#It's hs all over again I though I was done w this

[deadm0ss]

We are not doing good boys !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mlmvoreconfessionals]

I love the rapid digestion stories that have been going around a lot but that gosha trilogy (especially the second one) you wrote was my faaaavorite. multiple day digestion, live digestion, multiple prey, family dynamics, belching and bones are all my major buttons being pushed <3 do you think you could write some more stories like that? maybe about an older brother digesting his little brothers over a weekend when their dad’s not in town? or a jock eating a chess club or a dad digesting his sons? something along those lines… honestly you could just write a 4th gosha story and i’d love it but i haven’t even seen that anime LOL

Oh trust me, it’s pushing a lot of my buttons, too. These are all really interesting ideas…but I think I’ll pick the chess one! Haven't done something with that idea yet.

"W-Wait, please!" the club member screams, trying to squirm around. He sinks deeper with each gulp, a hand holding onto the back of his shirt to keep him somewhat still as he slides downward. "Stop! Stop, please! I don't wanna die! Please stop! Plea--" Jaws snap down over his face and a final gulp sends him slithering down the hatch.

The jock lets out a sigh and leans back in his chair. His gut is stuffed full, having knocked over the chess table in front of him about three nerds ago. The pieces are scattered around on the floor, and even if he did bother to pick them up, he wouldn't remember where they go on the board anyway. He never figured out chess, but he didn't need to anyway. He's the quarterback, that's where the focus goes. And being the quarterback means sacrifices have to be made.

A thick belch rumbles out of the jock, a pair of glasses flying out of his jaws. He slurps over his lips lazily and pats his gut a few times with a pleased groan. "Fuck me...is that the last of you chess club dweebs? Dunno how these clubs all get so big...but at least it's lots of bulking protein." He gives the side of his gut a smack and lets loose another thick belch.

This was the quarterback's "secret" to his mass and quick bulking. He goes after clubs of 'nerds' and packs them all away. He's been doing this since he was a freshman--the math club went missing the same day, by total and complete coincidence. Since then, he's packed away at least one of these clubs a month. Last month had been the book club, the one before that was the film club, and before that was the art club...but this month was the chess club.

The jock's gut groans loudly, the bulges of the club stretching out hs gut in a mass of human shapes packed together. There'd been about eight of them, none even close to the jock's size, so he had no problem packing them away like sardines. His guts must be hell with them all packed in so tight, fighting for space while bubbling acids rise around them and his strong abs crush in closer and closer. He wasn't very sympathetic to their plight, though. If killing off a bunch of nerds made him bigger, then honestly, they were giving up their lives for a way better cause. No one even cares about chess! Who's gonna miss them?

The jock belches again, the sound getting harsher as he lets out bigger ones. It makes his gut shrink just a bit and one of those nerds starts screaming loud. It's still hard to make out over all of the other panicking voices and the thick gurgling of his tank. The club clearly didn't expect to get packed away like this. They'd been training for the upcoming competition when the jock came in and starts packing them down the hatch, one after another. He didn't greet them, didn't mock them, never even gave a reason. He just yanked them out of their chairs, one after another, and packed them away into his boiling tank.

Just like usual, the nerds start falling apart like the meat they are. It took ten minutes since the last of them was packed away before the first croaked, melting down into a thick sludge while packed under his club members. The jock can tell when it happened because the rest of them started panicking more. It made him belch, and a skull flies out of his jaws thanks to it. He snorts and pats his gut a few times. "Man, you nerds freak out so much but then you just melt like nothing! If you didn't wanna help me bulk, maybe you shouldn't die so fast."

The jock's gut works hard and loud, slowly starting to shrink back as it works. Several more members melt down into the churning meat slurry starting to fill the jock's gut. He belches up a shoe, another skull, and a chess piece he accidentally swallowed. Once his gut is about half the size it had been, he gets up, rubbing it as it sloshes around. "Got a couple of you still kicking in there, huh? That's too bad, I gotta start working out. Just try to die before then, yeah? Gotta make sure your meat gets put to use." He flexes his stomach. Something snaps inside and he grins to himself. He can't help himself...a big guy like him was made to mulch nerds. He just uses the clubs for bulking. But he eats nerds like the snacks they are, every day of the week. It feels good.

The chess club would be snuffed out halfway through the quarterback's workout. The mess left behind would be found that night by a janitor, and by then, the jock would be snoring away in bed, his belly pumping away whatever was left of yet another club.

[earlgreytea68]

okay so i have fallen headfirst back into fob w smfs and having that album drop coinciding w finally being in a place where I can just! buy tickets!! and see them on tour!! And i did and it was AMAZING

part of falling back into this has been lurking on fob/peterick blogs again the way I did back in HS, and yours brings me so much joy! what a lovely community you’ve cultivated here, and i adore your fics sm as well—I’m systematically working my way through each one

so a lot of love your way <3 i do need a bit of a second opinion though—I’ve been working myself up over trying to figure out if I can see them again while they’re touring for smfs. There’s a part of me that worries that this might be the last album—the same part that was the most upset when they were touring for MANIA and i couldn’t make that show. SO i would love to hear if you’ve got any thoughts re whether my fears hold any water—or if you think I should chill out, enjoy the ride of keeping up w this tour, and be secure in the fact that our boys aren’t going anywhere any time soon

Hello! First of all, yay, welcome back, and thank you so much for all of your kind words!

I know that there were a ton of rumors this was going to be their last album and they were going to call it quits after this, but having heard the album and watched them promote it and then seeing this tour they're putting on...it seems so unlikely to me???? They just don't act like a band who's done, who doesn't have anything more to say. Like, when Patrick talks about Fall Out Boy he's so very clear that it's, like, necessary for him to have, that it's the art and creativity that he does because of how much he loves it, not a job, and it would seem weird for him to talk that way, so vocally, if there was any inkling in his head that this would be the last time he would have it, you know?

And Pete has been the less vocal one this cycle, and we know he was the one who was reluctant to do another album and undertake another tour, but he has seldom seen so genuinely happy as he has during this tour, he seems to be loving every second of it.

And Joe came back and also seems delighted to be back.

Idk, I do not get the feeling of a band with any intention of winding down. They feel completely reinvigorated and reinspired and ready to go. It would not at all surprise me if they're already writing the next one, we know Patrick and Pete like to write while on tour. And I think they've really enjoyed being out of contract and having total control back, I really think it has opened up the horizons of what they want to and can do. Plus their fanbase has turned out for them loyally and so I don't think they are getting any kind of message that they're not wanted or needed anymore.

So Idk, I think in my heart of hearts there will be another album and another tour eventually someday.

All of that said, there will probably be people who will disagree with this life advice, and please always do what's best for you and your financial situation and life situation, but also: life is short, and uncertain. I didn't get into Fall Out Boy until the Mania tour was just wrapping up, and they announced they were going to play a random festival in Cincinnati and I agonized over going and finally decided to do it and I have to be frank, that weekend in Cincinnati was one of the best weekends of my life, I think about all the time how wonderful it was, the show was incredible, and it was the last concert I saw before the pandemic hit and I spent all of that time just being so incredibly grateful that I'd gone to that Cincinnati concert because otherwise I would have regretted it forever.

If you are in the incredibly lucky and privileged position to be able to afford to do something that you really want to do, and doing so will not bankrupt you or send you into a debt crisis or harm previous commitments you need to keep or, etc., etc., like, if the only argument you can come up with against doing something is "Idk, would this be ridiculous????," Idk, I think I'd err on the side of doing the thing. That's not just advice for Fall Out Boy concerts. You get to do this life thing once, and it goes by so much faster than you can possibly anticipate. If something's going to bring you joy, that's pretty precious. Take it where you can get it.

[ivomartins]

(HS anon, yes me, again. Thought you've seen the last of me)

Allow me to ramble about Plague for a bit. Because the author did her dirty from the beginning. I hated that she was not taken seriously. Oh, she's drunk and gushing over Malbonte. Because of course she is, Malbonte is just so. Cool 🙄.

Plague. Deserved. Better. 👏 She was that bitch who deserved to be a LI. In fact, she deserved it more than Astaroth or whatever his boring ass is called.

I was more than ready to welcome her with open arms and accept her as the fucked up queen she is. But let's be real, imagine if Plague was a LI and people had to accept her as she is. No redemption arc, just bad bitch doing bad shit, throwing sick parties and enjoying it. Bitches can't accept Amen is a sadistic fuck very sexy of him in this house we stan fucked up individuals no justification whatsoever. Imagine if they had to do the same with her when she's a woman. Hell, Austie gets destroyed by fans every time she apears and this sexy mama hasn't done anything besides breathing. Like what did she do, besides the fact that she stood 5 seconds next to Lucifer and Malbonte.

...

Oooooh.

This past update taught me that RC fans aren't ready for a sexy diabolical queen like Plague to be a LI. They don't deserve a bad mommy I do though. In fact, they don't deserve any bad motherfucker as a LI, when they still go pikachu mode when the evil LI does the evil thing. Shocking. I know.

my inbox is your abode anon feel free to talk my ear off always i'm living for your rants (and your taste) 💗

plague deserved so much better you're 👏🏼 goddamn 👏🏼 right 👏🏼 like she had the most potential for depth out of all the horsemen and it was completely wasted when the author chose to just depict her as an angry little girl making the entire world pay for her temper tantrum like. not even her connection with kira was explored or given any attention and in the end she died clearly because alice just didn't know what to do w her anymore smh

i never thought of the idea of her being a LI but you're so right that would have been really good i mean. vicky is out here running into the arms of lucifer/malbonte after they've spent the vast majority of the story emotionally abusing her so the same could have been done with plague ESPECIALLY because she and vicky have the mommy issues in common and they share the same temper and childish antics like pls... it would have worked and worked great especially because it would have balanced the fucked up ratio of LIs a bit by adding another woman besides mimi but this story is just too cookie cutter. i actually like to think that plenty of fans would have enjoyed romancing plague because we only get interesting femme LIs like every once in a blue moon 🙃 but i see your point for sure

don't get me started on the outrage against amen like HDKSHDKE it was so funny to me because ??? wow i guess evthys isn't the only one who needed to see it w her own eyes to know who she's dealing with HDKSJDK that was such a meta moment lol like evthys has spent an entire season and a half being terrified of this guy despite how much she's into him of fucking course there's a reason for that and he's actually as terrible as we all thought

i don't think it takes away at all from the kindness and consideration he's shown towards evthys and his genuine feelings for her because two things can be true at once and no character is ever just this or that. i still have gripes with the writing for him (a rant for another day) but i agree that the outrage was so unwarranted

[hypergamiss]

Hey queen. 

I wanted to reach out to ask for advice. I asked you months ago about something and you gave me great advice. I’m wondering now, how to deal with this issue I have. I’m bi and I lean towards women, but I haven’t dated since hs. In fact, I’ve never seriously dated. It hasn’t bothered me before, but now I’m done with college, moving on to a stable career, I feel like something’s missing. When I look around it feels everyone is in a relationship, w a girl or boyfriend. And I’m ngl I feel the jealousy and loneliness. I tried on dating apps with no luck. I’ve meet girls through friends, but nothing clicked. And I know all the things about how it takes time, and the right person will come to me, etc. but I can’t help but feel there’s something wrong with me because I’ve never been in a serious relationship with a man or woman? My sister made a harmless joke about it, and it bothered me. She’s told me before that most people settle and are probably unhappy but it didn’t make me feel better. My co worker (only 2 years older than me) moved in with her boyfriend, they bought a house together. I’m happy for her but jealous too (not bitter, just wish I could find my person already). I made a new friend recently and she mentioned her bf in passing, and my first thought was: “is everyone in a relationship??” I felt bad about it, but it feels like everyone I know has experienced serious love, or are in relationships and I’m not, and I haven’t. Could you give me some tough love, but also words of encouragement so I can get over this? I don’t want to be this bitter at all, and in fact I’m tired of caring about it. But it keeps creeping up on me, a constant reminder of what I don’t have, but really want. Thank you for listening to this vent. ♥️

"It hasn’t bothered me before, but now I’m done with college, moving on to a stable career, I feel like something’s missing."

Sounds like your life slowed down, that doesn't necessarily mean something is missing. More like you could be adding more to it if you wanted.

"When I look around it feels everyone is in a relationship, w a girl or boyfriend. And I’m ngl I feel the jealousy and loneliness."

I wish things were shown more clearly. Most people are in the wrong relationship, that's why divorce rates are SO HIGH. Some people feel lonelier being with their partner than when they were single. That's the stuff they don't show on social media or in public.

"but I can’t help but feel there’s something wrong with me because I’ve never been in a serious relationship with a man or woman?"

I don't really see what's wrong with that. You seem to be more intentional about your dating life. Yes, some practice is always good and some experience as well. But don't think that people who are constantly in different relationships are normal at all. YOU'RE NORMAL. Not the other way around.

"She’s told me before that most people settle and are probably unhappy but it didn’t make me feel better."

She's not wrong😅

"My co worker (only 2 years older than me) moved in with her boyfriend, they bought a house together. I’m happy for her but jealous too (not bitter, just wish I could find my person already)."

Unless she became a kept woman, she will be doing double the amount of labor and chores. It's not all sunshine and rainbows! Moving in with a man is like literally having a child. She'll start venting to you soon enough.

"I’m happy for her but jealous too (not bitter, just wish I could find my person already)."

Have you ever though about the autonomy and freedom you currently have? How once you find your person or have a child it's gone forever? No spontaneous adventures and decisions? You'll never get to relax in silence without thinking about other peoples needs? This chapter in your life is a lot more beautiful than you give it credit. I don't doubt that wanting to find your person is valid. But your current situation is just as valid. You can uproot your life and reinvent yourself over and over again. That will almost never be possible once your committed to someone. There is beauty in both scenarios. Do you have a bucket list that is only for your own interests?

"I made a new friend recently and she mentioned her bf in passing, and my first thought was: “is everyone in a relationship??” I felt bad about it, but it feels like everyone I know has experienced serious love, or are in relationships and I’m not, and I haven’t."

I think that your thoughts might be spiraling. It feels like your constantly looking to see who is in a relationship because you're not in one. Of course that will make you feel even lonelier. It's like when you're thinking of purchasing a certain car and suddenly you start seeing it at every stop light. It's everywhere no matter where you go. That's what you seem to be doing with people and relationships.

"But it keeps creeping up on me, a constant reminder of what I don’t have, but really want. Thank you for listening to this vent. ♥️"

I'm sorry that you're going through this and I wish that you could see this phase of your life through my eyes. I have very fulfilling relationships with some friends and family, and I don't feel lonely at all. If anything I take dating so seriously because I don't want to take away any time that I could have spent with my friends and family trying to entertain the wrong person. Like yes finding someone would be nice, but how I feel and my life are the main focus. I don't want to feel regretful when I'm much older all because I was in the wrong relationship wasting time. At the end of the day, my closest friends and family are forever. A partner that isn't right for you will walk out on you and then you two have to pretend like you never knew each other. Finding a partner would only ever be a bonus. Try talking to the older folks (not people your age) and let them vent about their struggles in their relationships and how hard it is to maintain them. It might not completely change your thoughts but I'm willing to bet that you might be more inclined to take advantage of your single life right now. The world is your oyster.🤍

[causenessus]

hi ness!! how are u doing <3 i feel like we havent been able to like talk talk in a while 😭 im soooo happy its a weekend! i hope you're getting lots of rest today!! i unfortunately got pulled into watching a movie with some friends ughwhwhsh BUT!! IT WAS CORALINE SO IM NOT COMPLAINING I LOVED THE MOVIE HATED THE GATHERING

IM GONNA GIVE U A RUNDOWN ON ONE OF THESE PEOPLE. so basically!! ive been friends w her since 7th grade, and since then the dynamic in our friendship has shifted a bunch bc we've moved from friend group to friend group and whatnot so our friendship has changed over time.. and we dont even go to the same hs now so theres that too 😭 and she plays the victim card on me a bunch whenever i talk to her about something she's doing that bothers me like omf. really particular about what she wants and throws fits when she doesnt get it so its always lovely going out w her!! shes done a bunch to me but im NOT getting into that or this will be the longest thing ive ever sent you😓 also not the most pleasant thing to be reading so ill keep it to myself LMAOAOAO

BUT ANYWAY I BOUGHT THE MOVIE TICKETS FOR ME AND THE REST OF THE GROUP AND ALL WAS WELL and i told em i wanted to have middle seat bc my eyes are god awful so i told them i was gonna sit there THE NIGHT BEFORE‼️‼️‼️ but then when we got to the theater i put down my stuff and headed to the bathroom... and when i came back she was staring at my chair and was like "can i sit there?" LIKE HAVENT WE DISCUSSED THIS PLEASE I NEED THIS CHAIR IM PARTIALLY BLIND but i moved bc i didnt wanna look like i was bitching about it in front of my other friend so like ugjejsjalxnz cool!!! but the movie was good ofc i live laugh love coraline omg

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAYY!! what have you been up to?? IM SORRY i literally never ask and i feel like i only just now realized 😭 please excuse me for that

HELLO SAV!!! AA I MISSED YOU TODAY </3 i'm so happy it's the weekend too!! when i tell you 😭 i was like doing things around the house just now and i was thinking about how tired i was and couldn't remember what day it was and then i was like "OH THANK GOD TOMORROW IS SUNDAY" bc like!! one more day before we have to go back to suffering 😔😔 i hope your weekend has been good though!! and it's so good to hear from you <33 AND I TOTALLY GET HATING THE GATHERING LMAOOO I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT WITH MY FRIENDS ON FRIDAY BUT LUCKILY IT GOT CANCELLED <3 AND AT LEAST U WATCHED CORALINE!! i love coraline so so much <3

PLEASE?? THE FRIEND YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?? if u ever need to rant about this friend i will totally listen!! and she sounds like she sucks lowkey 😭 MAYBE HIGHKEY i just don't want to be rude but like!!! i'm glad you guys don't go to the same high school anymore bc she does not sound like a pleasure to be around!! and i hope maybe you can stop hanging out with her if possible?? esp if you guys have moved through multiple friend groups together...well maybe it's time for you guys to split 😃😃 (I HOPE THAT'S OKAY TO SAY I'M SORRY SHE JUST DOES NOT SOUND NICE </3 PEOPLE WHO VICTIMIZE THEMSELVES ARE ALWAYS SO DRAINING AND TIRING and esp if she's just not fixing anything you're talking to her about!! that's not good!! so i will totally listen if you ever want to talk about it!!)

ALSO ESPECIALLY?????? IF YOU PAID FOR ALL OF YOUR GUYS' TICKETS???????? YOU SHOULD DEF HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHERE YOU SIT OMG PLUS YOU DISCUSSED IT THE DAY BEFORE PLUS YOU HAD A LITERAL REASON TO SIT THERE?? get this girl out i'm sorry but nvm she sounds like she HIGHKEY SUCKS and if i was there with u i totally would have supported you!! i'm glad the movie was good <3 and it's so cool that they were playing it again in theatres!!

and my day was okay!! definitely never worry about asking about mine or anything 😭 i really don't care bc i never have anything interesting going on in my life!! i love to hear from you though so tell me whatever you want!! i just worked after cranking out tonics intros and it was SUPER busy ughh like the moment i was off the clock i was RUNNING OUT THE DOOR. LITERALLY. I RAN THROUGH THE PARKING LOT PRACTICALLY SOBBING IN RELIEF THAT I WAS DONE but that's about all!! i hope you had a good day and that you're taking care of yourself sav <33

[nightcall99]

Notes from 3.4.24

I lived today and it was fine. Maybe it was more than fine, maybe this is what living is. Maybe the Earth orbiting around the Sun in a never-ending cycle, and the barrage of sleep-wake-sleep-wake, and endless script following, Maybe This Is All I've Got.

I was at a red traffic light yesterday and I keep thinking about this kid I saw. He must have been around 10 year old, with mussed-up brown hair and a broad face. As this single car zoomed past, I saw him with his head stuck out the window, enjoying the feel of the wind on his face. What struck me was his expression, because he looked high. To be honest, he might have had some kind of intellectual disability or something but regardless, this kid was high on life and it stuck out to me. His joyousness left behind a kind of scent trail, like after someone wearing strong perfume has left the room. The zap of energy leaving behind a wake. At that moment, I might have been a rock disturbed deeper and merged more thoroughly, into the sullen landscape of cars and road and soullessness. I didn't like it.

That moment felt like the start of something, and as reluctant as I am to admit it, it started before then and I was only just then realising it. I don't know what trajectory my life is heading in anymore and I haven't been wondering about it. Ok, I did a little. But today, I lived in the moment and I have a sneaking suspicion, or rather I know, that that was the point. I want to bury all this but in doing so, I walk straight into the palm of whatever this is. The truth, I guess. Time will tell. I think the reason why you sensed that she and I are parting somewhat energetically, of a sort, is because I used to talk to her more often, and now I don't anymore. Talking to her felt volatile (I think just from my end) and after awhile, low-vibe, because I was tired of feeling washed-out and re-imprinted with something new, time and time again, despite the purpose it served. I wanted to go my own way. I wanted to know things on my own. But I don't seem to have a choice in the matter, as if we aren't fingers on the same hand. As if we hadn't met for this one express reason. I still feel that it was a bit dodgy and unfortunate that this information wasn't divulged sooner through our own intel. But I said it myself not long ago, that I am the ninja that sneaks into the museum at night and changes all the pictures. I don't want to act shocked anymore. Any semblance of shock would be better described as simply the sudden appearance of goosebumps that one might get on their skin, when plunging into cold water. It's just a reaction on skin. The energy can change over night. Even though this information was probably procured some time ago, there is no time, right? It goes how we want it to go. Maybe we're adrenaline junkies. I've always felt there to be something rogue-ish about us.

Even as I write this I know what is happening. I can feel it, it is percolating through. I am accepting this. I do feel like I am 'here' more, whatever that means. I feel different but also the same, and definitely more powerful. I could slash someone's tires if they so much as looked at me wrong. I believe I have cracked too. I must have experienced that dream as your HS because it was also telling me, about me. Because our higher selves are intertwined. And I know that we are all one, so maybe it would be more accurate to say that our NPCs are intertwined, and the high selves leverage that, like some sweet poison and we lap it up. I dunno, I guess I'll speak for myself more than anything but I had that dream the day before we got notified of what is going on and now I feel that energy of that dream in waking life. It is trickling through.

More on that. So you know, whenever I get home, the dog is always barking at me and I will dodge it or walk by leaving a huge radius between it and I. But yesterday, I made all the motions of getting close and kicking it. I wouldn't really have done it, or maybe I would, I don't know. Mostly, I wanted to scare it away. And it was less about it, and more that I am a volcano and lava goes, where it goes. It was like your HS in the dream, I could feel this fight inside me but it wasn't born from hatred. It does not even come with like, the desire to live, even. I've pulled the sword from the stone and this is the part in the story where the hero, having roused his mind and might, is to wield that glory and embed it into the land itself, for the goodness of the realm. But the masks are off now. There is no world. I want to tear it all down. Blacksmiths make swords because they inherently know it is for destroying things. That's why they work in silence. They are whispering to the sword, begging for impunity. So now what? I am unleashed and Source did so in silence. Because it knew. There is no more tolerance for anything. Last week, my sister asked me to drive her and her boyfriend to the airport and I begrudgingly agreed. The story goes probably that I still resent her from the events of a few weeks ago and I despise that she asks me these things, knowing full well that I will do it. But beyond all that, I just didn't care. I just kept thinking to myself, Well I don't want to. And then the day of, she got it into her head somehow, that my mum had told her that I wasn't able to after all. But my mum never told her anything. I never said anything to my mum. My sister completely imagined a whole conversation. My dad ended up giving her some taxi vouchers he got for free from work. My mum ended up saying to me, Don't entertain it. It is the man's (her bf) job to take care of these things. What's the point of a man?

It feels like the world needs to submit to me or die. It will end up being both though, because the submitting won't be enough for me, it's just one stage, or shall I say, the last stage, before it takes one last breath and finally dies. I await that day. I do. Until then, I don't know. This energy is very strange. I deem it not applicable to 3D world building because I thought about getting a new job, a mortgage, getting a boyfriend, re-connecting with my friends, all of that, and the energy didn't want to siphon into those things. Into what then, I don't know. I don't care.

I'll keep writing here. Coming back here has been very necessary for me because it's very much a part of Maybe This Is All I've Got. At least we're in this together. Sometimes it feels like you mostly exist within my subconscious. Our experiences of each other seem so abstract yet vivid, like you're the narrator inside my head that I forgot was there. I just don't think this is the end. Not yet.

[izzy-b-hands]

I'm gonna ask a weird question but:

Is there anything you guys (aka y'all following me lol) want to see more of from me, in terms of a potential item(s)/service(s) to purchase?

Better explanation of what the fuck I'm waxing on abt below the cut. TW for talk of money/work/the overall state of things economically for me and my plans/goals/potential options to keep making things better.

I need to bring in more money. I'm getting more stable, trying to save on top of the generous donations I've been given while using them as needed for things we absolutely need (food, basic supplies/necessities.) But we're still so tight, and I know nearly everyone is dealing with some form of this right now bc Everything Sucks Economically on like. a level of how it felt in 2008 (extra terrifying feeling now) but. It's killing me. I can't take feeling like a burden like this. I have to do more.

I have been applying elsewhere, for FT, PT, and contract jobs that pay better, though I am hoping more for the FT positions of course. Thus far, I have not had any bites back that amounted to anything, but intend to continue my efforts regardless (because what else can I do there anyway?)

I've been trying to figure out other options, w/things I know I can do somewhat well to very well. All would be cheap, but hopefully would add up over time until I can get a FT job again and while I grind away at the current PT job (which I am hoping to add more hours to for the next semester, when they have us make our scheduling choices again and allow us to potentially add at least one more shift to our schedule.)

So, a poll. To gauge interest, and see if y'all have any opinions/would even potentially purchase anything like the below things from me. I'll try and detail each option below, but first, the options:

1. Photo Prints: I've done photography since high school, though I only have my current Pixel phone available for it right now. That said, they would be as cheap as I can get away with, and my Pixel actually doesn't do too badly, plus I would be editing these to make them as good looking as possible. Ideally, I'd have a Pay What You Want option instead, so ppl can just give whatever they think the print is worth since these will be smaller, amateur prints, but I'm not sure if all the platforms that usually handle photo print sales for smaller creators allow that. So, in that case, a range of probably $1-$5 at most for each print. They would be of things out here; I have access to and experience already with taking city and nature themed pictures (it was literally all I did in hs and since then bc of where I've lived.) So general city life/scenery, plus local wildlife like the birds, squirrels, and nature surrounding us in all seasons, plus any extra pictures I can take elsewhere whenever Housemate and I are out and about (aka probably lots of mountain and ocean shots.) My speciality when I had my other camera was micro/detailed photography, and I'd like to explore this with my current setup and see how they turn out and potentially offer those as well.

If it would help to see some current pictures that I am considering as the first set I would put up for sale, please reply on this post letting me know and I can post a couple as examples 🙌

2. Poetry Commissions: I have done these on and off since middle school, usually for friends/family. Nothing wild, but usually shorter, some rhyming, some free verse, poems on varying topics. I've done them for birthdays, holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day, as well as with obits or for weddings, and even a baby shower, to go on the invites. I haven't posted much of what I've written in recent years, but as with the pictures, I would be happy to post some of the ones I've written before as examples. Poetry is where I have no fear and will work myself to the bone to provide the best work possible; if you can get me just the bare basic details (ex. You want a poem for your brother's bday. Give me his name, a couple of hobbies/likes of his, and two of your favourite memories with him and I'll write you something beautiful, to celebrate him and his place in your life and take the piss out of him too, depending on your relationship with your brother lol), I can get you a poem in a 2-4 day turnaround time for as low as 5¢/word. Electronic only, but you would get a PDF of the poem that you can do whatever you want with afterwards (I would require my name remain credited on any other posting/usage elsewhere, but you wouldn't have to pay me again if you want to reuse it for another brother, to harken back to our example.)

3. Data Entry/Transcription Assistance: This one is a pretty wide range of what I can offer. I have experience working with medical documents (neurology, ophthalmology, and optometry for specific specialities both in data entry and transcription) via two of my last jobs, technical documents from two prior jobs (public library and medical staff training specifically), and historical documents including both handwritten (including print and cursive) and typed documents and charts via my volunteer work with Zooniverse. This is my bread and butter in terms of general job skills, and one I genuinely enjoy. That means that I come into each job, regardless of field or exact task, with excitement and an open mind, ready to prioritise and organise everything to the requested system and/or standard, with the goal to go above and beyond that however possible. Usually I achieve this by completing projects as ahead of deadline as possible, as well as by taking on any additional related tasks as needed (example: you hired me on to type up all of Grandma's lifelong journal entries for archiving and easy reading at an upcoming family reunion, but now you've found that Grandpa has one too. For minimal to no additional cost, I will happily take that on and endeavour to have both sets of data typed up in an easy to send/print word doc and/or PDF well before the reunion deadline.) I am more than willing to take on contract/NDA required work for this option as well, and have done so in the past with a prior job (aka why I'm not allowed to share any of the clinic training docs I made.) Cost might depend some on project size and deadline, but a general estimate would be, to stick with our above example: $5 per 250/pg journal, with a small additional charge of $5 if a rush is requested (aka say the reunion gets moved up to three days from now vs three months or weeks.) I would endeavour to charge no higher than $25 with $5 rush fee if rush requested for bigger projects.

4. Research Assistance: More or less what it says on the tin. Can be for work, home related things, whatever (though if requested for school/in regards to homework, I only go as far as providing resource links because unfortunately, usually doing the research yourself is a part of the learning process. However, if you're struggling to find primary or secondary sources, I am happy to help find those for you so that you can peruse them to see if they'll have the information you're looking for. If they do, great! If they don't, then I would keep looking for more.) While research hasn't been my main task at any of my prior jobs, it has always been a feature in much of the day to day work regardless, and is a skill I have kept up in my volunteer work with Zooniverse on projects which requested it. Looking for sources for anything, from work projects to recipes can be a slog. Let me do it for you. Pricing on this I'm putting at $5. That's it. Pay me $5, and I'll find as much as I can in regards to whatever you have that needs researching. Turnaround might depend on project, but I'm leaning 1-4 days at the very most.

So. There we are! Vote on the poll if you'd like, reply with any opinions/feelings/ideas you have for me about these, and thank you if you read this whole thing ❤️🫂

[dirt-str1der]

All my sis do is shut me down when all i ever do is hype her up

[timextoxhajima]

Not For Sale: Week 14

NOT FOR SALE CHAPTER NAVIGATION

Member: Heeseung + Jay [ft. Sunghoon and Jake]

Pairings: [fem] uni exchange student! reader x uni student! HS x uni student! Jay

Genres: Fluff | Slice of Life | Comedy | Angst | Teenage Romance | Thriller

Warnings: scenes in the hospital

Word Count: 3k

Synopsis/Quote: In which your oblivious ass cannot tell that a popular boy in your class has a big, fat crush on you | “It seems like the one who was ruined was me.”

Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @seasideheeseung @wooya1224 @gratefulmaria @sunshineshouchan @youreverydayzebra @fayqj @witheeseung @haechanhues @w-o-o-y-a-a @miingxuxi @reallysmolrenjun @hrrhmay-primaryblog @rosie112703 @ac-ewow @liliansun​​ [drop me a dm/ask/comment to be added!]

You’re staring at the project document blankly, the pages filled with words and tables of the work you’ve done with Heeseung in the last few weeks or so. The weekend felt like three weeks, even when it was just three days - simply because you were in the hospital watching Jay flit in and out of consciousness and Heeseung’s still in a comatose state. 

The seat next to you is empty and there is no other word to describe being alone on your last week of school than ‘sad’. 

The Uber that picked Jay and Heeseung up had just been in school compounds and the police had found a rig in the brakes - the Uber had been stopped by another car driving straight into it.

Heeseung was on the side the car was rammed into. It’s a miracle he’s even still alive. 

“y/n?” 

The call jolts you out of your dissociation.

“Hey,” The professor walks up the stairs, and only now do you realise everybody else had left the lecture hall besides you. “I had the others hand up their projects but I saw you zoning out and I couldn’t do it.”

“Sorry,” Mumbling under your breath, you give the folder a quick flip-through before handing him the document. “Here.”

With pursed lips, he takes the folder and glances through it, skimming through the contents and pausing on the last page where you and Heeseung had signed off on. 

“I’m sorry it happened.”

“I’m sorry the school had to go through so much to catch the idiot,” Through gritted teeth, you offer him a small wince. 

“Well, yeah, that too,” The professor pulls up the lecture table from the seat next to you and sits himself in the plastic grove. “But it’s not important now. He’s going to be charged for God knows how many felonies, but I just- I wanted to know how you’re holding up.”

The concerned question thrums chills through you. Heeseung would’ve asked that. Jay would’ve too.

Jake and Sunghoon have probably tried, but you’re too busy crying or zoning out at the hospital to process anything else even if they did try. 

“I’m fine,” You shake your head and stuff your iPad into your bag. “There’s nothing anybody can do to make him wake up faster.”

“I know that. It’s just... I don’t want a student ending her semester like this.”

The grumble of the zip as you close your bag is disgustingly loud in the empty lecture hall. You hug your bag, slowly looping your arm through one of the holes as you push the lecture table away. 

“I’ll be fine. I’m leaving next week anyway and Heeseung’s not dead, so.”

The professor goes quiet upon the declaration. 

“Thanks for the fun sem, Prof,” You give him a tiny, wretched smile that’s not genuine at all, lifting a leg over the backrest of the seat in front of you. “I’ll tell my dad to say hi to you every now and then.”

Finally on both your feet one row before him, he looks at you with sad, tired eyes. 

“It’s been a pleasure having you and Heeseung as students, y/n. Do come back to visit when you come visit your father.”

A bare nod shakes your head.

“Bye prof.”

The ceiling looks the same. The light dangling from the beige, crusty roof looks dusty.

The room looks the same - except the fact that 80% of it were in boxes now. The clock hung on the wall has the loudest ticking you’ve ever heard - had it been this loud since the start?

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzz-

“Hello.”

“Jesus Christ, how many times do you want me to call you before you’d pick up?”

Maybe until Heeseung wakes up.

“You know what? Don’t answer that.”

A pause.

“How are you holding up?”

“Great. I mean the sem’s over. I’ve handed up almost every project I need to submit.”

“Fuck you, you know I don’t mean that.”

“What am I supposed to tell you? I’m great, while I wait for my two friends to recover in the hospital? One of them’s not even awake.”

“I don’t want to be that person but no matter how much you cry or pray that he wakes up, it’s going to take time, okay? Let him rest and recuperate and he’ll spring back to life like he wasn’t just in an accident.”

“I shouldn’t have let them take the Uber.”

“For crying out loud, it is not your fault. You told them your dad was coming to get you and Jay didn’t want to cancel it for the fee. It’s a normal reaction. Who was supposed to know the Uber was rigged?”

You blink. 

“Have you packed?”

You count the boxes in your room. “Mostly.”

“I’ll be at your place when you come home. We can bake cupcakes and cookies and you can tell me about the school there.”

Your ears are taking in her words but your eyes are on the paper bag on your desk. It’s the tumbler that Jay got you. 

“Hello? You there?”

“Byeol, what if they don’t wake up before I leave? I have 8 days.”

“Have some faith in them, would you? Jay’s already awake right? He’s just flitting in and out of consciousness and Heeseung... They haven’t said he’s in critical condition, right?”

“But he’s been in the ER and it’s been three days.”

“Sis, I could sleep for three days. He’ll be awake before you leave.”

“Hope so.”

“Not going to the hospital?”

“Nah,” You roll over onto your side and stare at yourself in the mirror on your wardrobe doors. “Their friends are swarming the wards. It’s fine, Jake and Hoon got me onto the special visitors’ list.”

“There’s a special visitors’ list?”

“It’s Jay and it’s an expensive hospital with classier management. So yeah, pretty much.”

“That’s nice.”

Silence - except the occasional crackling of the static on the phone. 

“They’ll do fine, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I have to go now. I’ll call you tonight or tomorrow, I’ll text you?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye bye.”

The car ride with your father is quiet, the gentle music from the stereo playing and you’re thinking about how your mother is back at home. She is a busy woman back home too so you hadn’t really had the time to call or text her.

For the first time in a long time, your father knows more about your life than she does. 

“I know you’re probably not in the mood to answer this but...” The car slows at a red light. “Have you started packing?”

You don’t turn. The trees outside are swaying gently in the light breeze on this sunny day. It reminds you of the day Heeseung brought you out to the beach for your picnic. 

“I’m about 80% done. The stuff left’s like my laptop and iPad and daily appliances.”

“That’s good,” You see him nod in the window’s reflection and glance at you. “Well, I’ll come by and hand you the documents for credit transfer later this week and I’ll send you to the bus terminal next Wednesday too, yeah?”

“Mhm,” Humming to yourself, the refracted red light turns green. “Sure.”

The car starts again. “Hun, I... I just wanted you to know that I know this sem has been difficult for you. I’m- I’m sorry that I suggested you come. Had I known that there was going to be a lunatic running on the loose, I would’ve stopped you from coming.”

“You wouldn’t have known,” You mumble, but still loud enough for him to hear. “It’s fine, it’s over.”

“And with what happened with Jay and Heeseung... I’m sorry. I really am.”

“They would’ve gotten caught up in this crazy shitfest with the psycho anyway, regardless of my presence,” Finally turning to look at your father, he side-eyes you while keeping his hands on the steering wheel. “It’s not anybody’s fault except that psycho’s that this happened.”

Your father remains quiet, unable to respond. The car drives into the sheltered drop-off point at the hospital and he watches you unbuckle the seat belt to let yourself out the car.

“Hey.”

You sling your bag over your shoulder and rest a hand on the car door. 

“They’ll be okay.”

A weak smile pulls your lips up your cheeks. 

“I hope so.”

By the time you’ve reached the floor where the wads were, you’ve run into a good number of their friends. Of course, there were one or two bad apples among the bunch, but most of them knew you were on a special visitors’ list and that’s why you came so late. 

It never gets easier though, the look on their faces when you know they want to tell you that they’ll be okay, but promises should not be made if they cannot be kept.

Walking into Jay’s ward, you see his mother helping to sponge his face while Jake and Sunghoon speak to a friend on the other side of the bed. 

You catch the room’s attention when you pull the plastic bag out from your bag and let the door shut behind you, Jay’s mother looking up and offering you a tired smile. 

“Oh, hey,” Jake grins and beckons you over. 

“Hi Mrs Park,” You gesture to Jake to wait before holding out the plastic bag to Jay’s mother. “It’s a box of tonic for you and Mr Park. Thought of getting fruits but I don’t think Jay can have them yet.”

“Gosh, you really didn’t have to,” She shakes her head and sets the cloth down by the bed. “Thank you. Are you sure you’re okay, coming to visit so often? You’re here everyday, aren’t you?”

You return her a tight, pursed smile. “Yeah, but it’s fine. I’m leaving to go home next week so I don’t have much time left to spend with them. I don’t mind.”

“Oh, honey,” She stands and takes the box from you, turning to set it down on the table behind her before returning you her attention. “I... I don’t know what to say. This must be all a lot for you.”

You break the eye contact first, knowing that you were probably going to cry if you hadn’t stopped looking at her.

“No, it’s fine,” You raise a palm and rub her upper arm. “All I want is to have a decent conversation with Jay before I leave, and I’ll be more than satisfied.”

“Oh!” She exclaims, nose crunching into a threatened crying mess. She holds her arms open and coerces you into her arms, patting the back of your head. “Of course. Of course, Jay will be fine by the time you need to go home. I promise.”

“I really do hope so,” You pull away first and smile weakly at her.

“By the way, Mr and Mrs Lee are with Heeseung in the ward next door,” She sniffles, anxiously rubbing her palms together.

“Oh, right- Do they know I’m on the-”

“Yes, of course they do, sweet heart,” She quickly rubs your arm to comfort you, then slides her hands down to yours to keep them in her palms. “Their parents are the sweetest couple ever and they’d be so grateful that Heeseung has a friend like you. How about I have Jake or Sunghoon bring you over to meet them?”

“Oh,” You watch as she waves to get one of the boys’ attention, Sunghoon quickly pulling away from the crowd to attend to you. 

“Would you do me a favour and bring her over to Heeseung’s ward? Introduce her to his parents.”

“Of course,” Sunghoon hurriedly nods and lowers his head out of respect. “Come on.”

“Thanks, Mrs Park,” You turn your feet to follow Sunghoon, but your hands are reluctant to leave hers. “I’ll come back later.”

“No, take your time, sweet.”

With a slight nod, you pull away and trail after Sunghoon out of the ward after leaving your bag with Jake.

The ward door closes with a soft hiss, then Sunghoon pauses right before you can come into view of Heeseung’s ward door, turning over his shoulder to look down at you. 

“I don’t mean to bring this up at a bad time but...”

“I know,” You nod. “I know I’ve been an ass the last few weeks. Honestly, I... I didn’t know who I wanted to be endgame either.”

Sunghoon gives your word one more second of thought before he turns around to face you. 

“It’s not my business but are you going to choose? Or... just go home next week?”

You frown and look down at your hands, reminiscing the warmth from Jay’s mother.

“I don’t know,” Your voice cracks. “I don’t think I can choose. Even if I do, I have 8 days, and neither of them are awake yet. I don’t... I don’t want to do that to them.”

He takes a deep breath and looks away, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“It’s Heeseung. Choose Heeseung,” He says without looking at you. “The night they got into a crash, Jay texted Jake to tell us that Heeseung kissed you, and that was the moment he decided he would give up.”

The statement tears you apart on the inside. 

“Jay’s a tough guy to hurt and he plays his cards fairly and maturely,” Sunghoon nods and finally looks at you. “Don’t feel bad you’re choosing Heeseung over him. He had a truce with Heeseung. About you. And he knows he lost fair and square, so don’t feel upset. Just pour your heart and soul into Heeseung for the rest of the time you’re here, and worry about committing anything else after you’ve gone home.”

You part your lips to breathe, as if it would help you understand any faster or better.

“Anyway, both Heeseung’s parents are in there and they already have an idea who you are so... Just be nice.”

He watches you nod, slightly zoned-out, then pushes the door open. 

His parents can tell you’re more preoccupied with the limp, breathing body on the bed than their presence, but they still take it with grace and greet you like they’ve known you your entire life.

The sight of Heeseung being bandaged up with a leg hanging in the air makes you feel like shit.

Who wouldn’t?

Later in the night, after Heeseung’s mother had gone home and his father had left to get coffee, you’re left alone with him and the occasional beeping from the Holter monitor. 

There was a bruise and scratch on his left cheek, and his neck, arms and right leg were in a cast. You think about how much he was going to miss dancing when he gets told he’ll need to be on a 6-month break from anything strenuous. 

Tired, you pull your earpieces out and plug it into your phone, laying it on the bed while you hover over him to fit the earbuds into his ears. Then you sit back down and scroll through your playlist, playing with the volume buttons to make sure it was softer than the volume you’d normally listen to your music at. 

You make your selection, then quietly lay on the mattress with the faint music drizzling the atmosphere’s noise. That’s how quiet the room was. 

His fingers were sticking out of his cast, so you play with them. His hair was in his shut eyes, so you gently push them out in case he were to open them. 

“One more time, Heeseung. Just one more time before I leave.”

Jay’s mother was sleeping by his bed when you walk in to check on them, bag hanging from your right shoulder and lids heavy from the terrible sleep schedule the past few days. 

“Hi.”

And a smile stretches your lips out when you can see him blink, offer you his bright grin, apart from the cut on his eyebrow.

“Hey,” You whisper, walking towards him on the other side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Jay clears his throat and blinks. “Had better days, but at least I’m alive.”

A snigger threatens to wake his mother up. “Good. Do you want me to wake your mom up? Maybe get a doctor in to give you a check up or something.”

He shakes his head, even managing a small wave in his fingers laying by his hip. “No, I’m good. I’m going back to sleep soon anyway.”

You lean over and adjust his pillow. “Well, then I shan’t disturb you. I’ll come by again tomorrow.”

“Sure,” He looks up at you and nods. Your gazes meet, for a split second, he can kind of know what you’re thinking of, and you know what he was. 

“Thank you for this sem, Jay. I really am.”

He shakes his head. “No, thank you. It was a fun sem because of you.”

“You call being in a hospital ward fun?”

Chuckling, he turns back to look at the ceiling for a second. “You will come back to visit us, won’t you? Zoom call us or something.”

“Of course. We could meet up during the summer break if anything.”

Satisfied, he nods again. “Good.”

“Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow,” You shove your hands into your pockets. 

“Okay,” He quietly responds, watching you turn on your heels. “Oh, y/n.”

You turn and raise a brow.

“Heeseung. He’s the one for you, and... he’ll wake up for you. I know he will.”

With a slightly ached grin, you nod and look down at your feet. 

“Bye Jay.”

“Bye.”

[bruh-haikyuu]

@arcangel-wings REQUESTED: Heya! I’m new to your blog and I really like your writing! Can I request Tenma Udai with an s/o who’s a baker while he’s in hs? So like he’s a delinquent and she’s a sweetheart who’s always giving people the stuff she bakes? Everyone thinks it’s weird but they fit together kinda thing 🥺?

A/N: Thanks for requesting!! This is über cute. Fem!Reader as alluded in the request^^

kilig. | udai tenma

word count: 2155

warnings: manga spoilers!!

(n.) the rush or the inexplicable joy one feels after seeing or experiencing something romantic

“Chocolate is the ingredient for love~!” you say after pouring what seems to be an entire bucketful of chocolate chips into your bowl.

Your friend Saeko has seen just about enough of your nonsensical chatter about baking, your boyfriend and your abundant love for both. Already exhausted from a recent scolding by the vice-principal, she decides that it’s better off to smile and nod rather than try to come up with a snarky remark for your innocent mania.

“T-That’s a lot of chocolate,” she blurts out. When she picks up her spatula from the bowl, the girl grumbles at the sight of a liquidy trail drizzling down the utensil. “Ahh geez, it’s not supposed to be like this, isn’t it? Katagiri-sensei’s going to fail me again...”

You smile and hand her a bowl of flour. “Don’t worry, Saeko-chan. Just add a bit more flour and you’re good to go! You can never go wrong with cookies.”

The halo above your head is nearly visible. Saeko swears she can even hear angels singing to her in the background as you mix away on your fragrant bowl of dough. You don’t even seem real—from your angelic grin down to your overwhelmingly flowery aura. It’s tough enough to imagine that you’d ever talk to her of all people, but to imagine you’d go for a guy who’s just as much of a thug...

Unthinkable! Saeko shakes her head. She’d thought you’d pulled a joke on her the first time you announced that you were dating... him. Udai Tenma, star of the Boys’ Volleyball Club, a red-hot beacon of undomesticated temper.

She’d always known you liked him—though which part of him you liked is somewhat still a mystery to her—and as much as Saeko wanted to protect you from those ruffians, that absolutely infatuated look in your eyes was too much to bear. And eventually, she succumbed to your incessant ambitions of high school romance.

“You’re a saint, dude,” she sighs longingly. “I don’t get how you’re still dating that guy. I’m not really one to say anything about this, but don’t you think Udai’s kind of a jerk with the way he treats you?”

You chuckle, like a sweet grandmother about to tell a nostalgic tale to her grandchildren.

“I suppose you can say that Tenma-kun is a bit shy. He likes to act tough and mighty when he’s around people, but he’s actually just a normal boyfriend with a very sweet tooth and a penchant for manga.”

Saeko scowls. “Normal’s normal, but you have to at least let him know that you have your limits too. I really can’t stand leaving the two of you alone, w-what if Udai breaks your heart, or worse—”

“Tanaka-san. If you have time for chatter back there, then surely, you’re finished with your cookies?” at the sound of the grouchy Home Economics teacher at the front of the class, Saeko quickly returns to her bowl in a sorry attempt to look busy.

Deciding to humor her interest, you lean towards her and whisper lowly. “I’ll be fine, Saeko-chan. He may not look like it, but Tenma-kun’s actually very cute.”

In her mind, it’s much easier to simply handcuff herself to you so that you’re under her watch at all times possible. But your gaze is nothing short of genuine—you really love this guy, and the fact that you’re still with him, assures Saeko even just a tiny bit that he might not be so bad after all... with you at least.

You’re already storming away in your little world of baking. It amuses your best friend whenever you’re off making your personal masterpieces (“‘Masterpiece’ is absolutely right!” she’d say while stuffing her mouth full of your mini tarts). Each and every one of your creations are whipped up with the utmost amount of love and care, and for just the right reasons, everyone’s been pestering you to set up a bakery after high school. Your regular patrons just happen to be the Karasuno Boys’ Volleyball Club—with the addition of the lively Coach Ukai who is rather fond of how much filling you put into your red bean buns.

As regular as regular can be, you’ve found yourself visiting the Volleyball Club clubroom after school every Wednesday to hand out your treats to not only your aloof boyfriend, but also to his friends, his coach and the prostrated manager who direfully needs a pick-me-up. And suddenly, you’re ‘Karasuno’s Cookie Goddess’.

“Ah, you’re making another batch, Y/N?” Saeko perks up when you split your dough in half.

“Yep!” you giggle, essentially a high school student drowning in love. “I want to make something special for Tenma-kun today.”

“... What’s the occasion? Is it his birthday or something?”

You shrug, face absolutely alight. “Nope, I just want to give him a surprise~”

══════ ⋆★⋆ ══════

Tenma isn’t exactly unapproachable. It’s just that people tend to avoid him at all costs. Perhaps you were just bold... or remarkably stupid, but if you hadn’t addressed him that day, life would’ve probably been drabber.

Your parents and your friends (with emphasis towards your overprotective Saeko-chan) had shown their unfiltered concern when the news of your relationship circulated like wildfire. What was the analogy they used, again?

“You’re like a rabid bridge troll and a rabbit! It doesn’t work!”  You could only laugh at their valiant efforts of a correlation... if they were really trying to make one. But after a few more reassuring pushes and awkward family dinners, they’ve come to be more lenient about your little ‘liaison’.

But you never feel like you have to worry when Tenma is around. In fact, when Tenma is around, you feel calm—even when he’s spouting off curses to a taller rival.

There’s a warmth unlike any other when he holds or kisses you. And though you’d have to drive him through hell and waters to say it out loud, you already know that every action he does for you is out of love. Words are material, it’s the action that counts, right?

“Sorry for the intrusion~!” you call out into the open doors of the Boys’ Volleyball Club’s space.

A flash of obnoxious yellow hair flashes before your eyes and suddenly, an imposingly tall  figure appears in front of you out of nowhere. “Cookie Goddess!”

“Good afternoon, Yukimura-kun,” you smile. “Is there only you right now?”

“I’m here too, Y/N-chan,” the lax-faced captain Tokito emerges from the room in the midst of zipping up his jacket. His eyes flicker towards the packages in your hands and a smile cracks on his face. “Ooh, chocolate chip cookies today~”

You quickly raise the fragrant bags of treats into their view, bringing in the remaining swamp of boys from the clubroom. Suddenly, the common hallway is blocked by an influx of starving teenagers who are rampaging on about your existence.

“So good...” Yukimura murmurs dreamily, mouth full of chocolate. “Man, anyone would be lucky to have you as their wife if you were to cook them these everyday.”

A brazen first-year with frosted tips elbow him and sighs. “Too bad you’re taken, huh, Y/N-chan-senpai? If it were me instead of him, I’d always make it a point that ‘Heeey... guess what my girlfriend made for me today~ Isn’t she the best—”

“Oi, brat. Whose girlfriend do you think you’re talking about?”

The gangle of boys freeze up simultaneously at the grouchy voice behind you (aside from Tokito, who’s yawning at the whole ordeal). Whipping around to the dark aura boring holes into your back, you immediately light up at Tenma’s presence.

“Tenma-kun~!” you launch at him with your arms wide open. You’re ready for some sort of swerve from him, so you make sure you protect his bag of cookies with your arm... You’ve learned this counter-attack the hard way, of course.

But what you don’t expect is that your boyfriend makes no move to avoid you at all.

“H-hey! Don’t just lunge at me like that, you idiot! What if you fell down and knocked your head open?” Ah, at least the embarrassed comment is there.

You can only smile at him kindly. From the edge of your eyes, you swear that you can see a light blush dusting his face as your boyfriend gains newfound interest in your shoes.

“Come with me for a while,” he finally grumbles, effectively breaking the silence between the both of you. Grabbing your hand, Tenma leads you down the little aluminium staircase, eliciting small grates from the steps below you and a mass of curious whispers from the group you’d just left behind.

“Hey, Udai-kun~” Tokito calls out, a lilt of roguery in his tone, “Make sure to get back in time for practice, okay? And keep Y/N-chan in one piece, won’t you? We can’t get another Cookie Goddess if you don’t.”

When he turns into a secluded corner away from the prying eyes of his teammates, you can hear him audibly huff and mutter something under his breath. As silence lingers between you, you nearly forget about the reason why you came to visit.

“I made some cookies for you, Tenma-kun,” you say to him, urging the neatly wrapped bundle into his hands. “I hope you like it.”

You can clearly see the hesitation in his eyes when he takes it in his hands. You can probably guess why.

(“Y/N, your skills with a knife are scary, dude,” Saeko grimaced as she watched you trail over the dough with the gleaming blade of your paring knife.

“Aaand... done!” you proudly wiped the sweat off your forehead. It would’ve been more helpful with a cookie cutter around, but you figured that it would’ve been more heartfelt otherwise.

‘Heartfelt’, you pondered on the word for a moment. Would this be too heartfelt for such a rag-tag person like Tenma? It would probably be better to go for something simpler, just like the other days...

Nah. You shook your head as you chucked the tray of heart-shaped cookies into the oven.)

You’re hoping for a shocked response from him, but Tenma only grumbles meekly. You brace yourself for another scolding for acting too chummy with him, or being too affectionate, or—

“You shouldn’t get too close with other guys.”

Wait.

Tenma crosses his arms, the curls of his hair falling gently over his forehead. His pink cheeks darken into a soft maroon. “If they found out you’re giving me this sort of special treatment, they’ll be all over you the next day, asking for it too... I don’t like it.”

The laugh that rises in your throat threatens to burst. What is this, you think. Your stomach hurt from the mere image of this innocent “delinquent” professing his jealousy for you. If he was like this all the time, wouldn’t that be an interesting change... Aah, your boyfriend really is cute, isn’t he?

A giggle escapes you and you watch him jolt in chagrin. “Tenma-kun, you’re so red.”

“I’m not!” he yells rather briskly, then shoots back at you. “You can’t say I’m red when you were all burning up as you were giving me these heart-shaped cookies.”

Touché. “I’m glad you like them, Tenma-kun.”

His gaze visibly softens up as you give him an angelic smile. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

At times like this, you really do see the boy who’d shyly confessed to you under the shade of the summer ginko tree. It wasn’t anything of a distant memory, it was just that Tenma’s usual demeanour and your unrelenting tolerance hindered the both of you from being completely outward with one another. Maybe something like this isn’t so bad after all.

“I-I have to go back to practice. You can go home by yourself, right?” your boyfriend clears his throat, urging you to leave.

Though you wished the moment would last a little longer, you know there are other countless shared opportunities with him. “Mm-hm! You do your best in practice, okay?”

He ruffles your hair and chuckles endearingly.

“Atta girl. Now go home before Tokito catches me getting all touchy-feely with you.”

Bidding him goodbye, you sullenly trudge away from your boyfriend (and his friends waving back at you from the balcony). Then the idea strikes you.

Special cookies ought to have a special flair to them, no?

Cupping your hands around your mouth like a megaphone, you shout, loud enough for his teammates to hear. “I love you, Tenma-kun~!”

And the crowd goes wild.

══════ ⋆★⋆ ══════

From: Tenma-kun ♡

Subject: Untitled

(15:58) Now Tokito’s all over me thanks to you, making me do extra diving drills. You better make more of those cookies as compensation, idiot. Be prepared for it.

(15:58) Btw, don’t forget to look both ways when you cross the street on the way home. If you get into an accident, you won’t be able to apologize to me properly.

(15:58) ... Hey.

(16:00) I love you too.

[purple-nana]

7 days

pairing: president!jeno x vp!reader - fluff

word count: 1.3k

summary: a genius student who has done nothing but study met a new boy and both of their lives changed because of 7 days

It was another lame day. The same exact thing.

Students all over the hallways, girls who were busy gossiping about boys, your classmates crowding in the corner for a game—everything was the same as it usually does.

You sat at your seat as the lunch hour passes, with no one to talk to, to study with or anything.

Hands busy studying for the next subject, ears blocked with music from your headphones, attention focused on your chemistry book. It’s no wonder why anyone wouldn’t even try to talk to you. Not like it mattered though.

After all, school was just another requirement for you to please your parents.

Signing up for the student council, the academic clubs and everything that would get you high marks. Other students wouldn’t want to be you being boring and all, you also could say the same—but let’s just say that this lifestyle is better for you.

A pat on your back caused your focus to disappear. Taking off your earphones, you looked over your shoulder to see the person that disrupted your attention. It was a first actually, since no one ever talked to you after 10th grade.

A tall figure stood behind you. He had dark hair, muscles evident were from his white uniform and— a really handsome face, a new one perhaps. You haven’t seen him before, you reckon, he was a new student.

“Hey, y/n right?” He asks in his deep voice, which you find oddly—attractive.

You nod in bewilderment. Your mind is confused on as to why a guy as handsome as him dared to even talk to you when no one else would.

It’s also not helping that your classmates have their eyes locked on the both of you. Perhaps they were also curious as you were.

Your thoughts melted as the boy spoke to you again.

“Mr. Kim wanted to meet us at the student council room for a briefing, I expect you to be one of the candidates if I am not mistaken.”

Oh. That.

You completely forgot that today was the briefing and selection of candidates for each partylist. 

The election slipped out of your mind. Well, how would it not when it is the first time in years that you have had an actual conversation with a boy in that close of a proximity.

They can call you naive and innocent for all you care, but it isn’t your fault that anything that isn’t related to studying is unacceptable to eyes of your mother and father.

It isn’t your fault to be feeling this way.

“Oh, right.” You awkwardly replied. You stood up and went to gather your belongings to keep them.

Lucky for you, the boy was kind enough to wait for you. Afterwards, you immediately signaled him to lead the way.

You followed him quietly from the back. There was no exchange of words or what so ever. But you noticed that he would turn to check on you every couple of minutes or so.

To which you remembered—you don’t even know his name yet.

Maybe it’s because of his intimidating presence or it’s really just considering the fact that you both have just met—

He stopped in his tracks and turned to your direction. Possibly indicating that he wants you to walk together.

You caught up and he showed you a smile. A bright smile that went up to his eyes, making him more charming than he already was.

“I’m Jeno by the way.” He lends his hand for you to shake.

You smiled softly. “Well I supposed you already know me,” you chuckled, “Y/n” you shooked his hand and you felt heat spread throughout your face.

You both giggled and took the rest of the journey to the office as an opportunity to get to know each other.

----

Days passed and the election was over. It was a really an amusing coincidence that Jeno ran for the Student Body President and you ran for the Vice President positon.

To top it all off, you were both in the same team. Which overjoyed you.

Now would it really just be a coincidence that it happens to be that you both won the position!

Well, you kind of expected that in Jeno’s part since every girl on campus were smitten over him. But overall, it was a great and fair election.

You and Jeno spent most of your days together. It didn’t really mind you since aside from the duties of being in the council, Jeno was a really nice person to be with.

And of course, your mother and father didn’t do anything since it was all related to school which was clearly favorable to you.

Jeno hung out in your house that afternoon to finish some paper works. He argues that doing it in the comfort of a house was much better than doing it in the eerie office. You agreed because you can say the same as well.

You stared at the ceiling, laying in your bed while the flicking sound of Jeno’s pen hitting the wooden desk resonates through your ears.

The both of you enjoyed the comfortable silence, until you thought of something.

“Jeno?” You called out to him.

He responds to you with a hum as he was still focused on hs paper works.

“I was wondering why you joined the council even though you barely even know most of the students on campus.” you chuckled. You asked him in a form of a joke but you actually wanted to know why.

Jeno paused for moment, then chuckled with you. He sat up straight and spun around in your office chair.

“I just wanted to be the most.powerful.student in all of the university!” He faked an evil laugh.

You pursed your lips at him, unamused by his terrible joke. “That shit was a no, Jeno. Try harder for pete’s sake.” You tsked.

He stopped and gave you a ‘really?’ expression, you nod at him.

“Ow man I thought that was a good one.” He sulks.

“Hey but seriously though, why did you joined?” You asked him for real this time. You have been curious about it ever since the positions were announced.

It’s not everyday that a new student would be that brave to run for a positon as high as a president on his first year at a new university.

He’s got to have a reason or a purpose right?

“If you really want to know,” He turns to look at you, “you.”

You were confused. You. What did you have to do with him running for the highest position?

“Me?”

That was way too much of a nonsense for you to believe in. Unless Jeno—

He scoffed. “I like you y/n.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, head tilting to the side. “I am not comprehending—WAH!”

Jeno pulled you to his lap and looked at you in the eye. His hands were holding your waist to keep you from squirming.

“7 days.”

“W-what—”

“Ever since the day I laid my eyes on you, I fell for you completely. In seven days.”

You thought he was joking but by the way he was holding you, the words that comes out from his mouth. Everything seems so, real.

“I joined the council only because of you, I wanted to be with you even if I am going to face a challenge. I wanted to know how it feels like to be loved by you.”

“But what about our duties, our professors—”

“I don’t care about them y/n, I only care about you. And even if you don’t feel the same way, give me seven days to prove my love for you. I am sure you won't regret it." His words were sweet and genuine, enough to make you feel flattered and shy.

You didn’t know about his secret admiration for you. but you were sure as hell that you felt the same way.

Nobody mattered to you anymore, not your parents, your classmates or anyone. It’s as if the world revolves on only the both of you.

You smiled and hugged him tight. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll need seven days Jeno. You’ll just need one kiss.”

Jeno immediately gave you a warm and passionate kiss, one that he’s sure you’ll feel his intimate love.

You smiled into the kiss.

For once everything felt right, everything was were it was meant to be,

—and it is all because of a mere 7 days.

[theot5inourstars]

Something At First Sight - HS

a/n: some more Harry and Aria, from when they first met. Gotta be honest, i had a lot of fun writing this lol even though i took almost two freaking months to post it rip. I dont want to post their story in chronological order, so everything Haria related can be read in any order. Happy reading, feedback welcome xx

This is mostly fluff w some ~sauciness~ ew im sorry i hate that word

word count: 3,311

***

Aria awoke to the soft October sunlight filtering through the sheer curtains, her eyes adjusting to the unfamiliar surroundings. She could just about make out the orange of the autumn leaves. It took a minute for her brain to catch up as she admired the mahogany four-poster bed, the too-floral-to-be-pretty wallpaper, and finally the floor, upon which were carelessly littered the clothes she had worn last night. And the memories from the night before came flooding back.

She glanced around the rest of the room, noticing it was empty, before her eyes landed on the other half of the bed, which was also empty, and, - as she placed her hand where he had laid not too long ago, - cold. Great she thought, he fucked your brains out and then he bolted. 

She had shimmied into her jeans and was looking in the mess of sheets and duvets for her top, when the door abruptly opened, causing her to let out a little squeal in shock, as her arms rushed to cover her scantily covered chest. 

She was surprised when an amused set of green eyes met her own. She took in his appearance: white t shirt and jeans from last night, but his hair was messier now, and Aria proudly took credit for that. “Leavin’ before breakfast, love?” He asked in a raspy voice that made her stomach flip. But his question brought her attention to the trolley he had since pushed into the room, two silver cloches sitting along with a fruit basket. She raised her eyebrows at him, looking unimpressed. 

He coughed, ahem ahem, before dramatically removing the cloches to reveal “breakfast crêpes!” Harry had the widest cutest fucking grin on his face; Aria let up a small smile. He continued slowly, “since you said you liked crêpes, I thought I’d make them,” he shrugged casually, as if it was no big deal that he remembered the smallest detail and inevitably made her heart melt. 

“You made these?” Aria asked suspiciously. Harry nodded, like an excited little child, smiling widely at her. “Gotta say, I’m impressed, Styles. Maybe I will stay for a bit,” she thought aloud, now having draped a bedsheet around herself.

“Oh you must stay,” Harry said, his voice low. “Plus your friend’s still in Niall’s room.” Aria rolled her eyes at that. 

Before she could say anything else, she took two steps back in shock, as Harry took his t-shirt off. “What do you think you’re doing?” She asked defensively. He chuckled, “relax,” he said, as he handed it to her. “You can wear this, I sort of spilt coffee of yours earlier,” he said pointing to the corner where a coffee-stained once-white croptop lay drying. She rolled her eyes before slipping on his t-shirt, which was all too long, and the shoulders didn’t sit right at all, but gosh, Harry thought he had arrived in heaven. 

He had obviously seen plenty of other women wearing his clothes the morning after, but there was something about Aria, something about the way she frowned slightly while trying to adjust it the tee, something about how even though her shoulders were much too narrow her chest filled the t-shirt surprisingly well, how she bit her lip subconsciously as she tucked it into her jeans. 

Harry was broken out of his trace. She had said something. Fuck. Now she’s going to think he’s some sort of creep. Did she ask him a question? “Pardon,” Harry said stupidly. 

“I said,” Aria began, a teasing smile playing on her lips, “it’s rude to stare.” Harry felt a slight blush creep up his neck, as he let out a laugh. 

“Okay, I’m hungry, which one is mine?” Aria asked as she situated herself at the edge of the bed, legs crossed, cutlery in hand. Harry thought in that moment that even though he had known her less than twelve hours, he would love to have breakfast with her every single morning. “This one,” Harry said as he passed one of the plates to her. “It’s got spinach, ham, eggs, mozzarella and pesto,” Harry explained. Aria let out the cutest oooh as she took a bite, “and bacon!” She said happily, making Harry laugh. “And bacon.” 

“What’s in yours? Sweet, I assume?” She asked, thinking back to their rather random post-coital conversation about crêpes. He nodded, “Nutella and strawberries.” Aria nodded, “I will have a bite in a bit,” she said not particularly enthusiastically. Harry chuckled again, “of course! And if you like it, I made another one for you, just in case,” he said, with a dimpled smile. That was such a sweet gesture, Aria felt her cheeks warm up and she looked away. 

Harry brought his hand to her neck; she looked back at him, as she felt his thumb trace over a particularly sore spot on the column of her neck, and she realised he wasn’t looking at her but rather at her neck, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. “Huh,” he said softly, his thumb raising goosebumps in its wake. Aria furrowed her brows, “what?” Even though part of her knew just what. 

Harry shook his head, “nothing jus’ admiring my handiwork,” and as he said that he applied the slightest pressure to the already sore spot, eliciting a surprised gasp from Aria. It had been just one night and he already knew how to press her buttons, gosh. Harry’s pupils dilated, as he felt Aria’s pulse quicken beneath his fingertips. She hated herself for letting him have this effect on her. She was otherwise frozen in her spot, but as she noticed Harry lean in, she jumped up and back, almost hitting the wall. 

And she pulled out her phone. It took Harry a second before he realised she was using the front camera to look at the rather large hickey on her neck. He watched as her eyes widened, as she brought her own fingertips to the spot to examine in, wincing slightly at how sensitive it still was. He smiled, he felt so smug as he remembered just how crazy it drove her. 

She shot him a look, his smirk widened. “Don’t look so smug,” she started, “you have some too.” Harry didn’t think Aria could turn him on anymore than that, but dear lord, she had. “Some? As in plural?” Harry asked in disbelief. Aria nodded, sheepishly, almost, her cheeks reddening, as Harry reached out for her phone, which she handed over, front camera still open. 

He examined his own neck. He had two hickeys on the column of his neck and one right above his clavicle, and this was disregarding the ones further down his chest. His was shocked, and a little offended that he hadn’t given her as many. He glanced at Aria who was watching him closely, and as she did she bit her lip again. 

“C’m’ere,” Harry said, his voice becoming deeper all of a sudden. Aria squinted at him quizzically for a second before walking to him slowly. He reached out his hand and she took it, and before she could register what was happening, he twirled her into his shirtless chest, one of his arms around the front of her body and the other still holding the phone. Aria was strong and independent and could fight, and she never felt the need to be protected. But in that moment, she felt oddly safe with Harry’s arm around her waist, as she felt his warmth radiate against her back, her heart thumping against her chest. 

Aria knew Harry could feel her heartbeat quicken because of the soft “y’okay, love?”, the cheeky bastard asked, as he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss on the column of her neck. But she could almost hear his heartbeat quicken too, and she took solace in the fact that she wasn’t the only one who was nervous by their sudden… intimacy. 

“Look up for me, yeah?” Harry said, and it hadn’t been a question, as he held the phone up in front of them, above head level. From that angle all of the marks on Harry’s upper body were visible as well as the massive hickey on Aria’s neck. She felt her cheeks flush, but with embarrassment and arousal. How could any human being have this kind of effect on another just by taking a selfie? It was quite ridiculous, Aria thought. 

She tried to hide her face by turning her head into his very toned chest, in doing so making the mark on her neck more visible, and not realising the camera also caught the change in tone of her face. She also obviously didn’t see Harry’s cocky smirk but she felt a soft chuckle reverberate from his chest, as he snapped another photograph of them. 

Aria then turned around completely, still not looking up at Harry, “are you done with the pictures yet?”, she asked. He took a final look at the four pictures he had managed to snap, very pleased with himself, before he locked her phone. Aria gasped as she felt him slip the phone skilfully into her back pocket, without actually touching her. He then leaned down and whispered in her ear “yes, they’re for later, princess, when you’re missing me.” Cocky fucking bastard. 

Aria looked up at him, finally, purposefully widening her eyes, looking all sweet and innocent, one of her hands tracing down his chest. And she tilted her head ever so slightly to the side before asking, “but what about when you’re missing me?” 

Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes, and in one fell swoop had lifted Aria off of the ground, her legs almost reflexively wrapped around his torso, as he pressed her against the wall behind them. He could tell Aria hadn’t expected that, not only by her slight gasp, but also the look of surprise on her face, or rather that of utter shock. 

Harry’s eyes barely had any hints of green as he looked at her. “Careful now,” he said, his voice an octave deeper than he had been a minute ago, as he pressed slow painful kisses to her neck. Aria pursed her lips fighting not to make a sound; she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. But in doing so her legs around his waist tightened, which lead to Harry letting out a soft growl against her skin. “You’re gonna be the death of me, princess,” Harry said, barely above a whisper, before he lifted his head up. 

He looked at her for a second, both of their chests heaving slightly before he finally pressed his lips to hers. It started off slow and soft, Harry being the fucking tease he is, but soon morphed into tongues and teeth clashing, and Harry began walking them over to the unmade bed, Aria still wrapped around him, breakfast long forgotten. Harry lowered them into the mess of duvets, Aria’s legs still around his torso, her hands in his already unruly hair, as he carefully hovered over her. 

“You okay to go on?” Harry asked, pulling away, his eyes piercing into Aria’s. She nodded. He was about to reprimand her for not using her words, but she remembered the warnings from the night before, “yes,” she said, a little breathless, as she pulled his lips back onto hers. 

Harry’s fingers reached the waistband of Aria’s jeans where they felt the edge of his white cotton t shirt, but before he could take them off, an obnoxious buzzing sound broke their trance. 

It was Aria’s alarm. She pulled out her phone from her back pocket where Harry had so delicately placed it, and snoozing it, as she looked carefully at it, her brows furrowing in concentration as Harry hovered over her. 

She looked up at him, an almost guilty look in her eyes, and his face fell knowing what it meant. “I should get going, I have a train to catch soon,” she said, managing to slide out from under him. Harry nodded; he understood, of course. But neither of them said anything for a while, as Aria gathered her things and straightened herself up in front of the mirror. Harry had insisted as they ate breakfast that she continue wearing his t shirt instead of her coffee-stained one, “for mostly selfish reasons,” he had reassured her with a wink, and was now observing with the most gentle of smiles as she rolled up the sleeves a bit, looking at herself in the mirror. 

“It’s rude to stare, Styles,” Aria reminded him, glancing at him for a mere second, a gleam in her eye. “Can’t help myself,” Harry said, as he folded his arms across his chest, but looked away anyway. 

He was deep in thought, and he came to the conclusion that he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her, not yet anyway. “Don’t take the train,” Harry stated suddenly. Aria frowned at him, almost amused, before rolling her eyes and mumbling a sure. “No no, I can drive you back,” he declared. 

Aria scoffed, “no, absolutely not,” even though she would love nothing more than to go on a mini road trip with Harry, it would make no sense for him to drive all the way to St Andrews and then drive all the way back to Glasgow, and it would have been extremely selfish of her to even think about asking him to. 

“Why not?” Harry challenged, “I’m free all day today, I would rather spend time with you than be cooped up in this room with sheets-” Harry paused and took three quick steps and now stood behind her, looking at her through the mirror, “-sheets that smell like you,” he said, his voice low again, his hand traced down the side of her neck, moving the hair that covered the hickey out of the way, as he pressed a soft kiss on her temple. 

“Oh come on, road trip, it’ll be fun!” He said, pulling away suddenly, his tone taking a turn back to his cheery one. “Hardly,” Aria said as she quickly composed herself, “its an hour and a half away.” Harry was about to say something else but before he could Aria said, “okay, let’s do it.” Harry’s eyes widened, as he gave her a huge beaming smile, and pulled her in for a hug, lifting her off the ground. “But I’m driving,” Aria announced, making Harry chuckle. “Absolutely not.”

***

Harry drove. But that allowed Aria to admire not only the Scottish countryside but also Harry’s beautiful side profile, so her complaints died down very fast. Somehow, with all the rest stops and snack breaks, they managed to take a little over 3 hours to complete the journey. It had to have been some sort of record in Delaying The Inevitable. 

When Harry pulled up in front of Aria’s flat, they both got quite quiet, not looking at each other, afraid to break their little bubble. 

“That’s a pretty necklace,” Harry said finally looking at Aria. She glanced down at the silver necklace that lay on her sternum and smiled to herself, before she reached behind her neck and unclasped the piece. And before Harry knew what was happening, she had leaned across the centre console and reached around his neck and clasped the necklace there. The necklace, with one evil eye charm and one disk charm with the letter A engraved on it, fell in between the open buttons of Harry’s shirt, accompanying his gold cross. It was an interesting contrast between the gold and silver jewellery. 

Aria noticed Harry was about to say something as her eyesight drifted back to his face, but she beat him too it, “just something to remember me by.” It was a bittersweet feeling, it seemed like something was… ending. 

Harry placed one of his hands on the necklace, on his chest, and the other on top of Aria’s much smaller one. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. He wanted to protest and tell her that she didn’t need to give him her necklace, but if he’d have learnt one thing about her in the past day, it was that she would not have listened. Not in an uncompromising way, just in an end of way. And it would certainly bring back good memories for him. 

They stayed like that for a minute, holding hands. Aria was not looking at Harry anymore but he couldn’t not look at her. And he smiled to himself as he watched her cheeks redden from their sudden intimacy. 

Harry took a deep breath, “another really good way to remember you by,” he began as Aria looked up at him, her brows slightly furrowed wondering where he was going with this, as Harry continued, “would be if you gave me your phone number,” he announced. It was hardly a question. 

But Aria had a strict NO PHONE NUMBERS TO BE GIVEN TO ONE NIGHT STANDS rule, which echoed in her head like a siren. Oh, but this was Harry Freaking Styles, said a small voice in her head. Harry carefully observed her as she contemplated what to do. He could almost hear the cogs turning in her head. 

“No,” Aria stated with finality that broke Harry’s heart a bit, and maybe even her own. “But you can have my email address.” Harry’s ears perked up, “I will take what I can get,” he replied with a small, nervous chuckle. Aria nodded, almost awkwardly. “Alright then,” she said as she typed in her email address into his phone, like it was 2005. “I take ages to reply, just a heads up,” she admitted as she handed Harry his phone back. 

“Hey, maybe one day you’ll let me use the email to iMessage you,” he said with a wink. Shit. She didn’t think of that. He could very well iMessage her, and well, she wasn’t going to block him… Aria pushed her commitment issues to her back of her mind. What were the chances that one of the biggest pop-stars on the planet would actually take the time of day to email someone he had a) just met and b) someone who was Aria? With that silent self reassurance, she nodded, not saying anything about that. 

“I should get going; class tomorrow, need to prep,” Aria said as she reached to the backseat and grabbed her overnighter. “So, I guess this is goodbye then?” 

“Only for now,” Harry said with a small shake of his head, reassuring mostly himself. 

Aria leaned across to Harry again and gently pressed her lips to his. “Bye, Harry,” she said, her lips still hovering over his, eyes still closed, before he leaned into her again, and kissed her once more. It was soft and quick, and without another glance or word, Aria was out the door, not giving Harry time to process.

So he sat there, as he watched Aria disappear behind the reflective glass doors of her building, thinking about everything he was feeling. And while Harry had never been in love - sure, he had been in his fair share of relationships with people he loved, people who he thought he could eventually be in love with, he couldn’t say for certain he was someone who had been in love. He thought about gazing into Aria’s deep chocolatey eyes, and felt the necklace burn into his soul in the best way possible, he felt what he could describe was the closest to being in love as he had been ever in his life. He had only known her for 16 hours, but dear god, he wanted to spend his every waking minute with her. And even if he hadn’t felt love, he had felt Something. Something he could describe in no other way. 

[smalltragedy]

* ryan destiny, cis woman + she/her | you know kira blake, right? they’re twenty four, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, ever? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to babooshka by kate bush like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole lazily stretched out in a ray of light, daisy shaped irises and daisy chain braids, performing an intricate dance to move the ocean's waves thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is october 31st, so they’re a scorpio, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( james, 22, est, they/them )

hllo ive hd kira in my head fr a bit bt i also know ntohing abt her! this is me winging it even though i hv no right to <3 this is my third character maybe whose birthday is in honor of ella n coincidentally 2/3 of them r in this rp. yea im messy smirks sexily.

DEATH, GRIEF, DRUGS TW

mini playlist.

wuthering heights ;; kate bush / babooskha ;; kate bush / dreams ;; fleetwood mac / california dreamin’ ;; the mamas & the papas / lavender moon ;; haroula rose / time of the season ;; the zombies / after the storm ;; kali uchis / left hand free ;; alt-j / always forever ;; cults / wait a minute! ;; willow / your dog ;; soccer mommy.

statistics.

full name: kira blake

nickname(s): keely.

birthday: october 31st, 1996.

zodiac: scorpio sun, cancer moon, aquarius ascending. 

mbti & temperament: esfp & catalyst / sanguine. 

label: the ebullient.

sexuality: bisexual.

pinterest.

biography.

born to two original hippies which hs pretty much set up who kira is fr the rest of her life <3 the type of ppl who didnt like the boundaries of marriage n held off frm it fr as long as possible until theyd hd a spur of the moment elopement involving a celebrity impersonator at fannie’s <3 yea theyre lesbians lets go <3

nvr rly took things srsly until kira ws like 5 yrs old n then they were like ah gee ah fuck we probably shld probably settle settle. n they job hopped n worked many odd jobs until they found their footing in careers they liked n one of them probably does like. blown glass art. n the other prob fixes old computers n other ~vintage~ mementos of the past fr ppl.

they make a decent living n they live in delpinius heights n they try a few times fr another kid bt it nvr rly works out (raises an eyebrow. adopted siblings anyone?) n fr the most part kira as a child spends her time running around town and tugging on the hem of other’s shirts to ask them small favors (mostly to play a game with her)

often left unsupervised as a kid, bt not in the way tht her parents dnt care (bc her parents love her a lot a lot a lot like she is their world) bt in the way tht they simply raised her the way they were raised. running amuck all day n coming home jst in time fr dinner, front porch light always on, cat always waiting faithfully on their stoop.

pretty evident frm a young age tht kira’s mind saw things differently, in a different light - the world an array of light n mystery n sound n taste n sometimes those collided n created new experiences. prob hs some form of synsthesia bt dnt ask me which one yet. she’s a painting prodigy with an excellent understanding of color theory.

always ws known as a kind of like. rambunctious kid. a well meaning class clown who cld nt keep her mouth shut fr the life of her. grew up constantly with a yellow card beneath her name in school bt ws always well liked by her teachers n classmates alike.

jst a very bright child who did well naturally bt always ws turned more towards art.

feel like her parents very noticeably turned a cheek when she started smoking weed w the cool older kids when she ws 13. the type of person who wnts 2 b liked so bad she’d jump over a hurdle fr it. hs jumped over many hurdles n many fences n many other obstacles to be liked bt does it without breaking a sweat.

(edit: nw tht i think abt it hwevr i dnt think she does tht anymore i think while a bit of a mess atm she. likes herself. n doesnt rly want or need the approval of others anymore she jst does her own little thing. bt when she ws younger? she jst wnted 2 b friends w the entire world.)

nothing bad rly happened fr like. a good bit of her life. got into psychedelics at some point in high school n tht only heightened her artistic abilities. most of her high school art portfolio ws probably done while high bt <3 does it matter.

hd a high school sweetheart n they were pretty serious like. full on in love. a total believer of soulmates kira ws jst like. this is the one. there is nobody else i cn imagine my life with.

death tw

death tw

death tw.

death n grief tw // yea. sometime during their freshmen year of college. car incident. kira ws nvr the same though she’d like to pretend tht nothing’d ever happened. like theyd nvr existed. like she didnt plan out their entire lives together hiking thru hills n valleys n boating across various bodies of water n traveling together until they were old n wrinkly. end of death tw //

cld nt explain 2 u why kira hd bought a van n completely demolished it only to drain all of her savings remodeling it bt nw she lives in it by the beach. hd dreams of travelling the world bt cannot go long distances in a car without feeling sick. sees planes n feels envy. stopped painting fr a long time bt she’s started back up recently. took on surfing. told her parents tht it ws fine n tht she ws fine n theyre concerned bt shes always by the beach, her van rarely leaves. she’s trying her best bt its only been a few yrs n i think ppl cn sense tht shes jst nt the same cheerful girl as they once knew. end of grief tw //

anyways. tugs on my collar. tht’s kira! she lives on the beach n surfs everyday n is obsessed with daisies n is prob growing her own shrooms somewhere. 

personality & facts.

always been very emotional n a little dramatic. nt a drama queen bt is a little messy n does not hv like. many rational thoughts up in there. very cup full or cup empty.

regardless though she hs an. overall reputation fr jst being. enjoyable to be around. her her little moments bt shes also pretty like. laidback. in a way. KDSHFSDLKHGHFLKSD

prob bc she smokes a lot or is often <3 on a trip if u know wht i mean <3

god. got obsessed with the 60s n 70s aesthetic at some point n hs not gone back evr. big fan of psychedelic rock. is a prodigy painter bt her life dream outside of traveling ws always to own her own record label. hs nt happened yet, maybe will never happen? works at a record shop though n does hide the good vinyls tht she wants away frm the customers.

very cheerful n usually uplifting n she doesnt like to b negative around others bt smtms she cnt control it n smtms thinks tht ppl r out 2 get her jst out of. anxiety. hs long bouts where she’ll sit in a still sort of sadness n then shake out of it n hop back into conversation like nothing’s happened bt. its fine we’re fine kira is fine.

shes not gullible or naive bt wants to believe tht everybody hs a heart of gold even if its false. keeps giving ppl second chances bc she hs a savior complex n thinks she cn change ppl.

is very into zodiac n will judge u by ur chart. knows everybody in town’s natal chart. even newcomers. it’s a little scary hw quick she finds this information bt its very important to her.

kind of like. into spirituality bt i wont lie its very surface level n a little superficial. learning tarot cards bt cannot fr the life of her memorize the meanings so smtms she jst makes up things on the spot. hs so many crystals she will not stop buying them.

i think a part of her is desperately trying to cling onto tht like. think positive. self care. msg thts super prevalent online without addressing or actually helping any of her problems. it is her flaw </3

hates to admit when she needs help. wld rather do everything herself.

head is a little in the clouds n her parents r a little concerned fr her bc shes nt rly doing much rn bt like. she jst needs time i think. shes jst doing her little thing.

does not give up on ppl easily she absolutely hates dropping ppl frm her life even if she grows 2 resent them over time which is bad bc she is bad at hiding when she is upset at someone or when she doesnt like someone.

like shes jst passive aggressive abt it n does not properly communicate <3

bt this is rare i think ... negative feelings abt other ppl

self centered bt not selfish if tht makes sense. she will do things fr others without a problem n sometimes trips over herself 2 do it bt at the end of the day i think she cares abt herself the most.

hs only been in love once bt hs hd many infatuations n many like. admirations n very surface level feelings. her body is a temple n she loves 2 b worshipped.

prob does fkn. beach yoga. probably vegan bt also maybe breaks tht every once in a while. almost noncommittal its hard 2 distinguish between her being carefree, not taking care of herself, or jst hving commitment issues? flaky or not? who knows.

feels jst a bit too strongly bt tries to contain it. jst full of multitudes or smth. idk. icon <3

like. cares bt doesnt care. does thinks tht r purposely self destructive n then acts like shes like. cool girl monologue frm gone girl. bt does it while being like peace n luv on earth x

ok thts all i hv goodbye

wanted plots.

a pseudonym 2 fool ‘em... ;; jst hd this idea pop up bt i like the idea of kira going undercover 2 expose cheaters. whether she does this on her own accord or is personally requested by smbdy is up in the air. a plottable point. she h8s cheaters n is chaotic good she prob thinks shes the relationship vigilante testing the strengths of other’s relationships. once again she cld b. specifically going undercover fr smbdy 2 help them out. im sure she wldnt go 2 very. extensive srs measures like actually. sleeping w the assumed-cheaters bt once again. world is our oyster n i lov drama?

crystal visions ... ;; once again. shes super into crystals n astrology n she will base sm of her opinions of others on it. this is nt just abt her being judgmental of others bt also jst. catching her running around in the rain trying sooo hard 2 fkn. charge her crystals in the rainwater bc she forgot 2 charge them under the full moon the night b4. this is her giving wrong tarot readings. she hs no idea wht shes doing at any given time bt acts like she does know. acts like she knows the entire world. she gives crystals as gifts n will do ur natal chart for u bt will also pack her things n leave if ur a capricorn.

time of the season... ;; i dnt knw admittedly. this song’s abt being horny so perhaps? perhaps. kira isnt rly able to keep a grasp on long term relationships rn due to. factors in her life so she hops frm person 2 person often. smtms jst flings smtms its jst a relationship accidentally led on. shes noncommittal n a little flaky atm when she’s usually ride or die fr others. perhaps this is all in the name of some good fun! world? oyster. 

literally anything .dsfskhdkgs ;; god. shes so new i jst dnt know. childhood friends. current friends. friends shes hd frever. enemies n ex lovers n ppl shes constantly pushing away or scorned lovers or both or anything?? she pushed them out of the roller rink to make more room fr herself or maybe they did tht to her. perhaps theyre both constantly pursuing some sort of fkn. meaning in their lives tht they cnt quite grasp. mayb they go on an acid trip together. who knows. 

[dangermousie]

OK, when Hyun Soo starts hallucinating his father again (something he hasn’t done since Ji Won kissed him well over 10 years ago), you know things are going pear-shaped.

OK, regardless of whether they are both in on a plan, working with different plans or w/e, this man’s mental health has just taken a giant enormous leap back. Like - yikes.

I love how it feels like a horror moment when Ji Won sees her husband looking at something clearly not there (if HS told her he used to hallucinate daddy, it adds an extra dimension of horror.)

This broke my heart. And why I think they aren’t going from the same plans; his heartbreak and even bitterness are too real. (Or maybe they are on the same plot but his underlying concern remains. I think it’s the former though.) And he has a point - if even the woman who loves him, who’s slept on the same bed with him for over a decade, who he told and shown everything about himself, doesn’t trust him and believes him capable of that kind of murder, what hope is there for him?

I find it interesting that he snaps (or executes an instant plan) when he finds out he’s about to be arrested and taken in; I wonder if it’s because he knows his time has run out - he may have been able to talk to Ji Won and see if he has time for some plan but not with a squad’s worth of cop cars on the way. And while I do not think he has snapped in the “I don’t trust Ji Won and I have decided to start a murder career with my beloved wife even tho I didn’t even try to kill my various abusers,” I do think he has zero trust in anyone in authority to help him and he thinks he needs to be free to solve this on his own (though his going off on his own has caused problems before, sigh.) I also think he is doing this to protect her in a perverse way - she was not in on it, she didn’t know he was evil, she is a victim of the monster Do Hyun Soo, is what she can use as an excuse if he fails at clearing his name (though honestly, I think he is less concerned with that than protecting his family since he knows the serial killer has threatened them; to protect them he needs to catch him and to catch him he needs to be free.)

Also this!!!! I bet he did it so he could actually tell her what is going on because otherwise why bother, all it would show is them leaving through the back door with his knife on her neck or w/e.

But even if my theory is correct WTF HYUN SOO PULLING A KNIFE ON YOUR WIFE! Unless you both coordinated this, desperate measures or not, I hope she wallops you and makes you sleep on the couch for a month. With all the springs pulled out.

Therapy for everyone!!!!!

[salexectrian-heir]

messages from last night update

chapter below the cut | ao3 link

✧ Oracle ✧

SEPT 1ST 4:57 AM

[Joker] Hi

[Joker] Story time

[✧ Oracle ✧] i see yusuke returned ur phone

[Joker] Aha, yeah. After swearing on my life I would not make any more poor life choices

[Joker] I assume that was your doing

[✧ Oracle ✧] ur welcome

[Joker] Hmm well I might not have sworn hard enough

[✧ Oracle ✧] ???

[Joker] bet you 500 yen you can’t guess where I woke up this morning (without hacking my location)

[✧ Oracle ✧] oh god akira… jail?

[✧ Oracle ✧] again??!

[Joker] No

[Joker] Better

[✧ Oracle ✧] !!?

[Joker] On the catwalk of the auditorium

[✧ Oracle ✧] BRUH

[✧ Oracle ✧] didnt yusuke like walk u home???

[Joker] He did

[Joker] I just didn’t stay home after

[✧ Oracle ✧] (-_-;)・・・

[✧ Oracle ✧] but don’t they lock up the buildings at night….

[Joker] ...

[✧ Oracle ✧] also i’m p sure catwalks are at least fifteen meters in the air??

[Joker] ...

[Joker] I am surprisingly still very dexterous while intoxicated

[✧ Oracle ✧] o m g

[✧ Oracle ✧] what possessed u to sneak out of the dorm, pick a lock, scale scaffolding, and fall asleep on a metal beam is  / literally /  beyond me

[Joker] Me too, It's all very...fuzzy after getting back to the dorms

[Joker] Maybe I was a cat in a past life

[✧ Oracle ✧] cat!kira

[✧ Oracle ✧] congrats u now have a fursona to add to your growing list of ‘sonas

[Joker] Cat!kira go prrr?

[✧ Oracle ✧] HAHAH a self-drag?

[✧ Oracle ✧] Someone truly is hungover and regretting his life choices

[Joker] Jokes aside, all that flexibility training I did in hs apparently paid off

[Joker] I have no new bruises or injuries that I am aware of so I made it up in one piece. Somehow.

[✧ Oracle ✧] wait hold up I thot all that “training” u’d say u were doing was just like horny akira code for “going to mess around with Sumi after school”

[✧ Oracle ✧] don’t tell me u actually were doing gymnastics with her that whole time

[Joker] Okay

[✧ Oracle ✧] ????

[Joker] You literally just told me not to tell you

[✧ Oracle ✧] but was i right?! i NEED to kno if i was right

[Joker] Haha yes and no

[Joker] We did both

[Joker] is typing...

[✧ Oracle ✧] oKAY OKAY OKAY NO DETAILS (SAVE THOSE FOR ANN)

[✧ Oracle ✧] JUST CONFIRMATION THANK U next

[Joker] You have written fanfic more explicit than anything I could ever tell you I’ve done, AND I PROOF READ IT FOR YOU

[✧ Oracle ✧] ヽ(•//д//•)ノ [ok true]

[✧ Oracle ✧] but

[✧ Oracle ✧] ヽ(•̀//д//•́)ノ

[Joker] Ik Ik, I’m teasing. I won’t corrupt your virginal ears

[✧ Oracle ✧] /anyway/ people r gonna be mad jealous when they find out u dated an olympic gymnast

[Joker] She wasn’t one when we dated though so technically I didn’t

[Joker] She found out she qualified shortly before we went back to being just friends

[Joker] I think we’re both much happier this way

[✧ Oracle ✧] Obviously. you still talk to her??

[Joker] Yeah

[Joker] We caught up before the semester started

[Joker] She said she was nervous, but that’s to be expected when you’re on the global stage. Aside from that she’s fitting in really well with her new teammates. She just wishes Kasumi could have been a part of it

[✧ Oracle ✧] </3

[Joker] Yeah :( </3

[Joker] But she’s good

[Joker] Still calls me senpai though...which idk how to feel about that

[✧ Oracle ✧] lol its ~cute~

[Joker] Hmm leaning towards don’t think so

[✧ Oracle ✧] “oh ~senpai~ you’ll still watch me compete in the olympics on TV right?”

[Joker] ...did you listen in on the call

[✧ Oracle ✧] no

[Joker] “no,” she lied like a liar (I know you still have my phone bugged damn it)

***

The Phantom Thieves of Cats

SEPT 1ST 5:01 AM

[✧ Oracle ✧] *kicks down the door to the thieves den*

[✧ Oracle ✧] INARI U FAILED

[✧ Oracle ✧] GUESS WHERE AKIRA IS

[✧ Oracle ✧] (hint: not where he’s supposed 2 be)

[Fox] Preposterous! He was safely returned to his dorm room. I personally put him to bed.

[Panther] you stayed over in their dorm room Fox… isn’t he in there w/you??

[Fox] is typing...

[Fox] Ah. It appears that I am in his bed and Akira is indeed missing. I was on the floor when we went to sleep. I have no recollection of this transfer.

[Fox] I have awoken Ryuji but all he has done is throw his possessions at me in an attempt to silence my “pestering” so I do not think he will be of any help in this situation.

[Joker] Don’t bother with him Fox. He isn’t responsive until at least 9am after a night out.

[Joker] Also, why aren’t the rest of you sleeping?

[Panther] Joker! you’re alive!!! are you okay???????

[Joker] Define okay

[✧ Oracle ✧] *cackles*

[Panther] where are you?!?

[Joker] You aren’t going to guess?

[Panther] jail?

[Fox] Please let it not be true your detective arrested you last night, and you are suffering in incarceration as we type.

[Joker] Why is jail everyone’s first guess? I was only arrested once!

[Joker] Fuck

[Joker] Also, he is not “my” detective

[Fox] is typing…

[✧ Oracle ✧] u sure about that

[Joker] Oh no

[✧ Oracle ✧] pls reread our messages from last night

[Joker] Oh GOD

[✧ Oracle ✧] *cackles louder*

[✧ Oracle ✧] i can’t wait to hear what inari is about to dish out

[Panther] wait what did akira say to you @ ✧ Oracle ✧?!

[Joker] Futaba please *softly* don’t

[Fox] Last night I had to relieve you of your phone before you texted the detective prince incriminating evidence of your state of inebriation and infatuation. You were adamant that you had to send him a picture of a cat as a token of your feelings, which I objected as the image you selected was not flattering of the cat. I may have just met you a few days ago, so please tell me if I am overstepping my bounds, but I do not think sending hideous pictures of cats is a wise way of winning over this man’s affections.

[✧ Oracle ✧] pls show us the picture he wanted to send

[Fox]

[Panther] Hahahah oh akira

[✧ Oracle ✧]

[Joker] …

[Joker] I’ll be staying at this undisclosed location until further notice

[Panther] no Akira!!! seriously where are you??

[Joker] the_view_is_nice.image

[Panther] :O

[Panther] how did you get up that high???

[✧ Oracle ✧] gymnastics training

[Panther] huh? i didn’t know you were a gymnast Akira!!

[✧ Oracle ✧] im sure he’ll tell u all about it now

[Joker] -____-

[Fox] I cannot believe I failed my first mission as the Chosen One.

[✧ Oracle ✧] i can

[Fox] is typing…

[Panther] @ ✧ Oracle ✧!!!!!!

[✧ Oracle ✧] kek

[Fox] I am an utter disgrace to this friendship. How can I even call this a friendship when I have done nothing but leech from the kindness you all have bestowed upon me. How will I ever be able to show my face among you,  those whom I have failed. I must atone for the shame I have wrought.

[Joker] You didn’t fail @ Fox, and you are not a disgrace. It was my fault. I was the shitty friend in this situation. I’ll make it up to everyone, and to you Fox. I’ll think of something.

[Fox] Food would suffice.

[Joker] Dinner for a week it is.

[Fox] Delightful!

[Panther] wow he got over that fast

[✧ Oracle ✧] welcome to being friends with Inari, the path of forgiveness is through his stomach

***

✧ Oracle ✧

SEPT 1st 5:07 AM

[Joker] Slight problem

[Joker] I actually have no idea how to get down

[✧ Oracle ✧] u really r part f*cking cat

***

Regrettably, some of his life choices last night did him no favors.

Mistakes had been made. Limits and Lessons had been learned. Unfortunately the hard way.

After miraculously finding a way down off the catwalk without injury  into his dorm shower and a fresh set of clothes, Akira managed to show up for his opening shift at Big Bang Blends ten minutes early.

Haru took one look at him when he slinked into the kitchen and immediately said, “Oh dear.”

Akira spun a damp curl around his finger. “That bad, huh?”

“Uhm.” Haru offered him a wobbling, pitiful smile. “You kind of look like how I would imagine a cat that got caught outside in the rain might feel.”

He let out a self-deprecating chuckle and wandered over to the apron rack. “Fair comparison.” Selecting his off its hook, he pulled it over his head. “I’d add on that the cat also got stuck in a tree and developed a splitting migraine.”

“I know just the thing that’ll sort you out!” Haru hovered over to Akira’s side. “Whenever I--” she paused, considering her words with a finger to her lip, “overindulge,” she settled on with a giggle, “I’ll make myself a cup of my special tea. It instantly clears my head and calms my stomach.”

Akira’s stomach rolled unpleasantly. “ Special tea ?”

Haru nodded vigorously. “It works like a charm! And I’m not just saying that because I drink it, I have a friend--well, I might be overstepping if I were to call him that, we aren’t that close,” Haru sighed, “but I make it for him too when he occasionally stumbles in here in a similar state.”

“Do I want to know what’s in it?” he asked hesitantly.

Haru beamed brightly at him. “No.”

Akira groaned.

“I promise it’ll work,” Haru said, wandering out of the kitchen and over to her collection of loose leaf teas that were displayed in clear, sealed jars behind the counter. She called back to him, “You’ll perk up in no time!”

He gave her a weak thumbs up.

Picking up the task list from the side of the walk in freezer, he resigned himself to his fate of ingesting whatever the fuck concotion Haru was going to feed him. It couldn’t have been worse than what he drank last night. In all honesty, he would have been feeling way, way, worse if Yusuke hadn’t convinced him to drink so much water when they got back. Akira would like to think the fact he wasn’t curled up on the floor in the fetal position on the cafe floor was also thanks in part to the Amazake he had chosen to drink the night prior too. But the thought of the non-alcoholic sake made his stomach churn harder so he stopped that train of thought immediately, and focused on setting up the dining area.  His head felt like it weighed five pounds heavier than it usually did, which made moving it a bit of a hassle, but he had the opening sheet to finish before the cafe opened and he’d damn himself if he didn’t deliver.

What his stomach did seem safe to think about was luck stats, and that maybe Futaba was onto something when she had made that off hand comment in their chat last night. Akira was incredibly lucky to have landed two bosses ( three if he counted Sojiro but the man was more like a father than he ever was a boss) who cared more about his well being as a person than as a source of cheap labor. Watching Haru make his tea as he flipped chairs down off the tables only amplified his guilt of showing up before her utterly and unmistakably hungover.

Being the sloppy friend did not sit well with Akira.

He swore to himself as he pushed in the last chair he took down that this was the first and last time he ever did anything as stupid and irresponsible as he did last night. Not to mention, his luck wouldn’t last if he kept this up. He’d make it up to everyone somehow, and Haru in particular now. He wouldn’t let his current state impact his work.

And once he stopped feeling like dogshit and could form a coherent argument, he was going to have a long, hard talk with whichever one of his personas decided it would be great fucking idea to drink so much, scale the interior of the theatre, and fall asleep on a steel beam no greater than sixty centimeters in width. Because honestly, what the fuck ?

Even In high school, his “peak stupidity” years, he hadn’t done anything as dumb as this.

Okay, well, that was a lie.

He had done a lot of stupid, often illegal things (see: petty theft, breaking and entering) in high school that to him, had been justified. He was quite gifted at stealing and knew his way around a lock with professional proficiency, and he had gotten away with it unscathed for a very long time.

Except for the whole getting arrested and put on probation thing , which ironically had been for a crime he didn’t actually commit.

“It’s ready!”

“Thanks, Haru.”

Akira swung by the to-go counter reaching for the mystery tea waiting for him and continued on.

After thirty minutes of sipping on whatever miracle cure Haru brewed as he checked off the morning set up tasks, it fucking kicked in. The mind fog and nausea disappeared almost entirely, settling his stomach enough that he was able to keep down some Advil and melon pan with Haru for breakfast. Akira could handle the headache until the medicine took over.

He just couldn’t move too fast or too sudden (Akira was still a little too off balance for that), or turn his neck sharply (thanks to what he had drunkenly decided to use as a pillow the night before). But he powered through it as he set about stocking the various coffee beans in their containers.

The last item on the task sheet they completed together. Prepping the food items for the pastry case with all of the baked goods Haru had made the night before. In addition to mochi, goma dango, and other pastries one would expect to enjoy with tea and coffee, there was always some kind of cake. Meticulously and lovingly decorated, sliced by hand that Haru showcased in her cake display. Today’s selection was a daring one, a pink lemonade cake with delicately applied ombre pink frosting and topped with candied lemon slices that were evenly spaced, each sitting on an artful dollop of whipped white icing.

“Did you want to try a piece, Akira-kun?”

Akira glanced over from where he was sliding a tray of nerikiri into the case. A plate with a modest slice was being extended to him. Eyeing the color up close, his stomach protested. Apparently still a little too hungover to test the limits of his digestive tract with such an extravagant confection.

“It looks amazing, but I think I’ll stick to the melon pan this time Haru.”

“I can always save it for la--”

A sharp series of knocks interrupted their conversation.

From his position squatting on the floor, he checked the time on his phone. There were still five minutes until the cafe officially opened for the day. Haru had warned him there were always a few people who showed up early and failed to read the sign.

“I’ll get it,” Akira sighed, sliding the door of the pastry case shut. “You finish with the cake. I’ll handle our impatient caffeine addict.”

“Oh don’t worry the cake’s all done, I just cut the last slice.” Haru waved Akira off. “I can get him.”

Him?

He hastily straightened up, brushing a few stray sugary crumbs off his apron and immediately looked over at the entrance. Every muscle in his body seized up. Waiting outside the glass doors was one impeccably dressed and restless looking Akechi Goro. Akechi rolled his shoulder, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag while he checked his phone.

The message Akira sent Akechi last night intrusively echoed in his head the moment the former detective looked up and locked eyes with him. Pocketing his phone into his suit jacket (it had to be custom fit, because there was no way it could have cut his figure that well without tailoring), he lifted his chin ever so slightly. Akechi’s expression twisted wickedly into something that short circuited Akira’s brain.

Oh.

Fuck .

A war waged between two primal instincts in Akira’s body at the sight, the overwhelming urge to run in the face of danger clashing with a tidal wave of lust. The rush coursed through his veins, freezing him in place. Much like prey that had been cornered, his heart began to thrash against his ribs.

Akechi’s grin was sharp and salacious, a stark contrast to the innocent and winsome smile that the T.V. ready Prince so often wore. Akira didn’t know him all that well (... yet ), but God , that smile just seemed to suit Akechi so much better.

Akira got to witness this side of Akechi knowing it was reserved for only him for about two whole seconds before Akechi’s face changed, shifting into his composed, manufactured doll-like mask when Haru made it over to let him in.

The transformation gave Akira something pretty close to whiplash.

Really arousing whiplash.

“Good morning Akechi-san,” she greeted him, holding the door open with a warm smile.

“And same to you, Okumura-san,” he returned politely, stepping past her and into the cafe proper. “Pardon my early arrival, I have quite the busy day planned unfortunately and was hoping to get a jump start.” He brushed aside a few strands of hair that had fallen into his eyes with a gloved hand. “I hope your morning has been going well.”

“It’s barely started,” Akira muttered, reaching for a to-go cup to start Akechi’s order to busy himself with so he wouldn’t stare at the breathtakingly handsome man in front of him. His heart needed a break already.

Instead of writing Akechi’s name, he doodled a pair of handcuffs with the bold letters A and G within the negative space in each cuff (Akira admired his work for a brief moment and thought Yusuke would be proud). He marked the drink as a caramel latte, recalling what Haru had put down on his cup yesterday. Then proceeded to make a pour over instead.

Haru flipped the sign to open, and then said, “Very well, so far! I tried out a new cake recipe, you have to try it.”

Akechi laughed, and Akira’s stomach clenched--but this time in an all too pleasant way. Akira diverted his attention from grinding the beans for his drink to watch the detective ( Fuck! ) The sound was light and lyrical, and after what Akira witnessed… sounded totally out of place coming out of the same mouth that had held that smug, voracious grin a moment ago.

“As much as I would love to, I must decline. I cannot get into the habit of having cake for breakfast.”

“Then you must take a slice with you!” Haru walked past him and over to her cake display, lifting the glass lid and taking a piece out.

“Alright, if you insist,” Akechi conceded, coming to a stop in front of Akira, who moved on to scooping the grounds into the damp filter. The proximity made it near impossible to keep his eyes off the detective, but Akira somehow managed it, forcing himself to pay attention to his pour.

“Actually, would you mind if I borrowed your barista for a moment, Okumura-san?”

Akira snapped his head up from his preparations and met Akechi’s eyes once more ( God damnit! ). Which was a really dumb idea as a shock of pain spiked down his neck. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop from wincing.

A dangerous glint appeared in that maroon gaze that catapulted Akira’s thundering heart into his throat.

“Is he in trouble?” Haru peered over her shoulder from where she was packing a bright pink slice of cake into a to-go container.

“He might be,” Goro murmured just loud enough for Akira to hear, then broke their eye contact to address Haru, “I assure you, nothing of the sort.” He smiled that infuriatingly fake smile at her, complete with an innocent tilt of his head. “I just need to ask him a few questions, in private.”

Haru shot Akira a questioning stare, Do you need me to say no?

He shrugged nonchalantly, or as nonchalantly as someone who was having a very intense internal meltdown over an insanely attractive man could, and said, “It’s fine, Haru.” He continued to pour the scalding water in a circular motion over the coffee grounds in the filter, doing his best to quiet all the alarm bells in his head.

His response must have come off convincingly enough because Haru nodded and said, “Well, I can’t see why that would be a problem.” She hesitantly returned Akechi’s smile. “But I will need him back in a bit when the morning rush hits.”

“This shouldn’t take too long,” Akechi turned and gestured to a table in the corner of the cafe--far away enough from the counter that Haru couldn’t possibly overhear their conversation. Then under his breath he added, “As long as Kurusu-kun doesn’t resist, that is.”

Akira cleared his throat, willing his throbbing heart to drop back into its cage between his ribs. “Go on, I”ll join you when I’m finished.”

Akechi nodded, leaving the yen for his coffee on the counter and sauntered away. Akira topped off the pour over and transferred the liquid into the to-go cup. On his way around the counter he snagged what was left of his miracle tea and took a swig. He hoped it would replenish his mental reserves to handle the upcoming verbal sparring match he was sure he was about to walk into.

Akechi, in his immaculate glory, was leaning back in his chair languidly with one dark clad leg crossed. He watched Akira closely as he wandered over with their drinks. Akira suddenly felt incredibly out classed and underdressed in his usual cardigan-v neck combo he had going on compared to Akechi’s tan suit jacket and pressed button down shirt.

He slid into the seat opposite Akechi and pushed his coffee across the table. Akechi nodded in thanks and brought it to his lips.

Akira pretended he didn’t watch the way Akechi’s throat moved as he swallowed his first sip.

The detective hummed approvingly. “Black.”

“The way you actually like it,” Akira said with a knowing smile. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

“Is it now,” Akechi chuckled darkly against the lid still pressed to his lips. “Sadly, my coffee preferences are the extent of where your knowledge of me ends.”

In the tenuous silence that descended after that statement, they sipped at their respective drinks. Gazes not once wavering off one another.

“I assume you know why I’m here,” Akechi finally said, cutting the tension.

“When I said ‘come get me ’ I didn’t mean ‘corner me at work ’,” Akira hissed over his cup of miracle tea.

He could think of many other, far more superior places he would have loved to be cornered by Akechi in. But Akira kept that part to himself.

The detective leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist. “You do realize if this were a real investigation and I caught you as unaware as you were this morning, you being at work with your Boss present wouldn’t have deterred me.”

Akira stole a glance at Haru, who was busy writing the specials of the day on their blackboard, then drained the rest of his tea.

Akechi followed his gaze and continued on in a saccharine tone that contradicted the alluring smile his mouth had split into again, “But since it’s not, I highly doubt you want an audience for when I bend you over the counter and take what I want from you.”

Akira promptly choked.

Any lingering doubt Akira may have had about Akechi’s preferences evaporated. Akechi knew exactly what he was saying. He had to have, right? There was no heterosexual explanation for that response.

Point to Akechi, he thought, accepting the fact his face was probably as red as the flowering plant hovering three inches above his head.

“How considerate,” Akira managed to rasp once he got his tea to go down his throat correctly. Swallowing burned like a bitch. Now he had to deal with a sore throat on top of the rebellion being staged by his heart and stomach, and the leftover vertigo from his hangover.

“Will you hand it over now?” the detective asked with a hint of sugar coated venom.

“Hate to disappoint, but you’ll be walking away empty handed this morning. I left it in my room.”

Which wasn’t a lie. In his haste to recover from last night’s  escapade and get to work on time, he hadn’t thought to grab the handkerchief. The last thing he expected was this.

“I think you’re sending me mixed signals.”.

“Am I?”

“You tell me you want one thing, then act like you didn’t expect it to come to fruition when I follow through on it so I’m curious,” Akechi titled his head and his hair shifted, shining ethereally in the early morning sun streaming through the window. “What is it you really want, Kurusu?”

For you to fuck my brains out, Akira thought. But admitting that so bluntly to Akechi’s face felt like defeat. So, he kept the stupid illusion of their game going and leaned in.

“I want to see if the Detective Prince is really as good at his job as the rumors say he is.” Akira mirrored the detective’s head tilt and offered him a crooked grin. “I won’t be that easy.”

“If you want me to physically remove it from your person, then I must insist from this point forward you carry it with you. If every time I corner you, you… aren’t ready,” Akechi’s smile grew wider, “then doesn’t that defeat the purpose? And unlike you it seems, my time and attention is limited.”

“Rude.” Akira mimicked the detective’s posture, dropping his chin into his palm. “My time is limited too. I just can’t have you stalking me at work. And--” what Akira really meant to say next was , I cannot possibly work and retain my sanity with you watching me like that all the time. But instead said, “--Think of Okumura-san’s business. You’ll scare away her customers.”

Akechi shot him an unimpressed look. “Somehow I highly doubt that.”

Wow. Cocky bastard.  

"Well,” Akira said, changing tactics by imbuing a little bit of truth, “I imagine you can relate to not wanting to be distracted at work, with your fans and all.”

“They can be...rather inconvenient at times, yes.” Akechi studied him intently. “Alright then. Let’s make a deal.”

“Making a deal with the enemy? Akechi,” Akira feigned a gasp, “don’t tell me you’re a dirty cop.”

The detective snorted into his coffee. “I’m going to choose not to entertain that comment and suggest we establish some ground rules.”

“I thought rules didn’t exist in investigations,” Akira said mischievously.

“Like I previously stated, good thing this isn’t one, then?”

They shared a private smile.

“I propose this,” Akechi said, straightening up, hands clasped on the table. “From this point on, you will carry it on your person. I will catch you off guard within the next two weeks and take back what is rightfully mine. Our working hours are exempt from this. Obviously, the common spaces in the dormitory will be too by default. Should you ever need me as your RA, that will come first and foremost, I take my duties seriously. As should you. I think you’ll find these terms agreeable and respectful of each other’s time. Unless there are any other locations you want to deem off limits.”

Akira made a show of considering Akechi’s words, tapping a finger against his cheek. This was literally the most drawn out, intellectually charged foreplay Akira had ever engaged in but he couldn’t say it didn’t excite him. In fact, there was something exhilarating about it.  

“No. Everywhere else is fair game.”

“Really?” Akechi inquired, grin breaching that rapacious territory again. “Be careful what you agree to, Kurusu.”

Akira shrugged and leaned back.

“So,” Akechi prompted, “you won’t say no, will you?”

Of course he was going to accept. So Akira simply said, “I think I’ll hold on to your handkerchief.” And then held out his hand. It felt like the right thing to do.

“Hah, excellent,” Akechi smiled and shook it firmly. The leather was soft and warm as it dragged against Akira’s palm. “Otherwise, I will be forced to order a room inspection and somehow I doubt that is how you want this to play out.”

“If you are inspecting the room while I’m in it, then I might be.”

Right after the words left his mouth, the logical part of his brain that wasn’t stuck on being hungover and horny on main finally spoke up and reminded him of the very important, expulsion worthy, major cockblock that was currently being housed in his room: Morgana.

But then Akechi’s mouth upturned devilishly, and suddenly Akira decided he’d cross that furry bridge when he got to it.

“Well, then. I must be off. Thank you for the coffee,” Akechi said, dropping Akira’s hand as he stood up. “I have an interview taping in…” he checked his phone and sighed, “just over an hour. Hopefully the trains are on schedule.”

Akira tilted his head. “Still doing those?”

“Yes, keeping up appearances on behalf of the precinct,” Akechi explained, “I may be officially on hiatus as a full time student, but I still pick up cases from time to time. The media wants to know how I balance it all.”

“Ah. Explains the get up.”

Akechi bristled at the comment, his nose wrinkling ( cute! ) and brows drawing down as he straightened his already perfectly straight tie. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

“Nothing,” Akira teased with a lilt in voice, “It’s nice, maybe a little stuffy.” He deliberately looked Akechi up and down. “But I bet you’d look better out of it, judging by what I saw you wear the last time you showed up here.” He couldn’t fight the coy smile his mouth twisted into even if he tried. “If you’re looking to show off, those shorts from yesterday would do a better job.”

The call out was meant to fluster Akechi, but the detective’s face remained remarkably even toned. Flawless even. Too flawless.

Could he be... he's totally wearing makeup.

Akira lifted a brow pointedly.

That did the trick, earning Akira a heated glare before Akechi turned his head sharply away. The movement roughly shifted the hair around his face, revealing a sliver of skin previously hidden. To Akira’s rapidly dawning delight, the detective’s neck was rapidly turning pink.

“Shut. Up. Kurusu.”

Oh, so Akechi blushes all the way down when he’s flustered. Fascinating. Akira filed the thought away for… later.

For totally innocent purposes.

Totally.

Akira stood up and slipped in front of Akechi, demanding to be looked at. Giddy with his new discovery. “Oh? What’s this? He can dish it out but can’t take it?”

Akechi’s eyes flashed as he brought himself up to his full height, and stepped into Akira’s space. Scowling down the few centimeters he had on him, he forced Akira to take a step back. “You,” he said lowly, continuing to move forward, making Akira walk backwards until his back hit the counter, “are a brat .”

“Just figuring that out now, detective?” Akira smirked. “I thought that was obvious.”

From this close Akira could see just how gorgeous the detective’s eyes truly were. Flecks of light red dotted the center most part of his eyes, giving off the illusion of glittering in the light. He was close enough that if Akira leaned in a fraction more their noses would touch.

A very polite, soft cough came from somewhere on Akira's right.

The detective’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly put space between them again and turned to face Haru, who was standing in between the kitchen and the counter area looking anywhere but at them.

Akira owed her now a second apology.

“I wish both of you a good day,” Akechi gracefully recovered and turned on his heel. He flexed his shoulders as he opened the door but stopped with one foot out the door.

“Oh, and Kurusu-kun?” Akechi turned halfway to face him, “Be sure to check your email this afternoon.”

And then he was gone.

***

It’s Always Snack Time in Tokyo

SEPT 1ST  8:00 AM

[Takuto Maruki] Hello! I was going to wait until I saw you in person, but I can’t resist telling you the good news! I submitted the paperwork to bring on an official research assistant. The chair of the department should grant me an answer by the end of the week. The position is yours once I get the documented approval.

[Takuto Maruki] That is, if you are still interested in conducting research with me like you did over the summer

[Akira Kurusu] I am

[Takuto Maruki] Even more wonderful!

[Akira Kurusu] Won’t it be unethical if you don’t let other people apply for the position though?

[Akira Kurusu] You can’t play favoritism

[Takuto Maruki] I, fortunately, get to make the rules in this situation and I wrote that I could appoint the position to any student that met certain criteria and showed promise in the field

[Akira Kurusu] You literally wrote the position description so that only I fit that criteria, didn’t you

[Takuto Maruki] You would be correct! :D

[Takuto Maruki] So if you’re free and want to get a jump start on assisting, I was hoping to recruit you this upcoming Friday to proctor an exam.

[Akira Kurusu] An exam? The second week of class? Savage Sensei

[Takuto Maruki] It is a 300 level that meets M/W/F so the curriculum moves fast. This cohort in particular is grasping the concepts at a much faster rate than the other two I teach for this course.

[Akira Kurusu] When is it? I open the cafe Friday mornings

[Takuto Maruki] 2pm

[Akira Kurusu] Okay, I can make that work. I’ll be there

[Takuto Maruki] Wonderful! :)

***

The Phantom Thieves of Cats

SEPT 1st 11:12 AM

[Skull] yo i am not back readin any of that

[Skull] wat did i miss?

✧ Oracle ✧  Changed Skull to Edgelord Can’t Read

[Edgelord Can’t Read] I CAN EFFIN’ READ!!!

[Edgelord Can’t Read] i said i wasn’t gonna, not that i cant big difference

[Edgelord Can’t Read] ur the one who cant read

[✧ Oracle ✧] wow gr8 comeback edgelord im so offended. what r we 7yrs old

[Edgelord Can’t Read] shuddup

***

Gotta Go Fast

SEPT 1st 11:28 AM

[Skull] BRO A CATWALK?! WTF?!?

[Skull] how the eff did u get down??

[Joker] My amazing cat-like reflexes

[Skull] bro

[Skull] how u feelin btw

[Joker] You know that feeling you get when you’re about to go over the hill on a rollercoaster?

[Joker] Like that

[Skull] oof

[Skull] ill make u my ma’s soup when ur shifts over, its the best for this kinda shit

[Joker] Why is everyone being so understanding with me today

[Skull] were ur friends man we gotchu

[Joker] alsdjflskf

[Skull] uh did the rollercoaster drop or smth

[Joker] Haha no

[Joker] Thanks Ryuji

***

The Phantom Thieves of Cats

SEPT 1st 2:01 PM

[Edgelord Can’t Read] UH HOLY SHIT EVERYONE CHECK UR EMAILS

[Panther] what?? why??

[✧ Oracle ✧] im surprised u even read ur email

[Joker] Oh.

[Joker] Fuck.

***

To: Shujin Hall_5th Floor

From: Akechi Goro; Niijima Makoto

CC: Kawakami Sadayo

Subject: Violation of Dormitory Rules

Dear Fifth Floor Residents of Shujin Hall,

This is a friendly reminder that there is a strict No Pets Policy in this Residence Hall. A contraband item, a can of pet food, was located on the floor inside the trash room on Friday night. As such, we will be conducting room inspections beginning tomorrow, starting with rooms located in the Girls’ Wing. Let this be an example to all that the consequences for violating this rule will be termination of their dormitory agreement and the loss of their on campus housing status. Any additional charges will be determined by the Residence Hall Director, Kawakami Sadayo.

If you have any further information on this subject, please feel free to contact us.

We hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

Sincerely,

Your Resident Assistants

Akechi Goro

University of Tokyo | Class of 20XX Criminal Justice / Psychology Major | Philosophy Minor AG710341@mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Niijima Makoto

University of Tokyo | Class of 20XX Criminal Justice Major | Psychology & Law Minor NM798448@mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp