was definitely going to have a red mark later. You had never been slapped on your face and it hurt more than you thought it would hurt.

"My turn then," he said and grabbed his blue square from the floor. He slammed it on top of your red square and it immediately jumped in the air and landed on its other side on the floor.

He looked at you with the same smirk again.

"So what happens when you win?" you asked, crossing your arms. If you continued this game much longer, your face would be completely covered in bruises and you'd have a lot of explaining to do to your classmates.

"I get to use your body again," he said with a confident tone.

You closed your eyes and prepared for another slap, hoping that it would be the other one this time because your left cheek still hurt. When you felt a touch on your left cheek, you automatically winced a little bit.

But it wasn't a slap, it was a tender kiss. You opened your eyes when he had already leaned away and you saw a glimpse of kindness in his eyes this time. You felt your cheeks warming up and tried to avoid eye contact for a moment.

"Your turn," he said.

Your hand was shaking when you lifted the red square from the floor. You wanted to succeed, you had never been good at losing in anything, it was always about to start to piss you off if you didn't start winning too.

"Do you want me to help you?" he asked. You looked at him and soon he was right behind you, keeping an eye contact with you when he put his left hand on your waist and his right one to hold your hand which was holding the square. "Is this okay?"

He didn't put too much pressure on holding you, making sure that you gave him a permission for that. You suddenly couldn't get words out of your mouth, so you just nodded and swallowed the lump in your throat. He held you tighter now and instructed how it was supposed to be done. You had to have more force when you would slam the square down.

"Spread your legs a little bit," he whispered.

"What?" you gasped in shock.

"To get a better and more firm position when you throw it," he explained, his breath hot in your ear.

"Oh," you said, cheeks burning even more. You hadn't realized you were standing almost like a stick. He guided your hand up in the air in a correct position.

"Remember to let go of it at the correct moment, i'm going to aim it for you, okay?" he said and you nodded, now much more nervous than you would have been if you did this alone.

With this help, the blue square flew into the air and landed on its other side easily. You were excited of the victory, even though it was for his help, and a wide smile spread on your face.

To be honest, for a second you wished you would have failed on purpose, just to get his hands on you again - you didn't even care if it was a slap, kiss or something else.

He let go of you and you turned around to face him, already missing his touch.

"There you go," he said with a proud expression on his face. "Now, you can choose what to do to me."

You didn't hesitate for even a second longer, you immediately slapped him on his left cheek as hard as you could. However, you knew you didn't have as much as strength in your body as he did, so the slap must have stinged a lot less. His head didn't move even an inch and he only smiled.

Right then, the train you had been waiting for arrived and you took your bag from the ground. You weren't going to miss this train just because of wanting to have another round of Ddakji with this stranger.

He offered you money, worth of 100 dollars, and put them in your hand, closing your fist around the bill. You were about to refuse but he wasn't having it.

"Treat yourself a nice dinner tonight," he said. When you didn't answer, he nodded towards the train which was about to leave soon, with or without you.

"Thank you," you said. "Um, bye."

You made it into the train just in time and when you looked back at the spot where that man had just been, he was already gone.

♡♡

The salesman didn't want you to leave. He was absolutely mesmerized by you, you were the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on. Your perfume and the smell of your shampoo still lingered in his nose, even after you weren't there anymore.

He would have wanted to ask you to stay, but he couldn't find the correct words and you were in a hurry to catch your train.

He hadn't felt like this of a woman in a long time and he wanted to find you again. To hold you again.

He didn't understand how you could have made this big of an impact on him in only under 10 minutes, but all he knew was that he needed to get to know you better.

♡♡

The next day, you arrived to the class and sat next to your friend.

"Oh my god, what happened to your face?" she gasped in shock.

Yes, there was a visible red mark on your cheek and you didn't have anything at home to cover it. You didn't really use any makeup either except mascara.

"Oh um," you started, trying to find some excuse. "It's my allergies and acne." You didn't have any allergies and hadn't had acne since you were 15. But you couldn't tell her the truth, atleast now that you didn't have time to talk much since the class was about to start.

And what were you going to say to her? A stranger in the subway station slapped you and you enjoyed it?

The teacher arrived and the noise of the door slamming closed interrupted your friend who was about to say something to interview you further.

♡♡

You walked down the subway station stairs again on your way home, just like yesterday. You had your headphones on, listening to random metal songs on Spotify and were texting your mum who catched up with you twice a week how you were doing. You were supposed to have a video call later today but she apparently had to work extra tonight, she was a nurse.

When you had reached the bottom of the stairs, you bumped into something and almost tripped back but managed to keep your balance. You looked up and saw the same man in the suit as yesterday, staring down at you with a smile.

"Hello," he greeted, not moving anywhere.

"Hello," you repeated and lifted your eyebrows, taking of your headphones. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," he said without thinking.

"Me? Why? How did you know i would be here?"

"I didn't. I only figured you might have the same daily routine and took a chance," he explained.

"Why did you want to see me?" you asked, confused but feeling butterflies in your stomach.

"I didn't have a chance to ask for your phone number yesterday," he said. "And i'd like to take you out."

"Take me out you mean murder or dinner?"

"The second option. I already finished the first task earlier," he said with a smile. Handsome and with a sense of humor.

"Fine, where did you plan to take me?"

"Anywhere you want. Are you hungry?"

"You don't even know my name," you pointed out.

"You can tell me your name and all about you on our date," he smiled.

"Aren't you straightforward," you chuckled. "Are you going to teach me Ddakji again?"

"If you wish so," he said.

You bit your lip, not sure if you should go somewhere with this stranger or not. You hadn't been asked for a dinner at a subway station before, though, so you could write it on your bucketlist and cross it out.

"Okay."

♡♡

He had taken you to a lovely dinner to enjoy local foods you had never eaten before. You rarely tried any new foods, always sticking on the ones you already knew you'd like, but now you had tried something different and loved it.

Now, you were in a park, nobody else in sight. It was already dark and you knew you had to go home soon if you wanted to get enough sleep.

You held the red square in your hand once again and aimed for slamming the blue around finally on your own.

Again, you weren't able to hit it. But you hadn't even tried properly and weren't mad about it.

"Damn it," you mumbled.

"You'll get there," he smirked, stepping closer to you.

He lifted your chin with his finger.

"Close your eyes."

You did as told and waited for the worst option, squeezing your eyes shut tightly.

You felt his lips press on yours, taking you into a slow kiss. He broke the kiss but didn't let go of your chin

"Do i have to play another round of Ddakji to do that again?"

You smiled and stepped on your tiptoes to reach him better, cupped his face and pulled him in a proper, deeper kiss. He instantly wrapped his arms around your waist to press your body against him tighter.

"Just so you know, i don't sleep with men on our first date," you said when the kiss was over, his hands wandering around your back they had almost reached your ass.

He moved his left hand to the back of your neck, keeping the right one on your lower back. He pushed his fingers through your hair, softly massaging your scalp.

"What is it about you that makes me so drawn to you?" he whispered, and you didn't know if the question was for you or just for himself. "Only two days and you've managed to make me absolutely addicted to you."

He pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, and you felt blush creeping on its way to your cheeks.

He eventually walked you back home like a gentleman, not allowing you to walk anywhere at this hour. He had to make sure you got back home safely.

"Will i see you again tomorrow?" he asked before you managed to leave, gently holding your wrist.

"I have to study, i've fallen behind in couple of courses so i need to catch up," you said and his face fell a little bit. Surely he had other things to do in his life besides seeing you. "Are you free this weekend?"

His face lighted up again for your suggestion.

"For you, of course," he said and brought your hand towards his face, planting a kiss on your knuckles. "Goodnight, Y/N."

You went inside your apartment and silently closed the door, trying to do everything as quietly as you could, but then the lights were turned on.

"Okay who the HELL is that man, Y/N?!" your roommate shouted at you, making you jump and almost have a heart attack. It was so late you thought she was already sleeping, she was the type to be in bed by 8pm and asleep by 9pm.

"Um, well I-"

"That is the most gorgeous man i've ever seen," she said, still speaking loudly, and stepped closer to you and pointed you with her finger. "How couldn't you tell me you were dating a new man?"

"Well i only met him a while ago," you admitted.

"Still?!" she shouted. "You know i like boy talk and you never talk about your dating life! Oh my god, have you finally downloaded Tinder or something?"

"Ew, no," you shook your head.

"You're right, there's no way men THAT hot would still be on Tinder and not married," she said and then gasped. "Girl, he's not married, is he?"

"I sure hope he's not," you said and for a moment you were afraid he might be married. I mean, how could he still be single? Your friend always talked so much that you started to doubt everything you previously knew.

"Wait a minute, i'll get us some popcorn and then you're gonna spill everything," she said and without another word, she was already in the kitchen.

And you did tell her everything because my god you needed to talk to someone about him.

♡♡

A few days and several text conversations later, you were in his hotel room, and he pressed you against the wall, his right hand leaning on the wall right by your head.

He lifted your head by his forefinger on your chin to make you look straight into your eyes.

"How long are you going to stay in Korea?" he asked.

"What, are you going to ask me to move in with you or something? Plan a summer wedding?" you joked.

"If you want to," he said with a serious face and you truly wasn't sure if he was serious or joking. You hadn't yet found a difference between the two.

"Wait what?"

You hadn't dated any Korean men before so you weren't sure how fast they progressed in the dating life. Would it be normal to propose on the first week or ask to move in? Surely not.

He smiled. "I only ask because i don't want to have you only for a short while," he said and let his fingers wander around your shoulder, sending goosebumps all over your body.

"Well, i'll be here for atleast another 5 months," you told him and then pouted. "So, no summer wedding?"

"I'd have to buy a ring first," he smirked.

"It better be a real diamond too then," you chuckled, having seen the stacks of money he had carried with him, and pulled him into another kiss.

He was soon kissing your neck, leaving a mark on your skin, until your stomach growled and interrupted him.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I thought you had eaten before you came here."

"Well, it's been a while i suppose," you said, not really remembering anymore when the last time was.

He stepped away from you and pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"We're ordering food," he said. "What would you like to eat?"

He ordered Chinese food for you and ate it on the bed while watching some brainless comedy movie.

When the movie had ended, he went to the bathroom, leaving you to lay on the bed and making you to fall in your thoughts alone.

You had been in a relationship twice in your life, and in neither of them your relationship had moved on this fast. I mean, you weren't in an official relationship, you had been just barely hooking up, but the way he talked about you only knowing you for a few days wasn't something you had been used to at all.

In the U.S., it took guys several weeks to make any progress in relationships, atleast what you had seen and gone through.

Maybe you should slow down a little, take a step back and see what he really wants from you.

By the time he came back from the bathroom, you had fallen asleep. You looked so peaceful in your sleep, so beautiful even with your messy hair all over the pillow.

He came closer to you and pulled a blanket over you, the edge almost reaching your jaw. You stirred in your sleep, turning to lay on your side, but didn't show any signs of waking up.

He laid himself on the bed next to you and just looked at your sleeping figure for several minutes. He was afraid of getting attached to a woman so fast, in so little time, but he couldn't help it.

To him you were perfect, and he wanted to know everything about you that there was to know.

♡♡

A/N: If you want a part 2, please leave any requests you might have, i'm not sure where to go with this 🫶🏻❤️💙

[bunnies-and-blues]

Hello gorgeous, I hope life has been treating you well! Can I request mitsui, miyagi, sendo, and maki with a reader who likes to draw and often goes to their practice to draw them? If not or it’s too many that ok! Thank you for your consideration!🫶

─꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱─ slam dunk : my muse ! ☆

⸝⸝ tl;dr : sd boys with their artist partner ! involves hisashi mitsui + ryota miyagi, akira sendoh, and shinichi maki !

⸝⸝ note : i took a bit of liberty and made the reader their partner, i hope that's okay ! idm making a seperate post wherein reader is their friend / admirer if ever :DD

hisashi mitsui + ryota miyagi . . . seperately !

the moment you and mitsui/miyagi became a thing he just became the cockiest person in the world . like, genuinely . it was really cute and endearing at first but eventually everyone's just pissed at him t-t

even more so when he's at practice ... all of a sudden he's extra energetic and his form is beyond perfect (not that akagi's complaining; if you get them to play well then that's all for the better)

he knows that you like to draw —its even one of the reason why he likes you so much ! — and the moment he found out that you drew him during his practices ... oh my god, ego to the roof !! /pos

mitsui flashes you a devilish grin, his eyes gazing upon the quick sketches you've made of his form. "i look great," he states. he winks as he walks back towards the ring, aiming for a three-pointer. "make sure to get my good side, yeah?"

look, mitsui's all cocky and arrogant when he's in front of the others (much to their chagrin), but in private — that's a whole different story . he's consistently sending kogure and akagi photos of your art, pretty much showing them off !!

and he makes sure to thank you for all of your efforts ; he'll buy you all the art supplies you want ! (and he'll try to draw you as well, but he's not the best at it ... )

miyagi is speechless when you show him your sketchbook. across the pages are drawings of him, each pose dynamic and vivacious. he could practically feel the energy radiating from your sketches. "this is amazing," he murmurs, heart-eyed. he looks up at you. "you're amazing."

much like mitsui, he'll show your art off — but he'll show it off to everyone. the basketball team, ayako, his classmates, his family- you name it !

what can i say ? he loves you !

akira sendoh . . .

"woahh!" sendoh exclaims, his eyes alight with glee when you show him your sketchbook. he takes it in his hands, holding it as if it was the most precious thing to exist. he traces the outline of his sketched-out form with a delicate finger, his grin spreading ear-to-ear. he looks at you with crinkled eyes, his smile as bright and warm as summer sun. "these are really good ! maybe you should teach me how to draw !"

sendoh is all smiles when he saw your drawings of him . he can't help it ! believe it or not, he's seen fanart of himself alongside the countless fanmail he's received, but never before has he had someone draw him so ..

he can't describe it, really . but all he knows is that it's the best art he's ever seen ! your art was warm, each pencil stroke filled with love and care, your affection for him reflected tenderly in the careful way you drew his features.

like with mitsui and miyagi, he'll gladly show off your art to the basketball team ! and before you know it, you'll have a line of the team members asking for you to draw them as well .

shinichi maki . . .

maki stares at the compilation of sketches in his hand. admittedly, he had felt a bit downhearted when he saw that you've been drawing during their practices, feeling as if you haven't been paying him attention, but he couldn't have been more wrong. he caresses the paper with a gentle hand, then pulls you in for an embrace. "thank you, my darling," he murmurs, his breath warm against your ear. "these are wonderful."

a gentleman through and through, maki makes sure to show his affections after receiving such a gift (even if you didn't mean it to be a gift in the first place) .

he starts giving back, taking you out on art dates and offering to buy you any art supply you want . even if you ask for just a simple pencil, he'll ensure that you get only the best quality !

unlike the other three, he'd want to keep your art of him for his eyes only . not that he's not proud of it or anything, but he just prefers for your art of him to be seen by only him ... not that it works (kiyota would find a way to snatch them from him when he's not working lmao)

[serxinns]

Scarlet Witch reader x yandere Mha Extras: Babysitting!

• your crazy classmates turn into kids and now you're stuck with them great...

•Turns out that while they were on a mission a time Villian decided it was a good idea to enable his quirk while he was being pinned down and now all your classes are turned into 4-5-year-olds and your teacher is now the same age as you

• when you 1st walked into the room the kids surrounded you and looked at you some were in wonder, some were amazed and some were possessive a tug on the bottom of your shirt caught your attention to look down to see Izuku with his all might figure in hand "hi would you like to play with me!" he said with a big smile in his face you smiled back "ok sure!" "I wanna play with y/n too! "me too!" momo said while frowning the other kids whined begging you to play with them as we "Guys guys!" you released yourself from them "ill play with all of you I promise but I izuku asked 1st so I'll play with him you want to join u can or you can play with Aizawa" your friends all whined protesting but it was quickly shit down by the grumpy teen izuku look back with a smug smile while holding your hand the classmates glared and all thought of one single thing

Game on

•Babysitting your kids was absolute hell for you and aizawa all of your friends wanted to play with you individually

Katsuki wanted you to be the kidnapped prince/Princess so he can be the big hero to save you

Shoto wanted to draw you so you had to sit there and stand still so he can be done (it was a drawing of you and him kissing)

Momo and Aoyama wanted to do a mini-fashion show and wanted you to be the judge so they could both compete with each other and see which one is the best

Kirishima wanted to impress you and get your attention by attempting to break stuff with his quirk so you can call him manly you had to stop him many many times

Tsuyu tryna put makeup on you saying how pretty you are and Hakagure is doing your hair and if you ever move you're hit with a brush by Hakagure

Sero tryna to play Spiderman so he can be your Spiderman to save you but you and aizawa panicked tryna persuade him to come down

Koji is the tamest one he tries to teach you different types of animals and species and whenever you praise him for it he gets so happy he tries to invite them in thinking he'll get more praise at 1st it was small animals but u had to stop him cause it was gonna invite a whole ass snake in there

Sato drags you in the kitchen and makes you watch his baking and wanting to be his taste tester

Mina wants to have a dance battle with you making you put up a much of songs you and herbsould like and make you dance with her

Ochako Wants you to join her making matching love bracelets thinking if you would wear this the two of you could be a couple

Iida wanted to be the little class pet trying to tell off the Kids to let you be and tryna convince you into thinking that he's the only good student here

Tokoyami Wants to nap with you which is your fav thing and he loves to want you to read stories to him

Shoji just wants to cuddle you no playing no running no nothing just cuddling with you while your watching your fav show on ur phone

Ojiro wants to play Karate with you so you pretend to spare with him in karate and pretend to be defeated

Denki wanted to play hide and seek with you but his hiding spot are so bad you tried your best not laugh and see him at the same time

Mineta just kept flirting with you so you had to put him in timeout

Izuku Wanted you to be the villain and he she to be the hero to stop you

You were being pulled in different directions the kids arguing about who gets to spend more with who Aizawa tried to break it up but when they hissed at him and he gave up and said "Nope" It was all up to you so the two of you you were about to snap at the children telling them to stop but you had an idea

you whispered it to Aiwzawa so while the class was arguing you quietly tiptoed to the door gently shut it making sure they didn't notice and out and got some snacks and drinks for them

You got back and everyone was glaring at aizawa

Y/n: Tf are y'all glaring for

Bakugo: Where did he take you

Y/n: To get some snacks-

Tenya: no fair! I would've helped you if you would've asked me

Mina: Me too!

Kirishima: hey I wouldve been a better helper

Katsuki: U STUPIDS WOULDNT BEEN STRONG ENOUGH TO CARRY IT

Y/n: QUIET! it doesn't matter you want the snacks or not

Class 1a: Yea!

You and Aizawa sat them down in a circle-like formation and watch them eat their food praying that the night quill would work

It didn't

The kids were as hyper as ever they couldn't stop jumping around chasing each other Tatsumi was chasing around Kirishima and Mina with a knife it was chaos u had to lock yourself in the closet and grabbed ur cross and pray when someone announced that you were theirs LORD IT WAS A WAR you hid in the closet for what felt forever when you realize it was all quiet

You looked out to be the coast was clear but saw your classmates sleeping Thank god

You brought sleep bags and mats for them and they all slept soundly

[princesszombie05]

RED SCAR: YAN ONE PIECE X (fem) READER MODERN AU

Chapter 3: changes

(Warnings! In this chapter the self-lensionism of (y/n)) will be mentioned)

Yes, she quickly wiped her tears and waited to hear that the girls had come out, they finally did when the bell rang.

She had to hurry, she quickly arranged her makeup a little run with one of the disposable wipes in the bathroom.

She looked in the mirror with a determined look, a burning discomfort in the (e/c) irises.

She fixed her (h/c) hair and quickly returned to class, unfortunately the professor had just entered.

The man squared her from the other side to the bottom as she went to sit in her seat after almost whispering a soft "good morning" as soon as she entered.

The man must have been in his forties, with short dark brown hair and tanned skin, he wore an elegant red shirt, which exalted the complexion of his bearded mature face.

<<Apparently there is a new student>> the teacher said in a baritone voice.

(Y/n) didn't even have time to answer, that she’s been interrupted by Hancock.

<<Yes professor, she’s been here for the whole morning. She is (y/n) is the niece of Professor Silvers>> she said in a pretend kind tone, only to regain attention on her.

How self-centered- thought (y/n).

<<Very good>> he said while continuing to observe her <<I am Professor Sakazuki, but my students call me Prof. Akainu>> shifted his gaze towards the part of the class where Luffy and his friends were.

<<I teach technical drawing, how are you in this subject? >> He asked her while looking at her with a penetrating gaze.

The class was completely silent, not a fly was flying.

Yes, she clearly perceived that everyone was afraid of the man behind the chair, and (y/n) had no trouble understanding why.

<<I-I...- she looked around, everyone was watching her, her voice trembled a little, but then she composed herself- I haven't done technical drawing since middle school, prof. >>

He raised his dark eyebrow, with an unreadable expression on his face, but a strange different sparkle in his eyes.

<<Then, we'll fix it. In the meantime take out the book, page fifty-one, come on>> he dictated the orders but his dark gaze never moved from the figure of the new student.

•••••••

<<Two hours of literature followed by two hours of technical drawing are illegal, I hope they change them in the final schedule>> Usopp snorted exhausted.

<<I'm sure we started with a bang>> a girl with raven hair and bangs, Robin, replied in a calm tone.

(Y/n) put her things in order as quickly as possible.

She wanted to go home alone, even though she didn't know the way.

She couldn't stand all this anymore.

The girl suddenly accidentally elbowed the boy next to her.

Their eyes meet.

<<Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to>> she said kindly, almost scared.

She didn't let the boy reply, and immediately threw herself out of the classroom.

She walked for a while through the corridors and arrived at the school exit, she cursed herself for not remembering the road, and then decided to wait a moment and write to her uncle to pick her up.

She was looking for courage when suddenly she hears a voice.

<<Oh hello (y/n)>>

Please, not now. I don't want to see anyone. The girl thought, looking up at the two who greeted her.

<<We wanted to ask you if you would come to eat with us, our classmate Sanji works in a restaurant! >> <<And he's doing the discount! >> Nami interrupted him with a sly smile.

<<... So we get to know the others too! >> Luffy Finished.

If there was a defect in herself that she hated terribly, in addition to her physical appearance, it was the fact that she did not know how to say no to people. She didn't know if it was out of fear of being excluded or if it was out of the uncontrollable need to please everyone.

The fact is that he was now at a noisy table full of her new classmates.

They were on the sofas of a round table. She was crushed between Luffy and his brother Sabo.

The table was full, but new people kept arriving.

Breathing was becoming difficult, anxiety was gripsing her ribs and lungs.

"You're not very talkative (y/n), it's strange for a girl as pretty as you, but on the other hand Robin is like that too" Sanji said with a small smile while his flirty look also fell on the black-haired girl, he was immediately interrupted by Usopp.

"Boys, listen to me, shy girls are the most dangerous, you never know what they think-"

"Because you've been hanging out with so many girls, right?" Nami interrupted him sneerly.

(Y/n) felt uncomfortable in this chaotic group, they were all so strange and yet so damn normal.

His gaze suddenly fell on a notebook partly to her.

"Is it yours?" she asked with a faid voice to Sabo.

The blond turned his head slightly to look at her with a look from which a slight surprise shone through.

"Huh? Oh, this one? Yes, I write quite a lot”

Without thinking about it, the girl spoke.

"I like to write too"

"Do you like to write?"

It was just a simple harmless question but in the young woman's head it had a perverse double meaning.

Did you think that someone like her couldn't have the hobby of writing because she was too stupid or superficial? Was that the impression he had of her? Or maybe it was just a random saying without any double meaning behind it?

"I...yes...I write stories, thoughts...nothing really"

She tried to look normal even if in her mind everything was in turmoil. She feels like a kind of Joker in the middle of a group of deept citizens.

<<oh...cute. I write about politics, poems and essays on politics>>

Of course. How did she figure it out before.

Vintage clothes, brown patent real leather moccasins, hair always in place.

Everything he did gave a political message, you could guess it, and you could also guess precisely his political thought.

Before (y/n) could reply, which she wouldn't have done anyway for her shyness, especially when Sabo looked at her that way, Nami spoke.

<<Robin also writes, she won a competition at school last year out of fifty-seven students who participated she came first >>

Oh.

She hated it when other people were good at what she liked and what she thought she was good at, maybe because deep down she knew she didn't excel at anything. Mediocre, this was the word that constantly followed her name.

<<cool>> she stammered slightly, scolding herself almost immediately in her mind for the fool.

To save her from embarrassment was Ace, who with a playful and mischievous tone addresses Sabo.

"You know, this made me think that Sabo likes beautiful complexed girls, well it was intuitive, and that's why he hasn't been engaged yet"

"Ace! Stop it!-“ the blond tried not to point out his embarrassment.

"Nurse syndrome, eh Sabo?" Usopp also sneaked into the conversation To sting Sabo.

(Y/n)'s gaze suddenly fell on Zoro who with his face down was eating what he had ordered in silence.

"-Why don't we talk a little about you instead, Ace? You only like good-looking girls!”

"And what's wrong? The eye wants its share!”

"And that's why you've never had a girlfriend either, or at least a serious one!" Sabo replied.

Luffy snorted.

"How bored these speeches...I want more food! Sanji, can you tell the kitchen to hurry up? It's your restaurant after all”

"They're not slaves, fool! And then for quality things it takes time. So shut up and wait!”

Luffy snorted again while the others were still fighting and I looked (y/n) and then at her plate.

"(Y/n)! You haven't eaten almost anything, wait-“

Luffy took a chicken wing from his plate and put it on hers.

"Here, eat!"

The table at that shut up and (y/n) didn't understand the reason.

Everyone seemed stunned by the situation just unfolded before their eyes.

"L-Luffy-"

"H-he-"

“HE SHARED HIS FOOD WITH SOMEONE!”

(Y/n) she was confused, she didn't understand what was so strange.

——/——/—-

Meanwhile Kidd and Killer were at the park near the school eating a pizza lying on the benches.

"By the way... have you seen the new girl? She looked like a little lamb, all scared, I don't believe it even for a second that she is related to Mr. Silvers”

Kidd didn't even look away to look at Killer.

"What's up Kidd?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking"

"I know what you're thinking, at least go to the bathroom"

"Shut up-! Not to that idiot! I've already thought about it before anyway... I was thinking that that girl has a strange aura, you can see from a mile away that she has something strange, or different if you want to be nice..."

"And that's why I find her attractive, there are few in this school, beautiful and damned, eh?"

Kidd gives him a little smile, and then says, before biting a slice of pizza: "my favorites"

"Ah, and look what I have here, Killer" says Kidd as he takes out a white briefcase from the red and crumpled backpack.

"Kidd, don't tell me that-"

"I entered the principal's office before leaving school, those were still on the desk, I had time to make a copy"

"You're such a psychopath, Kidd, you know that?" Killer said jokingly.

“So now I'll know a little more of the beautiful (y/n) (L/n)”

—-////————-

7 PM

"Hey! Coby! Bring these to Mr. Rayleigh's table”

Alvida says as she hands him some appetizers.

Coby runs and heads towards the table.

Rayleigh is not alone, she is with a young woman: beautiful, short black hair, sporty dress but still emanating an elegant air.

The table was set for three, but there were only two at the table.

-Will she be there too?- Coby thought, immediately trying to get rid of this thought.

"Hello, Sir"

The man stops the conversation with the woman to look at the boy who put the appetizers on the table in a slightly awkward way.

"Oh, hello, Coby! Do you still work today?”

"Yes, sir"

The man smiles at him before handing him a bill.

"The tip”

"B-but sir! These are too many-!”

"Don't make a fuss, Coby, you deserve it"

“T-Thank you sir!”

He left quickly and embarrassed.

Rayleigh looked at the time on his vintage watch.

"where is that girl?"

"Don't worry, he'll be out with the boys. And then remember all the things we did as young people!”

The man chuckled and then went back serious.

"You're right. It's just that she...is different, she's fragile, I don't know how to approach her, I don't know how she can react-“

"We were all like that as teenagers, Rayleigh"

"Yes, teenagers are weird, but not like that! After the death of her mother-“

He was interrupted by the woman's elbow.

(Y/n) had just entered the restaurant, and once she caught a glimpse of her uncle with a young woman she immediately thought: -this evening will be very long and embarrassing-.

——————

"Hello" said (y/n) slowly when he reached the table.

"Hi, honey! Nice to meet you, I'm Shakky!”

“Nice to meet you too, I'm (y/n)”

"Where have you been?"

"Rayleigh!" Shakky scolds him.

"What? I was just curious, your father told me that you never leave the house”

-Nothing is ever good- the girl thought.

The evening then passes quietly, between the two adults talking to each other and the girl who just listens, or rather, try to imagine herself in another much more pleasant place, like in her bed, watching some TV series.

Shakky was a nice and kind woman, even if the girl couldn't, selfishly, accept that Rayleigh had moved on to her family, which (y/n) couldn't do, she was still trapped, so messed up, so broken that no one, not even herself, cared to fix her.

He gets in the car with Rayleigh, but he doesn't turn on the car.

"You still haven't told me who you've been with”

"With the guys who came to eat pizza yesterday"

"What? Luffy and his team?”

"Yes...is it so surprising?"

There were minutes of silence, the only noise in the car was, the slightly labored breathing of the man, as if he was breathed. The girl was already starting to worry.

"I found some blades in your room…razor blades" Rayleigh suddenly blurted out without looking at her.

The girl feels her heart stop, while Rayleigh continues.

"I didn't want to touch your things but they were on the floor that I stepped on when I went to open the window in your room, because you forgot to do it before going to school..."

"I haven't done it for months!!" she almost screamed.

"You know what...I don't believe you, (y/n). Because then why those were there, huh? You moved in yesterday, damn it! And I should believe you haven't done it for months! Besides the fact that I don't seem to have improved since... I know.”

There were moments of silence between the two before the man resumed speaking.

"I'll send you to the psychologist"

"What?!"

"You heard. I know your father is convinced that you can do it alone, but I'm sure he didn't know about this detail that we absolutely can't overlook!”

The girl doesn't know whether to feel angry about what's happening or a little happy because for the first time someone notices her pain, which exists... she was almost going crazy believing that she wasn't really sick just because no one noticed it.

"I dreamed about her again last night"

Raylegh looked away from the steering wheel with an expression of empathy towards the girl and then gave a trembling sigh.

"It's normal, you're in a delicate moment, okay? I don't....I don't want you to perceive me as a villain. I just want everything to be resolved. I know a name, a friend of mine, we also call him at school to give prevention conferences on bullying or in-depth talks on affectivity and sexuality. He's a psychologist and he's also a good person, and I think he can really help you, I've already mentioned to him something about you. He’s name is Donquixote Rosinante.”

——///////————-

"Law? Are you at home?”

Rosinante, finally, after a long day of work, returned home; metaphorically, as his studio was exactly upstairs of his house, so he had never left the building of his residence.

Trafalgar Law instead was in his room, on his bed with very high music reading one of his many anatomy books, or rather, he was rereading it, as he had already read them all.

He had always been a boy prodigy, especially in theoretical subjects, but he also got by in those practices. In opposition he had never been much in social relationships, which worried Rosinante a little, who at the same time understood Law's difficulty, knowing the poor boy's background.

Even today Law, after school, quickly returned home with the bus, and then quickly made some instant noodles and started rereading all his manuals with his bitter music. A rigid and precise routine, like Law.

"Law?" Rosinante opened the door of the room from which a very loud song came loudly, probably from a semi-unknown band whose existence only Law and the band itself knew.

"Yes?" The boy replied, not taking his eyes off the book and not even turning off the music boxes.

"How was school? Have you eaten?”

"I haven't eaten yet, I was waiting for you. And when it comes to school, boring as always and some people should learn to wash themselves, or not leave the house"

The usual Law. Rosinante thought with a small involuntary smile that formed on his face.

"Come on, come to the kitchen and we'll see what to eat...ah, now that it comes to mind... Raylegh told me that his niece has just moved, he mentioned some probl-…things about her...but...but tell me...have you met her? Maybe you two could become friends, Rayleg said that she is also very introverted like you”

Law looked up at Rosinante.

"Yes, I saw her"

The shy and almost fragile girl who was sitting next to him this morning comes back to Law's mind. She seemed afraid of the world and maybe even of herself.

Sometimes with his feline and attentive gaze, he could peek at what she was doing on her notebook. In most cases she was drawing.

He remembers that he actually struck her a little, especially her skill and especially what she drew.

A bit of envy in seeing someone who knew how to excel in something in which he was mediocre, a little almost admiration for the girl's skill without even committing himself too much. And then for the subjects represented.

It actually seemed that the two had things in common, but this thought quickly came off.

——/////———

Ace was in his bed with a rubber ball in his hand that bounced off the ceiling and then promptly took it back in his hand with agility and firmness.

He was thinking, which he didn't like to do, thinking and constantly reflecting on everything made him feel paranoid. He prefers to live things to her rather than let himself be swallowed up by the thoughts of not having done it or by further anxieties that made him think of painful moments that he preferred to set aside in a hidden corner of his memory and never open it again.

However, his thoughts had stopped at the new girl. Constantly repeating in her head today's scenes with her protagonist; when she looked at him with those big and beautiful eyes, when she touched her face slightly out of shyness, when she stammered sweetly.

He never understood his ideal type of woman. Not that he had many problems about it, if he liked a girl he would take it, also because if he could afford it, he was a very attractive, athletic and nice guy, sometimes a little funny, but still charming.

To break his flow of thoughts was a notification, it was a message.

Isuka: "hey, Ace, what's up? You haven't written to me for days... I know that the situation between us is complicated, especially because of me, but I would like to try again"

Ace didn't usually have many problems, did he like a girl? And did you also want to hang out with him? It was there.

And he liked Isuka, she was a beautiful girl and had a strong temperament, but he felt that she lacked something, but he didn't give it too much weight.

He already had a bit of a reputation as someone who went with many girls, became intimate with them, and then got bored before he really started to know them. And since he had come of age, things had not been slowed down, on the contrary.

But his head was now in other lands, he was thinking that girl so shy and so cute, he was sure that inside her there was a whole world to discover, and then he already said that she was so cute? Maybe one of the most beautiful girls he has ever seen, and he likes beautiful things.

He needed to vent a little, he was already burning for this new girl he didn't even know, he needed to be satisfied and at the same time to try to forget (y/n), because starting to feel feelings scares him, he had made a promise to feel only strong emotions and satisfaction, and not to waste his life on anything else that would not satisfied him and can hurt him.

Ace: "we can see each other now if you want" he typed.

——/////————

"Sabo? Are you listening to me?”

"Oh? H-eh? Yes yes Koala, I was just finishing something”

The two were on video call studying, but Sabo was distracted by something.

"What are you writing?"

“Rearrandal thoughts”

He quickly erased what he had written, too embarrassed

-Your trembling voice gives me the instinct to protect you-

How stupid. Sabo though, while deletes the sentence.

"Hey...you know you can tell me everything, right? We grew up together”

"I know, you are my dearest friend"

"Yes, friend," Koala replied with a slight bitter tone, which Sabo didn't notice.

"I assure you, I have nothing, I'm just thinking that it's my last year and I'll have to do so many things, and I still have to choose which way to go" Sabo said a half-truth. Koala smiled sympathetically.

"Sabo, don't worry about that. There is time, then you are good at everything, I am sure that whatever you choose you will excel, because you are like that, you are even president of the institute!”

"They haven't elected me yet"

"It's almost certain that it will still be you this year. Anyway you already have a fan here!”

"Thank you Koala!"

The two remained silent for a few seconds before Sabo started talking again.

"What do you think of the new girl, (y/n)?"

Koala raised an eyebrow. Sabo didn't usually talk about girls and he certainly wasn't a gossip guy.

"There are a few rumors"

"Oh really? Like?” He asked nonchalantly.

"She had a stormy past" Koala tried to be cautious, knowing Sabo's past with his biological family.

"For example?"

"Her mother died recently, then I don't know anything else, I just know that's why she decided to move with her uncle, the only relative she has left outside the family unit"

Sabo squeezed the pen, but tried not to let any emotion show off his face.

"I'm sorry, thanks for telling me Koala"

——-/////——-

"Luffy! So when will we see each other next time?”

"At school, Hancock! Have you already forgotten?”

The boy answered the girl on the phone while he was playing video games on the couch.

"But I meant only you and me"

"Yes! Die!” Luffy screamed on television while winning.

"Luffy?"

"Oh yes, sorry Hancock, what did you say?"

"Nothing..."

Suddenly Luffy's phone started to vibrate, it was Zoro who was calling him.

"Excuse me Hancock, Zoro is calling me, see you tomorrow!"

"Wait! Luffy-"

The black-haired boy interrupted the call without even hearing the girl's protests and accepted Zoro's call.

"Hey, Zoro!"

"Hi, Luffy. Do I bother you?”

"No, don't worry"

"I wanted to ask you something" Zoro seemed very serious, but Luffy didn't notice.

"Of course! Tell me!”

"You know...the new girl"

"(Y/n)!"

"Yes, her”

"Why are you asking me about her?" Luffy asked with a slightly inquiring tone, not typical of Luffy, which Zoro did not notice on the other side of the phone.

"It seems to me...look I know it's stupid...but I think I've already seen her"

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that maybe I know her. Maybe we knew each other as children”

"Eh?!"

"We met at the park a couple of times when we were really young, then I moved shortly after you know...Kuina"

"Are you sure it's her?"

"He has the same name, the same color of hair and eyes. But I'm not sure. She didn't recognize me, so I don't know if it's her... the point is, that's…that... I wanted to ask you if you knew maybe which city she came from, if she told you something, so I could understand if it's really her"

"No, I don't know where she comes from, she's not a much talker, but I like her hair! They smell good"

Zoro raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't give it much weight. The usual Luffy, he thought.

"Okay. Can you tell me if you find out something? It's very important to me”

"Sure, but can't you ask her by yourself ?"

Zoro blushes slightly.

"I-I'll do it...but you investigate for me anyway please"

"Okay"

"Thank you, see you tomorrow, Luffy"

"See you tomorrow"

Luffy ended the call and heard someone behind him, he turned around finding Ace ready to go out, who unbeknownst to him, had listened to the whole conversation of Luffy and Zoro, and someone else had also eared everything: Sabo. That he was about to go down the stairs after the video call with Koala and seeing Ace listening to the conversation, so he did it too after hearing (y/n)’s name.

"Hi Luffy, who were you talking to?"

"Zoro"

"Ah, and of what? If I can know”

"(Y/n)"

"Hi guys, what are you doing? Ace, are you going out?” Sabo interrupted quickly coming down the stairs wanting to hear what Luffy had to say abou (y/n).

"Yes, I'm going out"

"You also put on that lousy perfume" Luffy said nauseated.

"Hey! It doesn't suck, women like it! It's a real man scent, you're still too young to understand”

"I'm only one year younger than you" replied the youngest.

"And let's hear, where are you going Ace?" Sabo asked with a sly smile.

"It's my business! Sometimes I can't stand you two," Ace said quickly as he took the keys and left the house slamming the door.

"Oh, I touched a raw nerve" Sabo sighed as he went to the kitchen to get a pack of chips.

"What did Zoro want?" The blond asked Luffy suddenly.

"He wanted to know if I knew what city (y/n) lived in before because maybe he know her, Hey, can you give me a chip?"

Sabo squeezed the bag at the news.

"Does he know her?"

"Maybe they are childhood friends, I honestly didn't understand" said Luffy with his mouth full of chips.

"I understand" said Sabo with a dark look as he stared at the void, but Luffy didn't notice too much intent on eating his chips.

—-//////——-

In the meantime Coby is arranging the table where Raylegh, (y/n) and Shakky had dinner, when he notices that on the table, on the side of (Y/n) a lip balm remained under the napkin, probably is (y/n)’s. He grabbed it quickly and put it in his pocket without anyone seeing it. He couldn't hold back a small smile on his lips.

"What do you have to smile about Coby?" His friend Helmeppo asked.

"Nothing" he answered quickly

"You're really weird. Come on, come and help me with the table 6"

———////————

Author's corner:

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the likes and for supporting my story!

The yandere tendencies of the guys start to show offs finally!

Who do you think will be the first of the guys to make a move towards (y/n)? Let me know!

[neuroprincess]

August - Larissa Weems/Female Reader - Part Two

Larissa Weems/Female Reader

Summary: After knowing about August's existence, Larissa tries to get closer to the teenager and making it work can be difficult when both are socially awkward.

Classification: Fluff

Warnings: OC (original character)

Word count: +2700

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four (soon)

Unrevised

The teenager takes a bite of apple as she stares at the courtyard distractedly, the social groups are dispersed, gathered together talking about random things, mostly about Rave'N Ball which soon became the main topic. Everyone seems excited describing their party clothes bought especially for the day and who they would bring, she knows she should be excited about the same things or at least pretend so she could socialize with them, but she isn't and can't, the only promising thing about the ball is the food and dancing. She loves to dance, since childhood it seems to be the best way to express herself, more than words anyway. At the age of four she started ballet classes and continued performing until 13 when she had a growth spurt, being too tall and with an inadequate bone structure to continue being a dancer, August used her abilities as much as she could to continue dancing and in the end had to let go when mom found out, disapproving. Y/N understood the motivations, it was the girl's first individual interest and something she had devoted herself to for years, this didn't negate the fact that using shapeshifting is a type of cheating and this consumed a lot of her daily energy to continue with the farce. Besides, where they were living was not very kind to any outcast and unsafe for someone like the teenager, in the end they had to resort to the most radical alternative, sending her to Nevermore. Learning things that she, as a mom and normie, could never teach.

August takes one last bite before discarding the rest of the fruit in the trashcan next to the bench she is sitting on, as turning around she notices the presence of the principal almost next to her, standing looking at some vague point pretending to be analyzing the students, except for her as if barely acknowledging her presence. The girl waves a hand in greeting to get her attention and succeeds, they exchange a quick smile and nod, looking back to the courtyard. It's awkward, none of them like this atmosphere and at the same time they don't make the first move towards a real conversation.

"I... I heard that you haven't been using your abilities for two days now." the blonde begins running over the first few words before continuing "How do you feel about that?"

"It's boring, I confess my life seemed easier. And some people just won't stop staring at me."

"Well, you're pretty and tall, you draw attention from boys and girls." Larissa tries to hit back with positive points and winks to her "Anyone interesting?"

She notices how the girl unconsciously stares at a specific group and looks away blushing, redness taking over cheeks and ears. August just whispers "No." and stares at her confused, she thinks that somehow it's not normal for the principal to ask questions like that. But this is a new world which she is still learning the rules.

"Right... have you already been introduced to your classmates?"

"Not exactly, that blonde werewolf talked to me the first day and told me who was who, after that we never talked again." the teenager shrugs shoulders about the fact, she had met a few students who either seemed intimidated or didn't even bother to introduce themselves properly "And that's okay, I'm trying things on my own."

"I understand." neither of them knows what to say anymore, remaining in a silence for minutes that isn't uncomfortable despite the growing anxiety in the pit of their stomachs. She knows August is talking about Enid and it's her group that she has unintentionally stared at. The girl stands up slowly when she notices some students are already gathering for class "Your uniform looks very... short."

Larissa notices that when the teenager stands, they are 6 inches apart, the uniform set with the skirt, which should be just past her knees, looks too small for her size, like it shrunk in the dryer or something. The sweater is tucked tighter against the body instead of being comfortably loose around her, the shoes look slightly uncomfortable, and the skirt that should be below the knee reaches her knees.

"Oh, that! I guess I spent so much time changing my form that I didn't even realize I had another growth spurt, I just forgot to warn Mama. I could take care of it with my own hands, but shapeshifting is out of our deal." the girl straightened the clothes on her body trying to make them conform to the uniform as best as she could, feeling embarrassed by the situation "I think I can handle 5 days until I can use my abilities again." she whispers the last part for only the two to hear.

"Why don't you tell your mother? I'm sure soon you will stop growing and be able to wear only a size of clothes." "Because that's how it happened to me" the blonde mentally adds, in her school days she had to change the size of her clothes and shoes three times. Growing pains as a teenager, her mother always told her on the way to the mall to buy more clothes. Victoria Weems is as tall as her daughter and apparently the girl inherited that from them, even if Y/N's genes allow her to be a little shorter than the two older Weems "I'm sure she'll buy."

"I'm sure too and that's exactly the point." she says simply, her tone making it clear that she doesn't want to continue the topic, then puts the backpack on shoulders "I have to go, botany class now."

"Right! August, think carefully about the ball, it's not mandatory, but it's a great experience and you have a week to prepare." the principal blinks as the girl walks past her, in response she just gets a shy smile.

Larissa smiles back and as soon as the teenager disappears from her vision she turns to the group of students where Enid is, Wednesday with her, Xavier a short distance away from them, Bianca, Divina and Yoko are nearby talking to the duo, the new student doesn't seem interested keeping the same expression as always, which sends a shiver down her spine when directed at her as Addams realizes the tall woman is staring. The blonde immediately turns to go back to her office, pretending this moment didn't happen, even being a teenager she gives her some chills, not that she is scary but yes her actions, she doesn't know what to expect from her.

On the way through the halls Lara August doesn't leave her mind. First, as principal for many years and past hundreds of students, she didn't believe August would follow through on the deal so easily, the next day the fountain was completely clean and more than before, once again Larissa found herself looking for her, this time knowing who to look for and not found her. What made her upset was the possibility that the girl had gone back to using the abilities to hide from her, a possibility soon denied by Thornhill who had the girl as a helper most part of the day and claimed she saw her go straight to the dormitory. Second, she learned more about her supposed daughter, August sleeps in Ophelia Hall sharing a room with a psychic outcast, the academic curriculum is focused on history and literature, she tried fencing and left when Bianca beat her in 10 seconds, after being rejected by the yearbook she is still looking for an extracurricular activity. And last and not least, that the teenager loves hot chocolate, or should at least like it a lot, because Larissa has seen her drink many cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream this morning for breakfast.

And something struck her as she analyzed the short conversation they had at the break, the group that Lara stared at was precisely Enid's... with Wednesday. It couldn't be possible, she wished there wasn't the slightest chance that the blonde was liking the other girl. Not only would it be ironic considering her own past with Morticia, it would also be Y/N's ruin and maybe August's, because as far as anyone can tell the two are complete opposites. Perhaps, with some hope, her possible love interest could be any of the other girls or even Xavier.

"I wonder if this is how parents feel or act when their children are having a crush on someone."

The day is already over for the Nevermore students, most of them have finished dinner, going to their respective dormitories or gathering in common rooms to study for exams the next day. August doesn't feel the need to spend her evening like this after having dedicated all her free hours to it, she sees how desperate everyone is about some difficult subjects and wonders if she should approach them for help, giving up the idea when they find the answer by themselves or with the help of Bianca, who majestically walks around the tables helping their classmates with small things as if she has all the content memorized in her brilliant mind and making a point of showing how intelligent she is. The shapeshifter tries to be discreet as she stares at their interactions, knowing she is failing in this as her eyes can't leave her until the other notices, Bianca frowns as their gazes meet. August turns face quickly and places her hands on cheeks knowing she must be blushing, this is how it works, when in her normal form the pale skin gives way with annoying ease. It's not like she knows how to hide reactions and emotions either, another part of her socially maladjusted personality.

"Hey, white head!" the siren calls out approaching her, laughing when she notices how the girl stiffens at the desk, dropping the book she was reading and slowly turns to look, confusion in her eyes wondering if it was she who was called "Yes, you. Are you having a hard time too?"

"Yeah, no, I mean no. I've been studying all day." she stutters, trying to look anywhere but Barclay's intimidating eyes.

"I see. So do you have a problem with me?" the question is direct and sincere, too direct for the blonde's conversational standards.

"No, never, I'm... I'm sorry." the two stare at each other for a few seconds that seem tense and that atmosphere is cut off by the queen bee's loud laugh, August not sure how to feel about this reaction, even more confused.

"You were staring at me."

"I didn't even realize. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." she swallows dryly and finally gets up the courage to look her in the eyes, feeling legs getting weak and maybe pressure dropping along with it, if she wasn't sitting up she would probably fall to knees on the floor.

"It's all right. Well, if that's it..." Bianca says casually ready to go to another table to offer help.

"Bianca! Actually..." the shapeshifter takes a deep breath trying to gather courage to continue "I need help, not with the exams. I'm terrible at fencing, you know that, you're the one who made me kiss the ground a month ago." the two laugh for different reasons remembering of her first fencing lesson "Could you give me some lessons or some help? Please."

"Sure! Maybe after the ball, you have the potential for a good opponent, Lara."

"Thank you..."

As soon as the siren gives back August gets up gathering her belongings and tries to leave the common room as discreetly as possible, a difficult task when she messes with the strap of the backpack attached to the chair and quick steps that make the shoes resonate on the floor. "She knows my name! She knows my fucking name!" is the only thing the blonde can think of while running to her dorm, avoiding curious and even judging glances at the big smile on her lips. When she enters the bedroom she seems to be walking on clouds and suddenly feels silly for acting this way just because Bianca Barclay knows her name, maybe it's no big deal, she is a brilliant student with a great memory, or maybe it's too much because after all she is the queen bee while August is another teen without any highlight and who would never draw her attention. August sighs and walks to her side of the room throwing the backpack on the bed, that's when she notices a perfectly wrapped red package on top of the blankets, she stares at it confused, for a moment believes that maybe it's a gift for her roommate and they got the sides confused, but there is a note with her full name written in cursive handwriting.

The package is opened with care, the ribbons undo the lace to reveal a complete uniform set, from blazer to shoes, what makes her happiest is the skirt in the right size looking perfectly cut for her slim and tall body. She looks at herself in the mirror with the skirt clinging to the body, loving how it looks, she would no longer have to adjust every time she sits down or stands up and that is a great relief. All the items are folded up again to be stored and only then August notices something at the bottom of the package, she pulls out a small thick black book with gold details, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. Next to it a note attached written "It's one of my favorite books, maybe you'll like it too. Good read, August." and immediately she knows who gave her the package. Principal Weems. The only person in the academy who knows how she likes to be called and uses the name. No matter how stubborn and proud she is felt good to earn it from her, almost hugged for someone other than her mom caring about her.

Another morning begins with Larissa comfortably working on her laptop, it's one of the rare occasions when it's calm, especially with the recent events in Jericho and Nevermore, of course, over the question of a certain student's motherhood. Momentarily the tension was lifted from her shoulders and she felt good, relaxing against the chair. Eyes closed thinking of good times, both past and present. She remembers clearly the day she met Y/N, ten years younger, cheerful and spirited, always friendly when she served her a cup of tea. Their first kiss in front of Larissa's apartment, her former home when only a teacher. They barely had a first date before falling into each other's arms, drunk on love... and wine. She sighs remembering those nights on weekends when they bought bottles to accompany home-cooked dinners and it always ended in the same thing. She can remember the young woman's face in vivid details, it's surreal.

And she comes to the realization that there is one more thing to take care of, to finally talk to Y/N, two days earlier all the courage she had gathered to make that call crumbled as soon she heard her voice on the other side of the phone. She hung up without saying anything, hoping that the other woman would think it was a wrong call or just someone making a prank. When there was no return call she knew she was safe and initiated a plan, not very complex, but still important and difficult to approach the teenager. If was any other child she knows it would be easier, but every time she is around August can't stop thinking that this girl is her daughter, even if there isn't a DNA test to prove it yet, imagining how she must have been as a kid, about who she is, what she likes or dislikes, the guilt eating her up inside every second she spends next to her.

"August, what..." she whispers startled when the girl opens the office doors unceremoniously, she is red and disheveled hair evidencing that she ran all the way there "I see you are wearing the..."

"I thought we had an deal, Principal Weems!" she almost shouts interrupting the older woman, to the surprise of both of them "I tried to behave, to fulfill our deal, I'm not even using my abilities. And you betrayed me! I feel dumb for trusting an adult."

"What are you talking about, Lara August?" Larissa doesn't know if she is confused or angry at the teenager's attitude, her tone of voice expresses that.

"You weren't supposed to call my mom and you called her."

"I didn't..."

"She's here!"

"Shit!"

"Yeah, shit!"

"Watch your mouth, young lady!"

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[karma-simp]

I hate assassination classroom so I've been redesigning it

(That's my Ao3 which has all of my Karma x reader fics). Also TW! I have photos of my drawings in here and my phone quality is soooooo bad.

Don't get me wrong, I've been obsessing over assassination classroom since September 2020 (4 years). But like... the writing is so bad! Like Yusei Matsui, you had some very good ideas and concepts, but you were so bad at communicating them. It has taken over 3 years of analysis to understand even basic ideas

Like your main character, Shiota Nagisa is kinda badly written. His talent isn't bloodlust, it's deception. He appears weak and fragile but is actually a violent killer. He's observant but unnoticeable, so he fades into the background. His character arc is supposed to be finding himself, his way, and his self confidence.

Oh and there are so many 'jokes' made that aren't funny or things that are overlooked like I don't think there is a single good parent in that show except Karasuma. I mean Miss Bitch kissing the students isn't okay, the feminising Nagisa jokes aren't funny and honestly, I don't even like Korosensei anymore. Also Terasaka told Nagisa to kill himself and we never came back to it (or the actual suicide itself).

I mean sure, Korosensei does a lot for those kids, but he just comes off as more of a 'fun' teacher that plays games in class and is always there to talk to but he just seems unprofessional. I mean he's a goddamn mass murderer for god's sake. His backstory took ages for me to understand. Like wah wah, he has to die, cool story bro. I get a backstory every anime (or episode if your demon slayer) so I have no sympathy. But I guess I am a 'greater good' lover so whatever.

Also don't even think to bring up Karma. I mean my username is Karmas-wife, so I am not just his defender, I'm his lawyer. The civil war arc is so out of character for him and so is him teasing Nagisa about being girly after finding about his mum. Sure he might seem like an asshole, but that's the mask, that's what he wants you to think. But he's kind and protective, he's not egotistical. He defends his classmates and friends time and time again. I want to see so much more of him. His anger, fighting prowess, leadership, vulnerability and healing.

Also, the deuteragonist should be Sugino, not Karma. Sugino is Nagisa's best friend, he's literally attached to Nagisa's side, and if I were to ask Nagisa who his best friend was, he would say Sugino. I kinda don't like him because he wouldn't like Karma but I understand that's a bias.

So all of this has made me want need to rewrite assassination classroom. I mean there's a whole lot of angst in the themes that just doesn't translate. Honestly, the show probably would be more memorable and of better quality if it was 3 seasons.

So here are some of my redesigns of characters

Protagonist: Shiota Nagisa

He starts off seemingly timid, quite and oblivious. To try and make up for his insecurity of being useless, Nagisa takes notes of Korosenei's weaknesses, attempts that work, strengths of his classmates and possible future attempts (in a bigger book). He's surprisingly calm under pressure, like when executing assassination attempts. Scarily so. This initially doesn't seem very scary until it combines with his hidden bloodlust. He enjoys the dominance that killing someone provides. Little bit by bit, the little moments of scariness begin to bleed through. Until Kayano shows Nagisa how to conceal himself better, making himself scarier. He wishes for the confidence that Sugino has. Used to be friends with Karma, but now Nagisa really only asks Karma for help because he's kind afraid of Karma. He originally thinks he should be an assassin because it's 'the only thing he's good at' until he starts teaching. The he realises he likes helping people grow more. Also, his talent is deception/ disguising himself, not bloodlust.

Deuteragonist/ Best Friend: Tomohito Sugino

The common sense/ brain cell holder (the only normal person in 3-E). Dad friend who feels very concerned for Nagisa and (rightfully) weary of Karma. Doesn't really see a lot that goes on but is very honest and down to earth (good contrast for airheaded Nagisa). Although he isn't very muscly, he is strong and courageous, like a classic hero. Can be quite simple. Has a crush on Kazaki, likes basketball/ sports and the ten million yen bounty.

Main love interest/ main girl: Kaede Kayano Akari Yukimura

After losing her sister, she infiltrates the E-Calss under a fake name. She eggerates her love of pudding and pretends to be a bubbly airhead. She befriends Nagisa to hide herself then helps him find himself to do this. Later, she reveals herself and after her unsuccessful assassination attempt, she reintroduces herself. The classmates get to know the real her: more mature, determined, fierce, serious but still social and more aware of people than they though. She gains a crush on Nagisa for his steadiness and his emotional intelligence (and kissing ability).

Classmate/ Ex-Friend: Karma Akabane

Used to be friends with Nagisa but got weary of his dark side. An aggressive/ intimidating fighter with a bad reputation of getting into fights (with people that deserved it) like his fight (with a bully) that put him in the E-Class. Doesn't often interact with his classmates as he scares them. He doesn't see any reason to care about grades, them, or himself). Has issues with authority (after betrayal from teacher and being abandoned by parents). Learns to care and put effort into things after being adopted cared for by Karasuma. This makes him go from a bossy shadow to a decisive leader and gives him awareness of others.

Secondary Love interest: Rio Nakamura

Popular jokester who knows (and tells) all the gossip. Similar to Miss Bitch: confident, snarky, headstrong and attention-seeking. Likes Nagisa because he doesn't stand up to her so is 'easy to control.' She loses interest when he does eventually stand up to her. Smarter than she lets on and doesn't want to tell the class to keep her popularity. When she shows how smart she actually is, she loses friends and forces them to come back.

Classmate /Class Clown: Maehara Hiroto

Childish class clown that lives off the words 'no homo' and laughs at fart jokes. Isogai's best friend. He always has a girlfriend and in the very short time in between them he's super depressed because he's scared of being alone. Laughs to hide the pain. Charismatic, attractive and surprisingly loyal. Notices the little things. Romantic and funny so the girls are all over him but he's just a teeny bit afraid of commitment.

Classmate: Manami Okuda

Chemistry girly. Likes easy observations, formulae, and studies of things/ chemicals/ matter. Words/ people are too complicated and she's very unaware of double/ hidden meanings of things due to being very solitary. After being taken advantage of by friends, she gives up on trying. Then she meets Kayano and Kanzaki who work around it. Then Karma and Korosensei teach her how to understand people and why it's important, making her better at communication. Very blunt and straightforward. Horrible liar/ actress.

Classmate/ Bully: Ryoma Terasaka

Bully that uses his strength as power over others/ gets others to do his dirty work. After it doesn't work and he drops to the E-Class, then is put down by his friends for it and sees the effect on Nagisa and the class, he grows up and starts to take responsibility for his actions. Then, he starts listening to others and following their lead. The class might joke about him being a dumbass (which he is) but he does a lot of growing and learns to genuinely care for others, rather than hurt them. Also has common sense but no other smarts.

So there's part 1 of redesigns. Thank you for reading.

[dessertpanda]

To be a Hero....Or maybe Pt2

To be a Hero PT1 PT3 PT4 PT5 PT6 PT7 PT8 PT9

Master List

This story is heavily based on one of my OC, it mentions kidnapping, suicide, bullying, sex, yonder behavior, and abuse. Please be warned this is a little more graphic compared to my other stories. Also, the timeline for the story is a little different when compared to the actual MHA, the characters are all in college vs being in high school. Please enjoy and note that I do not own any of the named characters except for Paris, all credit for the characters goes to Horikoshi. (Izuku x Fem Reader)

        Their relationship continued to bloom and grow, it was relatively healthy except for the slight obsession that flooded from both sides. It was now their Senior year, sticking out the rest of middle school and the entire length of High school, many of their classmates refused to believe that they were dating but after Y/n's tussle, she gained a reputation for being violent, so many decided to keep their distance from both her and Izuku. It had a heavy effect on their social life but they had each other... and to them thats all that mattered. Bakugo.... who Y/n has met a couple of times and grown to hate him... treating Izuku the way he has was despicable... she wanted him dead, but Izuku had yet to ask that of her. He was the only one who continued to dare mess with Izuku, but as per his request... Y/n kept her distance.... lucky for the firey blonde, she was never present when he would harm Izuku.

        They sat in their homeroom class, Izuku was in the corner, by the window... trying to remain unnoticed, while Y/n was dead center in the very back of the room. She sat bored, sketching silently and air pods in with her music blasting, using Izuku staring out the window as her inspiration. Both their attentions were dragged to their annoying teacher who clapped his hands loudly "ALL RIGHT CLASS WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE" As soon as he finished the class erupted into a loud mess. "Entrepreneur" "A cop!" "A nurse" There was a multitude of responses came from the students. However, three sat quietly, two of them annoyed and one ashamed of his own answer. Y/n drew her attention back to her drawing, rolling her eyes at the others, and putting her air pod back in. Her action caught the teacher's attention, who seemed to have personal beef with the girl. "HEY ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO PARTICIPATE IN CLASS?" The man roared, pointing at Y/n, who simply sighed and removed her air pod once again. She took a glance around at all her classmates, whose attention was now strictly on her.

        "I want to be a hero, with Izuku... simple as that" Her tone was bored and annoyed. "HA and what makes you think you have what it takes?" He growled at her, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "You make me laugh, You should think of something more realistic... Like a housewife!" His tone was harsh and mocking towards her. He wanted to discourage her and embarrass her in front of the class. Y/n was unbothered by his words, in fact, she laughed at him. "HAHAHA.... I've been training since the day I got my quirk! The only reason I'm here in Japan is to attend U.A. and get my hero license" She spoke, nonchalantly. The teacher only responded with a scoff, no one believed that the girl had a quirk, not even her own teacher who had records that stated her abilities. "oh yes, this little witch's ability" He did magic hands, acting as if he was a witch found in a fairy tale. "My Quirk is called Dark Magic" She stated, slowly beginning to pack up her bag.... she knew where this was going. "Dark Magic? Oh please, this isn't a land of Unicorns and dragons" He placed his hands on his hips and mumbled about how stupid she was. Izuku was the only one in class who had seen her magic firsthand, she refused to use it as a way to say Fuck this society. "Think what you want to teach...I don't give a damn about your opinion" He was flabbergasted, how dare she show him no respect "Alright then you wench.... show us your little quirk! Prove that you're worth something and not just an immature child!" He yelled at her... marching towards her seat. "No, because you're the only one here acting like a child, having a strong quirk isn't all that matters, and I owe you no reasoning" With her bag packed and phone in hand, she was ready for her next destination which was enviable. "THAT'S IT I'M TAKING YOU TO THE PRINCIPAL" He roughly grabbed her arm and dragged her up out of her seat. She showed no reaction but simply spoke, "Please do, get me out of this class" With a rough tug, she yanked her arm out of his grip before sending him a glare. Picking up her bag, she walked away from the man towards the window. "Izu, will you watch my bag?" She asked setting it down next to his. He smiled at her and nodded, "O-of course" his face was slightly red but it only grew darker in color when she leaned down and set a gentle kiss on his lips. She smiled in the kiss, before pulling back and gently petting his hair. "I'll see you after school love" She gave a soft wave as she made her way towards the door. "o-okay, l-love" He was dark red, she had just kissed him in front of the entire class and their teacher. As she walked out the door, he couldn't help the dreamy expression that had overtaken his face, gently touching his lips as if to feel the linger of them. A certain blonde was not happy about the interaction that had just occurred "Damn Deku"

        She silently followed the man, stuck listening to his complaining about her attitude and lack of participation. She was actually relieved to see the familiar door that belonged to their ignorant principal. The teacher hastily knocked on the door, and both sat waiting for a response. A soft "Come in" was all he needed before practically busting down the door. He pushed Y/n inside, his hand brushing her waist to which to snapped at him "Watch your filthy hands" With a huff and a roll of his eyes, he wasted no time to start complaining, Y/n took a seat in the chair while he paced around the room going on and on. "Ah, Y/n welcome back" The principal smiled at the girl... "Seems you're back again.... for a 3rd time this month" The woman sighed, giving Y/n an apologetic look, "I'm praying for a good reason this time?" Y/n grumbled, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms, she huffed "I'm a top student, straight A's, I've been accepted into U.A on recommendation and I'm dragged down here because I refuse to share personal information about myself" the principle sighed, setting her head in her hands, "Please tell me this isn't true?" She asked the man who had stopped pacing for a moment "W-well yes, But she had a horrible Attitude!" He tried to defend himself, with a horrible reason. "I have a truthful one" With a soft chuckle the principal nodded, understanding Y/n completely, "Yes, and I truly appreciate that" She ran her hands down her face before pointing to the teacher "Uh yes, the future is important to talk about, but it's highly inappropriate to single out a student simple because she doesn't wish to share" The teacher tried to argue, "S-she needs to hear feedback and criticism from her peers..." "He also called me a wench" Y/n interrupted him, deciding she was done with this conversation. "of course he did, so glad she doesn't have parents or we'd be sued" She was moaning and groaning to herself. She knew it was a horrible thing to be thankful for but after everything this teacher had done to the young woman, she was truly glad. "Right... Mrs.Y/n you are dismissed...." She smiled at the girl before turning her attention to the man "And you.... will be staying very late, it's about time we have a heart to heart" He looked utterly defeated... "Yes Ma'am"

        Skipping back to the classroom in hopes of finding Izuku, she couldn't help but smile to herself... the thought of that dick getting in trouble was quite entertaining. Walking back through the door she saw that most of the kids had left, those who remained gave her a disgusted glance before fleeing the classroom. She looked for Izuku, realizing his absence instantly 'I hoped he'd wait for me' she thought to herself. She was about to walk out the door back into the hallways in search but familiar voices caught her attention as they flooded through the classroom from the open window. "DAMN DEKU" Y/n instantly rushed to the window to find Bakugo and his buddies standing over Izuku in the courtyard. She watched for a moment as they kicked at him and tried to snatch something from his hands. From the window, she saw the light reflect off her Eraser-head key chain, and instantly her heart sank realizing that was her bag he was holding... protecting. "Whos bag is it Deku?" Bakugo asked, setting off small explosions in his hand. "must be the bitches" His friends laughed. "S-shes not a bitch" Izuku tried to argue but a blast shut him up. Filled with rage from the interaction, she had never realized how badly Bakugo treated him. Izuku refused to tell her Kacchans quirk but now it all made sense, the burn marks on his clothes, his notebooks, shoes, and his body. How she had met him that day on the rooftop.... catching him. It broke her heart to watch him being treated this way, especially when it was her bag he was protecting... That's her boyfriend, her best friend, the nicest person she'd ever met, without thinking she jumped from the second story, catching the attention of a few other lingering students who gasped at her action. She focused her magic at her feet to cushion her fall, landing in a squat she quickly ran a hand through her hair to adjust it out of her face. "Leave him alone" She growled, standing up, her magic was seeping off of her, creating wisps around each step she took. The group's attention was on her, from the second she had jumped to the moment she hit the ground... gasping with open mouths as the air began to shift. Kacchan quickly recovered, glaring at her "Oh look, if it isn't the Witch... come to protect your little playboy" He asked, smirking showing off his shark K9s. "Damn right, I am" She was now only a couple feet away from the group, and Izuku.... she quietly assess the situation. Finding the best way to get Izuku out of harm's way.

       The group settled as Kacchans confidence came radiating, they all laughed together "W-what gonna poof us away?" They taunted her... wanting to rally her up. With a simple step, she was now in front of Izuku... like a mother bear, but her eyes held no affection as she glared at Bakugo. Stunned by her sheer speed, the group was caught completely off guard, none of them expected her to be so fast. "Get the fuck out of here! This doesn't concern you" One of the minions called "Oh but it does when it involves my boyfriend" She argued, refusing to budge from her spot. Kacchans fury only intensified at her interference, he refused to believe that a useless Deku had bagged the strongest bitch he'd ever met, that is to put it in his words. However, to save his own ego, he refused to believe she had a quirk and that her bite was nothing to her bark. He scoffed at her "Get the hell out of here, if you continue blocking my fun, I'll roast the damn nerd alive and end this little romance. "Like hell I'd let you do that" Y/n laughed at him, refusing to move from her protective stance. Setting off a small explosion in his hands, he hoped to see a bit of fear light in her eyes "Come on now, we'd hate for him to miss out on the fun", With her stone-cold face turned into a smirk, Kacchan was taken aback slight at her sudden change "Oh trust me, he'll have plenty of fun when we get home" She glanced back at Izuku winking at causing him to blush. The audacity that she had was beyond Kacchans understanding, and her quick remark left his friends chuckling at him. She left the stunned boy, turning her complete attention to her lover, "Izu, you okay baby?" She asked kneeling down to him. "a-ah yes I'm okay" He was so thankful for how quick she had come to his aid, watching her jump from the window... exposing herself, just to ensure she could get to him in time. It left him speechless, her smile, her motherly nature, her beautiful eyes.... he could feel his mind wandering to the comment she had made earlier... "I'm gonna marry you" He whispered to himself mostly but it still caught Y/n attention "What was that love?". He didn't have time to respond because Kacchan was growling and grumbling behind her. She only huffed at this and turned her attention back to the spiky-haired dick.

        His eyes were burning with pure rage, his hands clenched at his sides, muffling the booming sound of the explosions only a little. The amount of anger that flowed off him left his friends and Izuku trembling, but Y/n remained unaffected. "What you think you're better than me BITCH? JUST BECAUSE YOU FELT SORRY ENOUGH FOR THE DEKU" He screamed, his form hunching, as if he was ready to lung at her. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU BULLING HIM? WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU?" She asked, shifting her stance to brace for a possible attack. "Deku is a worthless piece of shit! And I'm making sure he stays in his place" His friends nodded and agreed, still keeping a distance due to the fear of getting tangled up in the mix on accident. "And you have a tiny dick but no one put you in your place" She smiled internally as Kacchans face flushed red in embarrassment. "SHUT UP YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT" His friends only snicked a little before going to defend him "YEAH HE'S AVERAGED SIZED" However their comment did little to help because a single glance from Kacchan shut them up completely. "If I can't talk about you shrimp dick, then you can't call Izuku useless"

        Her smile couldn't be contained any longer, in all honestly... she's been waiting for the chance to face off with him, truly wanting to remind him how little he mattered in this big world. "YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT" He screamed, taking slow menacing steps towards her and Izuku, "I'll speak as I damn Please" She matched his steps, hoping to move any danger away from Izuku. With his body shaking and his palms sweaty, he took a single look at her before launching himself at her, using his quirk to add speed. Taken slightly aback by his speed, Y/n was unable to dodge the sharp right hook that caught her cheek. It stung, it continued to bloom in pain as she stood for only a moment, motionless, that is until her face blossomed into a large grin. "Let's GO" She screams before quickly sending a sharp swing back at him. Her backhand connected with his lower jaw, causing him to stumble and stagger for a moment. His head was spinning, but he quickly recomposed himself "BITCH" He lunged at her again, with a raid of punches and explosions, the close distance made it difficult for her to dodge them all. She was able to deflect most punches the the explosions still left slight burns across her body, face, and uniform. "You hit me first" She taunted as she continued to endure his attack.

        Smoke continued to rise, blocking the view of the otter world. Kacchans friends were left speechless, and Izuku sat worried for his girlfriend "Come on Y/n" He silently cheered for her. However, they all gasped when Y/n came flying out of the smoke... her smile still prominent on her face. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was on the offensive, launching herself at Kacchan, she sent her own raid of punches and kicks. With elegance and skill, Y/n landed hit after hit... feeling the mixture of pain and impact of each hit, Kacchan was sent staggering, groaning, and discombobulated. Never in his life had anyone ever laid a beating on him like this, and his friend where in just as much shock.... no one hurt Kacchan.... no one had been able to. The attacks stopped, only long enough for Kacchan to see the girl's fist coming directly for his face, his nose specifically... with quick thinking, he turned his head to avoid a broken nose. The pure power behind the hit sent him staggering back, she had really loaded up for that one. With a moment of peace, Y/ glanced back at Izuku to ensure he was still safe.... "Are you finished?" She was huffing, bleeding, and sweating but if he wished to continue.... she would not let him down. Kacchan struggled to gain his footing, stumbling on his way to a straight stand, wiping the blood from his lip and wincing at the pain in his eye, he continued to glare at her "I- I not finished... Not yet" He ran at her, arms loaded back with an explosion in hand. Sinking seeping into a stance... Y/n shifted her hips to load her final blow... Izuku could see from his position behind her... the dark purple, blue, and black swirls that began to collect around her hand. Izuku was in awe... watching her use her quirk for attacking was something he had never seen... and unfortunately, he wouldn't get to. Feeling a harsh tug on his hair, a hand suddenly covered his mouth, restricting any noise he could make along with his breathing. He whimpered and screamed into the hand at the sudden pain that bloomed in his scalp.

        The sound of feet kicking up dirt and dust caught Y/n's attention... His attempt to get away was enough to alert her of the danger, she only glanced back... for a moment and what she saw scared her, angered her. Izuku was there, eyes wide and filled with tears... his hands and feet clawing at the dirt in an attempt to get away.... not to mention the single streak of blood that ran down the side of his face from how hard they were pulling on him. Y/n had only meant to add a little extra punch to her attack... but watching her sweet boyfriend struggle against those boys, his friends... Kacchans friends, left her emotions to take control a little... leading to a near-fatal amount of magic being produced. "STOP THAT" She screamed, sending her punching into the gut of Kacchans approaching figure. Coughing up blood, Kacchan was sent flying back, falling to his knees and cradling his stomach. With a quick wave of her hands, the two that were holding Izuku were sent flying... she did not care where they landed... hopefully in a ditch, but with them gone she quickly approached the trembling boy. Quickly wiping the blood from her nose and lip, she gently took his face into her hands "Mi amor, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" She wasted no time using her magic to heal his wounds, they would still hurt as if they were still there but the actual wound would be gone. She sighed as she checked his head to ensure any harm was completely gone... with a sigh she gently kissed his head, holding him close. "I-I'm okay... you were absolutely amazing" He breathed, embracing her torso. He couldn't believe her... she not only beat Kacchan, but she toyed with him.... not even taking their fight seriously enough to use her quirk. He continued to gush over her, from her stance, her endurance, her pain tolerance...

        "OMG YOUR HURT" he screamed lifting his head to stare at her face... he gasped as the swirls of magic slowly healed her wounds... small burn scars were left on her cheek back near her ear, and her lip held a small scar right in the center of her bottom one. "Amazing" He whispered. Kacchan and his friends were also left awestruck, for a much different reason than Izuku but nonetheless.  "Thank you, for being my protector" He gently pecked her lips... blushing at his action but flashed her a warm smile. "F-for some reason.... my hero doesn't sound like it means enough. He whispered against her lips explaining his reasoning for his change of words. Pulling away from him slowly, she began to stand, ensuring to help Izuku on his way up as well. Wincing at the pain in his head, Izuku assured her he was okay, once both were standing and safe, Y/n looked back to where Kacchan was still sitting on the ground, his friends now by his side. His eyes held nothing but pure hatred and disgust at the couple. Izuku glanced at Kacchan and shrived at his glare, as a way to shield him Y/n grabbed his hand and began heading towards the exit of the school grounds. Making sure to pick up their bags and Flipping Kacchan the bird as they turned their backs...

        "Come on Izuku.... if we want you in the U.A with me we got some training to do" Izuku laced his fingers with hers, staring at her with awe and nodding along to her words... it took a moment for them to register but eventual as they made the turn onto the streets he gasped "YOU GOT ACCEPTED!!???" She giggles at his realization, only nodding to confirm his suspicions. "YEP and once you pass that entrance exam you will too!" As they approached the park that was only a block from their school, Y/n stopped standing in front of Izuku. "So let's work hard together so we can accomplish this dream of yours!" She held out her fist, a way the two of them made a promise... "Let's flip this world on its head! No matter what it takes! WE WILL BE HEARD" She yelled pumping her other fist into the air. Her bright smile was blinding to him.... he wanted to change the world.... he wanted to be seen, and he knew no matter what it took Y/n would ensure it happened. Meeting her fist he smiled at his lover, "What it takes" His voice held pure determination. "To be a hero...." He glanced back at the school they had just come from... hated suddenly crossed his mind... for that school, Kacchan, this society. "No" He set his other hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him. "TO BE HEARD NO MATTER WHAT" His face was smiling once again... fueled with love and reassurance knowing that no matter what Y/n would be there for him. 'To be a Hero.... or maybe' they both thought to themselves.

Okay, this will continue!!!! UGH I LOVE THIS OC SOO MUCH (RANT TIME) Kacchan has grown on me a little but sometimes people forget just how badly he treated Izuku Thank you all for the support and love!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY AND REMEMBER TO EAT, DRINK, AND LOVE YOURSELF BYEEEEEE LOVE YOU ALL

[raccoonfallsharder]

Thinking about how Jolie would have reacted to the events in the Holiday Special and laughing 😂

so sorry for my delay holiday-nonnie but the truth is i was planning on writing a non-window one-shot about the holiday special and when i got this ask it kinda fucked me up. so i may not do that but what i will do is tell you this:

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ Winter Across the Galaxy * ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

window across the galaxy masterlist | back to borealis: year one winter headcanons | navigation | fanfiction masterlist rocket x f!oc | casual minific | word count: ??

fluffy fluff. smut implied at the end but not explicit. casually written (headcanon-style) && not edited at all so probably riddled with bad autocorrects.

i suspect that in her younger years, the holidays were a very weird time for jo. i imagine that she and her sister each received one very nice, very serviceable gift every christmas, like a new wool coat or a maybe — if their parents were feeling particularly indulgent — some kind of educational game. if there was anything else — a special meal, a small tree or some lights — the girls would be expected to “help,” and not in a fun way.

it wasn’t that jo & gem’s parents didn’t have means. no. everything was very intentional — calculated. they always seemed to believe that their children had been born into the world already spoiled shitty, and it was their job to teach jo & gem not to ever believe they deserved anything.

but jo’s always been a sucker for wonder, for the kind of romance that a person can find in frost-flowers on a window pane, the tender curl of steam on a cup of warm tea, the glow of a million little multicolored lights — whether they’re studding a nighttime neighborhood street under snow, or a far-off planet. at some point early on, she learned that the other kids whose families celebrated christmas had all this excitement and glee around the holidays. she learned about christmas cookies and big family get-togethers and various holiday movies and stockings and santa.

my mom says some kids don’t celebrate Christmas but if you do and you’re good, santa comes, one classmate had confided. he only doesn’t come if you don’t do christmas.

or if you’re bad.

and jo had wanted that. wanted christmas. wanted magic and wonder and closeness.

for gemma.

because even if jolie knew she herself wasn’t always very good, she knew more certainly than anything else in the world that gemma was. and that gemma deserved magic.

so jo got some cheap felt and made like, the saddest ugliest most barely-functional little stocking in the world for her sister, and explained what it was, and they hid it under gemma’s bed. and since the girls shared a room, it was very easy for jo to keep herself awake and sneak out of bed and fill her sister’s stocking with whatever she could afford or make (which wasn’t much, but it was still magic, and the look on gemma’s face every christmas morning was worth jo selling off portions of her home-packed lunches to her classmates or drawing little comics of them for a dollar or two). making magic for her sister made the holidays magic for jo.

after gemma, christmas was never again anything close to merry.

but when kraglin brings it up — and mantis gets the idea to celebrate for pete and the people of knowhere — jolie is more in than she has been on anything since rocket first told her he wanted to fuck her. after all, she has a family now, and what’s more magical than giving magic to her family?

in some ways, it’s the only christmas tradition jolie’s ever had.

although, she promises herself, next time — when there’s more opportunity to prepare — she’s going to make sure they all have stockings.

in the meantime, she’s so fuckin excited to help rocket and cosmo and groot and nebula string up the lights. to prep the snow. she probably coordinates a fuckin last-minute knowhere neighborhood potluck. she listens to bzermikitokolok’s christmas song and she tells him not to change a goddamn thing because it’s perfect. privately, she revels in the fact that she’s pretty sure she can pinpoint exactly which parts were influenced by kraglin, cosmo, and her cranky boyfriend. she loves every word of it and she can’t stop singing it.

there’s really only one line she thinks needs to be clarified before the night’s over.

she also keeps asking where mantis and drax are because it was their idea and she knows mantis is worried about telling pete (i know it must be scary for you, mant, jo had told her, but for what it’s worth, i promise pete will be thrilled; there’s nothing more precious than a sister, i promise) but either nobody knows where they went, or nobody’s telling.

when kevin fucken bacon pops out of that box though, Jo’s like …oh. this fuckin’ makes sense. later she’ll ask them all, why the fuck did no-one ask me — the other resident terran — if this was a good idea?? and the other guardians will shuffle shame-facedly.

but for now, jo and kraglin eventually corner kevin and calm him down. and the truth is, jo knows that later tonight — after some boozy hot chocolate — she’s going to find it all hysterical.

and she does. she and rocket are in their apartment (they have a much more comfortable bed because there’s no way either of them are letting each other sleep on whatever-the-fuck bachelor-rocket has going on in volume three) and she’s lying on her tummy on the comforter, drunkenly giggling and kicking her feet while she watches cosmo and rocket convince a long-suffering groot to stand in as a christmas tree. the shadows are blue and purple velvet, and the multicolored lights are warm and shimmery. everything feels like champagne bubbles, but sweeter and brighter and better. all four of them are wrapped in a golden coziness for the moment, and she’s sure she couldn’t be more happy.

once their friend and their son leave for the night, rocket and jo lay on their back and stare up at the lights that he’s strung through the apartment rafters, because it’s true that rocket has always had a soft spot for pretty things, even if he doesn’t believe he deserves them. they’re lazy and languid and rosy and buttery and content: two little sugar cookies, still half-drunk on whatever was in that cocoa (plus the flask rocket kept swigging from throughout the night).

favorite part? she asks him.

he snickers. your face when kevin bacon happened.

a buzzy giggle escapes her.

yours? he asks.

she hums her data-processing noise. the lights, she says decisively. no, the snow. no, everybody just being together, giving gifts, having fun, sharing food. i’ll make you all stockings for next year, she tells him, and he’s clearly baffled by what she means.

which reminds her.

there’s only one thing she’d change, she tells rocket. one line in bzer’s song she feels the need to clarify.

what? he asks curiously. we got somethin’ wrong?

just one thing, she assures him, lying through her fucking teeth and totally at peace with it. she can’t stop the snorting laughter riding in her throat. you think santa’s gonna shoot missiles at your toes?

rocket shrugs. maybe he’s got some very precise firepower. bet mine’s still better.

it better be, she says dryly, because mistletoe is just a kind of terran plant. like, with berries.

you eat it? rocket asks curiously.

absolutely not, she tells him. you just decorate with it. it’s poisonous.

what the fuck, he deadpans. why the fuck would you decorate with a poisonous—

it’s an old tradition, she cuts in. old folklore and myths. but when two people are standing under it, they’re supposed to kiss.

that’s stupider than santa shooting missiles at your toes, he says flatly. you’re s’posed to make out under poison? how frickin’ romantic.

but jo’s already rolling over on top of him, her chest pressed against his thighs and her forearms planted on either side of his hips.

i’d take any chance i got to kiss you, she tells him. even under threat of poison.

he goes still beneath her, but she doesn’t stop.

i’d hang it all over this apartment.

his eyes get bigger, rounder, christmas-light-red in the dim, warm glow of twinkling colors.

i’d wear it in my hair.

she drops a kiss on his abdomen.

you wouldn’t be able to walk more than a step without me tackling you, she promises, her voice smoky with too much laughter and singing through the night, too much booze and happiness and lust right now. she presses another kiss against him, just a little further south than the first.

i’d kiss you all over —

he reaches out and laces his fingers into a fistful of her hair, letting his claws scrape delicately over her scalp, and tugs her upward.

i lied, he says. santa shooting missiles is way more stupid. you want mistletoe, sugardrop? i’ll get quill to send krags and cosmo to terra and we’ll get you so much fuckin’ mistletoe —

she smiles giddily.

maybe next time, she says. for now, let me just give you a merry christmas.

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[tealfruit]

when I was a senior in high school I was in Advanced Algebra. I don't remember if that was the proper name for the class but whatever. it was the Algebra class that you got placed in if you scored high enough on the ACT and hadn't selected a specific other math course. there was only 9 people in the class including me.

the structure of the class was that the teacher would go over the content of a chapter and show us how to do the math, we'd be given a specific set of problems from the textbook to do, and 2-3 days of class to do them. we could do them at home or in class, and because it was a small class we were encouraged to help each other with the material. then we'd have a test every few chapters. while the teacher was very cool and generally everyone liked him, he was also from I think Algeria and had a heavy accent and us American teenagers sometimes had some minor trouble understanding him. so I ended up helping my classmates A Lot.

another thing about when I was in my senior year is that my stepmom was very abusive. there were often times when I was allowed to do Literally Nothing at home (including reading and drawing). so my most common strategy was to do Zero Work in class, and spend it drawing or reading or whatever I felt like doing that I was totally allowed to do at school but couldn't do at home. and then when I went home, I'd do the homework. because it was ALL I could do. and Mr. Agyemang was cool with it, bc I clearly understood the material enough to help my peers with it and usually got 100% on the assignment when I turned it in. (I also explained the situation to him. he was chill about it.)

the issue arose during the few times when I WASNT grounded from Being Alive, so when I got home I had other things I could do besides homework. and lemme tell you: when youre autistic and have ADHD and your choices are either "do math homework (work)" or "stare at wall (BORING)", math homework looks pretty damn appealing. but when your choices are "do math homework (work)" or "play solitaire and listen to Paramore on your laptop (enjoyable)", the homework becomes impossible. like pulling teeth.

the first time there was an assignment I just straight up hadn't finished, Mr. Agyemang was so disappointed in me and I felt so bad. cuz it's not like I didn't know the stuff. even if I zoned out while he was teaching, I could usually figure out from the textbook what I was doing, and if I still wasn't sure I could ask him or one of my other classmates to clarify some things. so it wasn't an issue of me knowing how to do the work, it was an issue of me just not doing it. which, for an undiagnosed ADHD haver, isn't a great look.

I had to adapt my strategy and do the work during class so that I could have fun at home. and it took maybe a little longer to figure that out than I'd care to admit. but it also meant Everyone knew when I was MegaGrounded so that was weird. and still nobody bothered to check out what the issue with my brain was. I think if been prescribed Vyvanse at 8 years old instead of 28 years old I could've at least finished college but. nobody guessed the Smart Girl could possibly have brain issues, they just thought I was Weird and also Lazy (and probably Lying about being so Forgetful bc i was so Smart)

[meowcats734]

(prompt response) Instead of jail time, crime is punished by the erasure of memories. Depending on severity, the criminal may lose days, weeks, or even decades. No matter how long a span of time, the lost memories always include the entirety of the crime itself.

Even though the Silent Academy did its best to keep us away from the war, it still showed up in every aspect of our lives. It echoed in Jiaola's absence whenever I swung by Sansen's place for tea. It rang in every word as Mr. Ganrey gave the lectures that Witch Aimes was supposed to teach. 

And barely a week into the campaign, it showed up in the middle of our classroom, in the form of a brand-new student.

"Howdy," said the teenager in a fifty-year-old's body. He looked painfully awkward at the head of class, introducing himself as a brand new student when he could have passed for a tenured teacher. "I'm Freio, most of the time. Sometimes I go by Jan, and I'll tell you when that is. I'm, uh, I'm a second chancer. If you couldn't already tell."

Iola raised a perfect hand, then before our substitute teacher could call on him, said, "How'd you manage to fuck up so badly you lost thirty years of your memory?"

Freio winced. "I, uh... truth is, I don't rightfully know. They didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. The way I see it, I went to bed thirty years ago as a teenager, woke up in the modern day." Insecurity roiled around him like a blanket. "I... I'm just glad to have a second chance. I guess. Better'n nothing."

"Alright, class, let's settle down. Freio, find yourself a seat," Mr. Ganrey said. 

"We should offer him a place to sit," Lucet whispered from my left.

Meloai, overhearing, said, "Hey, Freio! Want to sit with us?"

Lucet winced, and I sighed. I loved Meloai and Lucet, but Meloai's straightforwardness didn't mesh well with Lucet's shy nature. Meloai had successfully caught Freio's attention, but she'd turned the heads of everyone in the class as well.

"Uh..." Freio looked torn between wanting to jump down a deep hole and wanting to just close his eyes and pretend everything was just a bad dream. I sympathized. "I... okay. If you say so."

Iola turned to watch the old man's body stumble across the classroom desks, the teenager's soul piloting it still confused about why he was half a foot taller than he was used to. His body scrunched up to fit into the wooden school desk, and a few classmates giggled at how ridiculous he looked, knees half-raised to his chest. The humiliated expression on his face burned me to see, and I wished I could do something more for him.

"Now, class," Mr. Ganrey began. "In light of the recent war against the Redlands aggressors, I think that it's pertinent to cover the history of these barbaric savages..."

Ah, that sounded like a perfect time to draw away some attention from the poor second-chancer. Abruptly, I raised my hand. I'd gone with a more confrontational approach in history classes before, but that had gotten me nowhere, so I tried a more diplomatic tone when I spoke up.

"Mr. Ganrey?" I asked. "Your characterization of Redlanders as aggressive savages... doesn't the recent work by Anenne show that Redland culture is no more intrinsically aggressive than any other?"

The class tittered and oohed, shifting their attention from Freio to me, and even though my cheeks burned from the stares, the relief on Freio's face as he was no longer in the spotlight was evident. He flashed me a grateful smile as Mr. Ganrey cleared his throat and began his counterargument.

"Well, I must say you're rather well-read, but consider this: would the Redlanders invade us without provocation if they really were a developed and cultured people? As Chentrenne once wrote..."

###

The classes blurred by, and although Freio stuck out like a sore thumb in each of them, Lucet, Meloai, and I took turns deflecting attention from the school's newest second-chancer. Since the war had begun in earnest, more and more of the second-chancers had been showing up, and it was my hope that eventually, either people would get used to them or the Silent Parliament would stop churning them out.

Regardless of what the future held, however, the four of us were content to spend the present eating lunch in a quiet nook. Freio was still somewhat stunned by what was, from his perspective, a leap thirty years into the future—but Meloai had already gotten him to laugh a few times, and Lucet had bonded with him by sheer virtue of being able to hold a comfortable silence.

Of course, nothing lasted forever, and the momentary respite we'd found in our shady little corner was no exception. Iola and his new cronies—all men who'd been rejected from the war draft for being too young, and felt like they had something to prove because of it—sauntered up to us in a vaguely predatory triangle, fanning out to block the only exit.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the freak squad," Iola drawled. He pointed at us one at a time. "Redlands-fucker. Soulless girl. My ex-toy. And of course, the enemy soldier." Me, Meloai, Lucet, and Freio respectively. Lovely.

"What do you mean, enemy?" Freio whispered.

I winced. Meloai shook her head. "You don't want to know this one, Freio," she warned.

Iola tsked. "Ah-ah-ah! You're not the one in control here, soulless girl. Whaddya think? Wanna know who you used to be, freak?" Despite Freio's body being nearly a head taller, he backed down, intimidated, as Iola grabbed him by the shirt.

"Don't touch him," I snapped, starting forwards, but Iola just kept speaking.

"You used to be an enemy soldier," Iola crooned. "You were a prisoner of war. And the powers that be decided it was more trouble ransoming you than wiping your memory to when you were nothing more than an impressionable child and re-educating you into their very own killing machine, so that they could fire you right back at the enemy they'd stolen you from."

"Iola, that's enough!" I snapped, and shoved him backwards.

With an ooh of anticipation, Iola's new cronies stepped back, giving Iola space as his face twisted into a jitterbugging, lopsided, manic grin. Meloai stepped forwards, flexing a fist that went tick-tick-tick, but Iola said, "Kino? Lantenne? If that thing lays a hand on me, disassemble it."

I held out a hand as Iola's goons stepped forwards. The Cienne of two weeks ago would have simply gotten beaten into a pulp, but I was done with letting people strongarm and manipulate me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned. Freio snapped back to his senses as Lucet grimly got between him and the staredown, salt-crystals of sorrow precipitating around her soul like bracers.

Iola scoffed, and through my enhanced soulsight, I saw him ready the same bizarre, mutated light spell that had cooked that poor vole from the inside out. Simultaneously, oil-drops of passion streaked into Kino and Lantenne's palms. "You know, I'm not sure why I was ever mad about getting booted from the army," Iola said. "If I want to kill a Redlander, I've got a domestic supply of them right here."

In response, I simply took a deep breath in, one of my new attunements flaring to life as I gathered misty calm behind my nostrils.

Then I exhaled, and my steady, rolling calmness spread out across the tiny alleyway, eating at and weakening every spell present. 

Lucet shot me a startled glance as the icetouch she was preparing was disrupted, and from Meloai's sudden stiffness, I gathered that I'd accidentally weakened the magic that animated her body, too. Uh, oops. Just because I had a half-dozen attunements now didn't mean I was proficient in their use. I'd used up my reserves of calm, too, and now I was jittery and nervous. Plus, Iola had the raw power of an elf; I was pretty sure my little calm spell had barely shaken his magical abilities. Man, I really needed to get better at casting spells; if I couldn't even shoo away Iola, I'd have no chance if—when—Odin returned to wrench the secrets of attunement out of my head.

I had scared the fuck out of Kino and Lantenne, though, who had suddenly found themselves holding fistfuls of nothing as their spells fizzled out. That was good enough for now. They took an uneasy step back, and Iola must not have liked the odds of pissing off all three of us without any backup, because he shot me a glare and stepped back, drawing the feverish, corrupted joy back into the core of his soul.

"Piss off," I said. 

Iola just grinned wider. "Fine. Enjoy hanging out with a mind-wiped enemy soldier. I look forward to him snapping and killing you all."

Then he spun around and left, laughing to himself as if he'd told the best joke that anyone had ever heard, leaving us alone with a stunned, horrified Freio.

Hesitantly, the three of us moved closer to Freio. The shock on his face had morphed into something bleak and empty.

"Is that true?" Freio asked. "Am I... am I really just... a prisoner of war?"

"It is," said an elderly voice from behind us.

The four of us spun to see Mr. Ganrey stumping towards Freio, and his clouded eyes seemed sharp as a tack for once.

Freio balled his fists. "How can you... how can you do this to me? To us? How can you get away with this?"

"Like this," he said, and tapped Freio on the forehead once.

And just like that, the last three minutes were wiped from his memory.

"We're at war, kids." Mr. Ganrey gave us all a warning look. "Sacrifices must be made. Don't forget it."

The substitute teacher walked away, leaving three faces grim and one face confused in our shady little corner of the Silent Academy.

A.N.

Soulmage is a serial written in response to writing prompts. Stick around for more episodes, or join my Discord to chat about it!

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[sevicia]

Writer Guy's only "friend" who sucks majorly. Notes under da cut. Heart.

Firstly ☝️ he's heavily inspired by the experience of having someone follow you around even after you have told them very explicitly to stop doing so. Writer Guy will look him dead in the eye and say "I don't care about anything you have to say. Leave me alone, you annoy the shit outta me", and he'll just go "Bro you're always so funny LOL I'm probably the only one that gets ur sense of humor. Anyways, about my new podcast idea..."

This guy's deal is that he's obsessed with others' perception of him. He's an aspiring influencer and can't decide between being a youtuber, a streamer, or having a podcast. He's into crypto and defends NFTs like it's his job.

He met Writer Guy in college and has stuck to him like a leech ever since, even though they only had a few classes together. His reasoning was that Writer Guy seemed like the lone-wolf type and thus would attract attention with his ~mysterious~ charm, when in reality he was so boring that no one really paid him any mind. If you ask any of their ex-classmates, you'll find that no one really remembers either of them.

He spends a lot of time in r/shortguys and gets frustrated that he can't relate to the whole "women only ever pay attention to tall guys and we manlets are all martyrs" thing cause he's never even tried to get with a girl (he will lie about this). He's gay as hell but in almost complete denial. Genuinely believes stuff like "it's not gay with the socks on".

Unserious images that remind me of him:

I also gotta mention that his role in Mary and Writer Guy's story is very, very minimal, and that he never actually meets Mary. His story is a typical yaoi one where he falls in love with some guy and has one of those cliché "I'm not gay... why do I feel like this towards another man ?!?!!" moments. I chose to do it this way cuz I think it's funny as fuck to have him experience a romcom type thing while Writer Guy is basically Spongebob in the Silent Hill corridor.

I admit I'm not 100% sold on his hair, but it's brown for sure. Why? It just makes sense.

Some design notes including the other two:

Writer Guy is generally apathetic and would be considered boring at a surface level by 99,9% of the population. He teaches philosophy (ethics, specifically) at the college Mary attends, though they weren't aware of each other before The Events. His lectures are notoriously boring and many of his students sleep thru class or just skip them completely, but he passes them all anyways.

He's a writer in his spare time and writes trashy extreme horror on his (anonymous) blog, which is how Mary becomes aware of him. Stuff happens, his superiors (who are at best ambivalent towards him) find out about his hobby, he gets fired and doesn't care enough to defend himself or to raise any concerns about the school's attitude towards its teachers' private lives.

I also forgot to include his "On" design in the above pic, so here, a comparison:

I'm very obviously still figuring out how to draw him, but the drawing on the right is what he looks like at work. Just plain dorky and someone you would not look twice at.

I would also talk about his relationship with Mary, but for that I'd need to talk about Mary first, which I can't do rn cuz this post is already long enough and it's nearing 3 AM and she makes me absolutely BONKERS insane to the point I barely even know where to start when I wanna talk about her.

She's the only OC I have ever made a playlist for. I wish she was someone else's character so I could look at her without having to do the work myself.

A little fun fact about her is she used to dye her hair black before The Events. All I got for you rn.

OK that's all from me. For neoww...... Muah!

[the-bird-and-the-flute]

Marius - Tears of Themis (ToT) - You Shall Be Mine!

Pairing: female reader x Marius

Warnings: angst, make out

Word count: 2438

A/N: okay, that was not the fic I was writing for marius bday, but let's all pretend it is. I honestly can't believe it took me 4 months to finish this ahaha

“Oh my, I’m so excited! My first art class with the one and only Marius von Hagen! I'll not lose this opportunity! He shall be mine!” you confidently say it to reassure yourself.

“Definitely! Keep your hopes high and you will get him! If Ms. Lauren said so, it will happen!”

“I hope so Amy. Because she did get it right that you were going to marry your now husband.”

“I know, right? She is indeed a great fortune teller.”

“What commotion is that over there? I think it’s close to my classroom. I’ll go check it out. See you later, Amy.”

“See ya!”

You head towards the commotion near your classroom to find out that this chaos was caused by Mr. von Hagen himself. Several women were screaming and some even fainted. All of them are your classmates by the way.

You were excited to finally get a chance to see in person the bachelor Ms. Lauren said it was going to belong to you, but, apparently, other women also had the same idea.

“I was so inspired to draw anything just to get a chance to talk to him, but look at this-”

With no other option, you go to class. At the end of it, Marius asked all the students to show him their drawings, and as expected, they were all in line fighting to see and interact with the youngest von Hagen first-hand.

It’s finally your turn to show your art, however, your excitement is no longer there, but you still put on your best smile in respect of Marius efforts to teach a bunch of noobies to draw something in only one class.

You briefly talk to Marius, he gives you a few suggestions to improve your art and after thanking him, you pack your stuff up to go home. While you are leaving Stellis University, you spot a few of your classmates chatting and approach them to ask their impressions about Marius and the reason why they decided to apply to his course.

Apparently, none of them was there because the fortune teller told them they would marry Marius. But, on the other hand, they told you that they recently saw an article in the most famous gossip magazine that a von Hagen expert affirmed that Marius wants to settle down for good, after years of being involved with several women.

The von Hagen youngest heir is no longer that young, but he still is the most eligible bachelor in Stellis. Some say that nowadays there are men at the age of 20 who are the new deal, but if those polls are indeed accurate, women still think that there is no one like 40-year-old Marius.

A week later, you are in his class, but, once more, there is no progress. It’s impossible to talk to Marius. You feel defeated and unable to come up with a plan B.

“I shouldn’t have trusted Ms. Lauren, but she hit the nail on the head when she specifically said who Amy was going to marry. I guess the seer just got lucky, although, at that time, Amy didn’t even know her now-future husband.”

“But you know what? I’ll talk to her again. Let’s see if she will have the courage to lie to me again after I tell her there are hundreds of women trying to seduce Marius.”

It’s still early, so you head to Ms. Lauren’s booth at Stellis Park for another appointment.

“Welcome, dear. It’s so nice to see you again. How is your friend Amy doing?”

“Thank you for having me. She is doing great. I suppose you know why I’m here, right?”

“Hehe, don’t tell me that you already gave up, sweety?”

“Did you read that article about Mr. von Hagen? Coincidentally, it was not long after I first came here.”

“I did not. What was it about?”

*sigh* “A supposedly von Hagen expert said he wants to get married for real."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's good news then! The cards don't lie."

"So you still believe he will be mine?”

“Of course, dear. I can see your souls are connected. But you seem dispirited. Be patient, okay?”

“Yeah…”

You left the appointment, but you’re still gloomy. You decide to buy an ice cream to cheer you up while you ponder on what to do from now on.

“I don’t think I should waste my time with Ms. Lauren. As I expected, she kept insisting I would marry a von Hagen. You know what? I’ll just focus on my art classes. It’s a lifetime opportunity for a Z fan like me.”

“Ohh… that’s actually an excellent idea. Focusing on your class, I mean.”

“Huh?”

You turn around to see Marius looking at you leaning on a nearby tree in the park.

“Shit… How much did you hear? Er… I mean… Nevermind. I… I better get going. I have to work tomorrow, so… Bye, Mr. von Hagen!”

You walk as fast as you can without looking back, but something tells you that he is making fun of you while you helplessly try to run away from him.

Outside the park, you finally stop for a moment to breathe properly. There is no sign of Marius nearby, so you finally allow yourself to relax leaning on a wall.

It’s a lovely sunny Saturday, the park is crowded, probably hundreds of people coming and going, but your mind is elsewhere. It seems that the more you try to approach Marius, the more bad luck you get.

In the end, you just feel frustrated that you wasted your money AGAIN to see the fortune teller, who basically said the same damn thing. And to make things worse, now your professor is aware that you are a terrible student who is only there to try to hook up with him.

A moment of clarity comes to your mind, and you realize that although you were now planning to just take his classes with no ulterior reason, Marius may expel you from his class as he already knows you are just wasting his time.

“Fuck… How did I manage to ruin everything so fast? I’m probably the worst stalker Stellis has ever seen.”

“ But- Wait! I can fix this. I KNOW! I’ll find him, apologize, and ask him to replace me with another student. I just took two classes so I’m sure he can find another person willing to join in the remaining classes, right? At least, there is a chance he won’t think I’m a gold digger.”

Resolute, you go back to where he saw you. Your ice cream melted at this point, but you just don’t care and eat all of it to give you the extra boost you need to face him again.

Finally, Lady Luck smiled on you. Marius is still there. It seems he is alone, so you take the chance to approach him before you change your mind.

“Ahem… Mr. von Hagen… Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Oh… I didn’t think you’d come back. Don’t tell me that you are here to ask me out…” says the bachelor with a teasing smile.

“No! I’m so sorry about that. I just came to apologize for earlier and also well…”

After explaining your situation…

“I see… I don’t need your apology though. You know, what? I know how you can make up for what you have done.”

“What?”

“As you claim to like Z so much, you’ll help my assistant Vincent to organize the following exhibition we're planning. Then we'll be even as you took a place from someone who might actually come to study.”

One week later, instead of going to your class, you head to the exhibition’s location to help Vincent. This is your last day working with Marius' assistant. Since Monday, you have been visiting the location after work to help with what you could.

You had more fun there than you imagined. Having a chance to see so many captivating paintings and sculptures is only for a privileged few.

“And that’s the last one. I think I’m done here, Vincent.”

“Thank you so much, lady. Master Marius will be pleased to see everything is ready for tonight.”

“I hope so, I don’t wanna get in trouble again hahaha.”

“Hehe, don’t worry, you did a terrific job. By the way, here is the ticket for tonight.”

“Huh?”

“What? Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t… I was not expecting this, Vincent.”

“Huh? But that’s just a thank-you gift for your hard work. I thought you liked Master’s work.”

“O-Of course I do! It’s just that… I’m sorry, Vincent. I really can’t accept it. I hope you understand.”

“But… *sigh* Okay, lady. If you change your mind please let me know. You can still enter tonight without a ticket.”

“Thanks. Well, it’s time for me to go. It was a pleasure working with you, Vincent. Good luck.”

“Likewise.”

You nod to Vincent apologetically because deep inside you know you will not attend the event. You mentally thank Vincent for being so understanding. You haven’t seen Marius since he offered you this position to work with them to organize the event. It turned out that Marius even paid you to work there, even though he didn’t need to.

You take the money to treat yourself in a restaurant of your liking to chill. You have this sense of accomplishment and relief that you can close this Marius chapter in your life and move on from that crazy idea you’d marry him.

The following days would have passed by smoothly if it wasn’t for Mr. von Hagen's regular presence watching you leave work. The first time you saw him, you just couldn’t believe it. You had to look twice to make sure you were not seeing things. He was certainly looking at you inside of his car. That unmistakable seductive smile that probably all women in Stellis have seen at least once on TV or in person.

So many theories crossed your mind of why he was doing that, but you tried your best to ignore his presence. He never approached or got out of his car. Vincent also didn’t text you to ask for anything, so you were clueless at this point.

You tried to ignore him for a week, but it got to a point that you could no longer pretend he was not there, so you finally decided to question the man.

“Good night, Mr. von Hagen, may I know what’s the matter?”

“Oh, good night. What a coincidence, huh? I was just passing by. Do you work here by chance?”, he says playfully as if it was not a straight-up lie.

“Yeah, what a coincidence indeed. I do work here. Do you have a meeting with someone from my work?”

“Not really. But as we are already here, why don’t you come on in so we can chat a bit?”

Sighing, you enter his car. Marius laughs as if he was enjoying this whole thing. Before you can ask again what’s his problem, he shows you the fortune teller’s business card.

“What? How did you get this card?!”

“I think you are asking the wrong question here, missy. You should ask me what I was doing that day at the park. I was expecting you to figure it out, but apparently, you are too polite to ask anything about my personal life.”

“Well… after what I did it would be awkward to ask you that.”

“If you were curious enough we could be in a totally different situation now, missy.”

*sigh* “It can’t be helped. I’ll have to tell you. I also got an appointment with Ms. Lauren that day.”

“WHATTTT?! For real?”

“Why are you surprised?”

“Er… I don’t know, you don’t see the type of person who would pay for a fortune teller’s service.”

“Hehe, maybe you are right. The thing is, I was kinda bored walking at the park a few months ago and decided to give it a try just to see what she would tell me about my future.”

“I asked her about my love life and she had the audacity to tell me I would finally get married and that my future wife was one of her client' friend. Just like you that day, I didn’t take that seriously, but deep inside I wished she was right.”

“Surprisingly, not long after I talked to her, I saw you around here chatting with your friend when I was driving home, and you caught my attention. Since then, I’ve been watching you closely. The more I observed you, the more interested I got, to the point I decided to invest in OUR future. So I’ve been trying to lure you as you were so dense.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Hahaha, that’s right, missy. I paid the fortune teller to tell you what I wanted. That day you saw me at the park I was going to thank her as she indeed brought you to me.”

“I was a bit concerned though when she told me you were discouraged to stalk me when you heard about that interview I gave and that most women in our class were there because of that. At the time, I was very frustrated about my personal life, so I said that to mock the interviewer. I have always lied about my private life to those journalists, so it never occurred to me this would shy you away from me.”

“As a von Hagen, I love to be challenged and I love to be surprised as well. So when I found out you went to her booth, I was soo excited to see if you were going to make a move.”

Unable to process what you just heard, you get in shock for a moment. Seeing you were not reacting, Marius makes his move, kissing your lips with no hesitation. Open-eyed, you look at him in disbelief, trying to mumble something, but he just keeps going and going until you finally give in to his charms.

Almost out of breath, the two of you stop for a second. There is no hint of embarrassment on you or Marius' faces. It felt so right that there was no regret. On the contrary, your eyes lock with his, giving him the answer he needed. He goes for it again. But, this time, you’re ready to enjoy every second of it, letting him touch you as he pleases. All the chagrin, desperation and bashfulness you felt in the past few weeks finally paid off. Marius von Hagen will indeed be yours.

[therk900]

☀️January TC Challenge (Day 1-31)☀️

1. Do you think your TC will teach you next year? M is teaching me this year and i'm so exited for it! I also still have A this year!

2. If you had to move to another city, how would you tell your TC? Would you confess to them?  Maybe in person so i could see how they reacted and i would maybe confess them!

3. Have you ever written a letter to your TC? If no, would you ever do that and what would be in it? If yes, what did you write?  Yes. I made one for S mid 2022. I wrote how I was so thankful for him.

4. Are you attracted to your TC in a more emotional or sexual way? Or both? Both if i'm being completely honest

5. How did you meet your TC? Do you remember your first conversation?  B and S both taught me when they first joined, and I sadly don’t remember our first conversation since we had so many and it was so long ago. I think with A, it was just mainly about getting to know each other, and i got to know him because my old maths teacher used to teach him. I met A around the same time as S! I met M at the start of last year since he was my teacher for a small bit of a subject i took! Our first conversation was him praising me and my answers

6. If it were to happen, how do you imagine the perfect kiss going down with your TC? If by chance you have kissed your TC, how did it happen? For S and M, I imagine it being the last day of school and they give me a goodbye kiss! With B, maybe a reunion kiss or something like that. With A, maybe a quick goodbye kiss!

7. Have you ever had an argument with your TC?  No. I would have nothing to argue about with them

8. Do you see your TC outside of school?  I wish I did. Hopefully i get to see B maybe, especially because he left

9. Do you have a memory you are particularly fond of with your TC? Any cute stories? When B was still at my school, B and I would have chats about random things and ask about my hobby of drawing! He also used to check up on me during school assemblies! Once when i was staying back after school, i was on a call with my dad, and i saw S walking towards me. I finished up the call with my dad so fast (my dad and i were done anyway) and talked with S until he got to his car. I helped him remove some things off his car before saying goodbye! This happened recently before it was the school holidays, but when i was in M's class, i was working on my own since i didn't really know anybody in that class. M saw this and decided to work with me! He was really sweet throughout it and technically gave me all the answers With A, we were working on something that my teacher gave me, and it had a question about a sports team that he followed. The question involved his team losing, so A decided to cross out his team's name and put a different team's name instead. A and i were laughing about it for a while.

10. If your TC is still married, would you (still) want a relationship with them? it all depends, really in my opinion

11. Do you have a photo with your TC? If yes, how did you get it?  Yes. I have one with B. I got it because the photo is in the school yearbook.

12. Do you think anyone you haven't told about your TC knows you're crushing on them? Most likely. It is obvious 

13. When is your last class with your TC? Will you see them over summer break?  My last class with S was in 2021 and with B, it was term 3 last year. I won’t see them over the holidays sadly. with M, it was at the end of last year. I will defiantly see A over the holidays!

14. Have you ever mentioned the tcc/teacher crushes to your TC? NO WAY. I would move schools after that. Even to the other side of the world!

15. Do you think one of your classmates has a crush on your TC? I don’t know tbh

16. Do you get jealous when you see your TC with other students? Not really

17. If you and your TC had a long distance relationship, do you think it would work out? Yes...

18. What's your TC's degree? Do you like what they studied? S: Science and a language B: English  M: Science i like those subjects

19. Have you ever cried about your TC? If so, why? No

20. Have you ever cried in front of your TC? If yes, why? I have cried in front of B once, I have forgotten the reason why. S saw me just after I finished crying and it was embarrassing. 

21. Do you know about your TC'S family? If yes, what do you know? I know of M’s daughter. (He introduced me to her once which was cute)

22. Would you consider them a dog person or a cat person? I would consider them all cat people. But maybe M would be a dog person

23. How would you tell your TC about your feelings? (If you had to) Letter most likely so it can be anonymous 

24. Do you know how your TC dresses outside of work? In casual shit, I guess

25. What are they like when they are upset? I’ve never seen any of them upset. When B was getting annoyed, he would just be like “come on guys” and everyone would just shut up

26. Where do you sit in relation to their desk/spot/lecturing position? With B, i used to sit at the front, near where he was sitting. With S and M, usually at the back, so I can admire them. Since A and I have private sessions, I technically sit right next to him

27. Do they know another language?  S knows Italian. i think A may know a tiny bit of greek

28. What do you have in common with your TC? B and I both had pets at one point and A and i went to the same School (he left a couple years before i joined)

29. Have you texted/messaged your TC? I’ve messaged A multiple times! I’ve only emailed the others

30. What is the most frequent TC daydream you play in your head? Me cuddling with them

31. If you could only say one more sentence to your TC before graduation, what would it be?  "I will miss you a fuck ton"

[crazypossumman]

I’ve been working with kids for about two months now…

And, honestly, I have learned so much from this experience. I took this job because I needed a job, and I had connections at the school that almost ensured I would be hired. My job is primarily helping kids with learning disabilities and/or behavioral issues, primarily in grades K through 3. A large chunk of them are children with autism or similar conditions, with some more severely disabled kids mixed in.

Up until this point, I have wondered why anyone in their right mind would work with children. Now, I know why.

When I watch a kid take a fall playing football at recess and all of his friends pick him up and brush the grass off of him before getting him back in the game, I am reminded that all people start good.

When I see kids working so hard to include their “different” classmates, I realize how far we have come as a society. When I was in elementary school just over a decade ago, we rarely interacted with our disabled classmates. They were almost always in a different room. But these teachers not only include their disabled students, but they also make a point to teach the class that being different doesn’t make someone “wrong.” They explain that different students have different needs, and the kids understand and accept that.

When my students smile and give me a hug upon seeing me, I know that I’m making an impact on their lives. As hard as I may push them some days, they still appreciate me. I am a friend as much as I am a teacher.

When students approach me to talk about difficult experiences in their lives, I realize that I am a trusted adult. I am someone they can tell about their experiences and feelings. I am someone who they trust to help them through things that may be difficult.

When I find a common interest with a student (usually when they find out I like art), I can tell I am inspiring them to continue. When they ask me how to draw things and I encourage them through the process, I know that I am inspiring someone who may grow up to be an amazing artist. I might be the reason, when some of them look back on their lives, that they devoted time and effort to hone their skills.

When difficult concepts like racism are brought up (typically not directly as they are kindergartners, but the injustices of the past certainly come up when talking about topics like Thanksgiving), I see children respond with things along the lines of, “That is so sad.” And I know that these kids will think twice when they hear racist rhetoric. I know they will be able to empathize with people who gave faced injustices.

When we teachers use rhetoric like, “I know it is hard, but you can do hard things,” I can see that we are inspiring these young people to push themselves. To work toward their goals. To believe they can accomplish things they may see as impossible.

Sure, when they yell and scream and bicker and tattle and throw things, they are SUPER annoying. I won’t deny that. But when I see them chose to take a deep breath and calm down rather than argue with a classmate, I can see we are helping to raise emotionally mature children who will become emotionally mature adults.

And in the society we live in, that is so important to me. It has in many ways given me hope that future generations may just be able to do what we are seeking to do.

They just might raise further emotionally healthy children.

They just might work to correct the injustices of the past.

They just might save the world.

And I may not see the day that that happens. But I am content in being part of that ripple effect and its unlimited potential. And I can see so clearly why people choose to work with children.

[anmarifromearth]

Chapter 7: Charlotte Meyer, My Roommate

Note: You can read the finished version on Quotev, but for Tumblr, I'd like to upload the chapters one by one.

WC: 3.6 K -- Masterlist -- featuring art by @amalthiaph

ZACH: It's like every year, he observes the students to see if any of them knew and was looking for it. And earlier, he was like 'There they are.'

I locked my phone and let it fall onto my chest, a decision I'm not so happy about. I only exhaled and stared at the flower-like chandelier that hung on our ceiling. Charlotte and I agreed to only have the wall sconces on, to save power. I jolted up to a sitting position, causing my head to spin from the sudden movement. I searched the bed for my phone and quickly dialed Zach, not even bothering asking if he is alright with phone calls. Luckily, he picked up almost immediately. 

"Youu said it's like he was watching the students every year to see who knows what, right?" I said. 

"Yes," Zach said on the other end, "I did." 

"And don't you find it strange that Mr. Phillips knows exactly where we are every time, even when inside the passages? Like I do know he knows where the passages are but how does he know exactly where we are?"

"Another question is after so many years of running the school—53 years to be exact, how come there isn't a student that had figured things out or raised suspicions at least? A spy. Every year, there is a student or maybe about ten that spies on other students. And that's how he keeps things hidden."

"Who could it be this year?"

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the classes. I picked up my books, waiting for that familiar hand to reach out to my bag to carry it for me. Surely enough, my good friend Zach was already standing next to me, that hand held out, waiting me to finish packing my things. By now, they have begun teaching us the basics of drawing and so we are required to bring around our own drawing materials, including a blue canister. Unlike most schools, our drawing materials and uniform are provided by the school, covered by our tuition fee. Fortunately for Zach, our canisters are of the same brand as his, making it easier for him to blend in. 

"We've got an hour and a half to discuss things," he said, looking at his watch. "And it'd probably take us about ten minutes to go there."

"You could've just said hurry up than telling me time and numbers," I joked as I stood up and put one strap on my shoulder. With that, he slowly put his hand down, he nodded and started to make for the library, the paper inside the blue canister made sounds as he walked. Zach is smart enough to place all the papers together; he places the school floor plans over our plates so when he rolls it, people won't recognize the old paper hidden inside it. Once in the hallway, we were submerged in whispers that echo through the majestic walls of the school. Then, there it was again; that faint voice calling my name.

"Iris! Iris!" it says. It was louder this time. "Iris! Iris Gardner!" Then I felt a hand on my back. I gasped and quickly turned around. "Hey, Iris!"

I calmed. The voice was that of the short, black-haired, half-Indian classmate of ours, Sara Choudhary. She is actually a very pretty girl. I like her. She goes to the same classes as me and Zach.

"Sorry to call you," she chirped.

"It's okay," I replied. "What's the matter?"

"I need help with our Algebra," she said shyly, "I-uh-I'm not really good with numbers."

"Neither am I," I said. "Just enough to pass the exams, I guess. But Zach here," I tapped his chest with the back of my hand, "is good at everything." I looked at Zach. He's not going to say no to her. He's too good of a person to do that.

Zach, being the ever-so-good guy, just nodded. "See you after classes then," he said. Sara and I took that as a yes. "We'd be at Iris's room at 17:30."

Sara nodded, writing something on her small notebook, perhaps taking note of that. "Gardner, Iris. So your room is next to Martha's. And you're roommates with Mia."

"NO."

"Mia Harrison? No?"

"No," I said, calmly, not a hint of confusion in my voice though I definitely am confused.

"You're not next-door to Mia Harrison?" Sara looked up from her notebook and shot me questioning looks. "But-But that's-I mean, we're alphabetically arranged, right? I mean our rooms, they're alphabetically arranged," she stuttered.

Now it is my turn to stutter and be confused as hell. "Alphabetically arranged? My roommate is Charlotte Meyer. 'M'. We're probably not alphabetically arranged."

Sara and I began to walk, Zach trailing behind us, going through his phone. "My last name is Choudhary," Sara began, "My roommate is Anna Carson, another 'C'. And next door are Liza Cheng and Grace Donnelly. Their last names are 'C' and 'D'. And Zach," I heard Zach hummed and looked at us, "his room is at the end of the boys' wing and he has no roommates because his last name is 'S' and there is no other student in the boys' dorm whose last name comes after 'S'." She smiled trying to convince me. "We are alphabetically arranged. Maybe you and Charlotte's papers were mixed."

While Sara and Zach were having their tutoring session, I just sat there sipping my bubble tea Zach bought me before we head in. I was listening to their exchanges and I noticed that Sara isn't really as clueless in Mathematics as she claims she is. She can catch up faster than I could to be honest.

I took another sip and scrolled through my phone pondering over the question as to why Charlotte is my roommate. True, it could simply be a mishap with our papers. But it's also probable that Charlotte is the spy. Seriously, Mr. Phillips should've made it harder.

It was a moment later that I noticed that Zach has been poking me with a pencil. I looked up at him and him back at me with worried eyes. "Are you okay, Iris?" he asked me, tucking my bangs behind my ears with the same pencil. "I've been calling you but it looks like you're beginning to enter the internet loophole," he joked.

I blinked, tucking the rest of my bangs behind my ear. "I'm okay," I said, though not sure if I am. "So what is it that you want me to do?"

"Can you please pass Sara's bag?"

Yeah, it is just right beside me. "Here," I said, reaching for the bag. I didn't notice that the bag was open so when I lifted it up, the contents started to pour to the floor, leaving me with just the bag. "Sorry!" I exclaimed and started to pick the things up. Sara has crawled next to me to do the same.

I came across an exam paper. It was from our Calculus exam. Before I could really look over it, Sara had immediately snatched it from my hand and put it right inside the bag, unbothered whether it is crumpled or folded improperly.

"It's all right, Sara," Zach began, "Don't feel embarrassed. Each one of us has a weakness." Zach gave her a warm smile. Sara awkwardly smiled in return.

"Thanks," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear.

My heart skipped for a second. Wait, what? What was that all about? "All except you," I joked, breaking their moment because I feel like I had to. That has made Zach look back at me.

He flashed his warm smile and took a sip on his own bubble tea. "You think so?"

That warm smile. Wait, what were we talking about before that happened? Yeah, I lowered my hand to my side; Sara was too embarrassed because I saw her Calculus paper because her score was-

I shot up from my bed and grabbed my phone from my bedside table, and quickly looked for Zach's number. "Answer, please," I muttered as I hear his phone ringing.

"Hello, Iris," he began.

"She's perfect."

"What?" he said, confusion quite evident in his voice.

"She got a perfect score."

"Who?"

"Sara. She's got a perfect score on the exam. She lied about being dumb in Calculus. That's why she snatched the paper from me. She wasn't embarrassed," I said, not bothering to pause after a sentence.

"But why would she do that?"

My heart skipped a beat again. "Maybe—," I began, she wants Calculus lessons with you is how I want to finish the sentence, but I thought no. "-she is another spy." That is the bigger probability anyway, so I chose that.

"Yes. I was listening to your conversation earlier about the room assignments and stuff, and I thought it wasn't a mishap or mixed paper of some sort. I am thinking Charlotte is a spy. And now that you've mentioned it, Sara could also be one."

Charles, Zach, and I sat on a blanket spread under the same oak tree during lunch time. We made a not to always carry one, not wanting to sit on the damp ground like we did on the first day. While there are more students in the field, the possibility of being overheard is low because of the dispersion of sound. Like the other day, it wasn't a very cloudy day. 

"So what you're telling me" Charles began, swallowing his carbonara, "is that we've got to stay as low key as we can because there are at least ten people spying at us?"

"Yes," Zach nodded, taking a sip of his bubble tea. I have no idea how it happened but bubble tea has been the rage all around school. And the three of us has been caught in it too. "We've already identified two of them, though they're both just suspicions."

I swallowed my mouthful of carbonara before joining in the conversation, "But they're likely."

"Fire away," Charles said, and took a sip of his tea.

"The first one is Sara Choudhary," Zach began, "Half Indian girl who's our block mate. I think her job is to memorize our schedules and whereabouts, like this," he pointed to our small picnic, "and our meetings in the library."

Charles nodded and resumed with his carbonara. Bubble tea and carbonara, a weird combination in my opinion. But it's in so, we just got to roll with it I guess.

"Second, and we have to be extra careful," Zach continued, "is Charlotte Meyer. Sara slipped her tongue yesterday, and told us about how the rooms are alphabetically arranged. There, we started to question why Iris and Charlotte are roommates since their last names are far apart in the alphabet. Sara claimed it to be just a mishap on their papers, one which we wish is true, but it is likely that Mr. Phillips did make them roommates so Charlotte can spy on us."

Charles gave us the most serious face we've seen of him. He nodded, thinking as to how the heck we are going to make our next move. We can no longer move at night a little before or after curfew because of Charlotte. And though moving at day seems to be a better choice, for there are students everywhere which makes it difficult to notice that the three of them are already gone, there is now Sara who is on their tails.

"So how are we going to check out what the skeleton's holding?" Charles finally said.

"We can try to move at night," Zach started, "like really deep at night when everyone's already asleep. Like maybe, 2 to 3 a.m."

Charles nodded his head, a hand on his chin. "Right. But there may be guards. I mean, now that Mr. Phillips knows we know and we might come back for it, he surely has people patrolling at night. It's best to move at day. Maybe tomorrow, it's Saturday."

"Yes, correct," Zach agreed, "If he notices we're gone, we can just say that we went out, yeah."

And with that, lunch has finished. The second half of Friday has begun and the students are all hyped about going home for the next day.

We all sat at the usual long table of the school library. Its huge window provides natural lighting inside, something I really admire. The very high ceiling also provides this comfortable feeling inside. It is one of my most favorite places in the school. Though we're not here to ponder about the beauty of the place or to read books; we are here to plot our next move. We had books scattered and stacked all around to make it less suspicious, and the floor plan ignored.

"So, Charles will be the lookout?" Zach asked, looking at us in the eyes. We thought that Zach and I be the ones to go inside the passages because he knows how to read plans, and he said that I can hold the flashlight and the camera. And Charles will be the lookout, since he's good at making up things and making it sound real and convincing.

After going through the plan for the second time; with Zach pointing out our route tomorrow, he rolled the plan. "Our only problem," he began, "is Sara. I'm pretty sure she's around here somewhere now watching our every movement."

"So how are we going to get rid of her to make sure the plan goes well?" Charles asked as Zach put the floor plan back into the canister.

I once again felt that strange squeeze in my chest. "How about..." I hesitated to finish my sentence, though I don't know why. Or maybe I do, I am just denying it. "How about," I began again, regaining strength, "you tutor her again?" I looked at Zach who seemed surprised by my suggestion. "This time, have your tutoring session in the city library or at that park nearby or maybe a café. Or just anywhere outside of school."

Zach and Charles nodded, pondering over that idea of mine. However, Zach looked at me with concerned eyes. Okay, why? Why look at me like that? "Are you sure?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" my dense self asked.

He nodded hesitantly. "Alright then," he said, still eyeing me with concern. I'll call her now."

My phone pinged. My arm reached for it weakly. I don't know why but everything about this day seems to be tiring though I there wasn't a single thing quite restraining that I did. And we didn't have Physical Education so why? Was it something else?

I looked at my phone and saw Zach's number on the screen. I did an ever so subtle groan, not really wanting to talk to him at this moment, but did so anyway.

"Hello," I whispered. 

"Are you free tonight?" Zach said on the other end. 

"Another group meeting?"

"No, we've come across the plan twice already; so no." I can hear him tap his fingers on something wooded, his drafting table perhaps.

"If that's the case then, I guess I'm free. Why ask?" I heard him stop his tapping. 

"Well, I was thinking, do you want to grab a coffee?"

"Haha. I think I know what you're doing."

"What?"

"You're rehearsing for when you're gonna ask Sara for tomorrow."

"What?! NO!" He resumed tapping his fingers, twice as fast now.  "I'm really asking you out." I heard him exhale, a deep one. "Is that a yes?"

And it was my turn to exhale. "Yes," I answered, in the most monotonous I can. 

I can hear the smile on his words, "I'll come by at 6:30. Nothing fancy. Just coffee." 

My chest squeezed again. But this time, it wasn't as hurtful as before. It's like a nice kind of chest squeeze. I stood up from my bed, and it's quite surprising that I no longer feel tired. I am actually fired up. He said nothing fancy. I opened my closet to find a knitted turtleneck and denim jeans. I chose my brown leather ankle boots for footwear, and decided to tie my hair to a ponytail, my thin bangs dropping on my forehead. I chose a slightly dark red lipstick to compliment my pale look.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 6:20. I have ten more minutes of waiting. I guess I was too pumped up that I prepared as soon as he told me he'll come around.

I heard three knocks on my door. I saved and exited the game and quickly stood, already knowing who that is. I checked myself in the mirror one last time, brushed my bangs with my fingers, and went to open the door. The oak squeaked and revealed a tall boy with curly black hair, black eyes, and eyeglasses. He wore a grey inner shirt, black jacket and black pants. His canister is nowhere in sight. In place of it is a polaroid camera I only ever saw now. I didn't know he owned one. He smiled the moment our eyes met. 

He eyed me from head to toe. I shifted on where I stood, uncomfortable from his stares. He seemed to notice this, so I heard him say, "You look nice."

I looked up, a small smile creeping on my lips. Our eyes meet again. "You're unsettling to look at without your canister." 

"You're just not used to seeing me without it," he said with a chuckle. 

I nodded, pointing to the polaroid camera that hung on his neck. "I didn't know you own one," I said. 

"I am not supposed to," he answered as I motioned him to halls. "My father disliked this hobby of mine." He stared at his boots as we walked. "He disliked anything that's me." 

He decided that we both walk to the café, claiming that it is not that far from the school. Sure, the café isn't far. But the front door is way far from the gates, so it's still a long walk. But I didn't bother. I am really enjoying his company. The cool evening breeze blew past us. I inhaled. The moon shined brightly, lighting our way even though there are already lamppost lined up on the path. It was a full moon too. There were other people walking to the gates too. Some of them had small suitcases with them. They must be going home for the weekend. However, given the number of people outside, it was still peaceful. We finally reached the gates and we're now headed to our right, along the sidewalk.

At this moment, it was just him and me. And the moon. It was perfect. I finally decided to break the silence. "Why did you want to ask me out?"

He smiled. "It's a Friday night."

"And?"

"People usually go out on Friday nights."

"Does that mean you have to take me out to coffee?"

"Say, Iris," he sounded serious at this point. He stopped in his tracks and so did I. He looked at me eye to eye. "Why were you hesitant about suggesting that I take Sara out tomorrow?"

My eyes widened. I've been trying to dodge the explanation to that since this afternoon. I pursed my lips, "Well, I just think maybe you wouldn't be okay with that since you'd be the one to ask her out."

"Is that it?"

I wish he'd be content with that answer, but a girl could only wish. I lowered my head further and further, avoiding eye contact. I saw his hand brushing my bangs and cupping my face to look back at him.

"I thought so," he said with a sincere smile. What does that supposed to mean? "That's why I asked you out." And we started to head for the café.

I plopped down on my bed tired from the long walk home. I had rested myself from the walk to café while we're there. We had a small talk, which was mostly about how we wish the plan would work and what do we do from there. Well, it all depends on how everything works out tomorrow so we really have to make sure it all goes well. We changed something though. We decided to have Charles with me inside the passages in case anything comes up. However, as tiring as the walk home was, I don't feel as drained as I was earlier after school. Small talk as it was, it made me happy.

"You should probably give it up," I heard Charlotte say. I looked to her, who was sitting on her bed, cleaning her nails. I gave her a questioning look, urging her to continue. "I went to the same schools he's been to. And I knew his family all too well." 

I urged Charlotte to continue. She nodded and straightened herself before speaking again, “His parents pretty much treat him like a puppet. Like I said, he’s life has been planned out for him.”

"He did say his father hates everything that's him," I added with a sad tone.

I rolled to my back, stared onto the cherry wood ceiling and started to recite the plan once more in my head. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Charlotte watching me. Damn, I forgot she is a spy. I quickly put my blanket over my head and started to fall to sleep. I just hope our plan works tomorrow.