#I’m going to post this on ao3 so support it on there I guess -w-

[ryuichirou]

The mystery of the Ortho smut fic: the plot thickens

Since we’ve gotten a couple of asks about this topic, I’ll put all of them in one post.

It’s related to these two asks, by the way. I hope all the mentioned Anons find each other… Although I’m not sure if it’s possible + I’m now confused about just how many Anons we have in this particular conversation lol but hey, at least all of you are here!

Anonymous asked:

To answer the Ortho smut fic anon unfortunately no it wasn't your fic but from what I saw it was typed on discord and not ao3 so thankfully (?) it also wasn't your fic

But now I want to read an Ortho smut fic 😔

Just posting this one :)

Anonymous asked:

the anon who wrote ortho x reader smut and, yes, there is a huge lack of actual ortho x reader orz i feed from the four pixiv artists who draw yuu x ortho together with an app that translates pictures and shroudcest because Ortho looks so yummy. half of what you find in ortho x reader is him being a matchmaker for Idia, and i don't dislike Idia but oh god the flanderization. let the boy kiss his brother or kiss both his brother and me, fandom ;w; didn't he become his own person in book 6

btw all my ortho x reader is written with sharing Ortho with Idia in mind. i just can't believe in a world where Idia didn't touch the shota robot if not his flesh brother.

It really is sad that Ortho’s entire role just ends up being “someone who is a support team on the background”. Just like you said, he is his own person, and even if we don’t go to the smut territory, it’s interesting how no one seems to be interested in playing around with how he could act in a romantic setting.

(yaaay, Shroudcest found its way into the yuuships lol; I also feel like I know at least one pixiv artist that you’re talking about)

Anonymous asked:

In response to previous anon’s mention of Ortho x reader smut, I’m in the middle of Ao3’s first every Ortho x Vil fic (yeah you guessed it, it’s the OruVil/VilOrtho shipper 🤖👑).

If you want a link (as it’s a bit of a monster fic) I’ll gladly share with you and all the Ortho fans out there.

Time to combine our fangirling/fanboying and give him much deserved love!!

Yaaay, OruVil shipper Anon, hi! Please keep doing what you’re doing, this ship needs to exist on Ao3, it just has to. I’m not sure how we’ll handle this entire conversation from now on, it’s a bit chaotic, but you can still share your fic!

Anonymous asked:

I'm so disappointed I went looking through the Ortho x reader tag out of curiosity and it's all platonic

You’re in good company, Anon. I hope the situation changes soon lol

[bookwormscififan]

I'll Always Be There

Read on AO3!

A/N: I had this idea to have Mad doing a presentation that Mare had promised to be there for, but he got held up, and then Mare just stands at the back of the room with this proud smile on his face because Mad's doing great without needing Mare for support.

--

“It’s a big presentation, among an entire board of scientists,” Mad rambled as he tidied the stacks of papers on his desk, turning to look at Mare with a mix of excitement and nerves. “They even said prospective students will be there.”

“What time was the presentation again?” Mare asked, fiddling with the button on his sleeve cuffs, tapping his toe against the doorframe rhythmically.

“It starts at two, and should run for about two hours,” Mad replied, shoving several books into a satchel that looked ready to burst. “They said the last half hour would be for a Q and A, so I guess the duration depends on how many people ask questions.”

Mad had received a call from Mare’s college workplace telling him that his presentation on genetics had been given the green light, with the added shock that the presentation was to be held that afternoon in one of the lecture halls. Mad had then proceeded to wake Mare up with his nervous rambles, being cut off from coffee after the fourth cup.

“Will you be there?” Mad asked, his mad rush halted to look pleadingly at Mare. “You helped me with the findings, and I’d—I really want you there to support me.” His gaze had dropped at his fingers, picking at the dead skin around his nails, but he looked back at Mare when the musician took his hands in his own.

“I can’t promise anything,” he started, brushing his thumbs over Mad’s knuckles before lifting his hands to kiss them. “But I’ll try my best to be there. I will try to bring you that support. If not—” he waved a finger in the air, and a small purple bracelet twined around Mad’s left wrist. “You have this to remind you that I believe in you.”

Mad fiddled with the bracelet, admiring the minimalist design that reminded him of ivy growing around a post, and he smiled softly before lifting himself on his toes to kiss Mare’s cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered, looking at the bracelet again and noticing the tiny music notes engraved on the surface.

----

Mare ran his hands through his hair for the fourth time, checking the clock and drumming his fingers against the desk. It was getting close to the time for Mad’s presentation, and he was stuck in class with the rowdiest students he’d ever seen.

“Alright, if you all wouldn’t mind—” he stopped to frown at a particularly loud shout from a student, “If you wouldn’t mind sitting back down, I’ll give you your weekend homework and let you go.”

It took everything in him not to slam his hands on the table, feeling the familiar tingle of his magic just beneath his skin as he clenched his fists, being completely ignored by his students.

----

Mad chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he scanned the shadowed faces in the crowd for Mare, fiddling with his bracelet to soothe him. When someone gave him the signal to start his presentation, he swallowed thickly before stepping forward, taking a deep breath and starting to speak.

“Hello, everyone,” he began, cursing the way his voice wobbled. “If you don’t know me, my name is Madrick Richards. I’m a genetic and physical scientist, specialising in theoretical physics, and I’ve been asked to give a presentation on some genetic experiments I’ve done recently so that you can all learn some new things.”

Walking to the desk, Mad pressed a button to change the slide on the wall, checking the headings before starting to speak again. “To start, I’m interested in the things that make people… people. What goes into genetics to make a person’s metabolism higher than someone else’s, and how can that be replicated so that everyone has a chance?”

----

Standing far in the back of the hall, mostly in shadow, Mare watched Mad’s presentation with a proud and fond smile, leaning against the wall casually with his arms crossed over his chest. He clapped with the others when Mad finished the presentation, waiting until the hall was empty before holding his hand palm-up under his face, illuminating it for Mad to see.

“Mare!” The musician chuckled when Mad ran into his arms, holding him tight and kissing the top of his head. “I thought you weren’t going to come. I was so nervous.”

“You did great, darling,” Mare whispered, pulling back from Mad so he could see his face. “I was a little late, but I was here, and you were doing so well by yourself that I didn’t want to distract you by being in clear view.”

“It was your bracelet that helped me,” Mad replied, lifting his hand to show Mare the bracelet. “I ran my fingers over it and I felt like you were with me. It helped me a lot.” He smiled at Mare, letting out a soft sigh when the musician leaned down to kiss him briefly.

“You’re braver than you think,” he whispered, lifting a hand to caress Mad’s cheek. “The credit all goes to you, dear heart. My bracelet just helped you to realise it. Now, how about we go home and I make your favourite for dinner? Then we can cuddle on the couch together and watch B-grade musicals.”

“I’d like that,” Mad said softly, ducking his head when Mare smiled. “I can help you with the cooking.”

--------------

@iamvegorott @brokentimewatch @rattyboyisemo @dungeon-dragons-dragons

[kawaiikenna]

Danny knew he had fucked up as soon as the words ‘I wish’ came out of his mouth. And from Desiree’s wicked grin he was going to regret wishing for anything, let alone happiness. Before he knew it, Danny was being whisked off somewhere. Hopefully nowhere dangerous or anything like that. So the first thing he did was take stock of his surroundings as soon as the green mist dissipated. It looked like he had been dropped in the middle of an occupied meeting room. There were several adults all dressed colorfully. That didn’t matter though.

Because at that moment, he saw it. A large window off to his right showing what was outside. Space. Space was outside and it was beautiful. He darted over to the window. Pressing up against the glass but careful not to accidentally phase through it. Excited energy buzzed just under his skin as he stared at the inky vacuum of space. A pleased rumble sounded from his core and gently rattled his ribs. And for the first time in a long time, Danny was purely, happy. There wasn’t any way to explain it other than that.

There were voices calling out behind him but Danny didn’t care. He was in space and the cosmos were calling his name. Planets and stars singing a song only he could hear. Nebulae dancing gracefully to the hauntingly beautiful melody with pulsars and glowing stellar nurseries lighting the stage.

Danny was broken out of his trance when a hand came down on his shoulder. Instantly, Danny turned and hissed. His features pulling and sharpening. It startled the man in a red and yellow suit so that he took a couple steps back. Danny relaxes again and turns his attention back to the void of space outside the window. His core was thrumming happily and he was vaguely aware that he was purring. Wide eyes greedily taking in all that was before him.

He stayed there for so long that he didn’t hear the people in the room leave. Danny just sat and watched the stars. He watched as red giants burned quickly through their stellar fuel before exploding into super novas. He watched as other smaller, dying stars expand into space, sloughing off their outer layers turning into beautiful planetary nebulae. He watched as planets collided with other planets and became new ones. He watched meteor showers millions of light years away. He watched comets draw closer to their stars, leaving bright tails behind them. He watched as stars were slowly pulled apart by black holes, doomed to a fate they couldn’t escape.

And so he watched until his core settled and he felt sated. Shortly after, he noticed another presence in the room with him. So Danny turned and looked over. There was a man in a dark suit with a cowl pulled over his face sitting at the large conference table. He looked to be doing some kind of work. Going between filling out paper forms and typing on the laptop in front of him. Danny’s addled brain finally made the connection, that was Batman. He was in space, Batman was doing work in the same room. Danny vaguely remembered another man dressed in red and yellow. That must have been Flash. Holy shit did that mean he was on the Watchtower? Did Desiree seriously just drop him off in the middle of a top secret Justice League base just for kicks and giggles?

But before Danny could get too far into that thought spiral, Batman looked up. Right at him. Ahhh, this was terrifying. He could tell the older man was assessing him. Determining if he was a threat or not. Hopefully he would be seen as not a thread and he wouldn’t be thrown in jail for accidentally trespassing.

“Are you done looking out the window?” The Dark Knight asked.

Danny nods, not trusting his voice to not crack or squeak or do something embarrassing.

“Alright. Mind telling me how you got here exactly?”

Oh boy. That’s going to be an interesting conversation. Danny was most certainly not looking forward to that.

Short DP X DC Prompts #25

Danny wishes to finally be happy again and Desiree grants him his wish and plops him directly in the middle of a Justice League meeting in the Watchtower.

[renata-has-thoughts]

W/c: 3.8k Pairing: Top Male reader and bottom Will Graham

Includes: Housewife Will, needy Will, consent, rough/unhinged sex, oral (reader receiving), anal sex, praise, one count a self-indulgent movie ref (guess it and I’ll love you forever), obligatory stag metaphors for Will, brief aftercare, taller reader.

A/n: First post to this account. Will likely post this on ao3, which I’ll link when ready. Feel free to request something, especially seeing as I’m getting my footing with a new blog. This isn’t my best work, I will admit, but it’s something to get started with, y’know? Whatever. Enjoy!

No matter how hard he tried, Will would never be the first welcome you had when you returned home in the evenings. That honor was always taken by your dogs, hoarding around the screen door in a cacophony of yips and barks as a greeting until they flooded around you when the door opened. As they were already in formation the second your tires touched the gravel driveway.

You entered and pet each dog lovingly, soaking up their attention in a reminder of the safety and warmth of your home. This homemaking was mostly credited to Will, though. He was the doting stay-at-home husband after all. With your salary, you could support both of you easily, lending Will to pick up the domestic responsibilities, which he absolutely loved. What he wouldn’t say is just how much pride it brought him being your husband. Being the one standing so patiently in the entryway behind the dogs, ever awaiting you.

After giving each of the dogs their share of affection, you smiled brightly at Will and he approached you, mirroring your expression.

“Good evening,” He said, your proximity shrinking as he stepped before you. He leaned his head up-you being taller than him-to kiss you quickly and softly. In the process he loosened your tie for you. You frowned teasingly when he drew away.

“Good evening to you, too, love. That’s all you’re gonna give me?” You joked, grabbing his waist with one hand.

“I guess I can provide some more,” He shrugged, mocking nonchalantly. He assumed the same tip-toed stance, closing his eyes to let you press your lips into his in a kiss that was longer. Your noses bumped briefly-Will giggling at that-before sliding side by side as your tongue entered his mouth. While you did that, your other hand grabbed right below his ass to lift him closer to you, resulting in a hummed noise from the back of his throat. You pulled your mouth away from his, noticing his intention to speak.

“Is it that kind of night?” Will asked, referring to your promiscuous actions.

You pressed your forehead against his, smiling in the face of his curiosity.

“Later.” You responded, then let go of him slowly to turn around to the coat and shoe rack, doffing either articles while you heard Will return back to the kitchen on whatever he had planned.

That was the other thing about Will’s role. Given he’s been in it for almost a year now, he’s rendered himself an excellent cook, often preparing his own catches from the river. Something about that was so wholesome to you.

“What’s for dinner?” You asked, making a beeline for your designated recliner in the living room.

“Something new,” Will called out. You could hear the sizzling of food from where you were, a promising noise that made your mouth water. You picked up the remote to flick aimlessly around stations, the smallest of your dogs finding a place on your lap as you did so.

An overwhelming feeling of gratitude washed through you. Wonderful dogs, a fulfilling job, a smart and beautiful husband, a cozy home, how could you have been so lucky? You stroked one of your many dogs’s fur absentmindedly as you reminisced.

You ended up on an early 60s comedy movie, and finished your search to sit back and watch. It was some satire on war with Slim Pickens as a supporting character, which didn’t really narrow it down at all. As obscure as it was, it was something to pass the time while you awaited dinner. You became aware of how hungry you were, and you picked up on the shuffling of footsteps in the dining room before Will had even called you in. The dog on your lap sprang up as she heard Will return to the kitchen, which you laughed at. Will insisted on feeding the dogs before you both ate. Otherwise the younger, more rambunctious ones had a tendency to beg.

You smiled, hearing Will’s coos and praise towards the dogs as he filled their bowls, the clattering of kibble into metal another melody of home.

Soon enough, you felt Will’s hands on your shoulders over the recliner, kneading slowly as he rested his chin on the top of your head.

“I didn’t know you liked Kubrick,” he mused, referring to the movie.

“I didn’t even know it was him. Just channel surfing, y’know?” You replied, reaching your hand to clasp his, “are you a fan of him?”

“Not exactly. I just movie hopped a lot when I was younger. During the summers I’d buy a ticket to one movie early in the morning, then spend the rest of the day sneaking into others,” he explained softly, tracing circles on the exposed skin above your shirt collar, “I became well acquainted with different directors and actors that way.”

“Look at you, Will, such a mischievous boy,” you teased, turning your head up to look into his eyes with a glimmer of humor.

“Yeah, I was a real delinquent,” he played along, both hands moving to cradle your face. “Dinners ready.”

You slipped out of his grasp and stood up, stretching off the weight of the work day, and followed him to the dining room. The evening sun was setting outside the window, caressing the treeline. It made the already autumn-crimson trees more aflame and golden. You felt its warmth on your back as you sat down on your end of the table, watching Will retrieve a serving bowl from the kitchen and return with it, the contents steaming.

“I decided to try something different tonight,” he explained, setting the bowl on the table before scooping some vegetable stir fry onto your plate.

“This looks delicious, sweetheart,” you said earnestly, eyes still fixated on him as he served himself and sat down. The sunlight complimented him in a way that was, for lack of a more powerful word, ethereal. “So do you.” You added.

The lighting did no good in hiding his flushed face, even as he distracted himself by pouring a glass of wine. Unspokenly, he passed it to you after, you purposefully grazing his fingers as you took it from him in a lingering touch.

His reddened face persisted. It was adorable how you could keep him so flustered after years of being together. His beauty still amazed you, too.

Dinner proceeded. You made it a point to groan and almost exaggerate your head tipping back as you took your first bite of the stir fry.

“God damn, you know how to cook,” you sighed. Will chuckled into his wine.

“Thank you,” was all he mustered.

When you first met him, he had no comfortable affability. He never would’ve laughed at an offhand compliment. You were proud of how much you’d changed him for the better, or rather, he allowed himself to be vulnerable and genuine around you. Either way, you loved each other.

“How was work?” Will asked, initiating a routine evening conversation.

“Same old, same old,” you shrugged. “Did I tell you I changed my work computer’s wallpaper to Macey?”

You could hear Macey’s collar jingle from the living room, like she perked up from hearing her name.

“Do they let you change your wallpapers there? I thought they didn’t like that.” Will asked.

“They don’t.” You clarified, exchanging a sly smile between one another.

“My husband…is such a law-breaker,” Will joked between sips of wine.

“You know it,” you responded, letting a gentle silence fill the room as you both continued with your meals. A minute passed, and you added, “how was your day?”

“Good. I painted the west side of the fence out front, it was getting a little worn.”

“I noticed, it looks a lot better.”

“Yeah. I had a coupon for the hardware store from buying all those nails to fix the shed roof last season, and figured I’d put it to good use.”

“Nice going, honey. But don’t ever feel like you need to cut corners in expenses. I’ve got us both covered.”

“I know, I’m just not used to it, even after all this time.”

By then both your forks were crossed over empty plates, and Will made a move to get up, but you gestured for him to stay down.

“I’ve got the dishes. Take the wine and I’ll meet you on the porch, alright?” You assured, standing and stacking your plates.

“You’re too good to me.” Will sighed, taking the glasses and half-finished wine.

You kissed his forehead, and mumbled, “no, you’re too good to me.”

-

By the time you joined Will on the porch, the sun had set completely. You wiped your sink-damp hands on your slacks and slid next to him on the bench, naturally slinging your arm over his shoulder. In your other hand, you took the wine glass he offered you with a small ‘thanks’.

There was no light pollution this far out of town. Even with lingering rays just over the horizon, the stars were already visible. You knew all the constellations in the sky because of Will.

Neither of you made a rush to start a conversation, which meant it was completely silent outside. There were rarely ever cars out here, and when there were, they were too far away to be loud.

You didn’t always need words to bond. Wine and crisp autumn air was all that was required.

His head rested on your shoulder, and you pulled him closer. He was warm against the slightly chilly wind. The hand he wasn’t holding his wine with found purchase on your knee, gently inching upwards, massaging.

He had gotten to your thigh, and you muttered, albeit playfully, “you’re playing a dangerous game, love.”

“I don’t mind a risk,” he shot back with an equally low tone.

“Is that so?” You said, and when he didn’t respond, “be careful of what you wish for.”

Gently, you took his wine glass from him and set both yours and his on the outdoor table of your side. His eyes keenly observed your movements, more like a conscious stag than a scared one.

You met such lovely doe eyes and drew him flush to your side with both arms, right hand on his lower back like a warning, left hand on his chin-index finger below, thumb atop-tilting it upwards. You kissed the spot of his neck, just below his ear, just below his jawline, and he had no chance to stifle a downright sluttily abhorrent moan. You felt his skin heat up with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t you ever fucking apologize for turning me on.” You whispered back against the shell of his ear. With that kind of reinforcement, he let go of any shame and rutted against you.

“I-I think we should take this inside, please,” Will requested. While you wouldn’t mind the slight chance of the world seeing you make love to him, you understood and respected that he was a bit shy of anything past holding hands in public, let alone moaning outwardly into the night sky.

“Of course, dear,” you agreed, making your way inside, holding the door for him. The dogs were asleep, so you had no roadblocks crossing the house to the bedroom.

Once the bedroom door was closed behind Will, you took either of his hands in yours and pushed your body weight against him, pinning him to the door.

Now he looked like a deer in headlights.

You could feel his erection against your inner thigh, just below your own.

“Fuck, I could devour you, Will,” you groaned, nipping along his neck. He emitted a series of uncontrolled lewd whimpers, his head thrashing to the side in an unconscious move of submission.

“You’re such a pretty boy, ‘m so grateful to call you my husband, not a day goes by where you aren’t beautiful,” you rambled, breathing hotly into his neck, heaving with soft moans, “I love you in ways I can’t articulate, Will, and by god I need to fuck you until you quite literally can’t anymore,” you kissed his throat, “until you say stop, that you’re shaking,” you licked along part of his jawline, “until you’re crying with lust,” you bit his lower lip, “until-“

“I know, I get it, please,” Will cried, and you prevented him from saying any more by licking your lips then crushing them over his, wasting no time lifting his head up and shoving your tongue down into his mouth. He eagerly took it in like the compliant husband he was. Equally lovable and needy.

He really didn’t have much room to move in the position you had him in, but enough to use the door as leverage to slide up impossibly closer, frotting each other. You retracted your tongue from practically down his throat to moan.

“You want it that badly? How do you want it?” You groaned. Will looked away, and said just barely audibly,

“I want to be used, l-like a whore…”

“Fuuuck…” was all you could drone. Will was especially hot when he let down all defenses like this.

Your self control couldn’t be supported any longer. With your hands in his, you staggered back so you were sitting on the edge of the bed and he was in front of you.

“Knees.” You mustered, letting go of his hands to undo your belt. He obeyed, making quick work of removing his shirt and undoing his own belt all before you took off yours. Your belt ended up somewhere behind you on the bed, and your shirt was unbuttoned all the way. You went to unzip your pants, but thought better of it. Your hands slid over to Will’s head, taking hold of his hair and guiding his head to the fly of your jeans.

“Unzip it with your mouth.” You ordered. You held back the need to thrust towards the heat source of his mouth when he did as you asked, taking the zipper between his teeth and dragging it down slowly, his clouded eyes meeting yours through his lashes. You swore under your breath, fighting to keep your composure. Will went the extra mile and gripped the sides of your thighs, putting pressure and sliding his hands down, with it your slacks, until they were around your ankles. You shook it off to the side, and tilted Will’s face up to yours.

“So good for me,” you muttered, barely audible.

Your dick felt hot and confined still in your boxers, and Will held up a hand, hovering above the waist band, wordlessly asking permission. Again, keeping yourself from losing it, you nodded briefly. He eagerly hooked a finger inside, and dragged it down until you could kick it off your ankles.

The exposure of your dick only made things worse for your composure. You wanted to fuck him right then and there, no hesitation. You breathed shakily in, and asked,

“How much can you take or want, love?” You pushed some of his hair aside in a tranquil display of affection, despite the situation. Will’s eyes never left yours as he gazed up, sitting obediently between your legs, bare chest heaving, face dangerously close to where it felt like all the blood in your body was rushing to.

“I’ve had this-“ Will began, and mouthed around inaudible words before continuing, “-want, as I stated earlier…uh-I want you to use me. Not necessarily in a gentle way. If it so pleases you, I-“

“Spit it out, Will,”

“Fuck, okay. I want…I need you to choke me with your dick. Fuck my head until I’m drunk on you,” one of his hands palmed his erection, clearly finding pleasure in everything he said, “p-please, down my throat, even if I gag or cry, oh, shit, please,”

“As you wish, pretty boy.”

With both your hands on either side of his head, you rammed your hard cock into his mouth, moaning unabashedly loud at how hot he was. Will, although muffled, moaned nearly as loud, relishing your dick already down his throat.

“Tap my thighs if you can’t take it,” you ordered, and with the ground rules set, roughly began thrusting into him. You moved his head with your thrusts, feeling your body spark every time he groaned.

“Yes, oh god, yes,” you growled, speed increasing with animalistic tendency.

Will’s moans were unpredictable and frequent in between a few suppressed choking sounds. He inhaled sharply through his nose, eyes fluttering and struggling to stay on yours. Your husband looked ruined already. His hands rested on your thighs, and you slowed, furrowing your brow as if to ask if he was alright, but he shook his head and pushed it back around you, with a raspy voice, “more.” It was a high-pitched beg, a carnal desire vocalized.

Any restraint you harbored broke with an echoing snap in your mind.

You were brutal, each thrust milliseconds apart. He hollowed out his cheeks, making every move tight, warm and wet. It was all a blur, and when your head wasn’t thrown back with the weight of low moans, you met his pliant eyes. They were beginning to water, matching the gloss of his spit-covered lips sealed around you. His nails were digging into your thighs, the only thing keeping him grounded while you fucked him without anything merely resembling mercy.

“Damn, you feel p-perfect…shit…” you breathed between noises of pleasure. “I should’ve known you were such a whore, needing to be put i-in your place like a slut.”

A tear escaped from one of his eyes, trailing down to his chin before multitudes more followed. His fingers splayed and anchored on your thighs gripped harder.

“Oh, that’s it, show me how fucking,” you inhaled sharply, “-fucking ruined I’ve made you.”

You were so hazed over in the bliss you couldn’t even tell how his whimpers got louder, only halting when he tapped your thighs. Your hands on his head loosened, guiding him off gently.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry, shit, are you alr-?” You began, worried for him, suddenly concerned.

“-I was about to cum,” Will interrupted in a whisper.

“Speak up, love, I can’t-“

“I was gonna cum.” He said louder, avoiding your gaze. He was humiliated.

You faltered. Hesitated. It was quiet for a beat.

“You were about to cum without your dick even being so much as touched? Do I have that right?” You clarified, opting to tease him darkly.

He could only nod.

“Well, I don’t want to waste that. Neither of us do, correct? Let me make you orgasm properly. I think you’ve earned it.”

He nodded again, this time with more force.

“On the bed.” You ordered. He rose off his knees, but you pushed him back down by his shoulders, and added, “climb onto it, like you’re desperate.”

He whimpered. He obeyed, crawling onto the bed beside you, quickly assuming position in the middle, sprawled out and panting as he waited impatiently.

You sat before him, hands swiftly gripping his calves and tugging off his sweatpants, with the force of nearly tearing them, and grinned when you saw he was already halfway to cumming, per say. Part of you couldn’t tease him. You loved him, after all, and he looked so pitiful and pained like this.

“Legs over my shoulders, doll,” you moaned, grabbing your dick and giving it another few pumps, secretly enjoying the faux lube of his spit still all over it.

He seemed to really like that idea, and pushed himself closer to you, begging something unintelligible while he hoisted his legs to rest on your shoulders.

Fuck it. No more foreplay.

You thrust into his ass at once, your teeth clashing together and eyes tightening when the pleasure enveloped you so suddenly. Will was worse at hiding this, easily devolving back into a noisy and compliant mess.

“That’s it, I know you can take it…take it…” you groaned.

He swore uncontrollably under his breath, some clear ‘shit’, ‘damn’, and ‘fuck’s, others complete blabbered nonsense, seeing as you were, well, fucking him senseless.

You underestimated how turned on using him would get you. It was like your body was overtaken by the force of a rabid beast, craving nothing but Will. Your gorgeous, submissive husband, still wearing his wedding band through all of this. You moaned when you thought of that. Him being yours. You still weren’t used to the honor.

Your hands gripped the sides of his hips, slamming him into you, as you did he, with sloppy but precise pacing.

“Made for me, made for me, fucking made for me,” you repeated like a perverted mantra. You caught a small ‘made for you,’ whispered from Will.

You took one of your hands off his hips and slid it down onto his own dick, chuckling at how hot it was. Your strokes on him were languid in contrast to how ruthlessly you were taking him.

There was no doubt in your mind he wasn't appreciative of you jacking him off during what was already a pleasing experience, seeing as he was moaning to the volume of near-screams.

“Oh please, oh please, I’m gonna cum! Please! Please!” Will cried.

“Go for it. I-I’m gonna cum with you, alright? Let’s…Let's cum with each other. Can you-can you do that?” You mustered amidst your deep, all-consuming thrusts.

“Yes, yes, oh fuck yes, I’ll cum with you! I’ll-I’ll-!” His voice rendered into a gasp and loud, shaky moan as he shuddered and came, open-mouthed with his head thrown back. He was as good as dead to the world, his cum covering your hand and parts of his lower stomach.

You weren’t long after him, seizing and cumming with deep, sporadic slams inside him. You fucked yourself through every last second of your orgasm, feeling your head spin. All you could think of was ‘mine, Will, mine,’ repeated in succession in your head. Bliss. In its purest form.

You tried not to collapse on top of him, crushing him, but despite your best efforts you were spent.

“Fuck.” Was all you grunted, catching your breath before lifting yourself up and out of Will. “You alright?”

“More than,” Will sighed, eyes dreary, but content.

“Stay put, alright? I’ll get you a towel.” You said, getting up off the bed, paying a glance and smiling over to him.

“I don’t think I can move for the rest of the night, so don’t worry about me going off anywhere. I love you.” He returned your smile, and promptly closed his eyes to drift off into much needed sleep.

-

Even though you guessed he couldn’t hear you, when you returned to clean him up, you chastely kissed his forehead and returned the declaration of love in a lithe whisper.

-

End

-

Reposts and comments make me hard fr

[batarangsoundsdumb]

guess fucking what? my inbox is so fucking full right now i'm unloading all of this shit in one post.

For the 11th gotham memes: gothamites react to bruce being jacked in a tiktok he made with kids, like super yoked, ripped as hell

fucking hilarious thanks. i think i did it in one meme post, but i genuinely don't remember which one

i dunno which of the batfam would do this but one time i was sleeping over at a friends house and ended up on the floor bc the bed was so very small and i just stayed there because the rug was soft

that's a drunk jason move i don't know what to tell you

tim and jason are "i listen to pop punk" solidarity. whenever jason highjacks the batmobile theyll go on long ass car rides blaring mcr and paramore and then never talk about it again

as they should!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tim: no jason it's my turn using the aux cord i gotta put on my jams jason: don't you dare put on weird shit tim: don't worry, you're gonna love this *plays fearless (taylor's version)

hear me out hear me out, red hood stans 🤝 nightwing stans t h i g h s

holy shit yes.

SNL au: Bruce breaks character when pretending to superman and says something like "I'm not superman! You've seen his gps!! It's from 2001!!!" @sabeanybabe

superman flies past the snl building the next day just to say 'actually it's from 2005, i'm not a heathen'

does your back hurt from carrying the batfam fandom

it hurts more from the exotic rock collection i keep in my backpack, but thanks for the concern.

I love your posts by why would you always leave the best parts in the tags?

as a treat for the people that check the tags ;) (and also because i'm committed to the short post aesthetic)

somehow your playlist was everything i never knew i needed. i mean it. this is my new favorite playlist.

and don't you dare get a new favourite playlist!

babe ur stoner tim playlist is exactly too perfect, earth is literally blessed by ur existence

babe thanks so much! i love my stoner tim playlist because it's just my usual playlist but people think it's an artistic choice that i put taylor swift and britney spears in there, when it's just what i unironically like listening to

JANDKSKDK BILLY RAY CYRUS ON THE STONER TIM PLAYLIST I LOVE IT IT

again it's not even an ironic choice, i know every single word and i genuinely like the song

The last chapter of Fundamentals of Casework has me crying at work. Thanks I love it @dudelookitsalesbian

oh babe, i'm sorry, but also, not sorry i love chapter 4 so much it's my lovechild with the 'mental illness' tag

soooo....stumbled on your tumblr by some stroke of fate??? read your DC fanfic first. which is PHENOMENAL btw. then found all the batmemes; the funniest thing EVER bc everyone forgets about regular old gothamites. kept scrolling and your blog pops up as recommended. clicked on the ao3 for shits and giggles and waddaya know?!?!? it's YOU!!! you're LEGEND!!!! ever seen that meme? it's a video of a cat that got into a baseball field and the two announcers get really invested in his escape attempt and start giving a play by play of the cat instead of the game. memeable moment: "GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!"

i seriously think about this ask every single day and it's so fucking funny to me that i've never seen the meme you're referencing, but i still find myself going 'GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!' whenever i see something funny. but wow i'm glad you liked this steaming pile of garbage

Fav dc character overall? And fav batfamily character?

don't ask me to pick between the loves of my life, but i can tell you i've cried about every single batfamily member and also wally west (my beloved)

What's your opinion on fans having a problem with batfam being "too big"? And some even claim that batfam is just "Bruce Alfred Dick Damian" and the rest of them are just "friends and allies" (source: reddit) Personally, I like batfam because of this reason but idk

stupid. a family can never be too big. i'm not that big a fan of like huge batfam stuff with everybody from every single universe, because as much as it's funny for bruce to have like 30 kids, it just feels a little too OOC for me.

This is the best tag I've seen involving the batfam, thanks for thinking of it

This is canon now @nctxrejects

lmao yeah i think at that point alfred has had to sit through like at least a dozen coming out talks and just has a pride flag collection in the attic that he pulls out whenever a kid comes out

idk why batfam hits different as compared to any other superhero family

bc it's found family and usually the other superhero families are almost all genetically related in one way or another

I don't know if you watch the umbrella academy but I saw your last post about batcest and saw the similarities. But the thing is (although I think it's weird) in TUA, they addressed it by saying "they were raised as weapons, not siblings" or something along those lines, which is simply not the case with batfam.

yeah i watched tua but i also thought it was ridiculous and they still treated each other as siblings so i didn't like the luthor/allison thing, and am glad they stopped doing that shit bc it fucking sucked.

Hot take: Batcest shippers are the same people who believe adopted siblings are not actual siblings

smoking hot take: batcest shippers are the people who watch 'my sister got stuck in the washing machine' porn

Duke was adopted by Bruce?

not technically no, but do i, tumblr user batarangsoundsdumb, look like i care?

True story but I had to change my freaking name because it used to be "Damien" and most people would go "OH LIKE DAMIAN WAYNE" like please I'm just tryna live

true story, but i don't actually think of damian when i hear the name damian, literally the first thing that pops up is damian darkh like bruh what?

apparently dc comics company supported comic stores by giving out new titles and stuff during the beginning of the pandemic to help them run and I just think that's wholesome

ah yeah that's so fucking cool, still don't like dc, the company, because this world is a capitalist hellhole and we're all owned by warner brothers or disney with no in between.

ayo looking at tumblr head canons and finding out bruce is actually a terrible father is a punch in the gut

lmao yes, in like 50% of comics bruce is a terrible father and it gives me whiplash

oooh I just saw the jason todd vs winter soldier post and the real question is: batman vs iron man

while iron man has like hundreds of cases of armor, batman could throw out an emp and have the guy dropping out of the sky in 2 seconds.

dickfast = fastdick = quickdick = quickie

magnum hot take

hey bata(?) just thought I'd let you know I have copied the obnoxious emoji and Billy Ray post for use on simping men going forth

thank you 😘🌷 (@spacebarsidecar)

why would you do that to your followers???? i get why i did it, but why would you???

what is scarecrow made the nightwing funko pop himself, like those diy-ers that paint over other ones

oh god no, horrible take, horrible take, that's a disgusting thought oh no

I see your HC that Bruce and Oliver fucked and raise you this: Dick and Roy ALSO fucked

yes they did and it was a horrible moment for jason to find out dick has fucked both of his best friends

"at this rate bruce adds like 1 child to his family every decade or so" Duke is introduced in 2013, Damian as Damian, not as an unnamed child, in 2006. And he is already 14 years old, Robins rarely remain Robins after 16 😬 It looks like a new Robin and Batkid will appear in a couple of years

i mean i can't wait? but somebody will probably die first tho, we're due for another major character death. my money's on either cass or duke this time.

BRO you're so right all of your Bruce's ex headcanons are amazing but they aren't ships, that's kinda wild. Like I don't want any peeks into how their relationship was I just want to see everyone make fun of them

lmao YES it's just i love bruce being a slut, like good for him.

I am in love with your posts your honour thank you

omg thanks are we like,, gonna kiss now?

The justice league needs to have a meeting to discuss how many of their members/partners have slept with bruce. Because through a combination of cannon & fannon (if DC wasn’t homophobic) we have AT LEAST: 1) clark 2) lois 3) oliver 4) dinah 5) john

Thats not counting villains or random civilians @dudelookitsalesbian

yes yes yes, they'll have a yearly meeting about how many of their collective exes could be out for revenge and batman's list just keeps getting longer.

tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.

and what about it?

when steph's fighting livewire and she zaps her with lighting and nothing happens and then they both just. stand there awkwardly for a second and talk. yeah i couldn't stop laughing at that batgirl steph is the BEST

oh yeah that was fucking hilarious and i think it would be so cool and sexy of dc to give steph a little comic series,,, as a treat

Hi I absolutely adore all of yours "Bruce and Oliver very badly pretending they didn't fuck each other" memes

lmao i do too

I need you to know that “Bruce Wayne had frosted tips” is one of my favorite Bruce takes of all time it’s so galaxy brained. you’re right and you should say it

he also painted his hair blonde once when he was travelling and in conclusion, this is why he's being blackmailed by the gotham gazette.

you know my thing about gordon being branded as the only good cop in gotham is its a load of shit like arguably he's a good person and not working to screw people over or anything but the fact that he also works w. batman makes him a shit cop. like yea batman is better than the mob but its still illegal its still an abuse of power he just not making bank

babe, all cops are bad cops. (but yeah youre absolutely right, working with vigilantes makes you a shit cop, but also working against vigilantes just makes you an asshole cop yanno?)

ruh roh i think i’m about to add “so not yeehaw” every time i don’t like something

that's a very good vocabulary upgrade

somehow i feel like steph already knew. like babs obviously knew but i feel like bruce got high/drunk in front of steph and started telling his boarding school stories and steph was just like “oh you fucked up i’m never gonna forget this”

steph and bruce have weird uncle/rebellious niece dynamic and they just hang out sometimes and bruce will be like 'i once broke my arm when i tripped over a hedge when i was drunk so oliver drove me to the hospital on an electric scooter' and steph will just have to sit there with that knowledge in her head.

Hello I just wanted to tell you you are So right in all your steph opinions bc she is, in fact amazing and I think that's very sexy of you. Ps. Your Bruce/Oliver fic is hilarious

babe, thank you so much and yes steph is amazing and i love her and she deserves the world and she's the best member of the batfam hands down. also thanks

In Supersons we see a couple of kids that are implied to be Damian and Jon's children and the boy has laser eyes and can fly, so I asume he's not adopted. The girl, who calls Bruce grandpa, can also fly, btw. So it's canon (probably by accident) that Jon can have kids and he must have married one of Bruce's kids. (I'm hoping for Damian, mostly because any other of his children would be waaaaaaaaaaaaay too old.) @artemisa97

lmao that was probably an accident seeing as jon is a 17 year old superhero in the year 3000 (by the jonas brothers)

You know, I'm a die hard fan of your memes, but I gotta say one thing: if Gothamites actually took gas mask everywhere with them, then the Scarecrow would just be a weird dude in a weird costume, and not a villain oh so scary. DC really should just takes notes from you.

bold of you to assume there's no gothamite anti-maskers

How does it feel being the funniest person on this app?

horrible, next question.

I can't listen to Green Day or Billy Joel without thinking of your post about how Bruce got arrested at a Billy Joel concert @nightwings-kid

yeah that's your mistake, i on the other hand can't enjoy billy joel without thinking about the glee rendition of 'uptown girl'

I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.

superman: so what do you do in your free time? batman, thinking about the superman fanfiction he's writing on the batcomputer: i have no free time

bruce and oliver be like boyfriends to co-workers 401k (do the justice leagues get 401ks??? not that bruce and ollie would need them, but-)

lmao yes just 400 thousand words of bruce realising 'oh dip oliver is such a fucking dumbass' (also i don't know what a 401 k is but i assume they don't?)

Gothamites would totally boo superman as he saves Gotham while batman is out. @meenje

he's like 'okay think about that next time you want to be saved from an alien octopus'

I just took long break from dc comics and I come back to see ric grayson ??

i think it's very cool and sexy of dc to see dick and just think 'you know what? let's just give him a traumatic brain injury' and then didn't develop his character in any real way

SPEAKING OF RIC GRAYSON, gothamites making confused memes out of ric grayson is much needed

'dick grayson is my taxi driver? can anyone explain what the fuck happened he looks like an italian plumber?'

i hate to say it but batfam are def "marvel characters" in that sense they are characters who are human but become superheroes unlike most dc characters who are gods trying to be human maybe this is why I like batfam

fair enough

[disgruntledkittenface]

Thank you @haztobegood​ for tagging me! I always love reading everyone’s answers this time of year.

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 7

2. Word count posted for the year: 30,748

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, BBC Radio 1 RPF

4. Pairings: zarry, narry, lirry, larry, gryles (the year of Harry pairings!)

5. Story with the most:

Kudos: a little tenderness

Bookmarks: this is my jam

Comments: a little tenderness

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): this is my jam. If you read my author’s note, you know this was based on a story my friend told me and I wrote it after he passed away suddenly in July. When I was brainstorming the best way to adapt it, I found that I was kind of tempted to sanitize it in a way and I caught myself to interrogate that a bit. There’s nothing wrong with the open/ambiguous ending after what basically amounts to a one-night stand, and it served the story better than any of the fluffier ideas that came to me. It was also really important to capture a sense of the times, the early 90s, and the implications of that, and people in the comments complimented me on how I handled it, which really meant a lot, especially since my friend wasn’t here to read it over and be my sounding board. I just hope that he would have been proud, too. 

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): I hate this question! I usually don’t bother answering it, but I guess it would be obsessed, the gryles drabble, just because I really wanted to take that idea and make it a longer fic for @lululawrence​ for her birthday and because of everything going on at the time, I just couldn’t. But I am proud of it because it captures a moment and the essence of what I wanted to do, so maybe this is job interview type spin, but whatever. 

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: I’m really lucky to have a lot to choose from, and it pains me to only share one but I’m going to go with this comment on comfort from @louandhazaf​:

Beautiful! I love their relationship and H’s supportiveness and how they’ve clearly got the communication thing down… that shoulder touch and the spaghetti and the ear murmur on the neighbor’s porch. This is just….. sad, yes, but also warm and comforting, and such a dive into humanness in a mere 666 words. I love you and I love this and I’m so glad this fic has a home!

I was nervous to post that fic because I knew it would be kind of an outlier in that fest because it’s sad and I kind of feel like I’m the only one sad that time of year, and it meant a lot to me to be received with such compassion.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: I had a couple of bouts of writer’s block this year, and the second one was really hard because I was depressed and grieving. I tried to give myself kind goals, like “write 100 words today,” and eventually I just had to give up my expectations and wait for that time to pass.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I was surprised by how a little tenderness unfolded. It was a really open prompt, something I could kind of do anything with, and I ran through several ideas before Harry helping Niall through touch deprivation came to me. When I started writing, Harry was already a little fully formed, I think he has a lot of me in him and I always knew he was asexual, but I was surprised by how well Niall complemented him, and how he turned out to be not a stereotypical omega.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: from i fell in, i’m falling, i’m for you:

And that’s when he sees him. 

Illuminated by the bright morning light pouring through the windows, clad in ugly corduroy pants and an embroidered green jacket with what looks like a purse slung over his shoulder, and totally unaware of Zayn’s presence. His ex-boyfriend. Harry. Or H, as he used to call him back in the days when he thought they’d stay together forever. Maybe even get married. Have the houseful of kids that Harry had always wanted. 

Fuck. Harry.

Their eyes meet as Harry looks up from the counter where he’d been stabbing the lid of an iced coffee with a straw, and they both freeze. Zayn doesn’t know what Harry is thinking, the face he used to be able to read so clearly back when things were good frustratingly blank as the sunlight creates a halo around him, highlighting his brown curls. God, he looks so different now. He looks good like this, with his hair cut shorter and in those clothes, the distinct stale thrift store vibe oddly suiting him. Even the purse looks right on him as he rests a hand on it. Now that he’s not bent over his cup, Zayn can see a string of pearls around his neck and his heart skips a beat. 

The Harry he knew had always liked feeling pretty.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I know deadlines and goals work really well for a lot of people, but I find them kind of restrictive and I’ve really given myself permission to just not set them for myself and I think it helps me a lot. 

13. How do you hope to grow next year: I want to keep trying new things and I’m hoping to work on an advent fic because I’ve always kind of wanted to post something as a WIP.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): Again, I hate to choose just one! But @crinkle-eyed-boo​ is always unfailingly supportive of anything I do. Her face always lights up when I tell her about a new idea, she always asks about my progress, she follows me into pairings that I would never expect her to, and I think she’s chosen a lifelong role of being my own personal hype woman.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: comfort is basically about me and my husband.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I think it’s about figuring out what works for you and accepting that what works for one person might not for another. I don’t like setting goals but maybe goals really help you focus. I painstakingly edit as I write because I just can’t not, but maybe you need to go with the flow and just write until that first draft is done before you edit. I don’t know, just take advice with a grain of salt because maybe it’s for you but it’s okay if it’s not. 

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: MY GRACE KELLY AU. I will finish and post as part of Big Bang this year! I have always wanted to write a longer fic, like 100k, and I’m so close to being done I can taste it. 

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read. @uhoh-but-yeah-alright​ @jacaranda-bloom​ @absoloutenonsense​ @kingsofeverything​ @allwaswell16​ @crinkle-eyed-boo​ @lululawrence​ @louandhazaf​ @fallinglikethis​ @littleroverlouis​ @wabadabadaba​

[paintedpeeta]

hi. I'm sorry for what im about to say, but i just need to let this go somewhere, otherwise imma explode. i can't talk to most of my friends right now, and i don't wanna bother anyone.

that's hypocritical of me since im coming here to bother you... and that's what im sorry about the most, but since you answered my previous ask with the most gentle treatment ive been given in days, here's me again.

im in the fandom for almost a year now. it's still difficult for me to write for everlark, specially following canon because they mean a lot to me, and im always afraid that im doing it the wrong way. I've been working on a longfic since february and there was a time where I was SO GENUINELY PROUD AND EXCITED about how i was writing, but i can't feel that anymore.

i can't feel that with anything i write. and when i do, or at least have some hope that someone will read it... nothing. not even my friends, the ones who pressured me to post it earlier than i planned in the first place. and now i feel like i have nothing, since nobody reads my thg shit and i pretty much stopped writing for other fandoms.

as a brazilian i kinda don't have the right to expect much, bc people who read everlark in portuguese nowdays are basically extinct and im not exactly using the best plataforms... but i still do. and that's making me sick.

i had to deactivate my twitter account this week because some family stuff, and i used to post a lot of my writings there. i created a new one, but now i have lost all of the lil reach i had, and i can't find most of my mutuals. my friends still couldn't care less about my writing.

i feel like im a bad author. not because my writing sucks or because I can't build storylines. i can, and feel like i do that decently. what i mean is that... nobodys reading what i put into the world. and what's the sense in all writings, if not make others feel so comforted and welcomed by our stories as we do, as authors?

i genuinely feel like getting out of twitter for good, because being there is not nice anymore. not when i see all people that promised me they would read my fics tweeting all day about all kinds of subjects and leaving me on read on dms. not when i post drabbles and have to delete them hours later because nobody sees or interacts w it.

at the same time, i don't know how to use tumblr. and every other part of my life is falling apart.

im sorry, again. but that's what I feel right now and i guess I just wanted someone to listen and comfort me, since my two other happiness sources are fictional. ignore that if you want. please, don't answer it because you feel like it's the polite thing to do or because you feel like you have to. you don't.

- I.H.

hello, anon :)

first of all i’m sorry that you’re feeling so down, i wish there was something i could do to help you more than just replying to this ask - so please remember that my messages are always open (i won’t take offence if you’d rather communicate through my inbox to keep ur anonymity of course) if you wanted to talk a little more. you must be hurting pretty bad if you feel like you can’t talk to your friends about it :(

and second of all, please don’t feel so discouraged that you stop with your writing. i really don’t read multi-chapter fics myself (i don’t even have an AO3 account if you’d believe it or not) so i sometimes feel a little guilty that i don’t do enough to support fic writers, who give up so much of their time to give other people some enjoyment and a little bit of escape. if you’d like to share the name or link etc of your fic with me i’d be more than happy to post it on my blog if you thought that would help any.

as for your troubles with writing in your native language, i can only imagine how frustrating that would feel for you. i wonder if anyone in the fandom would be able to help in the way of translation or something in order to help you in that respect? sadly i don’t speak portuguese, so i doubt i’d be any use on this one :(

and honestly i only have twitter for personal use so i’m not any help there but is there perhaps a way to reactivate your account? i wasn’t so sure but according to google you can get a deactivated account back within 30 days, if that would be in any use for reconnecting with your followers on there.

and lastly i hope you keep the faith in the longfic you’ve been writing. it would be terribly sad for you to lose all that you’ve worked on since february. that being said, if you feel like it’s giving you so much stress and just feeling fruitless it’s also okay to take a break and step back for a little while. no one will feel disappointed and you certainly shouldn’t feel that way about yourself. tumblr is sort of a pain in the ass to use i won’t deny it, but there are some amazing people and writers on here who i’m sure would be willing to help you out.

please don’t be a stranger if you need to rant again, and i hope any of what i’ve said is at least a little bit useful for you 😊

[shintorikhazumi]

“CABBAGE”

A/N: First, I wanna apologize to the Diakko day mods that reviewed a completely different fic for me that was supposed to be my entry, but then... boom new diakko day entry. I’m sorry ;-;, I just couldn’t figure out a flow that would still have what I had in mind. Uwu, sorry for using up your precious time.

Soulmate, non-magic? AU. Cliche stuff, common trope. STILL. I’m using it. Fun fact, I slaved away for this for two/three days hoho~ peak procrastination, don’t encourage it. Also on ao3, but I have a habit of posting full chaps on tumblr. Teehee. This is... long... (could have been a crazy multi-chap, ey?) but I guess that’s what you get for trying to fit a full story with an AU setting that needs to be established. Sorry if it feels slow with regards to reaching DiAkko, but don’t worry, from when they come along til the end, you’ll have loads of them. Sorry for the pacing tho :((( I also apologize in advance if there are some OOC bits that y’all might not like. Not too confident in it, but hope you all like it. I DID NOT BETA READ THIS ANYMORE BECAUSE I’M TIRED OF THE LENGTH OF IT LMAO. Anywho...

Happy DiAkko day! Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

It was a normal thing, really. She had grown up with a thin chain slung around her neck, attached to another tiny metal thingy resting against the skin of her collarbone. On cold days, she would keep it in her pocket because god knows how weirdly tingly and-or painful that felt on bare skin. Sure she could have chosen to just wear it so that others could see it- actually, wasn’t she going against society’s rules when she hid it? She was, wasn’t she. Heck, it surprised her now that she’s realized it. Why hasn’t she been arrested yet? This is a crime isn’t it? Her mom, her dad, would they get to say their farewells once she got incarcerated-

“I can see it on your face, that you’re thinking about something totally stupid again.”

“Shut up, Sucy.”

“Just saying.” Sucy shrugs, going back to working on their chemistry lab activity. “I mean, I kinda just want you to focus on what we’re doing. Unless you want me to slip in some stuff in your project there.” She grinned in that evil little way the brunette had come to know her for.

“If I know you, which I do, you’ve probably already done that.”

“Akko! I can’t believe you’d accuse me of something like hurting my friends.” Sucy really couldn’t sell the ‘feigning shock’ act as her monotone words did little to convey emotion, and that forced gasp was probably just everyone else’s normal manner of breathing. Which was scary, now that she thought about it. Did that mean Sucy’s normal breathing was even less obvious? Oh god, now that Akko thinks about it, she would sometimes joke in her head about how she often wondered whether or not Sucy was actually dead during sleepovers.

‘I mean, come on! She sleeps like a corpse in a coffin! And she always looks so pale-’

“I knew you were thinking about something stupid again.” Once more, her thoughts were brought to a halt by that lazed, snarky voice that could only belong to her best friend who shared her mutual desire to strangle one another.

“I was just wondering if you were undead or something.”

“Screw you.”

“Wish I’d find someone to do that...” Akko muttered under her breath, to which Sucy sighed. She had heard it, and immediately knew what the Japanese was about to get hung up on. Again. Like she always did.

A hand reaching over to pat her back in consolation, but Akko felt a little worse, feeling that small, hard material lightly tapping the area along with the rest of Sucy’s hand. Sucy chuckled, sympathetically. “I know you’re constantly in a state of heat, Akko-” Or not.

“I am not, you bitch!”

Sucy could stand to ignore that. “-But really. Are you really that obsessed with finding your soulmate? We’re all young and all that jazz that those old hags keep yapping about. You have a lot of time, you know?” She smiled a sincere smile this time, trying her best to comfort her friend. “And besides, even though it’s something written on official print that most people find their soulmates at sixteen, most isn’t all.”

Akko felt a little better. Sucy could be an asshole, but as a best friend, she really knew what to say to Akko sometimes.  

“-That’s basic English that even you can understand.”

She takes it back. She takes some of her heartfelt gratitude back. “I hate you.”

“Aww, I abhor you with all of my non-existent heart as well.” Sucy smirked, swatting Akko’s attacking hand away. “Muah~” She threw in a wink for good measure.

“Ughh, oh gosh... Professor Croix!” Akko bemoaned to their supervising teacher. “Can I please use the emergency shower? And eyewash. I think Miss Manbavaran got her unholy sappiness spilled all over me.”

Croix sighed, rubbing the spot between her eyes with her thumb and index finger. Not this again. “Can’t you two ever pipe down in my class?” She sighed. “PLEASE?!”

“Nope.” -Was the deadpanned response.

“I now see why you guys are friends.” Croix groaned, walking over to their table. “You little shits just won’t give me a break. And yet, you’re so behaved with Chariot.”

“Hey! Sensei, cursing your students is bad!” Akko scolded, before adding, “Besides, this and that are separate matters. Prof Chariot is just sweet and so nice, you can’t bear the weight of guilt of hurting her. Right?” Akko turned to Sucy who just nodded.

“Shut it, Kagari. That is not a valid rea- wait... maybe it is.”

“See?”

Her head was starting to hurt. Just why had she decided to be a teacher in place of any other job involving chemistry? Really, there were so many other things she could have done!

Just as she was about to return the verbal jabs, a gentler voice inserted itself into their conversation. “Umm... guys, professor, the other students are being distracted by your... um... exchange.”

Three pairs of eyes blinked, before two widened in apologetic shock, while the other seemed to gleam in pleasure. “Sorry, Lotte.”

“Sucy, please try to look even the slightest bit sorry.”

And disappointment replaced them right away.

“Tsk.”

“Sucy... we will be having a talk back in our room.” Akko heard that audible gulp, reaching for her friend’s hand under the table, squeezing support.

“Don’t die.” She whispered.

“You too, Akko.”

“Noooo! How? I don’t even live with you two!”

Lotte was about to respond that Akko always stayed over, anyway, but the frantic screams of their teacher took the words far away from her mind.

“Akko! Akko! Your solution is bubbling! Wait, that’s not supposed to do that-” Croix’s concern was justified as in a matter of a split second, everyone in their immediate circle was covered in some bright pink substance. “SHOWER, EMERGENCY SHOWER-”

“W-we won’t all fit, Professor!” Lotte had begun tearing up, wondering if she was about to die from whatever toxic chemical their beloved dunce must have mixed in. Maybe if she prayed to something somewhere out there, the spirits of nature would take hers and maybe she could live as some kind of forest sprite in some alternate magical world, and crap, she was becoming delusional.

“Hoho~ What a nice outcome~.”

“Manbavaran!”

“Relaaaax, I switched out all of Akko’s components for some of my stuff. It was a precaution.” She smiled, unbelievably innocent-looking. “...and maybe added a little surprise.”

“Su.CY!” Akko lunged forward before being stopped mid-air, caught by the collar.

“Akko. Sucy. I’ll see you in the office later.”

“...your office?” They seemed amazingly unfazed. They’d probably been so used to being there that they must see it as a lounge of sorts. But no, Croix wasn’t going to be defeated by teenage rascals that were the cause of her hair prematurely turning white. No.

“Nope.”

“Th-then, Finneran’s?” They weren’t completely scared of the aforementioned teacher. She just gave them such an earful, sometimes they’d joke to Lotte about needing hearing aids at some point.

“No.” Croix’s smile grew despicably wide and dark. “Holbrooke’s.”

Lotte sighed in sympathy. Well, she’d expected this development sooner or later. “I’ll wait for you by the usual bench.”

//-//-//-//-//

A week of suspension. One week off school, no school or class-related updates allowed from classmates, and only check-ins and work drops from teachers. That was... surprisingly light after all the trouble they’d accumulated over the past first month of the semester. Or maybe it was because it was just the start of the school year that the headmistress really wanted as little to go wrong as possible. Preferably nothing would go wrong. Or it could also be the fact that they were in their senior year, and the teachers really wanted all their students to graduate.

But you could never tell with a group as rowdy as the ‘witches’ of Luna Nova International Institute. They were rightly labeled as such with the cursed terrors they had inflicted, every incident they’ d caused all over the school premises and beyond.

If it wasn’t Akko and Sucy, it was Jasminka somehow being able to sneak in and out of the classroom and buy out the entire snack section of the cafeteria, and making it back to class without anyone noticing. With her size, it was some kind of scary magic trick. If it wasn’t that either, then it was Constanze constantly installing who-know’s-what in the schools’ computers. It it wasn’t her, then it was Amanda and Hannah pulling at hairs, or cutting at each other’s necks, then the next thing you know they’re either making out in public, or making out in public... with Barbara. There was also Lotte when she was in her wild states of fangirling after a new Night Fall release. People tended to keep a safe distance from her during those times. (She’d once shaken a girl unconscious out of her sheer excitement at the mention of, ‘Oh, I read the latest release too’.)

Never a dull day with them.

Scarily so.

Holbrooke had smiled at them kindly as always, but there was just a little something else behind it that felt like Akko and Sucy were about to die on the spot.

“Please. I beg of you. Your first two years, we tried to overlook all your mischief as it did not pose any threat to the masses, only towards you and your friend group... well... physical harm or threat, at least. I don’t know how many people are psychologically scarred because of you.” She had said that, but they didn’t know if it was a joke, a serious statement, or both.

After being given twenty blank pages to write their usual apologies on- they shared a laugh, thinking back on when Amanda got fifty-, the pair made their merry way to the bench just by the school gate where Lotte sat, chatting alongside and excited Barbara, a Hannah with a fond smile directed at her life-time partner, and Amanda who was carrying both their bags for them, waving goodbye to Constanze and Jasminka who looked like they were just leaving.

“Aww, didn’t get to catch my little friend.” Akko pouted, wanting to hug Conz as she always did. She was so cute. And soft. Like a plush. Always calming Akko down.

“She’s gonna shoot one of her tiny lazers at you again. Those actually burn.” Amanda reminded, laughing as she remembered what Lotte told her about why they were late. “And I heard you two got some quality time with the big woman upstairs?” Her grin widened. “How many?”

“Twenty.” They responded in synch, hands aching from the memory.

“Heh... not bad. Doesn’t beat my record though.” She cackled, slinging an arm over Hannah’s shoulder, Akko not missing the glint on her left ring finger. How nice.

“Don’t egg them on, idiot.” Hannah sighed, peeling the limb off her. “And you all got nothing on these two.” She pointed a thumb to the still excitedly conversing pair. “They wrote a fucking novel for their apology. Literally. But the teachers were so tired of reading that they weren’t made to write apology notes anymore.”

“Hey! Cleaning the bathrooms aren’t the best either!” Barbara, now done with her talk with Lotte, turned to pinch the ginger’s arm.

“I mean, we all have cleaned them at some point.”

“True, true.” The group nodded in consensus.

“...”

“This is not a very good fact.” Barbara pointed out, and they all laughed, the ones seated slowly getting up, everyone ready to go home.

As they exited the gate, they all waved their goodbyes, Akko and her two best friends heading one way, and Amanda and her girls the other. Just as the sun was setting at that hour in the afternoon, red eyes caught the reflected glimmer of light against the three bands on each girl’s ring finger. Those same eyes traveled to similar hoops donned by the pair walking quietly in front of her, hands brushing by one another.

Really. She was happy all her friends had found their destined ones. Some partners may look to be as mismatched as Sucy and Lotte, and some cases were as rare as the three-way between the snarky British girls and their American idiot, but... the system had worked some magic in perfectly matching people, it seemed. They all seemed happy with who they had.

Akko didn’t know if this was some kind of spiritual occurrence like fate or the likes, or if this was just one ginormous scientific experiment on billions of guinea pigs across the globe, but... Akko wanted in on it too.

Placing a hand over where her heart was, she felt for the metal against her chest, clutching it through her uniform blouse.

Just when would her “soulmate” come?

//-//-//-//-//

Their first stop, as per usual, was the small apartment complex that Lotte and Sucy lived in. When their parents had discovered that these children had found the one meant for them, they were more than willing to help the girls move in together, and get used to a life-long companionship. They trusted them as they were both capable and level-headed, and Akko was so happy that her friends were happy. She always was.

Lotte invited her in. As always. And Akko should’ve accepted like she always did as well, but somehow, today... she just didn’t feel like it. So she made a random excuse, something believable enough, like how her parents had asked her to make dinner because they’d be home late, and the Fin just had to let her go, even if she felt something was off, and that the brunette might just be lying.

There had been a time when Lotte and Sucy had just gotten together that Akko seemed to distance herself from her best friends. They soon found out it was out of her concern that she might be intruding on their relationship, or bothering them, taking away from the time the pair could spend alone together as a couple. Obviously, they had never seen Akko as a nuisance, and were saddened she would think of such things.

With a talk, reassurances, and clarifications in place, their bond as friends became ever stronger, and more trusting.

But Akko still wanted to be considerate. Out of love.

...and maybe a little envy that made her want to distance herself from the sight of people with fulfilled partnerships.

Maybe she was just a sore, lonely loser who couldn’t truly be happy for her friends.

Who knows.

After jogging the rest of the way home, a simple five-minute distance away from the apartments, she reached that familiar wooden gate, the name plate “Kagari” shiny and clean, like her mother liked it. Pushing the swinging portion open, she walked up the driveway, smiling at her share little garden with her Mama. Looks like the vegetables were growing up healthy. Maybe she could try some new dishes out and have her friends give her feedback. The usual agenda.

“I’m home!” She called out in the foyer, shoes slipping off and set neatly to the side. A habit strongly instilled in her since childhood. “Mama?” The scents of vegetables and meat, and was that... cookies! Her mom was baking cookies! “Mama!”

Padding down the hall and entering the open living room, she found her father splayed out, snoring on the couch with a newspaper covering his face. Giggling to herself, she continued her way into the kitchen, spotting the one she’d been looking for, ear buds in and swaying to some music only she could hear. Akko smiled. Her mom was so youthful, she was such a girl. With her bright pink apron and bunny slippers, and impeccable manners and home skills.

“Ma~ma!” She called, hugging her mother’s waist from behind.

The older woman yelped, spatula flying into the air, but with Akko smoothly catching it and licking off some of the sauce on it. She tried not to look into those disproving eyes, and simply released her mother and went to wash the utensil.

“Akko...”

“I said I was home! You didn’t hear me, mama. This is revenge.” She grinned cheekily, her mother sighing before a fond smile played on her lips.

“Fine, fine. But just this once, okay?”

“Hai~” Akko gave a mock salute, enjoying this moment with her mother as the her co-brunette rolled her eyes fondly. Akko walked up to her, kissed her cheek, and attempted to “appease” her mother by offering her exemplary culinary services- or so her dad had once claimed. “Let me help you out?”

Unable to keep up the annoyed act longer, her mother slipped into giggles, turning to gather her daughter into her arms and pepper kisses all over her hair. “Thank you, baby. Please chop me up some of the veggies in the bag by the sink.”

“Roger!”

And they shared another laugh at the voice coming from the other room, screaming a sleepy, “WHO’S ROGER?! ANOTHER BOY-”

The usual always felt so good.

//-//-//-//-//

Dinner had been fairly uneventful. Her cousin- the relation fairly distant- who currently lived with them wasn’t home still, just like always. She knew he was always busy at school, and with the little business her father had him manage, so that was a normal thing as well. She had ended up just confessing to her parents what she’d done in school this time, in hopes that her being honest instead of them finding out via a phone call from school first would ease the inevitable punishment awaiting her.

It... kind of helped. Kind of.

Her father had laughed so hard, clearly amused at her and Sucy’s antics. Her mother sighed deeply, not knowing if she should even still be disappointed anymore. Akko and school accidents and incidents weren’t uncommon at all, after all. It wasn’t a surprise. Really, the biggest school-related surprise they’d gotten was the fact that Akko wanted to take a science-related course instead of an arts one. They knew it had always been her dream to be a performer. So why was she taking that when Luna Nova offered the Arts as well. It was something they would forever wonder about.

Akko was usually so open and honest with them in just about everything, but this was one thing she would never clear up with them. And they could never understand why. There was definitely a deep reason behind it. But why did she have the need to keep it to herself? They worried, but they also believed in her, that she would tell them if she needed to. She was that kind of child.

They hoped.

Kissing her parents good night, She walked away from the kitchen banter of who should wash the dishes between the two adults, and trudged up the wooden stairs to her room. Akko had offered, but they said she should just rest up. She looked like she had a long day. Besides, she had a week to help out at home. Akko shivered at the thought of being worked like a mule. That was a joke of course, but her mama could be so Spartan sometimes.

Her door clicked close, and she immediately found herself face-first in the soft covers of the lower bunk of her bed, lights of the room still down. Originally, the Kagari’s had been expecting twins because of how large Akko’s mother’s stomach had been. Apparently, they were simply blessed with a very healthy baby. (She was a fair bit taller than her mother, and had a good height for a Japanese woman). As Akko grew up, however, she insisted to keep the bunk as it seemed like it could be useful to turn into her own little fort. Plus, sleepovers wouldn’t be much of a problem in terms of space.

Flipping onto her back, she stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars pasted onto the top of her ceiling. It was fairly high up, with this side of the house being designed a little differently, the roof of Akko’s room forming a dome. This was at her request as a child after attending one of Professor Chariot’s public lectures on stars as a child. Akko had since then been hooked to them, the fading glow of the stickers allowing her sights of the constellations she’d painstakingly formed, sticking each point one by one with the help of her dad and a ladder.

She had been saving up lately to buy one of those small, portable planetarium projectors. She didn’t want to outright ask her parents for one, and she had taken a few secret part-time jobs to make up for the amount she needed. Little by little, she was getting close to her goal. She’d have one someday. One day.

Her eyes felt heavy all of a sudden, an arm moving to rest over them as her breathing slowed, thoughts drifting to stars and constellations, and myths, and tales, and fate, and...

Her world shut down.

//-//-//-//-//

“Atsuko. Atsuko, get up. Akko. Wake up, bloody hell, you sleep like a log!”

“Mmrrnghmm... eh?” Blinking her eyes open, she spotted a young man, brown hair just like hers, dressed in a cardigan and slacks, looking ready to go out on some date, or the like, or maybe he had more business as usual. “Andrew.”

“Akko.” He responded dryly. “It’s eight in the morning. I know it’s the weekend, but really, sleeping in isn’t a good habit.”

Rolling over to shield her eyes from the intrusive sunlight and man, she waved him away sloppily, ready to get back to rest, body feeling heavy for some reason.

“Akko!”

“You really do take my mom’s place when she isn’t around, Andrew.” Akko complained, sitting up, if only to get Andrew to pipe down. “Alright, I get it.” She rubbed the sleep away from her eyes, stretching her body out and taking in a breath of fresh air. “But if you’re here, I’m figuring my parents are out?”

She received a nod, followed by an explanation. “They said they had a picnic date planned for the whole day.”

Akko pouted. “Aww, and they didn’t think to take me along? How mean~”

“They tried to wake you up, believe me.” Andrew scoffed. “You could sleep through world war two without problem, however.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Get out, please.”

“Later.”

“I’m asking nicely.” Akko whined, slipping out of her bed, realizing she hadn’t changed out of her uniform last night.

“After I tell you about our plans for today.”

A well-shaped brow raised in suspicion at the words. “Our plans?” Akko voiced. “What do you mean. ‘our plans’? I don’t have any plans of spending time with you today, as far as my knowledge tells me.”

“Not that you have mu-” Andrew was about to throw in the usual insulting jab, playful banter, but refrained. He did actually need Akko to go with him.

“Hmm?” The lack of a biting response didn’t sit quite well with Akko. Something was up with her cousin, and she was sure that she was about to find out just what.

There was an awkward pause in the air before the older boy cleared his throat; maybe he should begin with getting on her good side. “L-lovely weather we’re having today.”

“Just tell me what you want from me and leave.”

“We’re going to the mall, please help me.”

“Why?”

“...”

“Why?” Akko pressed. If Andrew wasn’t going to give her a good enough explanation, she wasn’t going to move a single inch.

“...It’s Denise’s birthday soon.” He confessed, and Akko actually backed off.

“Oh.” She immediately understood what Andrew wanted without him having to expound on his earlier statement. Really, he could be such an adorable dork sometimes, especially when it came to Denise.

Denise was Andrew’s set partner. She was a kind person, gentle, lady-like, intelligent, mild-mannered, but strong-willed. She was great. Too good for Andrew, Akko would tease at times. But really, they made such a good match. She liked Denise; she was sweet to Akko, exchanged treats with her, as well as tutored her from time to time, being in the same school and all. She also kept Andrew busy and out of Akko’s hair, so she was perfect! So if not for Andrew’s sake, Akko should at least do something nice for her friend.

“Give me half an hour. I’ll be ready by then.”

Andrew breathed a sigh of relief, offering Akko a grateful smile. “Thank you. I’ll see myself out then.”

“Finally!”

With a childish sticking of the tongue out at each other, a habitual thing they had formed, Andrew had closed the door to Akko’s bedroom, not forgetting to lock it behind him for privacy’s sake. Akko was thankful.

Instead of getting up, however, and preparing for the day with Andrew out of the room, Akko lay back down on the soft mattress, eyes trained to the top of the room again. As she saw her little clusters of stars and constellations, red ribbons connecting points one to the other, always to be linked even if they were far apart, never to be broken, her regular intrusive thoughts had begun making their way to the forefront of her mind again.

Fated people... soulmates, huh. Weren’t those terms just glorified ways of saying everyone was in some kind of arranged marriage they could never get out of? Wouldn’t there be at least one person averse to all this? Maybe? But why... did all the people she’s known, who’ve met their match-why did they all seem content?

Feeling for that familiar metal piece under her clothing, she pulled it out by the chain, observing it as it glinted against the morning light. Her finger traced over the engraving on the outside, admiring the workmanship, but frowning at the words.

She thought back on it all. How all this destined person stuff all started out, as the history books told them. Before the records of History ever existed, they said that the leaders of the ancient world had gathered together, seeing the ‘sorrow of the world’, and came to a decision of what to to do to make the world better in that regard. They decided that ‘LOVE’ was the answer, as cheesy as it sounded. And so a system was put into place that would overcome barriers and seas, both literal and figurative, of difference, and bring to mankind the meaning of true joy- Akko always found it incredibly sappy and cringey when it was laid out like that.

Like any system, there were the finer details that made it all work one way or the other. It is said that people are born issued with a ring to be worn on their person on all times. It was a mystery as well, how one could never seem to outgrow the ring. Like it was made to grow alongside you. It was made out of metal, however, and it made things all the more perplexing. Who knows what magic goes on behind all of this? No one knows who makes the rings, or who created this system; nor does anyone know who assigns partners to each other. All they’ve known are the facts that the rings were created, containing words that served to be a hint to who your soulmate is supposedly. When you meet that person, you’d just know. The words, they’d just make sense. It didn’t matter if it never did all your life. One day, everything would just click, apparently. That was how the words were chosen, they said. Then these rings would be distributed to countries and the government would be responsible in ensuring that they got to their rightful owners.

Honestly, this whole thing sounded like some deep cult-ish shit, and Akko was quite shocked that she- along with possibly millions, or billions- had never questioned it before. After all, it was the usual; as always, the norm. It could be something of a mysterious world movement that no one knew of, but with it simply claiming to have the goal of ‘bringing happiness to all citizens’, people hardly seemed to mind where it took them.

Akko remembered the first time she ever found it weird. She was in the fourth grade, and that day, they had learned the importance of the words on the rings. ‘Hints to finding your one, true love, their teacher had claimed, trying to rouse excitement from the students at the prospect of soulmates.

And while every other little girl squealed in joy and giddiness upon reading the words written on their rings, Akko had a look of distaste on her face at the sight of her words, immediately hiding the item from possibly prying eyes of her classmates who had already began to compare words with others.

She hated it. She had then ran home to tell her mother about it.

“Mooommm! Mom!”

“Akko? What’s wrong? You’re all sweaty and you still have your outdoor boots on-”

“Why does my word suck so much?”

“Huh?” The woman was lost for words, confounded by a simple question.

“Why does it suck so much? My word!  I mean...” Holding her ring out for her Mama to see, Akko continued on her rant. “What the heck does cabbage even mean?! IS HE A FARMER?! DOES MY SOULMATE LIKE CABBAGE THAT MUCH?!”

“Ah... well...”

“Why couldn’t it be something cool like yours and dads. ‘Eyes like rubies’, and ‘Rider from the north’ just sounds so badass and romantic! And then there’s me with CABBAGE.  Sure, the ring is pretty and all, but... WHAT IS CABBAGE?!”

“I... don’t know, sweetheart.”

Akko had felt so frustrated with her word, that she wanted to cry. “My soulmate sucks!”

Thinking back on those times, she sure was such a child. It wasn’t her soulmate’s fault that the government or whatever authority or higher power decided to describe him or her that way. If anything, her partner is a victim of slander. Even Sucy had it better with the description. Akko chuckled mirthlessly. What are those people thinking. Ah, her head was starting to hurt from overthinking all this.

“’Bring happiness to all citizens’, my ass. With a hint as weird and cryptic as this, how am I supposed to be ‘happy’ like everyone else?” Akko sighed once more, unclasping the chain from behind her neck, and taking her ring off, hanging it over her eyes, watching it dangle in the air, the elegant cursive of ‘cabbage’ pissing her off a little more than it should.

Along with the ring came a handbook of sorts. Akko’s sat atop her bedside drawer. In it were more rules, guidelines, and information to be taken note of, but they could only be read at certain ages, sections sealed off by some kind of technology that only unlocked come one’s birthday. An example of a rule was related to how to wear the ring. It didn’t seem to be a heavily imposed rule as Akko had done away with it all her life. It was that rings should be worn on your right ring finger so long as you hadn’t found your assigned partner, moving it to your left once you have. Akko had been ashamed of her word and had always carried it around her neck, hidden underneath her clothes. Her mother had scolded her for it in the past, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to get teased by the other children for having such a strange hint. She had believed that it would give her a hard time.

And it still did. With it being so vague and odd, there was no way this hint made much sense to her, at all. Would she ever find the person her whole being was linked to for a lifetime?

Besides the rules came soulmate-related explanation for the rings and words. An instance of this would be that the meaning behind the words would only be revealed to them once they entered fourth grade. She never understood the significance of that. Why couldn’t one just read through everything and understand it all at once? Well, not that it mattered. She would soon be turning eighteen, and opening a section that made her feel just the slightest bit bitter.

[What to do if you haven’t found your soulmate yet.]

Sucy may have told her that each person had their own time, and that she was still young, and had plenty of years to go searching. But when everyone else around you had already found theirs by the “normal” designated time, you’d start to feel quite isolated and lonely, right? She was already different from the rest with the weird-ass word she was stuck with, and now she wasn’t even close to being on the right track to finding the person it was pointing to.

It was frustrating.

Three knocks and a voice followed suit. “Akko? Are you ready? It’s been about twenty-five minutes, but I didn’t hear any noise coming from your room. Are you actually okay?”

Right. Andrew.

“I’m fine! Sorry, I got lost in thought. Be right out! Maybe in fifteen! My bad, really.”

“It’s fine, I’m the one requesting a favor, after all!” Andrew responded through the wood, and Akko felt his presence leave her immediate area.

Hopping off her bed and grabbing her towel, she made her way to the bathroom. Maybe a cold shower would help her stop thinking about all of this for a few. She really should stop questioning the whole system of practically the whole world. It wasn’t good for her sanity.

Turning on the shower and soaking herself, her assumption of her endangered mental health was confirmed.

“AH, I FORGOT TO STRIP!”

//-//-//-//-//

“You sure took your sweet time getting ready.” Andrew commented, locking the door behind them and tossing the keys into his pocket as they got to walking. Opening the gate for Akko with a bow, they shared a laugh, going on their merry way down the street.

As often as they got on one another’s nerves, they undeniably enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice. Akko liked it to an extent. The conversation was fun, the exchanges never dull, it was time spent well. What she didn’t like about hanging around with Andrew were all the stares and glares she got from people around. Much like now.

It would’ve been great if it ended with just observation, but there was always that one brave (or maybe stupid) soul who would come up to the pair to ask if they were an item. The brunette pair would then proceed to do their usual schtick of jumping a meter away from each other, and pretending to gag whilst glaring.

“NO WAY. WITH HER/HIM?!”

And despite the denial, instead of feeling joy at the availability of Andrew- Akko assumed it was him that people always wanted to confirm about anyway- there was no delight, only some form of fear. The creeped-out kind maybe?

Continuing their walk, Akko slapped Andrew’s shoulder, hard. The boy looked like he could bite her.

“Ugh... it’s already such a pain in school when we have joint functions and people mistake us for a couple. I was hoping it was obvious we were related.”

Andrew scoffed at the statement. “I’m sorry, but I’m actually quite pleased I don’t look to be related to your ugly face.”

He deserved the stronger smack, Akko would say.

“AKKO! That hurt!”

“You know what else hurts? The fact that people can’t seem to get it in their heads that not every guy and girl walking next to each other are partners. Damn, and I used to think it was a good thing that I could use you to get out of awkward confession situations.” Sometimes people did that, despite the entire ‘destined partner’ situation. “Weird times.”

“You actually get confessed to? Hahaha, why? Guys must need glasses.”

The tall lad flinched at the held up fist. “I’m kidding. You’re actually growing up to be quite pretty Akko.”

Eyes wide one second, then smiling sweetly the next, a chill ran up Andrew’s spine at Akko’s reaction... that suddenly morphed into disgust, a hand pinching his side. “Ew, I kinda liked you better when you weren’t so gross and cheesy.”

“Ah- h-hurts, that, Akko, that stings, ouch! Let go! I was trying to be nice!” Andrew retaliated with his own pinch to Akko’s slightly rounded cheeks. “Let go!”

“You lwet gfho!” They released their holds at the same time, rubbing the sore spots on their bodies. “Why were you suddenly being all weird?”

“...ate...etter...man...”

“What was that?” Akko couldn’t understand any of Andrew’s incoherent mumbling.

“...My soulmate told me I should really try to be a better gentleman... to you...”

“Haha, she’s right about that! You’re such a dick!”

“Oi!”

Before Andrew could physically get back at her, Akko made a dash to the mall entrance across the street right as the street light turned green for pedestrians. “Loser has to buy the other ice-cream!”

“That’s cheating!”

“Maybe!”

//-//-//-//-//

“See? You’re all out of energy now because of how rowdy you were earlier today.” Andrew scolded, hands on his hips, a paper bag with the chosen gift in it, slung around one wrist.

“Y’think so? This is usually... hah... nothing... to me.” Akko panted, plopping down on one metal chair by the ice-cream bar. “Weird.”

Andrew sighed, deciding to cater to Akko’s needs since she was nice enough to help him out today. “I’ll get you a water. What flavor of ice-cream would you like?”

“Matcha-Vanilla~” Akko drawled, now slumped against the table, liking the cool surface against her somehow, heated cheek. “Go forth, my peasant!”

“Noted, your eminence.”

“Mm, mm!” Akko nodded in approval, arms going under her head to cushion it. Her eyes were getting heavy. Did all that walking around really make her that tired? Her head was starting to hurt, and her body still felt heavy. Just what-

//-//-//-//-//

“Akko. Akko! Atsuko!”

‘...Andrew?’

“Tsk. Should I call an ambulance?”

‘Andrew...’

“Excuse me, are you in need of any assistance for your friend? My family owns a hospital nearby and we could take her there.”

Akko felt Andrew’s hand supporting her suddenly tense. “Geh- Cavendish...”

“My, Sir Hanbridge. Date?”

“Cousin.”

“Hmm...”

Oh? Someone... A lady? What a nice voice. Somehow it was comforting to Akko. It felt warm, it felt kind, it felt gentle. For a voice to feel something rather than sound like something, Akko must really be out of it.

Hands.

Careful, tender.

“A-An... wha-”

“Akko! Don’t talk. Just rest.”

“Akko, huh. Is that her name? Miss Akko?”

“mmrm?”

“You’ll be alright.”

That voice. Akko wanted to believe it. Who...

Soft. Soft. Akko was leaning against something soft.

“You’’ll be alright.” Was said again.

“Akko, you’ll be alright.” Ah, Andrew. But somehow, Akko would rather hear those words from the other person currently holding her in her arms. She felt bad. Not just in the sick kind of way. What was she supposed to do again? Oh right, she was helping Andrew. Where was she? Was she causing trouble? Ah, what if she was bothering this sweet-smelling, comfortable-feeling, gentle-sounding lady.

‘Hey... you...’ Hmm, her voice wasn’t quite working like it should. Maybe she should try to express herself again. Clearing her terribly scratchy and dry throat, she managed to croak out a single word.

“So...rry...”

“It’s alright.”

//-//-//-//-//

White ceiling, the absence of sticker-stars. Dim lighting, the low thrum of the air conditioner unit, and the occasional sound of something dripping. The scent of antiseptic.

Her right hand felt uncomfortable, like something was stuck in it. She lifted it up, seeing a slim tube running out of some secure, clear tape.

“You’re in the hospital, idiot.”

“Never a quiet moment with you, Andrew.”

A sigh. “I was worried.”

“...Mm. I’m sorry...”

“You didn’t tell me you were feeling unwell.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Couldn’t tell.”

“Akko!”

“Say, Andrew. Who was with you earlier?”

“Don’t change the subject, Akko- huh?” Reprimanding words died on the boy’s lips as the question sunk in. “Ahhh.” Recollections of earlier events came in. “The daughter of the owner of this place.” He threw in a few other details he thought Akko would want to know. “High-class lady. This place does too.” He decided to humor her queries, knowing she didn’t want to argue with Andrew anymore. He didn’t either, not when she was like this. A time and place for everything.

“Hmm...” Akko hummed, sitting upright and looking out the window. Andrew panicked, stepping forward, but Akko shooed her cousin away. “She sounded nice.” Akko commented. “Was she pretty?” Somehow her mind wanted to know. Her heart was clenching in some unknown need to know more about a voice she barely registered, a touch she fleetingly felt.

“You could say that. I guess to most, she’d be considered gorgeous?” Andrew mused. “Weird hair though.” Was added as an afterthought.

“Heh...”

“Curious?” He didn’t say it in a teasing town, only genuinely inquisitive at Akko’s not-so-subtle expression of interest in someone she barely even met.

“No? Not really.” She responded, everything becoming still. “Can I go home?”

“Once your tests come in.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Overnight.”

“Mama and dad?”

“Dropped by while you were asleep. Uncle was sobbing buckets, but Auntie dragged him out because they both had work. They paid off the bill and said they’ll see you when we all get home.”

Akko sighed, dropping back against her pillows. “I can’t believe I’ve caused so much trouble in a span of, what, three days?” Covering her face with one of the pillows, she screamed lightly into it, the muffled sound concerning Andrew. “I have to apologize a lot to them. Have to make it up to them... I even had them spend a lot of money on -ow! Andrew!”

Retracting the hand he used to chop her head, Andrew huffed. “Stop that. Your parents love you, you’re not a bother. Shut it. If you really want to make it up to them, get some rest right now as we wait, and get better soon. I suggest you make some dinner if you’re well enough.” He knew she often had insecurities, and tried her best not to bother people so much. He’d observed it from her relationship with her two best friends. She really was just a ball of energy that she couldn’t help but cause scenes, though. People hardly minded, anyway. If only she realized.

“Duly noted.”

Andrew nodded, walking over to the bed and sitting at the edge, whipping his head about to glare at the  owner of the leg that had just attempted to kick him off.

“You’re making the foam awkwardly sink. It’s uncomfortable. You’re inconveniencing the patient’s recovery.” Akko grinned, trying to get rid of the stuffy atmosphere that had settled by stirring up another banter session.

“Could you settle down for once?”

“I mean, I could.”

“Unbelievable.” He chuckled. “Fine, fine, I’ll give you your space. I’m going to the store. Want anything?” He offered, since the ice-cream he initially was supposed to treat her to as thanks was long since forgone on some cemented floor, probably already cleaned up by the workers of the shop.

“Orange juice.”

“Coffee? Understood.”

“Ass.”

“The good ass genes run in our family.”

“Oh my gosh, you did not just say that.” Akko guffawed, waving her hands, eyes sparkling with pride at the crude joke of her prim and proper, perfect-gentleman cousin.

“I did not just say that.” Andrew smirked. “Now rest before your fever comes back from all that tension you release. Good thing you’re off school for a while.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“I’ll be back in fifteen.”

“Hai~”

“Don’t disappear.”

“...”

“AKKO!”

“I won’t, I won’t!” She giggled, dropping the tease. “Now scram!”

“I swear to god...”

And with that, she was alone again.

Great. More time alone with her thoughts. And what better way to occupy that blank space that was her mind then to fill it with all her doubts, insecurities, and questionings.

One particular question stood out at that moment.

“Who... was the owner of that voice...” Along with that single question came a wave of interconnected ones that Akko could not understand. Why was there this sudden desire to just... know.

What did she look like? How tall was she? Was she fair-skinned? Tanned? Long hair? Short hair? Curled or not? How old was she? Were they the same age? Was she an older lady? Was she maybe in the same grade? From the haze that was her memories, it seemed Andrew knew her? An acquaintance? Why couldn’t he give Akko more details besides insulting that woman’s hair? Where was she from? She had an accent. British? Scottish? Did she live around these parts? Why...

Why was Akko so curious?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Andrew, you know you can just, like... come in, right? You know I can’t even get up to open the door for yoouuu...huuu...” With the door swinging open to reveal the person on the otherside, Akko could only hope that she did not appear to be the stupid-looking gay dance she most probably was. “-...huuu...who...?”

‘Beautiful.’

“I apologize for the intrusion, but I just wanted to check on you. Oh, you may not even know me, I’m sorry. I should probably introduce myself, isn’t that right? Oh blood hell, Andrew, telling me to check on someone I barely know because you want to go off somewhere...” Akko heard her mutter that last bit under her breath before watching this gorgeous lady seemingly recover her senses. “-Ah, apologies, um... sorry! Wow, I suppose I’m saying that too much, aren’t I? We didn’t exactly ‘meet’ earlier, but... I don’t know, I was probably meddling in issues not concerning me, but... I couldn’t help but want to help you out. It was an automatic reaction as someone who has wanted to be a healthcare professional all my life, and I was so used to it, and then it just so happened to be Andrew and... well, you and- and I-” Fair skin, lithe, fairly tall frame, a melodic voice, gorgeous blue eyes hidden by long lashes and ...strange hair, due to an immediate bow upon spotting the confused gaze of the patient; this person was...

“You’re rambling, miss.”

Said Miss bristled, expression flustered and eyes darting about in her embarrassment. “S-sorry.”

Akko panicked at the saddened apology. She just made a pretty girl sad! “N-no! I-” Their eyes met and then it was one of the most magical and equally painful moments of Akko’s life, she concluded. “Hi.”

“Hello.” The girl nodded back in acknowledgement.

“Akko.” She blurted out. Then just like that she witnessed a world wonder contained in such a small room, in just one girl. There was just something in the way her eyes lit up that pleased Akko very much. It was as though she was the catalyst for such a breath-taking phenomena. Blue stars, passionately burning, brightly so, like her favorite celestial bodies. “...Rigel...” She murmured.

“Huh?”

“Oh? Huh? Eh, um...” Arms flapping about, she tried to graps control of the conversation, not knowing where it was going anymore. “Uh, my... name! My name is Akko! Ahaha, sorry ‘bout that.” --She scratched the back of her head sheepishly with the hand not attached to the IV tube.

“Miss Akko... Rigel?” She tilted her head, and by gods that was the cutest thing Akko had ever seen in her life. But Wait-

“Oh! No, nono... no hahaha.” She laughed, waving her hands in front of her, realizing that what she said had been mistaken as her name.

“I... My name is Kagari Atsuko, but you can call me Akko.” She clumsily reintroduced herself.

“And Rigel...?”

‘Is a blue star that is put to shame when in comparison to your ethereal ocean eyes-’

“Oh, it’s just... just a star I like, hahaha...ha..ha.” She needed to save this dying interaction, fast. She didn’t want this goddess of a lady to walk away just yet. Who was she? Why was Akko panicking so badly? Why was her heart running miles per second? Where did these confusing feelings stirring from her chest come from? Could this just be... Was this girl... Was she... could she be who Akko thought she was? She didn’t even know her name yet, but the way she made her feel, it was like some universal, natural phenomena that could only make sense in the context of... that. Who was she? Who was she? Who-

“Diana.”

Diana, apparently.

“Diana.” She tested, the name unfamiliar, but incredibly welcome and sliding off her tongue so naturally, and with ease. Like she was meant to know such a name all her life. “Nice to meet you.”

She patted herself on the back for a good greeting, with good manners, even happier when she received a soft smile in return.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

“No, no, the pleasure is mine, I mean... pleasure, I’m... feels good to meet you, I mean, because you saved me and all, from what I can understand, so pleasure, good feels- no- what am i saying?! I’m sorry, Diana, er miss? Diana? Miss Diana?”

“Diana is fine.”

Diana was indeed SO fine.

“Th-thank you for being so beautiful.”

“What?”

“Tha-thanks for saving me, I mean, helping Andrew out in saving me, but that means you saved me too, so I just thought I should properly thank you and all that and express gratitude because that’s the right thing to do, amiright? And of course I’m right so thank you, Diana, thanks for everything, and the hospital and the room and all, oh but you don’t own it, but your family does, so does that mean you own it-”

“Akko.”

“Yes?!”

“You’re rambling, Akko.”

Akko was a burning hot mess of foolishness, but if it prompted such heavenly giggles from such an angel- no a goddess, alongside her name that sounded divine coming from soft pink lips- that she was absolutely not staring at- then she hardly minded at all.

And then there was silence.

“So...”

“So...”

Diana awkwardly shuffled on her spot, the tip of her shoe tapping against the floor impatiently, hand fiddling with a button on her shirt. It took so much willpower for Akko not to direct her eyes there.

“I guess I’ll get going.”

“A-already?”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“Ah... I mean... if you have... stuff to do, I guess... I... shouldn’t be stopping you or anything of the sort, right?”

Akko didn’t like that frown, however miniscule it was, on Diana’s face.

“I... I’m a little busy, I apologize.” She spoke softly. Akko’s heart clenched, and she cursed her insensitive ways. “But... I can come back tomorrow? If you’d like?” -And it leaped up in joy just as quick. More time! More Diana! More getting to know her!

“Y-Yes! Of course! I’ll wait here for you! Pinky swear! I- woah...” The world was suddenly spinning, and Akko had to lean back for a moment, vision swimming in color.

“Akko!”

Said girl was beginning to get addicted to the feeling of Diana’s presence by her side. That was not necessarily a good or bad thing. She couldn’t get attached to her, not when she knew nothing about her. She couldn’t... be acknowledging these feelings blossoming out of nowhere without confirmation of whether or not this person was meant to be hers, and she was meant to be with as well. But she was addicting, Diana. A strong drug. Just one whiff and she was high on her existence.

“Geez, you should be resting. I’m sorry for bothering you, and keeping you up this long.”

Akko heard none of those words. Akko was curious. So Akko just had to check. Hands weakly grasping Diana’s cooler ones, fingers roamed, feeling around until they touched even colder metal... on Diana’s... left... hand.

“Akko?” The concern was palpable in her voice, Akko’s senses blurring the world out as her hands dropped to her side.

Frustrating.

She somehow hoped what she’d been experiencing these past few minutes were the signs of her finding her soulmate, but it seemed as though she may have been wrong. Maybe it was simply infatuation, or a shameless lust overtaking her in her weakened state.

It shouldn’t be this frustrating.

It shouldn’t be this painful.

She shouldn’t have been so impatient and jumped to subconscious conclusions.

Diana had already found her soulmate. Just like everyone else.

Everyone but Akko.

//-//-//-//-//

When she came to, it was dark. She felt much better than she had yesterday, and earlier on today. Turning to her right, she saw Andrew seated on a chair, back facing her as he was conversing with someone.

“I wonder what got into that girl? Her new friend seemed worried.” That voice...

‘Mama.’

“You mean Diana?”

Akko flinched at the name.

“Is that her name? My, she was so cute. If you weren’t already matched to someone, Andrew, I think you’d look good together.” Akko felt a twinge in her chest, only slightly soothed by the sound of Andrew choking on something, his drink maybe. Tea? Coffee?

“I’d rather not be involved with her like that.” Andrew responded after composing himself.

“Eehh-”

Akko couldn’t listen any longer. The pain of everything was just starting to come back. She just wanted to get away. Away from this place that kept reminding her of her chance encounter. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to hug her mama.

“Ma...ma...” Her voice warbled. “Mama...” She tried, louder. Somehow her voice was so weak, the thought of it not being able to reach the person she trusted the most in the world, hurt. “Ma... ma... mama! Mamaaa...” Slowly, she regained her voice, cracked and unsteady. And finally she was heard. “Mama!”

“Akko!” Before Akko could even blink again, the woman was at her side, a hand brushing bangs away to clear her warm forehead, a refreshing kiss planted there. “Akko, my baby.”

“M-mama... Mamaaa...” She moaned out, engulfing the woman in her tight hold, sinking into a familiar scent. “Mama...”

“Yes, Yes. I’m here. I’m here, Akko.” She cooed, hands combing through chocoloate-colored tresses.

“Mama.”

“Yes?”

“I wanna go home.”

“Eh? But you aren’t okay yet-”

“Please. Let me go home...”

She felt her mother pull back. She couldn’t face the eyes seeking hers. “Akko? What’s wrong, sweetheart? You’re not feeling well, and yet you want to go home before you get better. Is something the matter?” Akko couldn’t lie to those.

But she could try.

“I just think I’ll be able to rest better at home. My... my fever isn’t that bad.”

“But you were just crying out for me...”

“I was just... feeling lonely. Please, Mama. Let’s go home.” She couldn’t say it was because she didn’t want to meet a certain lady, weird blonde hair and enchanting blue stars never leaving her memory. “Please...” Because more than the pain inflicted by her sickness, she couldn’t stand the squeezing of her heart, its labored pounding more burdensome than the throbbing in her head. “Please, mama.”

“Akko...”

“Don’t be such a selfish brat.”Andrew scolded, eyes burning into the Akko’s skin. “Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to cause anyone trouble?”

Akko deflated in her mother’s embrace, and the elder boy sighed. He really hated seriously hurting Akko, especially emotionally. “But... We can leave first thing in the morning tomorrow, if you prove to be alright.” He turned the other way, hiding his expression from the girl. “So just get better.”

“Andrew...”

“Get better soon.”

//-//-//-//-//

It was against institutional rules to be running about in the building at any given time. Crowded or cleared, the halls were not made for such dangerous sport. Workers constantly made their way through these corridors; some pushing wide carts carrying planned food and beverage for every patient in the hospital; some nurses walked along with important, and sometimes painstakingly prepared medicine and treatments for patients that Diana threatened to compromise should she bump into them. In other areas she could risk bumping into one of the sanitary maintenance people, infectious waste at the risk of being spilled all over.

And Diana grew aware of all these things, surrounded by them from a tender age. Yet at this moment, she was in complete disregard for them, her footsteps rushed and padding softly against a marbled floor. Her eyes scanned every plaque above each door she passed, counting off the numbers, and reading the letters, her trip on autopilot.

One more corner, just the end of that corner. If she rounded that, then walked past three more rooms- She was feeling a regretful that she couldn’t come by earlier, the colors of the afternoon sky telling her just how close she was cutting it to the end of visiting hours. Curse all the school-transfer procedures she had to sit through. They didn’t need to take that long, did they? But she had made a promise of sorts. She had promised her new... friend, Akko that she’d come by and see her. She must not keep her waiting. She didn’t quite understand what it was that made her so happy about the prospect that the other girl actually wanted to see her- Diana assumed as such with how she was acting yesterday. Really... it was amazing.

Diana herself couldn’t deny that she saw something different in Akko, a substance far beyond what others could offer her that suddenly shifted the usual motions of her world upon meeting this girl. All her life, so many people came along trying to woo her, claiming that she was the one defined by their flimsy phrases that never moved her heart. ‘Beautiful lass’, ‘doctor’s daughter’, titles among other things. She had even found out a few faked rings that had been promptly reported to authorities for the grave sin committed. Thus, Diana could trust no words written on silly little rings; only the one written on her own, worn about her left ring finger.

She hadn’t found her soulmate, no. And maybe this was against the universal rules of whatever matchmaking system had engulfed society, but Diana did not want to be caught in a trap of a forever she could not escape unless she was absolutely sure that this was it. Maybe it would be unfair to her soulmate; maybe it would throw them off; maybe they wouldn’t realize right away; but if there was one thing Diana believed in that was rooted in this entire system, it was that if you met the one meant for you, you would know.

Her mother told her so. And Diana trusted her mother’s words above all other words.

One more door, one more plaque. Diana readied a hand to knock against closed-...open? The door was... open. Did Akko have visiting doctors? They sometimes left doors open for quick checks to save time during rounds. But no, that did not seem to be the case. She was surprised to see one of the cleaning personnel of the hospital folding up the sheets of the bed, passing it to his companion before they changed the covers.

Approaching an elderly male of the pair currently clearing the room out of any trash possibly left behind, Diana respectfully inquired, “Um sir? Where is the occupant of this room?”.

“Hmm? Ah! Young Miss, what are you doing here? Oh, were you perhaps the friend of the little girl staying here recently?”

“You... could say that.” Diana muttered, unsure.

“Oh, then she must have just forgotten to tell, you ey? Already left, y’see. The little miss, along with her mother and some fine lookin’ gentleman. Do you think that could be ‘er soulmate? Ah~ young, concerned love.”

Diana tasted an inexplicable bitterness in her mouth, heart squeezing. “Y-young man?”

“Mm-mm! Handsome fella, looked kinda familiar, but maybe I’m just getting it on in years.”

That... couldn’t be, right? While Diana wasn’t one to be guided purely by feeling, priding in her rationality, she just knew that that couldn’t be. After all... Akko was the only one she’d ever felt this strongly for in the lifetime she’s lived so far. She’d swear on her family’s motto of ‘affection’ that she’d only offer her fullest romances to the one the universe had destined for her, corny as that may sound.

She just knew it. She just knew it was Akko.

So who-

Andrew.

She suddenly chuckled. Of course. Who else could that young chap accompanying Akko be? He was the one who came with Diana to the hospital, he was the one who had told her go take that first visit. So of course, logically, without a doubt, the man that Akko should have been with was Andrew. Of course.

And there was nothing to worry about, soulmate-wise. Diana knew Andrew already had someone. She’d met up with them constantly at banquets. There was no obstacle, no other person for Akko. Right?

Akko... Akko who wasn’t here. In this room. Gloom encompassed her heart as she stared at the room dimming bit-by-bit as the staff turned off the lights. They told her that they should get leaving, and Diana nodded, informing them she’d just do one last look over the room for any possible missed items, then she’d lock the room herself, to which the workers reluctantly agreed, unable to go against the owner’s daughter. Well, she was known to be a good kid, so nothing should be wrong with that.

Diana, now left alone, remained stood by the doorway that served as the only light source to the room for a few more seconds. It wasn’t like constantly looking into it would magically make the one she was seeking appear, huh? With a deep exhale, she closed the door behind her, frown tugging at the edges of her mouth.

“You said you’d wait for me.”

//-//-//-//-//

Scritch. Scratch. A line, then two. A squiggle, a letter. A bubble from brew-

...huh?

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping me with my homework?” Akko frowns at her companion currently mixing questionable substances on her floor-table in her room. “That is why you’re here, right?”

“Course not. What fun would that be?”

“Should’ve known better than to invite you over.” Akko muttered under her breath, getting back to the unending pile of chemistry homework she was sure Croix assigned to them out of spite. “And how did you finish this all, anyway?”

“I’m smart like that.”

“You’re mean like that. Why can’t you help me out at least?”

“I believe that learning for yourself is the best teacher.” Sucy replied, emotionless as always.

“No you don’t.”

“True.”

“Hah...” Akko gave up. Forget getting help from Sucy. That wasn’t a possible feat, now that she thought about it clearly. The girl was just bored out of her mind so she easily agreed to come over. Akko was sure of it. Without Lotte in the house, and on their fifth and final schoolday away, Sucy- who had slowly gotten used to the concept of companionship- must have just wanted someone around, regardless of whether there was flowing conversation or not.

“Akko?” Andrew’s voice came from behind the door. Finally! A distraction! Wait, wasn’t Akko avoiding Andrew lately? Why was she avoiding him lately? “Akko?”

“Come in!”

“...huh? You’re actually letting me in?” The muffled voice asked, door now ajar. “Hey Akko, so... about what I’ve been telling you all week...” He began, looking nervous, and Akko had to wonder why. “So my friend, Diana, she-”

Ah. Right.

That’s why.

Quick on her feet, Akko gunned for the door, pushing it forcefully, and locking Andrew out, the boy’s yells the only things making it through the barrier.

“Akko! Akko! OH, COME ON! We’ve been at this the whole week!”

“And I told you this whole week, I don’t wanna hear it!!!” Akko hollered back.

“But WHY?!” Andrew’s exasperation oozed out of his voice. “Just give me a reason! Give her a reason! From what I’ve heard, you seemed to have hit it off pretty well?”

“Says who?” Akko asked.

“Diana!” Andrew didn’t like yelling, but Akko was being so hard-headed after he mentioned his blonde acquaintance. “Just what happened between you two?”

“Nothing! Nothing happened!!!”

“Then why does she keep bugging me about you, and why are you avoiding her like the plague?!”

...Why was Akko avoiding Diana? Was there any reason to? They’d met just the other day, had the most awkward conversation in her life to date, and then Akko felt something. Something she shouldn’t have, and let her hopes up, only to drop them lower than where they already were; and none of that was Diana’s fault. If anything, Diana could have proven to be another great friend she’d make along the way in life, y’know?

Akko didn’t know. She didn’t know what was going on; within herself, within her mind and her heart, in that one moment frozen in time between her and Diana, in a silent hospital room.

“I don’t know, Andrew. I don’t.”

Sucy’s potion stopped brewing.

//-//-//-//-//

“MY MADLADS! I MISSED YOU UGLY FACES!”

“Ugh, Amanda.”

“Oi!”

Akko grinned, messing up Amanda’s fiery mane in comfort from being rejected by Sucy. “Missed you too, Amanda.” A high-five rang out through the school lobby, the two energetic troublemakers missing that burning feeling on their palms.

“But man, you guys sure missed a lot. Who knew a week without y’all could turn the school upside-down.” Amanda whistled, their small group of eight finally assembling complete as Jasminka and Constanze walked up.

The small girl gave Akko this look that she completely understood, giving the girl a big thumbs up, and receiving a smile and nod. Jasna held out a lollipop which Akko gratefully accepted, and they all made their way to the corridors.

Suddenly registering what Amanda said a few moments ago, Akko’s interest was piqued. “What did you mean by turning the school upside-down?” She wondered just how much a school could change for her who was out for a week.

“Oh, well, maybe I was exaggerating a tiny bit.” Amanda chuckled, scratching her cheek. “Just that, some new girl came along and now everyone is all head over heels for her somehow.” Amanda fake-cried, sniffling up some. “She even stole my babes! Along with all my popularity!!!”

That earned her two smacks to the head from two certain British girls. “We already told you, she was our childhood friend! Of course we’re inclined to keep her company and show her around!” They defended, scoffing. “Besides, you didn’t mind ogling her at all the other day, huh? You should feel grateful we let you in our dorm the other day.”

“B-babies...”

“Oof. You brought that on yourself, hot stuff.” Sucy grinned, wickedly. “But now I’m curious. If she could even catch Amanda’s eyes then...”

“Total hottie.” Jasminka commented through a mouthful of chips. “Everyone can vouch for that.”

“Woah, even Jas...” Akko laughed lightly. “Alrighty, let’s meet this new kid in town then! Where is she and what’s her name?” Just as they were about to pass the headmistress’ office and head for their homeroom, a hand tugged at the brunette’s collar, along with Sucy’s.

“Wait a second, you two. You’re supposed to report to Professor Holbrooke first, right?” Lotte, ever the dutiful friend, reminded.

“Ah dang, right.” Akko scratched her cheek, throwing Sucy a beckoning glance. “Guess it’s better to just get it over with.” She shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“See you all in class!” Akko waved goodbye, smiling as Lotte left a peck on her pale friend’s cheek, enjoying her rarely flustered state. Her heart warmed when Lotte gave her one two, patting the blonde’s hair fondly. “Thanks, Lotte.”

“Anytime.”

With their friends out of sight, they faced the suddenly intimidating doors.

“Now or never.”

//-//-//-//-//

“I’m glad we got excuse slips for being tardy to class. I do not want more yelling. Though I guess Prof Chariot wouldn’t do that, huh.”

“What did you say? I think I’ve gone deaf.” Sucy complained, rubbing her pained ears. “Finneran yaps like a bitch.”

“OI! Don’t let her hear you say that!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not up for more ‘counseling and healthy reminders’.” Sucy mockingly mimicked the strict teacher. “Christ, that woman must be senile.”

“Shhh, we’re almost at the classroom.” Akko hushed her bestfriend, door coming into view. She could hear a Professor Chariots distinct voice posing a question to the class, and there was a quiet that Akko knew was due to no one knowing the answer, not very uncommon.

But then there was one. A voice very uncommon, but somehow familiar, attracting, pulling her in. With her curiosity getting the better of her, Akko slid the door open, planning to softly sneak into class, forgetting that the room’s backdoor had a tendency to-

SCRREEEEECCHHHH

...that.

“H-hi? S-sorry we’re late?” Akko tried, dozens of eyes now resting on them, most surprised. But one pair stood out the most. ‘She looks good in our uniform.’ Akko’s jaw hung slack, a fight or flight response hesitantly building up within her. Her legs tensed, ready to bolt or stay rooted depending on the next move the one she was staring at made. “...Rigel...”

“...Akko.”

Then a hand reached out, and she was gone. Like the wind.

//-//-//-//-//

It had been a difficult week. Amanda was definitely right when she said things had been turned upside-down. Akko felt like she was too. So Hannah and Barbara’s childhood, hottie, transfer student, best friend just so happened to be Diana. Diana, Akko met her in the hospital and became enraptured with, Diana.

This posed a problem, along with unbearable tension within their group. Akko would always want to run away, and Diana would always seek after her. After awhile, the blonde grew weary, and just distanced herself, her childhood bestfriends obviously sticking by her side. Amanda had girlfriends to attend to. And Constanze and Jas usually followed Amanda. So now, it was just Sucy, Lotte, and little ol’ Akko. Like old times.

“Akko, just why are you avoiding Miss Cavendish? How do you know her?” Lotte asked on their way home. “Please? Tell us? I can’t stand to not spend time with the other girls anymore just because you two are at unknown odds. You’re a kind person, Akko. And Miss Cavendish is as well, from how I’ve gotten to know her lately.”

“Lotte, you... you wouldn’t get it.” Akko sighed. She was tired of entertaining Diana-related questions. All the ‘why don’t you two get along’ interrogations wearing her down thin: with Andrew at home, and Hannah and Barbara indirectly hounding her in school at every chance they’d get, trying to fish out for an answer that Diana couldn’t give to them herself, apparently. Not that Akko blamed her. She must just be as confused as everyone else with regards to Akko’s averse reactions.

“M-maybe I could try?” Akko missed the shift in the Fin’s tone, irritation over the week threatening to make her lose self-control and lash out. But no, she couldn’t do that. Not too sweet Lotte. She still had her senses intact.

“No, I’m sure you wouldn’t.” She firmly stated through gritted teeth, not looking at Lotte as she replied, so unlike her.

“I-I-”

“Akko, Lotte just wants to understand you.” Sucy stepped in, feeling that change in the air that she didn’t quite fancy. “Why can’t you just tell us? I know I may not act like it a lot, but aren’t we your best friends?” Akko held back a hiss behind pearly whites. She didn’t want to be a bad person. She had to be considerate of people’s feelings. Like always. Everyone was just curious. They were all just confused... but then Sucy had to just say, “Don’t you trust us?”

And Akko couldn’t hear that.

“I trust you! I do!” She whipped her head about, pointing a finger to them one-by one. “But you guys, you wouldn’t get it because you have your soulmate by your side constantly, okay?!”

“Akko...” Lotte’s eyes widened.

“I... I’ve been waiting a lot, and I know you said I’m being impatient. It doesn’t have to be now.” Akko huffed. “But do you know how it feels to look at all of you, all happy with someone who can love you completely? Understand you completely? I don’t have that! Not yet! And sure, somewhere down the future road, I might.... and it’s stupid of me, but I’m a lot more jealous and selfish than I look, okay? Everyone has nice words, and has met the person those words described perfectly, at the designated time, normally, as the book says.”

“Akko, the book doesn’t completely control everything-”

“And here I am, always subconsciously looking around, because maybe my person is out there too, y’know? But how the heck do I know?” A hand reached for the chain on her neck, ripping it out of her shirt so hard, it broke, the ring flying onto the ground. “Stupid! Stupid chain! Stupid Ring! Stupid words! Akko marched the few steps to the item, bending and snatching it off the ground, hand going in too hard, too fast that she scraped her knuckles badly in the process, the area quickly leaking red. “Sh- damn it, stupid- gaahhh!”

“A-Akko.”

Lotte stepped back, retracting the hand that had been reaching out for the heated Japanese girl, stomping at the ground. This... wasn’t an Akko she knew. How many years of pent up frustration was going into this session?

“You guys,” Her eyes were scary, sharp and menacing. Sucy jumped in front of Lotte at the sight of Akko’s bloodied knuckles coming their way at eye-level. But then it stopped. “You haven’t seen it, right? My words.”

They couldn’t even react.

“Cabbage.” Akko spat. “Goddamn cabbage. How am I supposed to know what that fucking means. How are you guys supposed to understand when... I can’t either... these words... myself... why I’m so impatient... what I’m feeling... Why... I thought it could’ve been Diana, but...”

“...but what, Akko?” Lotte hated how scared she sounded, seeing Akko flinch, knowing her friend noticed her fear. She knew how afraid of hurting her friends Akko was. This was all just a shock. That’s all. “What’s... what’s with Diana, Akko? Diana and you?” She posed the earlier question for the last time. Was Akko hinting at what she thought it was?

“She wears it on her left.”

//-//-//-//-//

Orange juice didn’t taste as good when you drank it alone on the stairwell leading to the roof. It would have been better had she been able to stand under the cloudy mid-day sun, the refreshing breeze taking her mind off things. But then it just had to rain, hard, and that ruined all her plans of clearing her mind via the healing powers of nature. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Sucy and Lotte to stay away and give her space. Having no one to talk to really sucked. More so than the strange word on her stupid government-issued ring.

“Ahhh, should I just go and apologize to everyone?” She muttered, squeezing the juicebox she thought she’d emptied, but did not know had bits of liquid left. The purely concentrated citrus then spilled onto her exposed, skinned knuckles, making her hiss in pain. “Tsk, stupid. Grrr!”

“Ah-!”

“Ah?” The yelp caught her attention. She was alone in this place, right? “Hello?”

No response.

“Anyone there?” The only ones replying to her were the winds that howled behind the metal door that led to open roof. Those sounds were starting to sound like how she’d imagined ghosts would in the dead of night. “Helloooo~”

Still nothing.

“Maybe it was just my imagination?”

“STAY AWAY!”

Okay, that was NOT her imagination. That was a girl. Looking around for some kind of weapon, Akko readied herself to beat up whatever girl-harassing creep she’d find once she rounded the bend in the stairwell. Holding up a sturdy wooden broom, she tiptoed down, steps making no sound.

On three, she’d jump and smack the living shit out of whoever was there. One... two...

“Akko, please save me!”

And she slipped and fell in her surprise; her back was going to hurt like hell over the next few days. Alas! She must stay vigil! Save whoever this damsel in distress was- Diana... It was Diana. Diana Cavendish, as she’d learned the girl’s name, and a few other trivial details about her, over the course of their time not together. (Akko also denies any and all claims that state that she spent a lofty amount of time observing the taller girl. She didn’t know things like how she was Scottish, or how she loved horses and anything that looked like a unicorn, and that she was intelligent, and smelled like vanilla and mint.)

“I’ll save you?” She managed in her ruffled state. Before she could process anything more, the girl had clung to her, both now laying on the floor; one in an utter state of bewilderment, and the other... dealing with whatever it was she got going on before Akko had found her. “Umm... Diana?” She tried, forgetting her phobia of the girl over the past few days, and rubbing her back gently to gain her attention. She was shaking like the leaves outside in the storm. Just what had happened. “Diana? What’s wrong? What am I saving you from?”

There were no signs of any bad guys, as far as Akko could see. She was grateful for that. She wasn’t sure she could defend them in this position.

“Miss Cavendish? Heir to a billion-dollar hospital? What’s up?” She was trying to be nonchalant in an attempt to possibly calm the girl, and it worked somewhat, allowing her to see that beautiful face, tear-stained and all. “H-Hi.” How lame.

“Akko... the... there... it...”

“Hmm?” She lent an open ear, looking around, still not seeing any signs of danger. Then a well-manicured finger came up and pointed to one of the panels of the hallway’s windows. Akko squinted, not seeing anything. Had Diana seen some kind of floating ghost outside? Or was she seeing it inside, and Akko didn’t have the sixth sense for it? Did Diana have some kind of sixth sense? “What exactly...”

“B...”

“Buh..?”

“Bee.” She squeaked.

Akko gawked.

“Bee.”

“B-bee.”

“Bee?”

“Bee!”

“B-”

“Akko, please just get it away! I’m scared!”

“Y-yes, ma’am!” She scrambled to her feet, but not without gently seating Diana up, even if it was on the dirty corridor floor. Opening the window and grimacing as strong winds blew droplets of water into her face, Akko shooed the poor insect into nature’s claws of death. “Sorry, buddy. Princess doesn’t seem to like you.” Blowing it a kiss, she shut the window, wiping her face on the sleeve of her jacket.

Now... to face a larger problem... or not face it. Maybe Akko should get running again.

She should.

“Well, this was nice and all that, but I guess I should get- ouch!” Diana had caught her hand in alarm, accidentally pressing against her open, yet-to-heal wounds.

“M-my apologies!”

“It’s f-fine. It’s okay, please let... let go.” Akko didn’t like the way her heartrate spiked in Diana’s presence. It grew even more erratic, wildly jumping every which way in her chest as her hand was held more gently, blue eyes scrutinizing the reddened skin, the heiress didn’t seem to have any plans of releasing her. “Diana?”

“May I... May I treat you? That blue sparkle was redirected from her knuckles to her own dark reds. They were so hopeful and compelling that Akko, despite thinking that avoiding Diana would kill whatever held-back, buds of feelings she hoped to dash, just couldn’t help but consent, cursing the way her chest lightened, heart soaring.

She was absolutely doomed.

//-//-//-//-//

It was a quiet affair.

Torturous. No one said a word. To be fair, they’ve only had two somewhat proper conversations so far, so not knowing how to break the ice shouldn’t be that odd.

But it was, and Akko couldn’t take it. Diana had just finished cleaning Akko’s wounds under the sink in the infirmary, and was now dabbing them gently with antiseptic. She was so careful, touches feather-like soft. Akko barely felt anything, much less pain. So maybe she could start with talking about that. Maybe.

“You... You’re hands are real nice.”

“H-huh?”And down fell the cottonball she’d been holding.

“I-I mean... you’re really good at this. Tender and all that. You’d... make a good doctor.” Akko commented off the top of her head, running out of things to say, as she always did when faced with one Diana Cavendish. “A pretty doctor. Patients would... probably feel healed just from your... face. Or something.” Smooth, Akko. Smooth. Could Diana, like... at least help her out a little by responding? “Please say something.” Akko begged in a whisper.

“O-oh, I... thank you, Akko. Thank you for the compliment. I...” Momentarily lifting her eyes and meeting Akko’s gaze, the blonde averted hers, a thin touch of red spreading up to her ears, not unnoticed by the injured Japanese. “I appreciate your words.”

Akko hummed, not trusting her mouth to communicate properly anymore.

“I think you’re... face is a healing balm as well.”

Akko felt herself blush as well, head tilting up so she could face the ceiling. It was one of the most brainless compliments she’d ever heard in her life, and she knew she just said something along those lines as well. And yet it made her heart flutter like nothing else had before.

“Don’t mention it and... thanks.”

//-//-//-//-//

You never know when an event becomes a catalyst for reality to undergo great changes. Their little bandaging session had returned the next day. Akko was quite clumsy with these types of things. Each time she’d gotten hurt in an accident, she’d always ask Lotte to do it... but today... all their friends, and even the classmates they’d unintentionally dragged into their awkward little world, were staring in awe as Kagari Atsuko stood in front of Diana Cavendish’s desk, inviting her out to the infirmary.

“I-I’m just having her help me with my bandages! Don’t get the wrong idea!” Akko yelled as she guided Diana out, unknowingly holding her hand all the while. No one commented on it. Not even Barbara and Lotte who were exchanging curious little smiles. Something was changing. And it was a good change.

Reaching the infirmary, Akko headed straight for the sink, rinsing her knuckles under clean water while Diana gathered what she needed. Once done, they met by some chairs placed about the room and took a seat, the blonde girl looking over Akko’s hand.

“Come tomorrow, you might not need to bandage it anymore. Just apply some ointment. I think the nurse can recommend something.” Diana stated, looking up to smile at Akko who flushed at the attention.

“O-okay. I got it.”

“Great.” She then got to work, applying what needed to applied, and wrapping the clean white bandage after. Diana did this in her usual silence, focused. Sort of. There was one thing that had been nagging her for quite some time now, ever since she got to take a better look at Akko, now that they attended the same school. It was a  unnerving, however. It hadn’t been long at all since they... ‘got along’, and Diana didn’t want to present something that might cause them to drift apart again. But it was eating at her, the need to know about it. It would determine how she’d interact with Akko from now on. It would show her what kind of relationship she was allowed to pursue. She needed a confirmation. She braced herself. Trying shouldn’t hurt. She could change the subject after testing the waters.

“Akko.”

“Hmm?” Was the casual-sounding hum.

‘She’s calm. Calmer around me.’ That little detail made Diana happy. So happy. This was progress. “May I ask a question?”

There was a pause, and Diana considered backing out. It appeared as though Akko was thinking about it deeply. Before Diana could take it back, Akko responded, “Sure. Ask away.”, and the heiress breathed a relieved sigh. “What did you wanna know?”

“Well, um... I just happened to notice that... you don’t...” Diana was really hoping this wasn’t a sensitive subject. She’d finally managed to close the gap between her and Akko. Sure it was by unconventional, and very strange means- unintentional, above all. She had just been worried about the girl upon seeing that her friend group was all gathered in the classroom except her. So Diana had gone searching, and was planning to offer to stay away from her friends for Akko’s sake. She was glad that things turned out the way it did, though.

“Diana?”

“Um... Akko.” She finished her job, smiling at the neat covering on her.. friend’s... hand. (They were friends now, right? At the very least...)

“Yes?” Akko seemed to notice the hesitation, and her instincts guided her to take hold of Diana’s trembling hands, encouraging her to continue.

Well this was new, Diana thought. Now or never, she supposes. A deep breath, and the floodgates opened.

“I just wondered... why... don’t you have a ring? Did you somehow lose it? Is that possible? But how? Wouldn’t you get in trouble with... everyone, I guess? Have you found your soulmate or not? If yes then I should probably just say goodbye here and, oh but not in the way you think, you might not get what I mean, but I still want to be friends-”

“Diana.”

“Yes?”

Akko’s cheeks puffed up, trying to hold it in, but ultimately failing as she burst into giggles, instinctively tucking a stray strand of hair behind Diana’s ear as she leaned forward to bump their foreheads together.

Ah, screw fate and it’s ways. Screw Diana’s soulmate that existed somewhere out there. In this one moment, she just felt so at peace, and in place, she’d deal with all the raging storms in her mind later. For now, it was just the two of them, hanging out in an infirmary, the smell of antiseptic on them, stupid words be damned.

“You’re rambling.”

//-//-//-//-//

It had been a few weeks- maybe just shy of two months- of friendship (?) with Diana, and Akko had never felt more alive in all her years. They had even spent her birthday together! Well, everyone else was there to, but... Anyway. The afternoon the question had been dropped, she had ended up explaining to the Scot her story with the ring, leaving out the detail of what it had written on it. That was a little too embarrassing for her to share yet. Baby steps.

She’d never dare ask about Diana’s ring, and she appreciated that the girl never brought up any soulmate talk that involved herself. Akko felt that it helped her cope with this one-sided love a little longer. She would no longer deny this attraction. She was so undeniably into Diana, it was crazy. She didn’t understand how teenage hormones and falling in love worked, but somehow she just knew. She felt a little apologetic to her soulmate, no longer feeling the need to search for him and her, the section of, [What to do if you haven’t found your soulmate yet.] remaining untouched. But well... things happen sometimes.

And sometimes, you become so much of a fool that you invite the girl you are in love with, who already has a soulmate, to your house, to your room, just so she can be the first to see that portable planetarium projector you were finally able to get your hands on for an affordable deal. You wouldn’t even cry at losing months worth of saved allowance and work wages. It was all worth it, to see her entire being practically glowing in awestruck wonder as you lay on your backs on the cushioned floor, having the chance to flaunt years of star study to your crush. The impressed gazed directed at you felt so good. You could get used to this. Especially when the visage of wonder glimmering in the dear girl’s eyes was outright precious.

A Diana in awe was cute.

So much so that Akko was in awe.

“Hey Diana...”

“Hmm?”

“Do you believe in magic?”

What a strange thing to ask in that moment. That’s what Diana thought. Akko thought the same. Just what had gotten over her. Yet she still wondered, thoughts flying far off into space, just as they always did when she gazed upon the stars in the night sky- or her ceiling’s artificial one.

‘What are you saying, Akko?” Diana chuckled, right hand reaching out to grasp Akko’s, fingers lacing together. She felt her heart flip as it was squeezed tight, unaware of the inner turmoil Akko was enduring at the lack of presence of a ring on that hand. Their eyes remained trained to the glowing heavenly bodies above, stories of the past, of fate, and the like, written all over.

“Do you believe in other worlds, Diana?”

“Well, many studies propose that they indeed exist.” Diana responded.

“What about alternate universes? A completely different you out there, living a different life.”

Diana turned her head to face Akko, the brunette still facing upwards, eyes glistening with unshed tears, barely noticeable in the dim lighting; but Diana always noticed. Because it was Akko.

“Don’t you think that somewhere out there... there could be another version of us; maybe a clumsy me, and a fantastic you, saving the world with strange words not understood by the rest of the world?”

“Maybe...” Diana breathed out in a whisper, oxygen effectively stolen by the tear that slipped down shapely cheeks. The moment felt so fragile, she was afraid if she made a move, it would shatter into a million pieces, never to see the light of day.

And god forbid it happen. Diana wanted to boast this tender feeling out under the brightness of the sun, for the world to witness.

“Why do you ask?”

She listened in agony at the choked intake of air, followed by the frailest of whispers. “Because maybe... the impossible for the Kagari Atsuko here... is possible for the Akko there.”

The heiress pondered those phrases a moment. “...Impossible, like?” Diana replied in equally hushed tones, something hopeful in her pitch.

‘Like you being meant for me, and I for you.’

But Akko couldn’t just say that.

“As impossible as using magic here, maybe?” Akko laughed in a normal, in-house voice, volume not too loud, but no longer a whisper. She should just bury her illegal thoughts deep down.

“I guess so.” She deflated. What had she desired to hear anyway? “Magic does seem like an unattainable power, some unimaginable, impossible concept.” Maybe she should get ready to leave soon. There was something heavy weighing in the atmosphere and in her heart, and she did not wish for a memory as sweet as this to turn sour due to her mood.

“You think so?” Akko’s steadying voice kept her rooted in place. “What if it isn’t so impossible after all?”

“How so?”

“Well, don’t they say that when people put their minds to it, when they truly desire and wish for it with all their hearts... like how the song goes, y’know? ‘When you wish upon a star your dreams come true’, or something.”

“Like the law of attraction and manifestation?” Diana supplied. “If you think positive things, positive things will come to you. Your reality becomes better. Like that?”

“Hmmm...” Akko tapped against the back of Diana’s hand, still entwined with hers, with her index thoughtfully. “Yes, but no. Kinda, but not really...? I don’t know how to describe what I’m thinking at the moment based on existing principles. Not too good at remembering. Heck, is there a quote that already exists?”

“Why not make your own, then?” Diana proposed.

“Heh... good idea. Let me think.”

“Take your time.” Diana enjoyed the little sounds Akko made as she thought.

“Oh! I got it!”

“Hoh? And what would those words of wisdom be, Miss Kagari?”

“Ready the papers, Miss Cavendish. We’re about to make the headlines with this!” They both giggled at their antics. “Drum roll, please! Dugudugudugudugudugu....dan!”

Diana nuzzled into Akko’s shoulder, enjoying all these little sound effects, the brunette’s voice calming her gradually, lulling her to sleep.

“Just what are these magnificent words, dear Akko?” Diana was far too drowsy to notice the splash of color painted across her companions face, the shyness melting into tenderness as she felt her warmth shift closer.

“A believing heart is your magic.”

And sleep was nearly robbed of her, eyes widening in the dark, unseen by Akko as the thumb on Diana’s free hand now brushed over the engravings on her ring. It was for sure now.

“You really are... the one.”

//-//-//-//-//

Something was off about Diana today. Was it her hair? No, impeccably styled as always, that couldn’t be it. Was it her makeup for today? No, it wasn’t that either. It was still that natural looking glow that brought out her innate beauty in all the best ways possible.  Akko continued to check off boxes on her mental list, trying to figure out just what it was that was bothering her about Diana’s appearance today. Was it her clothes? But that was the uniform they wore daily! Did she... get any new jewelry? Hmm, she didn’t seem the type to wear any at school.

Then...

Was it the ring that painfully reminded Akko that the person she might be in love with was already meant for someone else? No, that couldn’t be it either. Last Akko checked, the ring was snugly fitted, definitely on... huh? The ring was... gone? No? Akko scanned Diana’s smooth looking left hand. No it wasn’t there. Not on the left, and her eyes couldn’t help but guide her hopeful soul to... ah. It really wasn’t on the left, but on the right.

Huh? That wasn’t right.

This confused Akko. Enough to make her approach Diana’s seat during lunch, tapping her attention away from her conversation with Lotte and Barbara.

“H-hey Diana, I have a question... “

“Yes?” Said girl gave Akko her full attention. There was something different about the way she smiled at Akko today as well, it seemed. Odd. Nice. But odd.

“So like... uh... W-Why is your... your ri-” Akko could feel droplets of sweat forming on her brow, threatening to trickled down the side of her face if she so much as twitched.

“Ri?”

“Why’s your ri- r....r-r- Right ear larger than your left?!”

Dainty hands shot up to cover her ears, blushing shocked and mortified. “WHAT?!”

Whoops, Akko messed up. “HAHA AHA.. KIDDING! Nah, I was messing with you!” The brunette forcibly laughed, patting Diana’s back in uneasy comfort.

“Akko, that wasn’t very nice.” Lotte scolded, and the said girl nodded, sighing.

“I know. Sorry guys.” She apologized properly, looking to Diana in particular. She received a gracious smile and a pat on the cheek, the skin underneath the ringed-hand warming speedily.

“It’s alright.”

That kindness allowed her to gather bits of courage to finally state her inquiry. Diana would answer her just fine, right? Akko had to when asked about the whereabouts of her ring. It was fair trade?

“I was just wondering, because I recalled you wearing your ring on your left hand until recently. But now it’s on your right. I guess you could say I was just curious?”

“Eh?”

“Is that so, Diana?” Hannah questioned, eyes wide. “But why would you move it in reverse? Now that you’ve actually found- mrrrpmmphhh.”

Akko shot a puzzled glance at Hannah and Barbara, the latter clasping a hand over the ginger’s mouth.

“N-nothing. You didn’t hear anything.” She covered. “You heard nothing, are we clear?” She threatened, and Akko actually shivered.

“Holy crap, your women can get so scary, Amanda.” She mentioned to the redhead seated in front of the other girls.

She heard her release a heavy sigh before getting up from her seat and turning to face the group. “It’s because you two are such a pain, that’s why. Just get it over with, Cavendish! What’s holding you back? It’s as simple as this, see? When you have a dense mofo like Akko, you just gotta give her a little push. A literal one.” And that was the only warning they got before Diana felt soft, slightly chapped lips barely missing her own, brushing against the corner of her mouth.

Akko removed herself so fast, they all worried she’d get whiplash. “S-s-s-s-s-sorry! Sorry Diana, I didn’t- it was... AMANDA!”

“I was helping.”

“You little...”

“Rather than giving me your attention, shouldn’t you talk it over with miss salad head over there?”

Akko blinked, the cogs in her mind slowly spinning, then clicked. “Did you just... insult... ah, screw you!” Akko yelled, blush burning so hot, it was hard to keep her eyes open.

Heeding Amanda’s advice nonetheless, she turned to an equally red Diana, unable to meet her eyes. Akko didn’t think her face could get any hotter than it felt right now, but at the sight of Diana’s tongue quickly swiping across her lips, Akko’s face might as well be venus.

She should at least try to say something, right? Something comforting... or witty... or clever.

“Sorry...” That would work.

“It’s alright.”

//-//-//-//-//

She stared at her invitation. Wow. Did Andrew really take her to shop for Denise’s birthday gift months before it happened? The neat script spelling out, ‘You are cordially invited’ underneath the older woman’s name with the date of the ball kind of set her nerves on fire.

She was not one for formal events. But then Denise had been nice enough to hand it in person, looking like she’d be willing to beg for Akko to come. Andrew stood behind her menacingly, a pressuring force looming in the room.

But really, how was she supposed to do this? Sure she had experience with the arts and dancing. She had wanted to be a performer at some point in her life before deciding on her current course, keeping the arts as a hobby. That covered her bases in terms of the ballroom dancing part. But as for etiquette and all that jazz, Akko had no clue. She was just a normal girl, living a normal life, having met amazing people, and... the love of her life.

She groaned in remembrance, pulling out a slip of paper, an extra entrance voucher. ‘Bring a plus one’, Denise had said. Well... that wouldn’t be a problem, Akko supposed. Maybe... She could always ask Diana.

The thought of the girl set flurries of butterflies wild in her stomach, face warming up along with her heart. She fiddled with the band situated around her left ring finger. She was still getting used to it, the metal feeling awkward in that spot. That’s just what she gets for never wearing it all these years. Kind of a nuisance, if she were being honest; but... at the same time... it was a reminder that...

[“So you’re... my soulmate...”

“Looks like it.”

“Did you... know about it?” She watched fluffy hair bounce along with the bobbing of a shy girl’s head. “How long...?”

“I had a feeling right from when we met... then confirmed it after you first showed me your planetarium.”

“...that’s a few weeks back.”

“You’re just so slow.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It really is now.”]

“AAAAHHHH!!” Akko hollered, ridding herself of the embarrassed tension in her body. “Hnnnggghhh...” Holding in all her squeals, she flew onto her bed, hugging a pillow tight and rolling about. Maybe she should call Diana right now, if only to hear her voice. Oh, and she should just pop the question while she’s at it, the invitation.

A few rings, one, two, three fo-

[“Hello?”]

“Did you know I love your voice? It was the first thing I fell in love with, ever since you saved me from the clutches of death.” She couldn’t hold back the adoration she felt for the Englishwoman any longer.

[“Oh my god, Akko. Did you really just call me so you could be such a sap?”]  Her giggle was always the best, Akko reveled.

“No~, or kind of yes, but not entirely.”

[“Is that so?”] Diana teased through the line.

“Don’t believe me?”

[“Of course I do! After all... it’s my magic.”]

“Who’s the sap now.”

[“I learned only from the best.”]

“Amanda?”

[“YOU, you idiot!”] Akko laughed at the reaction, squealing inwardly in delight. Diana’s laughter alongside hers died down, the phone going silent for a bit. And then, [“You’re the best.”].

Akko just couldn’t handle it.

“I love you.”

[“I love you too, sweetheart.”]

“I love you, I love you, I love you.”

[“I love you more.”]

“I love you! I love you! I love you!”

[“I love you more than anything in this world.”]

Akko was not crying.

“I love you... be my plus one?”

[“...”]

[“Always.”]

//-//-//-//-//

“My baby... so grown up now and looking all gorgeous.” Mrs. Kagari wiped a tear from her eye, admiring her daughter in a russet-toned gown, sleeveless, with a low dip in the back, fitting, and at the same time, flowing off her frame and onto the floor. It was simple, yet elegant. It matched well with Akko’s hair; usual bangs side-swept, signature ponytail gone, her long brown hair slightly curled and hanging off on one shoulder, exposing the other. All this topped with a little make-up, and even Andrew commended this picture of Akko that could pass as part of high society.

“Shall we?” He held out an arm for her to take, door open with a car waiting right outside. Akko’s father sobbed loudly, holding onto his wife for dear life.

“M-Mama! MY BABY! MY BABY IS BEING TAKEN AWAY BY SOME RICH YOUNG BRAT WHO JUST LOOKS GOOD, AND IS A LITTLE SMART, AND OWNS A HOSPITAL.”

“Well, don’t those sound like amazing specs.” Akko’s mama laughed, consoling the poor man. “You sound like a father sending his daughter off to meet her groom.”

“I AM.”

“But Diana-chan is so cute, though?”

“Man or woman, whoever takes my baby away from me and ends up hurting her... they will never see the light of the afterlife.”

Diana felt a chill run up her spine as she waited in the car.

“Oh, hush you. You’re overreacting.”

“AM I?!”

“Byebye, papa. I’ll be home soon. Love you~ Love you more, Mama!”

“Ah- bye, my darling daughter, my baby, my sun, light of my world, my angel!”

“You can stop embarrassing her now, darling.”

//-//-//-//-//

“Akko, don’t be so stiff.” Diana whispered into the girl’s ear, a hand caressing the small of her back to ease away the nerves. “You’ll be fine. Just think of it as any old party.”

“E-e-e-easy for you t-to say. You g-grew up with th-this.” Akko retorted, a hand with some champagne shakily approaching her lips.

“Really, you’re too high-strung.” The blonde sighed, pointing to Akko’s best friends. “Look at Lotte and Sucy, they look normal.”

Akko glared at her best friends who seemed to be enjoying themselves without a worry in the world. Oh, golly, what a treat. Maybe she shouldn’t have offered their extra tickets to them so she wouldn’t feel as bitter.

“Hey.” A flick was sent to her forehead. “No mean thoughts.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Di.A. NAAAA~” Here came a wild Denise, flying through the air to hug an alarmed Diana, barely catching her. It would appear as thought they were good friends, and Denise, not knowing anything about the relationship between her two dear bosom buddies, had sent them each an invitation with the hopes of bringing a plus one to introduce to her (so she could tease them about it), all the while, being kept in the dark that their plus one just so happened to be each other.

Which also explained the extra tickets that had gone to Lotte and Sucy. Akko was afraid it would be rude to just hand them away, but Diana reassured her it would be just fine. They both knew how kind-hearted and open-minded Denise was anyway.

“M-miss Walsh... please let me breathe.”

“Diana~ It’s Denise!”

“D-Denise... please... my airways...”

With greetings out of the way (Akko being squeezed to death as well, to be fair), the announcement were made, and the party commenced, music playing as the floor opened for the dances.

...

Akko swore she was a good dancer. Really! She was the ace of their studio. She could dance almost anything after learning it over the course of a few weeks at most, and so few days at the very least. So she couldn’t understand just how she’d suddenly acquired two left feet, constantly, and clumsily stepping on poor Diana’s feet.

One step. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

Another miss. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“S-sorry!”

“...”

“Oh my gosh, I really am sorry!”

“I-it’s quite alright...”

“...”

“Wanna get some fresh air?”

“Pleasured.”

//-//-//-//-//

The Walsh’s family gardens were certainly award winning, Akko admired. As someone with a hobby in that field, this was a dream come true, to see such stellar workmanship. With flowers o’er the earth, and stars up above, the moon reflecting ripples into a still, small lake just a few yards down, it was the picture of beauty.

Yet nothing could compare to Diana by her side. Akko admired the way the woman’s gown clung to her curves in all the right places, how midnight blue reminded her of the skies they were under, and the dear stars in the heiress eyes sparkled ever brighter. How the earrings that dangled sparkling silver matched Akko’s own, only in gold, how her hair was fixed to the side as well, a portion of her bangs tucked neatly behind her ear, held back by a pin Akko had gotten her recently.

Akko was transfixed, as though she were under a witch’s spell. A very gorgeous, kind-hearted, hardworking, and sincere witch. A woman she loved with every fiber of her being, with the entirety of her heart.

She watched the moonlight caress ivory skin, glistening under its kind rays. Akko wanted to do so as well. Touch it, and know she was real and not just a figment of her imagination.

“I love you.” She murmured, reaching forward, arms wrapped around a slim waist, lips pressing against a bare shoulder. “I love you.”

Diana hummed, hands resting over Akko’s latched on to her abdomen. “Dance with me, Love.” She beckoned, leading them to sway under the night sky, the crickets and the breeze playing them a song of romance solely for their rapture.

The moon as their only witness, they vowed silent words, moving along the area, spinning, swaying, dancing, laughing, smiling, crying.

Akko never felt as lucky as she did in this moment. She was beyond fortunate. This moment she’d never forget, a memory never to be destroyed all her life, reminding her that she was blessed.

Blessed, and still a little foolish.

“I still don’t get it, you know. Why ‘cabbage’?”

Diana laughed into the tranquil night. Slapping Akko’s bare arm in fondness. “Did you really just ask that? Now of all times? With a romantic mood set up like this?” She shook her head in disbelief. “You are amazing, Kagari Atsuko. I love you to death, really I do... but are you seriously still hung over that?” She inquired, spinning her fated partner about, bringing her back in close. “Does it have to make sense? Isn’t it enough to know that you’re meant to be mine, and I’m forever yours?”

Akko returned that tender smile, leaning up to place a kiss against Diana’s throat. “Well, yeah, I guess; but... like... doesn’t that defeat the rings’ purpose, then?”

“Does it matter?”

“...It doesn’t. Not anymore. Not when you’re by my side, because that’s all that matters.”

“Great answer.”

“Diana?”

“Hmmm? What is it now?” Diana asked, amused that the peaceful mood didn’t look like it would settle back down anytime soon.

“For ruining the moment.... sorry.” All Akko’s laughing refuted that statement. Diana knew they both didn’t regret it one bit. Not at all. So with a smile only meant for her world nestled in her arms, leaning down and closing the gap bit-by-bit, what else could Diana reply with except,

“...It’s alright.”

And they saw stars.

//-//-//-//-//

This... was an unexpected development.

“...Wanna come over?”

“I’d love to.”

Cold, soaked and dropped off by the Cavendish’s service car, they made their way up the drive way, Akko fumbling for her house keys in the wee hours of the morning.

“Sorry, I really didn’t expect it to rain when I invited you out.”

“It’s fine, it wasn’t something within our control at all. The night looked perfectly clear, too.”

Flipping on the lights by the threshold, Akko guided Diana in, drenched shoes flying off, but immediately retrieved and set to the side to drip properly. They’d have to clean and dry those tomorrow better, but for now, a bath of warmth was in order.

Akko had insisted Diana take one first, but ever the gentlewoman, Diana did not move an inch until she was absolutely certain Akko would be alright. Her strongest argument stood to be, “Just who was it that I had to take to the hospital upon our first encounter.”, and Akko could only pout, begrudgingly accepting her defeat and warming herself a bath, but not without leaving Diana a towel and a temporary change of clothes so she wouldn’t get chills.

As Akko tagged Diana with a kiss to the lips, switching places after drawing the girl a fresh warm bath, she made her way to the kitchen, deciding to make them some vegetable soup to warm them up from the inside. Would Diana like that too?

Choosing and gathering her ingredients, she began prepping, chopping up everything as her water in the pot was brought to a boil.

It didn’t take her long at all to finish. By the time the food was ready, Diana was back downstairs, clad in one of Akko’s oversized shirts and pajama bottoms. It did strange things to Akko’s dear heart. On Diana’s part, just the sight of her future wife (she was a woman with a vision for tomorrow) preparing her a meal, fresh from a bath, in their own little world... How could she not fall deeper in love? So in love that she could just kiss her!

And she did just that.

Walking up to the shorter girl, Diana coaxed her into warm arms, a hand making its way into brunette strands, entangling them around her fingers, ring shining amidst them. This was bliss. This was everything to her.

This was everything to Akko. Everything she’d hoped for and wanted, and even more.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

Soft. A little salty, maybe the soup’s seasoning. Warm and gentle, yet pressured and emotional. Tenderly passionate, and passionately tender, their lips danced a song that they’d forever remember.

And as they sat down to eat, seated in front of each other, they motioned for cheers with their chopsticks, a leafy green clipped between one pair.

And that’s when Akko realized that it all made perfect sense.

The rings weren’t wrong, and the words would always be right.

“Ah...

Cabbage.”

~end.

A/N: Can you believe it? All that, just so I could say in the end, “Cabbage”. Honestly, Akko is so slow. Somehow I’m not quite satisfied with this, and maybe I should’ve gone with a different approach or piece, or simply edited my original plan to fit safely within the guidelines, but... Idk. Maybe I’m as much of a fool as Akko, that way. Was it worth the thousands of bothersome words to read? Haha. Feedback is appreciated, as always. Hope you enjoyed.

~Shintori Khazumi

[honey-makki]

well, i guess sappy posts are better late than never. i can’t believe i’ve only been on anime tumblr for 8 months and writing for 6. it’s crazy how influential my time here has been on me and the relationships i’ve fostered. i guess this is also my thank you for 2.5k because i hit that recently. im so thankful and grateful you have let me create a nice lil coffeeshop in my own corner of tumblr. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, (ok maybe some things but not many). I will be disgustingly sappy and in love with people under the cut. beware of cavities from the sweetness.

@heauxzenji​ god you are really the love of my mf life. i talk to you more than i talk to my irl bestfriends and i live with them. i’m glad i can wake you up with horny thoughts everyday but its kinda homophobic that you are three hours behind me. manifesting that this year we get to see each other so our gay horny love can be actualized.

@sugardaddykenma​ lin you are simultaneously my love and my aunt and i wouldn’t have it any other way. please send me more snaps of you screaming because the really make me laugh. im happy we are genuine friends and i care about you so much. will flee to canada on a moments notice, on your beck and call my love.

@satendou​ spencer you are my wife and live teasingly close to me. i’m so happy i got drunk that one night and you messaged me because i was way too nervous to message you even though i wanted to. you are fantastic and oneday we will both not be ghosts and really catch up. i love you regardless.

@keijiskitten​ laura. my baby kitty lauwa. please come be my irl catgirl i will buy the nicest collars. you are so so sweet and genuine and im blessed to have oun in my life. sometimes royal!au sneaks into my head when im doing other stuff just so you know that you have fully ruined me as a person but i love it.

@crushzone​ nin. my god you are the sweetest person on this godforsaken website. every interaction i’ve ever had with you has been nothing less than wonderful. thank you for being horny w me and drawing the cutest fucking photo of me and shinkami ever. now watch mha so we can talk about aizawa,

@sgwrscrsh​ skye baby girl. mwah. a kiss. thank you for reminding me ao3 exists all those months ago when you sent me in another life. you have ruined me as a person but i sent you that monster fic so maybe we are even. i love you. thank you for the christmas gift i loved it SO much.

@cno-inbminor​ kay. quick friends bc we are same person and i love u. please stream urr next baking session it makes me happy. also townes!sakusa. just a reminder so you can think about that sweater. 

@samuslut​ wing we haven’t talked too much but i just want you to know i love you so much and admire your work and world building. you are a fantastic writer and a great person

@stallionissei​ miss cas!! we aren’t the closest but talking to you is literally always a pleasure and i love it. i hope your move is going ok and you all get settled down soon! lets talk soon!

@lesbians4yaku​ joy. my first love. you were one of my first friends on tumblr and im ever thankful for that. i care about you so so so much. just seeing your name and you exist makes me smile. we should talk about more evolutions soon because that was very very fun. enjoy your nips and this kiss im sending u *mwah*

to everyone in tumblr babies, i’m so glad i was there in the start of my journey. its such a safe and fun space. thank you for letting me tease *people* about glasses fetishes and just go buck wild in the thirst chats. thank you for voting me horniest member <3 @ceo-of-daichi @hqsoftboysupremecy @scorpiosanssexy @nonexistent-social-life 

to my fellow gravediggers and funeral home employees. yes ive been in the server for like 3 months and yes i am already 8th in rank, no i don’t know how to shut up. thanks for dealing with me. You are my favorite home and i want to cook all you a meal and pet the babies. @xakusa @lumos-flies @tsumue @iwaasfairy @sasa-writes-fandom-things @sweet-sugu @keijiiszn​ 

god, to all of my other mutuals i love you so much and you are all badass. i would fight the horny police and whatever 12 year old kids are in your inbox for all of you. you are all immensely talented and i still wonder why some of you follow me. thank you for every single reblog, comment, advice or like you’ve given me bc it shoots serotonin directly into my heart. which isn’t how its supposed to work but feels nice anyways.

@undermattsun @onefortyninecm @rat-suki @bakatenshii @godjo  @dxddykeiji @saetyrn9 @introloves @pomsuki @lookslikeleese @tetsou @whats-her-quirk @blahkugo @dearsakusa @sugawarakoushihoe @stonersugawara @koutarouthighs @prettysetterbaby @heyhinata @seita @present-mel. 

im going to stop tagging because m tumblr has crashed four times and im already close to max and i really really don’t want to type this out again. thank you to every person who has supported me and i can’t wait to see where this year leads us.

[kidofthekat]

Salty Outcasts chapter 1 part 2

I hope you enjoy, I know it’s short but the next part will be longer (2 more for this chapter) also thanks to @flufflepuffle296 for proof reading!

Chloé:

Chloé was tired. She knew she’d messed up. Bad. But did she deserve this? Adrien was giving her the silent treatment, her Dad was, well, acting like a normal father, and punishing her, her mother finally remembered her name only to use this new knowledge to yell at her (apparently Audrey Bourgeois actually had morals ), but worst of all, she had lost Sabrina to that ridiculous liar. The blonde knew she had been a horrible friend, but Sabrina had always been with her, through everything she had never lost her. Kwami, she willingly worked with a terrorist, why, why did she do that? Feeling the familiar wetness building up in her eyes, Chloé pulled down her signature white sunglasses, readying herself for another gruelling day.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone looking as broken as her tumbling into the classroom.

“Look klutzinette is finally here!” Chloé looked up confused as the class started to snicker, since when did anyone but her bully Dupain-Cheng? Well, she better start paying more attention to the peasants is she was no longer queen. With a newfound curiosity, Chloé watched as the Ladyblogger walked, no, stalked, up to Dupain-Cheng.

“Listen Marinette,” Césaire spat, “I know we’re besties but I can’t just sit by and do anything anymore.”

The girls reply was as meek as she looked in that moment, glancing at Adrien’s empty seat, her only supporter, “wh-what?”

“Don’t play dumb, we know you’ve been bulling Lila and that you threatened her in the bathroom when she came back from Achu,” Césaire stopped her yelling, face getting impossibly redder as Marinette doubled down in laughter. Chloé had no idea what evoked this response from the girl but assumed she was just descending into madness. “Wha-why are you laughing? Apologise!” Dupain-Cheng had tears streaming down her face at this point. “Okay that’s it! I was willing to give you one more chance if you apologised to Lila, but you are obviously not who I thought you were, I’m sorry Marinette but we are no longer friends.” This caused the designer to instantly sober up, fleeing from the classroom with a muffled sob as various classmates agreed to Césaire’s declaration. Only Chloé saw the vicious smirk on Rossi’s face, as she chose to quietly follow Marinette, an Akuma was the last thing anyone needed right now.

Chloé followed her through the corridors to an empty classroom. She peeked through the door, her heart breaking at the sight before her. She and Dupain-Cheng would always be rivals, but recently she had been working on her human decency and cheering up a crying and isolated girl seemed like something good people would do.

“Oh, Marinette, I know that what you just experienced was horrible and trust me we are going to get revenge-”

“Tikki!”

“-but you can’t afford to be akumatised.” Chloé frowned at this exchange, just who was Dupain-Cheng talking to and why did they have such a high-pitched voice? “Remember, there is always another way that doesn’t involve HawkMoth,” the sobbing had reduced to subdued snivels and she started to wonder if it was really necessary for her to do anything, “and that comes in the form of sweet, sweet revenge by our hands!”

“Tikki, no! I am Ladybug, I can’t exact revenge on my … on …” Chloé had shared enough classes with Dupain-Cheng to know where this was going. Ignoring the fact that her victim for so many years had trusted her with a miraculous, she pushed the classroom door open.

Marinette, hearing the door, sat up straight and wiped her face. She opened her mouth to apologise for being there without out permission but on seeing the Mayor’s daughter she simply glared. Chloé was not deterred.

“Dupai- uh, Marinette I uh, um are, ugh, that was idiotic and ridiculous of the sheep that claim to be our classmates and they know that everyone with negative emotions is at risk so I came to make sure you didn’t bend to HawkMoths will. After all I am a hero and heroes don’t let people become villains.” She sniffed haughtily but inwardly flinched at her tone.

“I don’t think you’re a hero anymore,” Dupain-Cheng’s reply wasn’t rude or in any way hostile but Chloé still looked away, biting back a snarky response, “but thanks.” Dupain-Cheng slumped against the wall, a look of thoughtful curiosity on her face. Chloé silently joined her, not attempting any conversation but simply offering her presence as comfort. An unlikely truce had been formed, one that had potential to go down in spectacular flames or grow stronger throughout time.

Thank you for reading, this is a link to my original au and below that is chapter 1 part 1:

Also taglist:

@kanamexzeroyaoifangirl

@lilkymilky

@shippernaturalsanderspjoandscifi

@mythogaychic

[fandomtransmandom]

A Peek Into My Thoughts

I get messages sometimes along the lines of, "Wow! You write so much! You're so productive! Why don't you look for a real job? You could be making money off of this!" Or other things of the sort, with my providers also indicating that I should be trying to monetize my hobby regularly. Get out there. Do something real.

For that reason, I've decided to write a little something detailing my inner monologue this morning. Yeah, I crank out a frankly ridiculous amount of content. But I don't think folks understand the limitations of my mental illness, so here goes...

TW/CW for suicidal ideation, self harm, eating disorder, depression, anxiety, paranoia.

Me: Wakes up, checks phone notifications. Scrolls through Tumblr and sees a post frowning on AO3's policies.

Fuck. I shouldn't be using AO3. I'm a bad person for posting there. Should check other options, take down and republish all my stories.

Shit. Wattpad wouldn't let me post my sort of content. And ff.net seems really hard to navigate. What should I do?

Kill yourself.

No. What? That's stupid.

Do it. Do it now. Kill yourself. Easiest solution.

No dude, wtf. This is not a suicide level problem.

Do it, do it, do it. Die. Die. Die.

I'm ignoring you. Fuck that.

Okay. Then cut yourself.

No. That's idiotic.

But so simple. And you'll feel better. The blades are right there...

GTFO this is not that big of a deal.

Okay. Then punch yourself in the face.

That's a thought...

Yeah. Yeah... Just a little one. It'll be fine. No one will know.

I just need to write. Just sit down and write and you'll feel better, Dean. You always do. Come on.

But half your readers don't want this story. At least. They want a different gender. A different scenario. And this part will upset someone. Or that one. And you already fucked up that part. You're stupid. Fucking stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID.

Shut up. Shut. Up.

Go eat more. More. All of it.

But I'm not even hungry... I already had the muffins. The pound cake. The chicken salad. We've only been up for an hour. I'm gonna be sick.

Who cares? Do it.

I'm going to go smoke...

Nope. Can't do that. Scary outside. The neighbors can hear what you're thinking. Everyone's watching you. They know.

They k n o w.

Fine, I'll just vape I guess...

I just need to write. Then I'll feel better. It'll be okay. Just go spend time with Bill. You'll be okay. It'll all be okay.

No. It won't. Remember that person who said 80% of your work is filth? That you demean and dehumanize Bill? And shouldn't be sharing online at all? Remember? R E M E M B E R?!

But...but the hundreds of kind comments. Go look at those. Right now. Make a smart choice. Everyone is so sweet and wonderful. I have half a dozen fun and interesting requests pending from excited readers. Good things. Happy things.

That. One. Awful. Person.

No. Why always that? Why not all the praise and joy? Why can't we believe we're good at something? Anything...

Killing yourself is still an option. Just throwing that out there.

No it's not, ya fucking jag off. Okay, seriously. Taking my anxiety pill and sitting down to write.

That's going to make you fall asleep in an hour. You don't do anything. You never move. You've put on 75 pounds in a year. You're fat and disgusting and gross and--

Just shut the fuck up. Things are good right now. GOOD. Our partner is wonderful and supportive. Finally got an apartment and independence. A handful of solid friends for the first time as an adult.

And I love my writing. Even if it's veered from coping mechanism perhaps into addiction. But today, I'm going to try to sink into a world of my own design. Float away with Bill into dreamland and hope I feel better. I am okay, I will be okay.

Resources for those struggling. I apologize that many are limited to the U.S.:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Crisis Textline: Text HOME to 741741

Trans Lifeline

[epicfangirl01]

Castaways- Mammon x GN! Reader

Chapter Three

"Why didn't you fucking tell me earlier?!?" Mammon beams, holding you close as he kisses your head. You chuckle, combing your fingers through his snowy hair.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. On your birthday, you said that your dream day would be spending time alone together. I wanted to make it extra special, so I got a job at Ristorante Six to rent a beach home inthe human world for the weekend. There is a private beach, miles away from anyone else. There are also caves and a tourist town nearby, so we can do whatever we want."

Mammon's eyes glisten with tears, and he holds them back with everything he has. "Thank you, Silver..."

You smile, glad to see your beloved demon so happy. The two of you Thank Diavolo for his help, before making your way back home, too excited to let Lucifer's lecture get in the way.

------------------------------

The next morning, you rush downstairs to the dining room for breakfast, your duffle bag in hand. The seven brothers are already at the table, starting to serve breakfast. After a quick meal, you wish everyone goodbye as Mammon walks with you for his "punishment". With your bags in tow, the two of you make your way through the city to Diavolo's castle.

The demon prince is waiting for you upon your arrival, and he smiles as Barbatos gets a door ready for teleportation.

"Ready for your trip, you two? You have three days to yourselves, away from all of your worries. I hope you enjoy yourselves. Y/N, watch Mammon and keep yourselves out of trouble, alright?"

You nod, lacing your fingers with the demon of greed. With that, Barbatos opens the door, revealing a bright, sparkling beach. You look I to your boyfriend's eyes, reassuring each other, before stepping into the Human Realm.

-------------------------

The sun shines brightly as you step forward, holding a hand over your eyes. "We're finally here. It took a month to get here, but I just hope I can give you the weekend you've dreamed of."

Mammon beams, looking at the bright blue sky before turning to you.

"It's perfect. Because I have you...." He kisses you gently, cupping your face, and you sigh as his fingertips brush against your hair. You pull away after a moment, taking his hand.

"Come on. We need to drop off our stuff and get changed. We're going swimming!" You both run to the beachsode house, picking up the key from under the patio, before going up to the door.

"Okay. I need to say this now." Mammon looks over at you, unsure of what is wrong. "This weekend is a belated birthday wish that took a lot of time and planning. I already put a lot of work and money into this, so please don't steal anything. If you want something, I can buy you a few souvenirs of our trip, and that's all. I have some cash left for food, fun, and emergencies, so we have to be careful. If I find out you stole or sold something, I have no problem calling Diavolo to actually put you to labor. I trust you on this, so please don't break it, okay? This isn't the Devildom, so we have to watch our behavior."

Mammon rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he mumbles.

"I thought we were leaving Lucifer behind." Your eyes narrow as you glare at him, and he waves his hands. "Kidding! I'm just kidding. I... I really appreciate everything. I'll do my best. Only for you, though..."

You smile a little, loving your troublemaker, and you push the door open to reveal an upscale, yet cozy interior to the beach house. The walls are painted a crisp white, while the bottom of the wall changes to an ombre blue, reminding you of the ocean.

"Woah! They have a 98 inch flatscreen over a fireplace. AND surround sound! This is the life!" You notice the gold flecks in Mammon's eyes grow wider with greed, and you can't help but chuckle.

"Mhmm. It's yours for the whole weekend. Speaking of yours..." You step closer and take the demon's hand, bowing and kissing it gently. "How may I serve you today, my king?"

Confusion spreads all over his face, followed by a blush. "Don't you remember? You said that you wanted to spend time alone with me, relaxing while I 'dote on you for the whole day.' Today I serve you. Only for today, though. You need to save some greed for me." Mammon melts, loving you with his entire being, until he snaps out of his admiration.

"Not so fast. You're mine, alright? For now and for always. But... I guess I can spare you some greed."

He wraps his arms around you, grinning as his lips meet yours. You sigh, and Mammon takes the chance to slip his tongue into your mouth, tasting his beloved treasure. He hums and pulls away, still blushing.

"Okay. We should drop off our bags in the bedroom and get changed. The sun is out and the waves are coming in. And then, you can get a view of The Great Mammon that not even Majolish gets to see."

He smirks, and you follow him to a beautiful bedroom with a glass wall and balcony, overlooking the ocean. After getting settled, Mammon takes his swimsuit and heads to the bathroom while you look for your swimsuit. You went shopping with Asmo just to find the perfect one to impress, one that compliments your features, yet also makes you feel comfortable. Of course, he didn't know that it was for Mammon, but for your trip back to the human realm. He didn't mind keeping your plans a secret, as long as you told him the results of showing off.

You walk down the hallway to change in the bathroom, before finally coming out to show Mammon.

"Hey, Y/N! You almost done? It's a swimsuit, not a-" The demon stops dead in his tracks, his eyes taking in your outfit and features while you looked back at him.

He was perfect. His swim trunks are a nice yellow with green palm leaves and beach themed cocktails, matching his personality like a charm. Although the trunks are nice, they weren't what caught your attention. His chest and abs are strong and defined, as if they were carved by god himself. Then again, that wasn't exactly wrong. His arms are slender, yet muscular, and your eyes catch on his strong calves and thighs. Mammon has always been extremely fit, like the other brothers, but you could definitely tell he started working out more. And he did it just for you.

"Y/N... You look beautiful. Dammit. Now I kinda wish we were doing more than swimming..." Your face feels hot at his compliment, and you smile. Your hand slide's into Mammon's, and he laces his fingers with yours.

"Come on," you laugh, "Let's enjoy some sun."

--------------------------

You spend the rest of the day in the sun with Mammon, making him human world meals, giving him massages, and collecting shells for mementos of your time together. As the day begins to come to a close, the two of you sit on the beach, watching the sunset by a warm bonfire. Mammon watches in awe, holding you close as the sky turns from orange to pink, and finally purple.

"Today has been perfect. The beach, the house, the weather, the food, you... I never experienced or felt anything like this before. Y/N... I want to spend every day like this. I want to spend every day with you. Well, if you wanted to... I don't want this day to end."

Your chest aches as he looks away from you shyly, still a tsundere even after all this time.

"Mammon," you murmur, "I would love to. You treat me so well, and you never fail to make me smile. You make every moment special, and I hope to do the same for you." You smile, and hold your guardian demon close.

"As for tonight..." You lean forward and kiss him, licking his lips teasingly. "The night is still young."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you guys so much for your support! I just wanted to give you a quick update to let you know that the next chapter is going to have Mammon smut 👀, so I wanted to let you all know how that chapter is going to work. It's going to take a little longer for me to write that chapter, since not everyone can read it for age reasons, so I wanted to post a one shot story of MC taking care of sick! demon brothers to enjoy instead. That way everyone can enjoy some sort of content, whether they are into/able to read that content or not. That chapter will have a bold warning, and a cut off to help catch attention before reading too much. I will also link that sick brothers fic to the beginning as an alternative in case. One final note about the smut character is that there will be NO PLOT WHATSOEVER. So if you skip that chapter, you won't miss a thing. Also, a big thanks to CottonCandyPony on AO3 for their idea/request for the sick fic.

Sorry again for the rambling! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you want to be updated, comment below to be added to the taglist and please reblog to show your friends. Thank you!

Taglist: @classictrash @santa-denise

Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four (Smut w/o Plot), Chapter Five (Coming Soon!)

[chuckbass-love]

Johnny protective over sue fic?

Hey lovely. Thank you so much for your patience, i know i’ve made you wait a long time for this one but i hope it’s worth the wait.

Disclaimer: My work is not to be posted anywhere else other than MY Tumblr, Wattpad and Ao3 without my permission. However, reblogs are welcome.

Pairing: Johnny Storm x Sue Storm & Johnny Storm x Fem!Reader

Summary: After Reed and Sue break up, Johnny vowed to never let anyone hurt his sister ever again. Now Reed is back and it’s clear they are getting close again, will Johnny allow Sue to give him another chance?

A/N: I’m sorta re writing the events of how Sue and Reed got back together in this. Just a little note so no one comes for me saying this never happened😂

Warnings: Angst, some comedy and language. No real warnings i guess.

Word Count: 3,429

GIF NOT MINE!!! Credit to @emilysblunt go check them out❤️

Protection

“I can’t keep having the same argument with you” Reed huffs, pacing back and forth whilst Sue is sat on the edge of the bed, head in her hands and practically sobbing her eyes out over all of this.

“Clearly you don’t care then. If you can’t even bother to fight for this or make it right” she yells back, standing up now, practically toe to toe with her boyfriend.

“I don’t understand what you want from me. We already have something great and you want more now?” he sighs, resting his hands on his hips as he looks away.

The thing is, from an outsiders perspective. This relationship couldn’t be more perfect. Just two people madly in love. But to say the inside view is different would be an understatement. All Sue has ever wanted was security, knowing she’s loved and knowing that she’s taken care of but of course Reed has failed to provide that for quite some time now.

She’s been asking more about settling down, getting their own place or maybe even just moving in with him and talking about marriage and kids. You know, the future.

However her pestering has done more harm than good. It clearly struck a nerve with Reed, her boyfriend of 2 years. Almost 3. They’ve been together all this time and he still can’t treat her as though she’s the one.

It’s almost as if he’s allergic to a little commitment. Which if she asks him, he denies it, making up some excuse he concocted in that tiny pea brain of his. 

Plus not only is Sue nagging but Johnny is too.

“When are you gonna ask my sister to move in?”

“Are you gonna pop the question or what?”

And now, Sue is at it again. With her questions and her theories about why he doesn’t want to live with her.

“Is it because you don’t love me? Is that it? Because if it is, i’d rather you just say it no-”

“Of course i love you Sue it’s never been about that” he snaps, making her step back out of fright. He rarely looses his cool. Something is definitely up with him.

“Well then, what is it? Why can’t you just commit to me”

“Maybe i just don’t want to live with you, is that so hard to understand?”

Her eyes widen as tears start to drown her vision out. She can feel her lips quivering.

“W-what?”

“You heard me. Now. Can we just forget about it?” how dare he. After all she’s given up for him.

“Oh we can forget about it alright. We’re done”

Before he can even convince her to stay, she’s collecting her stuff.

“Just because living together isn’t an option, doesn’t mean we can’t still make this work” he shouts from the bedroom whilst she’s in the closet and once she emerges from it, she rolls her eyes.

“Almost 3 years later and you still lack balls. I’m though with this. It’s over Reed. Have a nice life”

The door is slammed on her way out and all that’s left now is the memories they made together in this room. All of their fond memories. Memories of love and peace. True happiness. But not anymore. Now he’s all alone and he has no one else to blame but himself.

Sue stands outside of Reeds apartment, crying in the rain whilst also trying to see the screen of her cellphone, she needs to get away from here. And fast.

“Johnny, can you pick me up?”

“Please, i wouldn’t ask if i wasn’t desperate”

Shortly after, he hangs up, turning to you.

“Who was that on the phone?” you ask, strolling out of the bathroom drying your hair with the fancy white robe that has your initials threaded ever so beautifully on the upper left hand side wrapped around your damp body.

“It was Sue...” he draws the name out, clicking his tongue, unsure of how to say he has to abandon you for a while.

“Is everything okay?” you stand between his legs after tossing the towel into the hamper and he rests his hands on your waist “she needs me to pick her up from Reeds place” 

But you have no issue with that. From the moment you and Johnny got together, it was abundantly clear how protective he is over Sue. Despite her being his older sister. He’s made it his duty to be there whenever she needs and from what he could hear over the phone, she needs him. Now more than ever.

“Go” you say softly, barely above a whisper as you lean down to press a quick kiss to his forehead.

“But, i don’t want to leave you. We had plans”

“Johnny, look at me. Go. She obviously needs her brother right now and who am i to interrupt that? Just know you can always bring her here if you want, i won’t mind. But whatever you decide, text me. Okay?”

He just stares up at you with pure adoration and respect. You’re everything to him and it shows.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just really love you, so much” your heart warms and your knees turn to jelly.

“I love you too ya big goof, now go get your sister”

A quick make out session later and he’s on his way, speeding of course to get to her within record time. Once he arrives, he’s lost for words. 

She gets into his car, sobbing like he’s never heard or seen before. Words aren’t even able to come out of her mouth and seeing as he got her from Reeds place, he must be to blame.

“What did he do to you?” he growls through gritted teeth, gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turn white “Sue what did he do to you?” he asks again, hoping for an answer this time. So she starts to slow her breathing, wiping tears before turning to look at her younger brother with a look of heartbreak.

“I asked him about me moving in again” little pauses in between are taken for her to gather herself “we got into a huge argument about it and unlike our other ones, it ended in me finishing with him” she barely finishes the sentence without breaking back into hysterical crying. 

Although she finished with him, she didn’t want to. She just couldn’t handle his inability to take their relationship seriously and take the natural next steps in their relationship.

As two grown adults, it’s only natural to move in with each other at this point. And he won’t do that, he’s unable to commit.

“Right, wait here” he unbuckles his seatbelt but Sue stops him before he can even get out “Johnny, no. This is over, i ended it. All i want is to go home” she pleads, pulling him closer. He gives her a hug before sighing and putting his seatbelt back on and turning the key in the ignition to pull out of the space he’s in.

“Where’s Y/N?” she asks, checking the back seat, as if somehow she missed any signs of someone else being in the car. What with all of her crying, it’s possible.

“She’s at her place, that reminds me actually, i’ll call her when we get home” he responds, weaving through the traffic and trying his best to get his sister home efficiently. She could really do with her own bed to relax as much as possible.

“Didn’t you have plans to stay at hers tonight?”

“Yeah, we planned a movie night. Why?” he says, stealing glances occasionally to check she’s okay.

“Omg, Johnny. I’m so sorry. You know what, drop me home and go back to her, I’ll be fine once i’ve got a huge glass of wine and a bubble bath” he can see right through her pretences, she’s only saying all of this to get him to do right by you. After all the two of you did have plans.

“No. I’m staying in with you. You need me right now. Y/N is fine, she told me to stay with you”

“Johnny, she’s also a priority. I’d hate for you to make plans and ditch just for me”

“I’m not ditching Sue, i’m being a supportive brother. I’m coming home with you and that’s final”

Wow. She’s never seen him so angry, so assertive.

Usually it’s her taking care of him all of the time. How the tables have turned.

“Did you eat with Reed before the argument or are you hungry?” 

She shakes her head “i’m starving” 

Pit stop at McDonalds it is then. 

And as soon as food is devoured, she takes her bath and then gets ready for an early night, a much needed one for that matter.

Johnny sits on the edge of her bed, talking with her about everything that went down tonight.

“I don’t get it Johnny, almost 3 years with him and he still can’t commit to me. Why?” tears fill her eyes and he looks down, it’s hard to see her like this, knowing he can’t do anything to take the hurt away. All he can do is just hold her and tell her how much he cares.

“I don’t know, all i know is he’s a fool. You’ve done a lot for him, supported him during some hard times and he can’t even move in with you. It’s weird and i don’t trust him now”

“I love him so much” she pulls her legs to her chest, burying her face in between her knees and suddenly all the tears she’s held back for the last couple hours pour out.

“I know, come here” he scoots closer, holding her in his arms and rocking her back and forth to somehow soothe her.

“He’ll never hurt you again, i promise you that. I got you. Shhh” her tears wet his shirt until eventually she starts to feel sleepy, lying down and closing her eyes.

“I’ll always take care of you” he whispers, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he gets up to leave the room.

Nothing will ever hurt his sister again, he swears it.

-----------------------------

Fast forward, 2 years later and here you are. In bed with Johnny in the place you still don’t share together. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because you’re both still young, you don’t want to rush anything when you’re both so happy with how things are.

“Good morning baby” you hear as you sit up to find Johnny in the doorway, naked.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, huh?” you smirk, unable to refrain from biting your lip. He stalks towards you before joining you on the bed and pulling you on top of him.

“Johnny” you squeal, leaning down to kiss him and let’s just say, any time you kiss this man, it gets heated. How can it not when he looks so good.

“I say we ditch all plans of going out and stay in bed all day long” 

You nod your head in agreement “won’t get no objections from me” 

The two of you giggle, kissing once again before his phone interrupts the fun.

“Hello” he says, more like he’s asking a question than greeting someone “Sue? What now?” he groans, rolling his eyes to which you shove him for.

“As in the next hour? Why? Ugh fine, i’ll be there” he hangs up, chucking his phone down on the bed and getting off to head into the bathroom.

“What is it?”

“She wants me to join her for some job she’s doing for Victor” 

“Can i know what job?”

“Not exactly, or at least not until i know the full story myself. I’m gonna shower, okay? Then i gotta go?”

You nod with a pout, not wanting him to leave. He’s been quite present lately with you. Never missing dates or important anniversaries and he’s been more charming than usual but now he’s leaving. You know that you weren’t gonna have him wrapped up in your apartment forever though. 

He showers as quickly as possible, dressing himself in whatever clothes are left in your closet from this last week spent at yours.

“I love you, okay? I’ll come back afterwards to make it up to you” you stand on your tip toes, kissing him deeply before he really needs to leave “i love you too and you better”

And just like that, he’s gone.

-------------------------

“This better be good, or els-”

“Johnny”

“Victor” he mutters, Johnny has never been keen on Victor and it shows. The way the creep is constantly all over Sue like a rash trying to charm her all the time. It’s downright annoying and hard to watch.

He knows his game and he figured him out a long time ago.

“Johnny” Sue waltzes in, hugging Johnny the second she can.

“So, what am i here for?” he asks, taking a seat but now in walks Reed Richards and Ben Grimm. Ones a douche bag and the other is an even bigger douche.

“Oh i don’t think so, no way. What is he doing here?”

“Johnny, calm down. Reed presented an idea to Victor” Sue explains, even she’s keeping her cool more than he is and she’s the one that was left shattered by Reed.

“No. I refuse to be involved” he steps up to Reed, jaw clenched and fists ready to punch him “you know you’re lucky, if it were up to me then 2 years ago, you’d have had two black eyes and now, there’s nothing stopping me from beating your ass”

Ben separates the two, Reed wouldn’t of done shit. But Johnny certainly would have.

“I know, i messed up Johnny. Sue knows that too. I apologised. She moved on and now i just want to get through this without more aggravation”

He speaks sense but no way is he going to allow Sue to work with this man. He’s horrible, he’s never had an ounce of respect for her, if he did then he would never have allowed things to end the way they did and he would never have gotten involved romantically if he didn’t want to settle down.

“I don’t care. You and me, outside now” he pokes his chest, moving past Ben to get to him before he makes the first move by pushing Reed, sending him stumbling backwards.

“Not gonna fight back, huh? No balls left? Oh wait, you didn’t have any to begin with” 

Sue widens her eyes as Victor and Ben chuckle a little. It’s funny seeing little old Johnny wound up like this but to see him mocking Reed, someone who’s been known to be stuck up. It’s amusing.

“I’m not gonna fight you Johnny, it’s not worth it” he holds his hands up in surrender.

“So it’s not worth it, just like you deemed my sister unworthy of your commitment then, is that it?”

“No, i loved your sister very much” he tries his best to talk Johnny out of punching him to the floor but it’s too late. His fist collides with his face. Sue yells, rushing to Reeds side instantly despite Victor being present, she’s always cared for Reed. Even after all that went down, he was her first love. 

“Johnny. That was completely unnecessary” her scolding has him even more angry than he was a second ago.

“Unnecessary? Sue the bastard had it coming” his best efforts to justify his behaviour are just ignored like they mean nothing to her “Johnny, he’s a colleague now. And so are you. So you can either apologise and move on or go home. Maybe Y/N can talk some sense into you”

He scoffs, turning his head to the side and resting his hands on his hips and after a couple minutes of silence in which Sue spends cleaning Reeds bloody nose up, Johnny finally gives in.

“Fine. I’m sorry Reed” 

Reed holds his hand out to shake Johnny’s and he obliges. Now maybe the work can commence.

------------------

Weeks after returning from space and Johnny is just starting to figure out his power, much like his sister, Reed and Grimm.

But one thing he just can’t figure out is what the hell is going on between Reed and Sue.

“Babe” he calls and you appear in the doorway to the living room “yes?” you ask, brows raised.

“Have you noticed Sue and Reed getting closer?” his brows furrowed, signalling that he’s thinking which is sometimes dangerous for Johnny, when he thinks to hard, he stresses and when he stresses sometimes it can trigger his power.

“I mean, they did used to date Johnny, they’re gonna have some kind of bond”

“Yeah but i mean, close as in flirty” he shudders at those words, the thought of his sister being flirty with a guy makes him cringe.

“I dunno, ask her what’s going on if you wanna know so badly”

“No. I can’t do that, i’ll be meddling and she hates when i do that”

You shrug at him now before going back to baking cookies. 

You have a point and so does he, surely if he wants to know so badly he can just ask, Sue would probably prefer that as opposed to him snooping around but also it would still be seen as meddling which is wrong.

She swore she’d never go back to Reed and he swore to prevent her from doing so. After all, she deserves better and he can never commit.

Once he’s showered and up for the day, he agrees to meet Sue and the others at Reeds place to do some experimenting with these new abilities should he say.

“Whaddup sister, douchebag, rock” he pretends to tip his hat at them all as he enters but soon notices Reed and Sue stood awfully close.

“What’s all this then?” 

They step back almost as if they repulse one another before turning to face Johnny “you’re here, great. We can get started” Sue smiles acting weirdly suspicious.

“Not until you two tell me what’s been up with you? You’ve been very cosy lately, what’s going on?” 

Reed glances at Sue briefly before they both blurt out “we’re dating again”

Oh hell no.

“Not on my watch you’re not. Sue he hurt you i don’t get it”

“Johnny i get that you’re protective but i’m okay. I’m a grown woman and besides, we’re taking things very slow this time”

“She’s right, we aren’t going to rush anything and-”

“I swear, if you hurt her again, i won’t hold back, you’re a dead man” their faces inches apart and you can practically hear Reed gulp out of fear. Johnny isn’t usually taken seriously but with how he punched him weeks ago, Reed is certain he’ll live up to that promise and finish the job.

“I promise, i’ll take care of her, for real this time”

“You better”

Seconds later Grimm interrupts, coughing “if you two pussy’s are done having a moment, can we please get me out of this awful state”

“Aw what? You mean you don’t wanna remain a big rock forever?” Johnny smirks, waiting for Ben to growl and punch something “I suppose at least with your usual form, you’ll have ears”

Queue the rest of the day consisting of yelling and threats of fights. But they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

All Johnny has to do is keep an eye on Reed.

------------------------------

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[jeonjeonggukenergy]

Anti-Hero

summary ~ in search of wine at a party that’s so not your scene, you run into jungkook, the weeb from your film class, and become determined to learn just how much he lives up to his big reputation.

pairing ~ jungkook x reader

genre ~ fluff, smut (coming in ch3!) - college!au

wordcount ~ 2.3k

warnings ~ pretty much n/a, mentions of drinking and light smut

a/n ~ v excited for these lil dorks! i thought about combining this with the upcoming chapter but it felt right on its own and i wanted to go ahead and post an update for yall haha. ch 3 will most definitely have some serious smut to look forward to 👀 thank yall for reading, i love and appreciate any form of support or feedback so so much, so feel free to msg me or send me an ask abt whatever you want! 🥰 hope u enjoy this chapter!!!

previous: chapter 1 ~ next: chapter 3 | chapter 4 (coming soon!)

~ read on ao3 ~

CHAPTER 2 ~ cowboy bebop & chill

You couldn't stop thinking about Jungkook. Every time you brought the enamel of your favorite mug to your lips, teeth knocking the rim as you exhaled to cool off your tea, it called back the click of his earrings in your mouth. Whenever you reached behind your ear to tuck away the hair you'd impulsively cropped to your chin this year, it hit the same spot you'd sucked into a bruise on his neck and you shivered. Even your slight headache thanks to the shitty vodka from the pregame reminded you of the wine you'd sought out from him in the first place and never fucking got to drink. 

You found yourself reading over your responses to each other's discussion posts from your film class, trying to find any more justification for this sudden crush than the drunken flirtation that mortified you as soon as you remembered it sober. He did seem to like your directness...but you could easily ascribe that to his similarly loosened-up state. Scanning through your reflections on The Shawshank Redemption and Casablanca, you painstakingly overanalyzed every smiley face and "I loved that part too!" Could he have been into you at all before this? Or had he just eyed you for another quick fuck at a party? Shit, what if he hated you for working him up and then leaving? If he wanted to, you knew he would have easily found someone else to finish the night with. But what if he still held it against you? The image of him bitterly turning aside to find another girl in the crowd, with your hickey still fresh on his jaw, turned your stomach more than you wanted to admit.

Shaking your head with a grounding exhale, you reminded yourself that whoever else he did or didn't hook up with was none of your business. Plus, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and probably didn't hate you in the first place. Wow, the bar really was so fucking low. Maybe that was part of the reason you were never that bold with boys. Every classmate you'd fallen for so far at college had remained innocently unaware of your feelings, likely because you never worked up the courage to clearly express them. You hadn't even been trying this time, though—this semester had been so busy you'd barely had time for your friends, much less crushes. And now your one blowoff class had become your biggest distraction.

Jungkook, a communications & media major, couldn't afford to lose as much focus in this class as you. Normally near front-and-center, he sat all the way in the corner of the last row, wary of imaginary stares burning through the hopefully-opaque-enough curtain of his hair. Even the risk of zoning out staring at the back of your head stressed him out less than the thought of you doing the same to him.

You walked into class through the back right entrance today so you'd pass Jungkook in the front row, though you could have gone straight to your usual left-side seat from the main door. Knowing you'd never summon the courage to talk to him, you still couldn't help wanting to see his face. You didn't know just what you were looking for—some kind of confirmation or dismissal that would let you just move on with your dry-ass life—but any reason to catch a glimpse of Jungkook was a good one. Today, though, he sat far closer to the entrance than you'd expected, and his proximity stopped you in your tracks a few feet behind him. Eyes dragging down the sculpted form under his soft black sweatsuit, your stare traced the veins in his forearms to reach the hands in his lap. Catching a half-page cartoon ass in your view of the manga he gazed at intently, a snort-laugh escaped you, the sound setting him on high alert. He snapped the book shut, spinning around with eyes wide and still-long hair an understandable mess for a Monday.

"I'm so—"

"I'm so sorry!"

You both shoved out the words at the same time.

A pause swelled between you, eye contact maintained as your mouths fluttered open and shut like fish. Even awkward and off-guard like this, he was just so damn pretty. It felt unreasonable for him to seem as flustered around you as you were around him. Finally, you spoke again, solely to force the conversation forward and put you both out of your misery.

"W-what do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one who, like—ugh, I was drunk, I'm so sorry, I never would have been so, yknow, if I was sober, like that's not me I promise, I really didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or—"

"No-no-no-no-no!" Jungkook cut you off, dismissing your barely intelligible apology. Before you could cut him off in return and continue, he held up both hands between you, his eyebrows knit together in a pleading expression. "Are you kidding me? Seriously, I feel so bad, I was kind of drunk too, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable! Please, you have nothing to worry about, it was, uh...I was...good...if...you were." He grew shyer as he continued, drifting off as a hand reached back to rub his neck. A light laugh. "You did make me have to keep my hair long for another few days, though. It's gotten so annoying to take care of, I was planning on cutting it right after the costume."

This admission perked up all your earlier curiosities about him, and a cautious smile spread over your face as Jungkook unconsciously reminded you that he was, in fact, a total dork, rather than the fuckboy you'd irrationally feared him to be.

"Wait, hold up," you snorted again. Gently. "You're telling me you grew out your hair for three, maybe four, months...for a Cowboy Bebop costume?"

"Hey, it was free and way less lame than a wig," he defended himself. Crossing his arms over his chest, he fidgeted uncomfortably, face blushing into a grin as you continued to giggle at him.

"You are such a fucking weeb," you accused lightheartedly.

Jungkook furrowed his brows back together, an anxious hand grazing the spot where you'd marked him again. "Well, you recognized my Spike costume, at least," he pouted. "You're not all innocent."

"I watched one episode with my friend, and it was dubbed," you downplayed. "Isn't watching dubs instead of subs a crime for real anime fans?"

"Actually," his eyes lit up at your rhetorical question. "The dub of Cowboy Bebop is excellent. It's pretty universally considered better than watching the OG with subs. You're right though, that is the general rule."

"Oh man, who knew." Looking down, grinning, you tried to hide how endeared you were by his earnestness. "Well, it was pretty cool, not gonna lie. I guess I kind of get the appeal."

"Would you want to start watching the rest sometime? That's one I just never get tired of," he blurted, then blushed, closing his mouth and working his lips between his teeth as his eyes stayed wide and on you. Jungkook's heart accelerated in his chest, a fist opening and closing at his hip as he tried to decide whether he regretted taking a chance on the question.

You instantly diverted all your mental energy from hoping he couldn't sense your attraction to massively overthinking your response. This was a "Netflix and chill" kind of invite, right? If he wanted you, of course you wanted him, but you had to be sure before you did something else stupid and risked having to find another discussion board buddy.

"Um...yeah, sure," you accepted. "I have to ask, though, do you mean, like...Cowboy Bebop and chill?" You raised an eyebrow, trying to look bolder than you felt. "Or...Cowboy Bebop and just...Cowboy Bebop?"

"I..." Mirroring your playful grin, Jungkook shrugged, not wanting to look like a fuckboy if he answered with the first option but also wondering—were you actually interested in watching this anime with him? The possibility puzzled him, the same way it confused you how he could go bold and then back to his shy weeb-ass self within seconds. You shrugged too, with an anxious exhale of a laugh.

"That was...weird to just say like that, sorry. We can just see where it goes, whatever you want," you backtracked, full of faux-nonchalance. The Google Calendar schedule on your phone suddenly became very interesting. "We could do another day if that works for you, but I'm free after this class once I write my discussion post—I don't have any other homework or meetings today for once."

He nodded quickly, eyebrows up. Swallowing, Jungkook saw the opportunity to show a little more initiative and seized it. "We could do that together even, 'cause we usually jump off each other anyway. So you can come over right after class if you want." He glanced up and to the left for a quick mental inventory. "Oh shit, wait, but I seriously need to clean my apartment first, can we do more like dinner time tonight? You can just come over for ramen or takeout if you want, or eat first or whatever."

"Yeah, that's fine!" you agreed warmly. "Ramen and homework, two birds with one scone. I should probably, like...get your number? So you can send me your address when you're ready or something?" You didn't want to sound too desperate, especially since you knew he was used to it, but you found yourself weirdly excited to experience something he so obviously loved. If you got dicked down too, even better, but you were definitely willing to wait on that part, especially now that this first sober conversation had restored your inhibitions. He had this slightly shy sweetness about him that just made you want to make him happy somehow. You wanted to see more of his cheesy little smile. You wanted to hear the bright laugh that occasionally rang out at the most inappropriate times, during Citizen Kane or attendance. You wanted to watch his light pink lips fall open in bliss as you kissed down his sensitive neck to the trim of his worn-in hoodie...

"Yeah sure, here." The quick touch of his hand over yours snapped you out of your thoughts as he took your phone, ready to type in his number, and—

"Wait, did you say 'two birds with one scone'? Not 'one stone'?"

You blushed furiously. Somehow him calling you out on your quirks embarrassed you more than the indecent daydream he'd interrupted. "Okay, so I saw this tweet a while back where they said 'feed two birds with one scone' to replace 'kill two birds with one stone,' I think it was just some vegan troll being all like 'don't talk about killing birds!' but it stuck with me because I just really fucking love scones."

"You...really fucking love scones?" he repeated in slight sarcasm, eyes down on your phone. You grew even shyer, but continued.

"Yeah, I bake a lot and they're my favorite thing to make. The flavor possibilities are endless and they last for days so I just keep them on hand for breakfast and snacks and to give out to friends. And they go with tea, which is my other favorite thing." Ooh, was he a tea person? Should you bring some tonight? Something earthy, to go with your ramen. Your go-to green sencha, or maybe chrysanthemum? Chamomile?

Jungkook held your phone back out in front of you, but waited silently for you to notice, enjoying the view of wheels turning in your head as you pondered tea pairings. This was the you he was used to, daydreaming in class and going on tangents as dorky as his in discussions. Even from a distance, he'd noticed you consistently gave off a vibe somewhere between absentminded professor and grandma, and this confirmation made you even cuter to him. But the hair still falling over his ears wouldn't let him forget his new physical proof of another side to you.

You finally collected your phone with a mumbly "Oh right, yeah, cool, thanks," that you prayed sounded more chill to him than it did to you.

"I just texted myself, so I have your number too now, and I'll just send you my address when I'm ready, and, uh...yeah!" he rambled a bit in response.

You nodded, confirming. "I'll see you tonight!"

"Yeah, see you tonight."

Jungkook watched you walk to your desk, silently admiring your ass and allowing himself only a moment to savor the memory of half of it filling his hand. A strange nervousness tingled through him. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about you all weekend either, and now he had a chance to get closer to you than ever before. He hoped, more than he could remember hoping for anything else, that this would go well, one way or another. He had no idea what you wanted with him, but you had him questioning everything he'd thought he wanted. Easing open his laptop, he pulled up your last discussion board response to him, signed off with a smiley face but backwards.

I like the way you think. (:

He turned his head to read it right-side-up, letting his face scrunch into a smile you wouldn't see.

Meanwhile, though the film thrilled you, you struggled to stay facing forward for the duration of class. You suspected the plot of Rear Window was simply unsettling you, but you swore you could feel Jungkook's eyes on your back. No, he was probably actually watching the movie as usual, or reading his manga if not. You were definitely just being paranoid. Definitely. Probably. Right?

next chapter 

[makethiscanon]

Hi! I'm a newbie at writing fanfiction and I wanted to ask if you have any tips for newbies. I'm sorry if this is bothering you any. Have a good rest of your day and thank you!

You are not bothering me! I’m honoured you’ve asked me for advice.

As for advice... hmm... I guess the main things I’d say are:

Write what makes you happy. If it’s something you would enjoy reading, there will always be others who agree.

The best fanfics are those that understand the characters. OOC characters can be fun if used for comedic effect, but otherwise figure out two important personality traits and one realistic hobby for each character before you get writing.

Set reasonable word-count goals for each day/week. My personal daily goal is 100 words. It’s not a lot but it’s better than nothing and it’s achievable so I don’t get demotivated. And if you write more than that, then it’s a bonus!

Dialogue is great, but make sure to use more description/action to balance things out.

While you’re still new at this, make sure you read back over what you’ve written once you’re done to find where you can add description or edit errors.

Watch your tenses! I know a lot of people who swap between present and past tense, and it can be really jarring for the readers.

Please don’t axe off or traumatise characters just for the shock factor. It can be super tempting but it needs to be relevant to the plot if you’re going to axe a character everyone loves.

Cliches and tropes are a good thing when it comes to fanfics. People love overused romantic gestures if they get to see it come from their favourite characters from TV shows, etc.

That being said, don’t write a story with the goal of it being popular, e.g. using Bakugou and Todoroki purely because they get high search quantities. If you genuinely love writing for them, then great! But a story will lose its sparkle if you’re not writing what you genuinely have interest in.

I hope this helped a little bit. If you want any advice on specific parts of writing fanfics then feel free to drop me another inbox. I’m always happy to help!

Bonus: MORE IN-DEPTH ADVICE! 

Alternate Universe (AU) fics are a great way to create any story you want with the characters you love. If you’re writing in the canon universe, make sure you know your stuff about the show/fandom.

If people try to tell you that your headcanons are wrong, ignore them. Unless you’re writing in the canon universe and it’s a confirmed fact about a character, you can do whatever you like, even if it goes against the most popular headcanon. E.g. people say Bakugou smells like burnt sugar/caramel because of his Quirk. It’s not a confirmed fact, and even if it is, he might still wear whatever cologne he wants so make him smell however you want!

Depending on where you post your fanfics once you’re done, use the tagging features to your advantage! AO3 has the most comprehensive tagging system, so make sure to tag your fics with (relevant) popular tags, as well as some tags more specific to your story (perhaps “pool party” or “amusement park” if that’s where it’s set).

You never have to write what you are uncomfortable writing, even if someone absolutely begs you or bullies you to write it, and this is not limited to N S F W or taboo topics, but literally anything you don’t want to write. If it’s a ship you don’t support, it’s your prerogative to turn it down. Just stay polite and professional and you should be fine.

If someone else’s fanfiction inspires one of your stories, make sure you acknowledge them in an author’s note and let them know personally. It’s respectful, and honestly it can save you a lot of grief down the line.

Always remember you don’t owe anyone anything when it comes to writing. You are free to stop when you like and start when you like, write about who you like and whatever topics you like. You’re putting in time and effort to create free stories for others to read, so make sure they are always done on your terms. 💖💖

[majicmarker]

so i’ve had a lot on my mind lately — the good, the bad, the ugly, you know the drill. i’m used to the bad and the ugly, but i think (and ofc by my therapist’s rec) i need to give a little credit to the good, too. not to mention the good is largely comprised of people, and those people deserve a sports stadium wave, yk? idk shit abt sports, whatever, but i know what the wave is and it’s like the grandest gesture i can think of, SO

listen, y’all. to get real here, i hate fandom. my time spent therein has been hit-or-miss, but the misses got me hard and contributed to some major self-loathing, etc etc. we’re not gonna get into the specifics, i don’t owe that to anyone, but suffice it to say things got Rough.

but so much of it can be so, so good. and rn i want to keep on my rose-colored glasses, and the rosiest parts for me have always been @kitten1618x and @mygutsforgarters

(quite a few others, too, but i no longer have everyone’s info. and some ppl are newer friends, or relationships that have moved more slowly. i have mad love for u guys too, obvs, but ik melissa and gus irl so we know each other More and they’re who this post is rly about atm. pls know i don’t want to harsh on anyone’s feelings)

the tl;dr version of events is i met them both via fanfic. i happened upon theirs like “bitch!!!! **i** wanna do this, they’re bomb as hell” and then i made them be friends w me. they’ll tell you they wanted to be friends w me first, but that’s not important bc **i** am the one making this post, so they can both like,, suck it.

ANYWAY.

@ melissa : so bitch listen. here’s the thing abt melissa…… i found her while browsing jonsa fic back when i cared abt GOT, and she brought me back to what i loved so much abt romance when i first started, way back in junior high, what’s up. i bad a fascination w historial romantic epics for a loooooong time — those formative yrs, amirite ladies??? — but girl i could never write it so well as melissa. immediately she struck this balance between the drama you expect from historicals and the levity of a good romance, and i was just like, “hand to god this woman must be published already, surely???”

(she’s not, but that’s ridiculous so we’re gonna skip that)

(also she’s busy?? we’ve been friends for like six years and i will never know how many kids she actually has, but the point is she’s a goddamn superhero and i’m obsessed w her, MOVING ON)

i just Had to be her friend for two reasons: 1) she’s too talented, and b) i have said that abt 2 ppl my entire life and she was the first, so i was like, “AH YES MY HOLY GRAIL”

so ofc i slid into her DMs just as effectively as that one guy i had a crush on when i was sixteen and he’s still shooting me texts every valentine’s day bc of the societal pressures i guess (it is Far Less Effective these days, he’s my age and therefore too young for me, gross, but i digress), except me and melissa go way stronger.

she reminded me of why, half a lifetime ago, i started writing romance — bc it’s fun, bc i want to. bc i can do absolutely anything i want, bc who else is gonna read it but me and whoever i share it with? it was all up to me what i wanted to do with it, and i could do anything. nothing really mattered but what i wanted, and i hadn’t felt that way abt anything in such a long time — let alone abt something i used to love so much.

melissa’s writing is so beautiful, it’s everything i wanted to achieve when i was fifteen and never got around to perfecting. and i’m totally okay w that now, bc what do i need to do myself that she’s not already doing/wants to do in the future? when i found melissa’s writing i found a missing part of me — a part i’d maybe lost, maybe i gave it up, idk, but it was totally gone until i found her fics and they fucking clicked. i had to reach out bc there was a part of me that was a part of her, and she helped me find that again w/o even knowing it.

so i found melissa via GOT, and from the start she’d been trying to get me to write some bethyl. years and years, she dropped not-so-subtle hints — and by “hints,” i mean legit directives that i watch just enough TWD to write her some beth/daryl fic. real crafty, she is.

eventually the stars aligned: i was bored w the same dynamics i’d been writing for years, i wanted smthn new, i was restless, i was line editing a bethyl fic she’d written, and — again — this shit clicked. her fic made me want to explore this dynamic i’d never done before, so i watched the prerequisite episodes (no more than that tho, i super hate the show and i’m begging y’all to not @ me abt it anymore). i found smthn that i’d been missing, smthn that challenged and excited me and brought me back around to why i love romance and, more importantly, why i want to write it myself.

so as i was starting to write bethyl, i was poking around the ao3 tag to get a feel for what had been done, what hadn’t, anything i might be missing. and goddamn BAM —

@ gus : this is where u enter dramatically thru a red velvet curtain that i don’t wanna touch (Metaphorically bc you do romance better than me and i’m cool w that bc your talent simply Cannot be touched, and Literally bc i hate velvet) — i was like, “please for the love of god let her want to write contemporary romance, i need some good fckin food”

i happened upon “doo wah diddy diddy” first. ofc the summary hooked me, forget my usual hard no against pregnancy fics (i have issues w pregnancy and that’s all anybody Needs to know, back off), but This Bitch !!!!!!! has a way with words and i wanted to be friends w her straightaway. lmao too bad for her, now she’s stuck w me

gus’s fics gave me what i wanted without having to write it myself. her style is so distinctive, she hits the notes between porn and Actual Affection that is missing from uhhhh, every romance i’ve tried?? (why is everyone so intent on the sex part?? fckin chill. at best it’s unrelatable and at worst u sound like u’d rather wear someone than fuck them, check urself)

she writes w such care, she wants you to know what she’s doing here, and what she’s doing here is combining the physical and emotional needs of both characters w/o infringing on anyone’s comfortability. you root for these characters bc they simply want to be together, no strings (and if there are strings, damn, they talk abt it).

gus makes you believe in love in the modern age. like, not to sound like one of those ppl who post fckin “no one in this generation knows how to love!!!1!!11!!” memes on facebook, those are dumb, but gus’s writing made me think “yeah man, love ain’t dead, it’s just abt how we approach it.”

(if y’all haven’t guessed yet, i have some hang-ups abt relationships. i’ve goddamn earned those. but melissa and gus both brought me back to where i needed to be — in this place where, yeah, we’ve got some shit to deal with, but we all still deserve the things we want, and those things are achievable. i could not have gotten here without them, so jot that down.)

gus is Real, she’s funny, she’s unapologetic in the way she writes. ofc she has her personal hurdles, but who doesn’t?? and tbh nobody writes a sex scene like gus does. physical, realistic, but balanced w the emotional depth that makes you root for these characters bc you can Feel how much they want each other — not just sexually, but in the less-erotic aftermath of that passion. it continues to blow my mind, bc i’ve never seen anyone do what she does. i can’t even pinpoint the specifics, bc she just… Does It. and you’re reading it like “yeah bitch that’s it,” and That’s It.

it’s fckin wild.

these two — my best friends, the lights of my life, both of whom always make me crave chicken tenders at THE most inconvenient hours bc somehow we always talk abt chicken or ice cream or ultimately DQ, but they're both so hot idec — have something special.

i really, really want them both to know that: it’s not just in how they’ve treated me as a friend, but who they are as people, in their creative pursuits. i’ve never known support the way they’ve shown me; i’ve never known this much enthusiasm or investment or belief that i can do what i want with my talent. i want them to know that i feel the same way abt them and their works.

sometimes, when i look back at their writing that completely kicked my ass, i still can’t believe that they’ve become two of my best friends. it’s totally bonkers. they’re This Talented, and they wanna be friends w my spastic ass? GIRL. i’m out.

i’m not always the best at being present, at giving people what they need when they need it. but with everything that melissa and gus have given me in the past few years, i need them to know this — honey!!! i need all y’all to know this, bc i know fandom shit is hard, but you should know some of these friendships are so, so worth all that bullshit, so —

they have so much to give, so much to say, so much to offer. i could not have kept going without them. i couldn’t believe in myself without the faith they’ve given to me. i hope that i can always give that same faith right back.

and that, babes, is what real soulmates are all about.