#i love being a fan of rarepairs i love making a meal out of nothing

[alien-bluez]

posting this everywhere so i don't forget, a larkandra piece inspired by a scene in arcane s2 and from my friend's writing blurb about them...they occupy more space in my brain than they need to, nicky is so lucky.

[shera-dnd]

I totally forgot there was a raffle fic from last month I didn't get to, so WHOOPS

but here it is now!

So who is ready for some Little Witch Academia and some rarepair nonsense?

I guess I have to keep my brand going even when I'm writing commissions, and there is nothing more on brand for me than the mean girl begrudgingly falling in love for the sunshine girl

Enjoy the Hannakko everyone

Hannah England had had a long day. Barbara was taking part in some big event for writers so she could promote her new book. Which meant Hannah had to go help her set everything up, and keep her from yelling at and/or making out with Lotte. After previous experiences in these events, Hannah had to accept they were both equally possible.

Thankfully she didn’t have to help her best friend stay focused this time. Though she still had to play secretary for her, and also help move several boxes of books around, and spread the word of the event around. The specifics didn’t matter, what mattered was that it was late, she was exhausted, and she needed a drink.

So she let Barbara go make some bad decisions with the cute nerdy witch she liked, and decided to hit the pub instead. She managed to find a nice looking place nearby, with a chill atmosphere. It was the perfect place to get some food, relax, and get slightly drunk. Just what she needed right now.

It was also the perfect place for Hannah to practice her favorite hobby. Judging people. Well, it was actually people watching, but she had a habit of getting mean halfway through, and some people made it too easy. Like that weirdo sitting in the corner with their hood up. Who does that in the middle of a pub? Are they stalking someone?

Hannah already had a whole nasty scenario forming in her head for what this creep was even doing here. But then she noticed a familiar pair of red eyes under that hood, and she simply couldn’t believe who the creepy weirdo was.

“Akko!?” She blurted out, causing the person in the hood to jump up in place and yelp.

“Y-Yeah that’s me,” Akko admitted, pulling down her hood, “you got me. So do you want an autograph or… wait, Hannah?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Hannah just had to laugh at that reaction, “and why would anyone want your autograph?”

Not waiting to be invited, and not caring if Akko was going to or not, Hannah decided to take a seat at her table, intently watching her old colleague. It had been years since she had last seen Akko and even though she had grown into quite the beautiful woman, she still looked just like the same hyperactive girl she met back at Luna Nova.

“Well I kinda returned magic to the world,” Akko reminded her with a casual shrug, “and I also had a show here just yesterday.”

“Is that what you’re doing here then? Hiding from all the fans?” Hannah asked, and Akko just groaned. Hannah couldn’t hold in the little snicker at that, “and here I thought I’d never see the day Atsuko Kagari didn’t want to be the center of attention.”

Akko pouted, and Hannah noted that she still looked adorable when she was grumpy.

“Hey! Being the center of attention is my job now,” she argued, “I need a break from it every once in a while. Anonymity can be nice sometimes.”

“And you didn’t use transformation magic because…?”

She refused to answer, instead looking away and silently sipping her beer.

“You forgot about it, didn’t you?” Hannah teased.

“I was tired okay!” Akko complained, “you know I don’t think well when I’m tired!”

“Good to see you haven’t changed that much,” she joked.

“Hey, I’m a grown ass woman now,” Akko whined, completely countering her own point, “I have changed a lot.”

“Is that so?” Hannah asked, happy to leave Akko to try to defend herself while she asked the waiter for her own meal.

“For starters, I finally learned how to take a hint when it comes to relationships,” Akko declared proudly.

Hannah at least had the decency to wait for the waiter to leave before shooting her friend a very unconvinced, “really?”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t just pull a Diana with everyone I meet, and just annoy them into being my friends.” she answered, happy to make fun at her own expense there, “I mean you never seemed to fall for my charms.”

“Hah!” Hannah exclaimed, slamming both hands on the table, “I knew you had charmed me! It all makes sense now! I knew that wasn’t a real crush!”

Now it was Akko’s turn to laugh, not a sensible snicker like Hannah’s, but a loud, obnoxious guffaw.

“The other kind of charm, Hannah,” she explained, still laughing a little. Then realization hit her like a truck, “wait…”

Oh no.

“You had a crush on me?” Akko asked, and Hannah died a little inside.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she vehemently denied, trying to look more offended than embarrassed, she was failing. Miserably.

“Oh my god, you had!” Akko declared, absolutely beaming at her.

Hannah refused to respond to these accusations without her lawyer present. Instead she quietly waited for the waiter to bring her food, and tried to have her dinner without making eye contact with Akko, again.

Akko did not respect those efforts one bit.

“So, how does it feel like to finally be on a date with your high school crush?” Akko teased, and Hannah nearly spat her drink.

It took her considerable effort to be able to even swallow with Akko’s shit eating grin trained on her like that. Worst was the fact she knew she probably looked as red as Akko’s eyes right now. Akko’s… really pretty eyes.

Hannah was so doomed.

“What happened to ‘I learned to take a hint’!” She accused, desperate to get the attention away from her.

“I don’t know, it looks like my plan to annoy you into loving me worked,” Akko joked.

“Lies and slander!” Hannah answered, her voice caught somewhere between a squeal and a shout, “I could take you to court on this kind of defamation!”

“Or you could take me on a proper date.” Akko offered, undeterred, “how does friday sound?”

The gall this woman had to look her in the face, and propose something so absurd, so preposterous. This was ridiculous. Completely insane. She did not get to taunt her like this and just get away with it.

No!

Hannah England would not let this stand!

Oh, who was she kidding, she still had it bad for Akko.

So she slumped in her chair, and begrudgingly admitted, “sounds lovely.”

[broken-clover]

AU-gust Day 9- Royalty

This one kind of stumped me, so I tried to do something a little more out of the box. Obviously there’s already royalty in canon GG, so I tried to to with it as well as do some different worldbuilding.

First and foremost, this is for @samarline, since I know they like Leo/Izuna (dunno how that rarepair got any fans, but as long as someone is enjoying it)

Izuna was doomed. He was absolutely, positively doomed.

Durable as a yokai was, he wasn’t foolish enough to never consider the concept of his own death. Especially given his status. The head of the yokai prince would no doubt be a priceless treasure for the armies of humanity or Gearkind. If political strife truly was where he was to meet his end, then he would have fought tooth and claw to die with dignity, and to allow as many of his people to escape as possible.

There was no dignity in the death that he stared down now. A simple run around the woodlands in his full fox-skin had drawn the attention of a pair of equally-simple hunters. The head of the yokai prince was a grand treasure, but the pale, silken pelt of a fox was worth a pretty penny on its own. Shrapnel to the leg had crippled an otherwise-effortless escape attempt, and the blood he had lost trying to outrun them sapped away his ability to perform spells, or to shed his skin back into a humanoid form.

Izuna had skittered into some nearby underbrush, leaving flecks of his own blood on the leaves as he did his best to huddle under it. Dying as a fox meant his people would never know what became of him, and they would be left without their leader, or any sort of direction. He was going to be slaughtered like common game. He could only hope that his meat would drive his murderers ill as a final act of spite from beyond the grave.

The trees shook. Izuna cowered in fear.

But instead of the hunters, he was surprised by the sight of a large man in a fancy orange coat pushing aside the leaves.

“Is someone there?” He asked, voice low and booming, but undeniably kindly. “I heard shouting, is someone hurt?”

++++++

The book of history was deeply stained in blood. No living person, except perhaps the eldest and most ancient of the yokai, could remember the times when the three races were in conflict with each other. Nor was anyone truly sure of what the conflict was for anymore, but all they knew was that it needed to be done in order to protect their people. At least, that was what they said.

In the beginning, man, gear, and yokai lived in quiet harmony, building their kingdoms and sharing what they had that the others lacked. Each race only cared for their own kind now, and interspecies trade was banned even if it were possible in the first place.

That’s how the world seemed to be for eons, but time was never static, and things always shifted. The human nation’s First King, Ky, had accidentally but fortuitously created a peace between humanity and Gears after falling in love with and wedding the daughter of Queen Justice, Princess Dizzy. Their alliance was tenuous, but the constant back-and-forth attacks had begun to quell, and the people began to have hope. Hope for peace, for calm, for kinship to replace the violence that had been constantly shaping their lives.

Ky and Dizzy seemed happy enough together, at least. Leo hadn’t much entertained the thought of marriage. His work as the human nation’s Second King kept him busy enough. He hadn’t even thought to pick up a hobby until it had been more-or-less foisted on him.

He looked down from his paperwork to watch the creature snoozing away in his lap, motionless aside from the rise and fall of its chest and the occasional twitches of its tail.

He’d named the creature ‘Rubinrot,’ for its beautiful, piercing red eyes. Leo had never met such a peculiar animal in his life. He knew what a fox looked like, obviously, but he’d never seen one with a perfectly white coat. That strange color was paired with a bizarre brilliance that he swore was too advanced for an animal, but it was endearing. He’d only taken the creature in in the first place because of its crippled leg, but he found Rubinrot’s presence relaxing.

As soon as he tried to move the animal so he could stand up, he roused, and was clearly displeased with the concept of being abandoned. Leo stepped away from his desk, only to be interrupted by a displeased bark as Rubinrot limped after him.

“I’m only going to get food. I’ll bring some back for you, too.” He tried to assure him, but it didn’t work. When barking didn’t work, the fox began snapping at his trailing coat and tugging on it.

“Rubinrot! Nein!” Leo attempted to pull the material free without crippling him further. “I’ll only be gone for a minute! What do you want from me?”

His answer came in the form of him swatting at his legs until Leo reluctantly picked him up. “Really? I could have sworn you were a fox, not a cat.” Maybe he had been wrong. Rubinrot was remarkably tranquil and easygoing for a fox, anyway.

Still, he didn’t feel like arguing with an animal. Rubinrot seemed perfectly happy with his new position cradled in Leo’s arms, even if it left the man with only one arm as he dug through the kitchen for food. He could see the way the staff looked at him. It was odd enough that a king would be searching for his own food, but carrying a fox around like a pampered puppy was a whole new level of strange.

Though he didn’t admit it, Leo was a little relieved at the concept of Rubinrot being healed and released soon. He could only imagine the image he gave off, distracted from his important political duties by a single animal. He still deeply cared for his fox and his people, and wanted to do his best to serve both.

“What should we make today?” Leo asked aloud. “Leftover meat, fruit…” He pushed something aside. “I’m not sure how the fried tofu got in here-”

The fox immediately perked up, barking in what he could only assume was excitement. “Tofu? Really? Is that healthy for foxes?” Still, he obliged, pulling the container down, opening it, and letting his companion get to work demolishing it.

“I guess you have a craving for beans.” Leo stroked the animal’s back as he ate.

“Erm, Leo?”

He jerked to attention, mentally groaning as he recognized the voice of the only man that could always make him feel uneasy. “Hello, Ky.”

The First King wore his usual pleasant smile, just real enough to be convincing. But Leo could see the way his eyes darted towards the fox on the counter, messily eating their leftovers.

“It seems you’re...having a lunch break, yes?” Ky asked.

Leo skipped straight to the point. “I’ll only be a few more minutes, then I’ll get back to work. I just wanted to make sure he was fed.”

“Of course, Leo. Of course.” Ky’s smile was forced, almost uncomfortable. “I just can’t help but worry a little bit about your new...preoccupation? Nothing wrong with a hobby, of course-”

“I don’t know why you’re making this your business, Ky.” Leo grumbled. “Shouldn’t you be more worried about your wife instead of what I’m up to?”

Ky flinched. As much as Leo wanted to be proud of that, he also knew Ky didn’t like having his weak points hit. “Dizzy is not plotting anything behind my back.”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that-”

“With all due respect, Leo,” He rubbed at his temples, still doing his best to be cordial. “I don’t want to be cross with you. I really don’t. But we are still in a tenuous political situation, and everyone needs to stay on top of their work. If you don’t start spending less time with that fox, I am going to have to ask you to release it. We can’t afford any distractions. I hope you understand.

Without another word, Ky turned and left.

++++++

With all the work he had during the day, lying in bed was one of the few times Leo was able to have a moment to sit and think. He would have rather spent it fantasizing about something nice, but his thoughts always came back to work, and to Ky.

Leo knew of the weight that rested on him. He wouldn’t have taken such a lofty position if he hadn’t understood how serious it was. But he didn’t understand why one simple distraction was causing so much fuss. His Rubinrot had only ruined a few documents, but wasn’t a problem when it came to anything else, not really. Actually, Leo liked to think he was working harder than ever when he had something less serious to help him relax.

Rubinrot was curled up beside him in bed. It seemed to be his favorite place to sleep, and Leo refused to shoo him away. He could only imagine how swiftly the fox would be torn apart as an easy meal by wild animals with his leg still injured. Would Ky push him into it anyway?

He knew there was a war going on. It was impossible to ignore it. The yokai forces in particular had grown restless recently, but the Gear Alliance was being redrafted, and prospects were high. There may have been peace between two nations for the first time in people’s lives. Yet Ky seemed more on edge than ever.

“Hmmph. Maybe that’s just what marriage does to people…” He mused, petting the fox’s back. “I don’t suppose you would know anything about that?”

The animal huffed. Leo knew he couldn’t talk back, but he still did it.

“You respect me, don’t you?” The fox butted against his hand. “I know I’m not as brilliant as Ky, but I’m still good for something, aren’t I?” It was difficult being Second King and second banana to a tactical genius that everyone seemed to adore. His marriage had done well for his public image as well, despite fears of how the people would respond to their beloved king marrying a gear, especially the daughter of a rival kingdom.

“Pfft. Maybe I just need to get married, then?” He smirked at Rubinrot. “Yeah, right.”

Leo rolled over to switch off the bedside lamp and curl up in bed. “Gute nacht, Rubinrot.”

+++++++

Izuna’s tail frisked back and forth across the silky sheets. He would need to find some when he went back home.

Ah, yes, home. He could only imagine how his people were managing without him for the past few weeks. He had gotten some information from the humans, but yokai were always the most skilled at subterfuge and trickery, so whatever the humans knew, so much more was going on under their noses. That was how the war had been. Gears and humans could throw mortar at each other’s walls all day long, but neither of them even knew where the yokai kingdom was, and were left to chase after whatever forces they could find.

Of course, that was also the reason for the state they were in. Yokai could never ‘win’ a war. They could run armies to exhaustion and strike them as easy, weakened targets of smaller groups, but in the sorts of battles that humans and gears fought, their forces would have been mowed to nothing in weeks. The yokai had only survived by being secretive. They never lost any land, but never gained any, either.

But they scraped by through ingenuity, and right now, Izuna was being an ingenious little fox.

Well, maybe that was only half-true. For all his distrust towards humankind, he had somehow managed to spend the last few weeks utterly spoiled by one. He was pretty sure his rescuer didn’t know what he truly was, but either way, it hadn’t stopped him from showering Izuna in pats, food, and cuddles while his injuries healed. It was hard not to find merit in that. Though he wondered if those loving arms would turn hostile as soon as he changed forms.

But...that was where the ingenuity lay. He had known of the union between the human king and the gear princess, and how the political climate had slowly-but-surely begun to shift. Izuna knew that if humans and gears began working together and combined their powers, then it was far more likely they would be able to pull the yokai out of their well-hidden foxholes and gradually massacre them. Peace for them meant disaster for him and his people, but what were they fighting for in the first place? And what if there was another option available?

If the gear and human kingdoms merged into one, and they became at peace, what would happen if all three nations fused?

Some part of Izuna knew the concept was almost selfish. Because he wasn’t doing this just for the politics. He had spent so much time with this fascinating human, this ‘Leo,’ how could he not form some kind of bond with him? He had learned so much about the man through their one-sided conversations, he could hardly understand why the two of them were at war with each other. The human king was a lonely man, always pushed aside as the runner-up, feeling as though he could never measure up to his fellow royals and heads of state. But he had taken his time to meticulously care for an injured animal, that for all he knew, would simply run away and never feel an iota of thanks for his kindness. Yokai and humans may have been different, but they knew how to repay debts of kindness. And nursing the yokai prince back from the brink of death was a deep, deep debt.

Izuna wasn’t sure if he had enough stored magic to turn all the way back into a human form, but he prayed that it would be good enough.

++++++

Leo had been awoken by a peculiar noise in the middle of the night. He tiredly fumbled to attempt to find a way to lie back down and nod off again, but as he tried to roll over, he noticed an ominous glow.

“What the…?” He grumbled, rubbing at his eyes. Had he left a lamp on? The color seemed too harsh to be a lamp, though...

“Leooooooooo… An unfamiliar voice whispered.

He snapped to attention. “H-hello?” He stammered. “Who said that!? Show yourself!”

“As you wish, your majesty…”

Izuna let a stream of fox-fire illuminate him in the darkness. He had only been able to manage a partial transformation, but it looked real enough for what he needed it for.

“What on earth?” The king’s eyes widened. “Those ears, you’re a- !”

Izuna fanned out a half dozen tails from his back, each tipped with a will-o-wisp. “I’m a man who’s come to offer you a deal, Leo Whitefang.”

“H-how do you know my name?!” He demanded, shuffling towards the side of the bed. “And why would I make a deal with a yokai!?”

“I hope I’ll be able to answer both of those to your liking.” The yokai slowly smiled. “Tell me, do you like my eyes? Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Eyes? What kind of trickery…” Leo trailed off, his own eyes slowly widening as he realized. He turned to his other side, and realized his bed was empty.

“This world is full of actions and consequences.” Izuna continued, internally wincing at how ridiculous he sounded. Jeez, maybe he should have prepared a script. “You took in a yokai in his hour of need. Now, our kind owes reparations to you.”

“Reparations…?” The man still seemed awestruck enough that what he’d thought was his pet was now standing over him and covered in arcane flames.

“Yes. You have shown your human kindness to our people. So we are willing to pay it back in turn."

“S-so what are these…” Leo took a nervous swallow, “Reparations?”

He placed a hand on his chest. “I am Izuna, reigning prince of the yokai kingdom. You have cared for me in my darkest days. You have saved my life. Your hands have tended to me with the care and compassion of a lover.”

Leo’s confused fright slowly gave way to a bright red blush. “Erm, lover?”

“So I wish to pay it back to you.” Izuna knelt down, taking the man’s hand. “If you would have me, may the gods smile down on our union, and bless our people with peace and harmony for a thousand years.”

“I...I’m afraid I don’t follow…”

The kitsune looked him right in the eyes. “I want you to marry me.”

++++++

To many, the concept of a ceasefire was wishful thinking, idealism that clashed heavily with how the world truly was. Nobody seemed to have ever expected it would actually happen.

Following the merging of the human and gear kingdoms, for the first time in recorded history, the location of the yokai kingdom was revealed to the world. Its sudden openness was not a coincidence or stroke of luck. Instead, it intended to follow the path its former enemies had taken, and merge together into one nation.

Tales were spun on how the human’s Second King had selflessly rescued the yokai prince, and how they had fallen in love during his recovery. Nobody was entirely sure what details were true and what weren’t, but the important thing was that the war had been called into a ceasefire, and that the two men were to be married under the elaborate roofs of the yokai palace.

It was a momentous occasion, of course, it only seemed natural. Humans and gears entered the kingdom for the first time to witness their union, to offer well-wishes or simply to just admire the sights. The more cynical would remark that the merge of kingdoms was most likely a mere tactical motion, but the expressions shared between the two monarchs held a genuine, sincere love.

“Ah, the people love us, don’t they?”

“It’s nice to see them so happy.” Leo reclined in their wedding carriage, watching the crowds vanish behind them. “I never thought I would live to see the yokai kingdom, let alone be wed in it.”

“It’s your kingdom now, too.” Izuna was sprawled across the other seat, shedding his sandals and rolling down the top of his wedding kimono. Leo found it unbelievably amusing. Underneath the stoic front he put on in public, Izuna was...well, remarkably easygoing, comedic, and cuddly. So very, very cuddly.

“So they’re taking us back to your place?” The kitsune wiggled across to lie in his lap, humming with glee as Leo began scratching him behind the ears.

“Sort of. There’s a hotel we’re going to stay in for a few days until the press dies down. I’d say we could both use a bit of rest after all this.”

“Of course, love, of course.” Izuna rolled over to wink at his new husband. “And hopefully we can consummate our new union a few times, in the process.”

"Izuna!!"