Towst be writin'

19 - I'm new at this but I'm desperate to try and accurately characterise my favs

[towsterstrewdle]

A Rare Karma

karma x gn!reader

tw: description of cooking knife wound

A little character analysis preamble:

So Karma’s really not that talkative

In the framing of the story, we obviously see him mostly in high-action plot scenes. In those, he’s quick-witted and intentionally pretty annoying 

 but from what I’ve seen re-watching and how some characters describe him, he really is pretty quiet most of the time

Like, if the convo has nothing to do with him, isn’t dangerous, or he doesn’t feel the need to self-aggrandize as a combative mechanism, he really don’t say much 

So having said that, what is he like when he needs to comfort someone in a low-stake situation? 

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“Shhht!-ow”

All it took was one second of letting your mind wander, and you’ve cut your thumb. 

And just a second earlier, you were thinking it would be pretty funny if this exact scenario happened right after Koro-sensei’s blade safety lecture. 

Not so funny now, when you’ve let the knife clatter on the table top and are clutching your hand up to your face. Not looking at it, even though you’re pretty sure it’s not deep, but the thought of seeing your slashed skin and maybe nail makes you squirm. 

“Cut yourself?” You hear your class partner ask. 

With your eyes shut tight, you nod. Karma’s probably staring at the blood dripping onto the cutting board you meant to pass to him with chopped veggies. The embarrassment you feel for your lapse in competence eases the stinging pain in your hand. But at what cost? The radius of students becoming aware of your situation spreads like a virus around you until the entire home-ec class in-the-know. It’s suddenly quite a ways quieter.

Koro-Sensei is at your side in seconds flat and in a fret, single handedly raising the volume of the room. In another second he’s back with a med-kit. Even when he’s trying to help, though, he’s loud and big and waving his tentacles around like crazy. It’s only making the class more concerned and you more overwhelmed. 

Eyes still closed, you let your good hand roam around the table-top for the sink, nodding as Koro-Sensei asks again if you’re okay. 

“Oh, dear. Don’t fret please! I’ll handle this. Are you sure you’re okay? Let me have a look, yes? Don’t patch it up yourself it’ll be hard with one good hand-”

“Hey, Teach, gimme that” Karma swipes the med kit from a flailing tentacle, then tells you to open your eyes.

When you do, he’s staring blankly at you and gesturing to the desk sink. 

“Stand over that.”

The class is still staring at you. The group at the table besides you, Meg and Sugaya, ask if you’re okay. You nod, hand still in a fist at your chin. 

Koro-Sensei looks a little dumb founded, before he can speak, Karma cuts him off. 

“Relax, go back to what you were doing, they’ll be fine.” 

Your tentacled teacher obeys after a flabbergasted second. The satisfied hum he makes is that of a proud mother hen. The rest of the class also take Karma’s hint and return to the cooking lesson. 

You put your hand out over the sink as he opens the little red box for supplies. Then, he turns it on and watches you tentatively expose your palm to run it under the water. 

“Eek. That's rough,” Karma says, leaning over to get a better look. 

There’s a slash in your nail and the side of your thumb. Your fingers have that thin wash of sticky blood over them that settles into the grooves of your skin before coming off in the water. It’s really not so bad, you surmise with clear eyes. You tell him thanks and he hums in acknowledgement.

You look over and he’s taking things out of the box while still staring at your cut. Behind his red fringe, you see his low lidded eyes. As if he was reading a book, he’s staring at the reddened water flowing off your hand with disinterested neutrality. 

“Mm, not so bad,” he assesses, turning the sink off to take your hand and pat it with a paper towel. 

He presses down gently, and when the blood keeps flowing, he holds the paper towel lightly over your hand to indicate that you should hold it down. 

You say thanks again and press the paper towel over the cut with your good hand, occasionally rotating it when the blood soaks into any one spot. 

“Geeze, I’m sorry,” you say as you watch him turn the boiling pot off, forgetting about the classwork. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he replies, glancing over your hand again while he shreds the seal of an alcohol wipe packet. 

“Thanks,” you say, again-again, when he wipes the drying blood off your thumb. 

“Uh-huh” 

“I’m really stupid sorry I messed our stuff up-”

“You’re not stupid,” he says as he wraps gauze around a cotton ball he’s pressed to the cut. He pats it once before looking up.

“It happens,” He shrugs and smiles, now looking you in the face.

The self deprecation gets caught in your throat. You were entirely ready to pseudo-grovel to him for screwing up maybe the most straightforward task in making soup. But the quiet look he’s giving you isn’t the same one Karma gives someone he expects to grovel to him. 

This Karma is the one you thought you’d never have the guts to get close to. The theoretical Karma who only existed in between his bouts of mischief and violent competence. You thought he was only like this when no one’s eyes were on him, and his attention was in the open air. 

Now that you’re his full attention, the golden warmth in his eyes heats your face like a sunbeam. 

Thankfully, he’s already moved on before he can see your expression.

He packs away the medical supplies and slaps the kit lid to close it. 

…

The rest of class is a little awkward for you, finding any way you can to help him out before he tells you to just “sit down, this is getting sad, dude.” 

And you do, numbly, while watching him finish off the soup. 

Your fond stare turns a little sour when you see him pull a clear vile of something red and viscous out of nowhere and dump it into the pot. 

Well, at least you aren’t to blame when your team’s soup somehow gets replaced with Terasaka’s and leaves him rolling around on the ground clutching a bottle of water. 

How… thoughtful? 

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I promise I'm figuring out the strongest point of the triangle endings

and also all the other requests I've gotten...

but I powered through this in like a day and quite like it so here u go

[towsterstrewdle]

when are you going to do the ending for strongest point of the triangle?

great question,,,,, when i figure out how I want it to end,, he he

I ain't got time rn but it will get done!!! I promise!!

[towsterstrewdle]

Nightmare Crush (suo x reader)

Summary: Suo figures out your crush on him WAY too quickly.

The thing is, you don’t even like him that much. 

At least, you think?? He’s cute, you suppose. Nothing if not gentlemanly, you guess… But why did he have to clock it so quickly??? 

The best part of having a non-committal crush is making up horrendously sappy daydreams in their presence while staring off into space. It’s fun because you could be thinking of him twirling you around a ballroom while simultaneously asking for their lunch order (not that Suo ever really eats when he’s at Pothos).

The point is, he would never have any idea that you had crummy romantasy daydreams of him while you watched him sip his tea.

Not awkward. No fuss. 

So, it kinda kills the vibe when Suo point blank caught you in the midst of one of these daydreams a few weeks back with a one-liner that will haunt your nightmares forever...

“Does my favorite waitress want to give me goo-goo eyes before, or after I pay for my tea today?” He says, reaching behind you for a napkin on the bar counter. 

Shivers. Full on, sub zero shivers. Once he has a napkin, he walks right past you, back to his friends like nothing happened. When you dare look at him again, he’s already ready with a wink and a smile. 

Oh, hello awkwardness. Gooday stumbling words. And so long to the low commitment of a minor crush. 

And you’re STILL pretty sure you don’t even like him that much. 

Not that it matters. Because now, his little gang of friends, Kotoha, probably all of Furin, and maybe even the entire town thinks you have the hottest of hots for Hayato freaking Suo. It’s mostly Sakura’s fault, to be fair. He could feel the jitters vibrating off of you the next time you waited on them. He’s bad at keeping this stuff to himself, and Nirei has the secret keeping capacity of an information broker who gets paid in pennies. 

But Suo himself is still the most annoying patron of all. The other Furin guys have largely left you alone (they like teasing Suo more than you, and lord knows that ain’t easy), so the overwhelming energy of the whole ordeal has been concentrated into the awkward tension between you and him. 

And it’s rough, man. All he ever asks for is tea or water, but he REALLY loves to milk the five seconds it takes to ask:

“Oh, (Y/n), have you noticed I tried a different shampoo today? Oh, you didn’t? Well, if you’re not too busy staring for whatever reason it is that you may be staring, would you mind getting me a refill? Thank you!”

Kotoha says you’re being dramatic since you’re also the only one who waits tables, but you swear she just doesn’t get it. This conversation always devolves into you whining while she scrubs a glass squeaky clean, and you never really find an answer to your most urgent question: 

…what does it all mean??? 

He knows you like him, he’s made it clear. But he’s not turning you down? You’ve heard a story or two from the other Furin first years at this point; Suo is pretty quick to politely turn down confessions (evidently, he once said he didn’t have a phone when a girl asked for his number). But no one, not even Nirei, has any idea on how Suo approaches someone he likes. You feel a pit in your stomach form every time the thought that he’s just messing with you enters your mind, but there aren’t many other explanations to go off of. More than him just not like-liking you, you despise the thought that he might actually be as cruel as he pretends.

Yeah, boys suck. But please, just not a Furin boy. 

On that realization, you decide it’s time to steel your nerves and actually get to the bottom of this. For the sake of Makochi (yeah, sure. You just need the rejection to hit fast and quick). 

When he and his friends come in on a particularly busy day, you tighten the bow on your apron with a courageous inhale and head over to their table. Sakura gets omurice and Nirei picks out something he’s never tried. When you get to Suo, he’s ready with another sweet little line. 

And for the first time in a long time, you didn’t blush as he looked at you with that one mirthy eye. 

“Yeah. sure.” You barely acknowledge him. Your voice comes out as flat and blunt as dropping a sack of flour on the ground. 

His eye goes a little wide and his mouth snaps shut after opening slightly. The smile dims just a bit, but it never leaves his face. He has no follow up comment and simply looks back to his friends as if you weren’t there. You soon make yourself scarce to deliver the orders. 

A thin, damp sheen of unshed tears coats your eyes while you stack empty plates on another table. The understanding, the apathy in his face told you all you needed to know. 

He was done with you. He’s had his fun teasing you and your little crush, so now he’ll just resume his distant, polite platitudes. Your hands in front of you begin to blur - plates clatter loudly as you rush to deliver them to the sink and hover over it in case your eyes can’t hold on any longer. After a minute, you rise again; tears unshed, but you make sure not to rub or dry them either so they don’t look too red. 

The furin boys leave. Your shift comes and goes. You wave to Kotoha as you put your jacket on and then you’re out the door. All you expect to greet you when you go outside is the crisp night air, but from the corner of your vision, you see a tasseled earring blow into view. 

The movement catches you off guard and you swivel to meet the boy face to face. “Woah, hey. You scared me”

“Sorry about that,” Suo pushes off of the wall using the hands that were still behind his back.

You shift your weight from one leg to the other and try not to look too lost in thought, but your mind is racing. Like, has he been waiting here since he left the cafe?

“May I talk to you? If you’re not in a rush.” He smiles lightly, but you’ve seen his smirk enough to know this one is a little strained. 

“Mm, yeah, I’m not busy, I just gotta make sure I don’t miss the last bus” - Smooth. Casual. You’re good at this genuine nonchalant thing.

“Oh, I’ll walk you there now” He gestures before him and waits for you to start walking. Your brave face leaves you when you stumble over the pavement to catch up to him.

The night air is pleasant, but you still feel stiff and nervous. From your side view, you can see Suo looking up to admire the trees and stars. He seems fully at ease. You wonder if this feels awkward for him at all. 

He looks ahead of him again before speaking, “I should apologize to you.”

Okay, here we go. Let’s get this over with. You inhale before asking, “For what?”

“I think… I've been giving you the wrong impression with how I feel.” He’s smiling, but still not looking at you.

“U-um, how so?” With every word your resolve is cracking. Rejection is on the horizon, and all you can do is watch. 

“Well, how do you think I feel about you?” He looks over and grins with his eyes (eye?) closed. Goddamnit, another game? Never let this man into Vegas, cuz he doesn't know when to quit.

Suo’s perky attitude is grating on you now, especially since it’s at your expense. So you decide to be blunt. 

“I think you’ve had a good time playing with my feelings.” You shock yourself a bit with how flat your tone was. Guilt hits you the second you finish speaking, so you backpedal just a bit. 

“But apology accepted, I guess…” 

You trail off when you see his expression. 

He looks horrified. At least, as horrified as someone like Suo can look. He stops walking to face you. He doesn’t speak for a moment even when you look at him. His expression goes from mildly horror, to semi sad, until he finally sighs. 

“I’ve made a mistake, I really am so sorry.”

“You already said that? Apology accept-” 

Out of the pitch black night, a gust swirling with autumn leaves picks up your hair and has you squinting against the pressure. The stars are twinkling, the trees are rustling, a squirrel or two duck and cover under the urban shrubbery, but you don’t notice. 

When you open your eyes again, his deep maroon bangs are tickling your forehead. Suo’s face is so close you could count the lashes on his one good eye. His pupil is rich in color, but still piercing. His mouth was set in a firm line; Not an unusual expression on him, per say, but it was still nerve racking up close. You look off to the side to avoid his sudden scrutiny. 

It’s then that you notice his forearm is blocking you from the wind while gently pinning you to the brick wall behind you. HIs other arm is slightly lower, his fingertips pressing the wall next to your waist. 

“I’m-” his voice cracks “I’m sorry that I wasn’t being clear.”

You’ve never heard Suo have to repeat a line. At last, hindsight was hitting you like a truck. Earnisty was never something you associated with Suo, but the sincere attempt at seriousness in his tone was completely rewriting every interaction you’ve ever had with him. 

“I like you, I have for some time” He breathes out quietly. “Please don’t be mad.” 

His teasing remarks, they were always sincere - always had a purpose past his own entertainment. You immediately think to blame yourself for not seeing it sooner, but that’s not right. Your annoyance was real too. The confusion you felt through it all was due to one simple fact:

Picture perfect Hayato Suo is actually just bad at expressing himself. 

The thought makes you huff out a little laugh. Suo looks back at you, unsure of what to make of your reaction. 

You shake your head to put him at ease, at last, with a smile on your face. 

“M’ not mad, Suo, but wow.”

You don’t see it in the dim night, but his ears go red. His head droops and he lets out a huff of relief, hands still pressed at your sides. 

Your arms and itching to be released from his phantom grasp on you. The proximity is making you more lightheaded with every second. Instead, you opt to flick his earring. He gets the idea and backs off a bit. The look on his face couldn’t be more dreamy. 

…

Ten minutes later, you’re at the bus stop. 

You rock back and forth on your feet, but not out of nerves. Right now, you feel light as air. Suo must feel the same; you catch him hum once or twice. When the bus comes, you look back and say, 

“See you tomorrow?”

“Oh, yes, see you.” 

As you wave a final goodbye, he speaks up again. 

“Although, my class isn’t on patrol tomorrow… a shame, we usually go to Pothos as a group.” 

He puts on a faux ponderous look, “I guess I’ll be going alone, this time, so you’ll just be making tea for two.” 

For two… but... oh. Heat rises to your face. As the bus door closes, you see a satisfied smirk on Suo’s smug little pirate face. He just had to get in the last laugh.

The blush doesn’t leave your face for the rest of the bus ride.

Jeez, what a nightmare.

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Love writing an mc who knows when to get over a crush, also love me a love interest who has to earn mc's trust back.

I've been writing this for like over a month. I reaaaallly wanted to get it out before the next manga chapters come out cuz if those completely change Suo's characterization I would probably want to rewrite the whole thing. I'm pretty proud of this on a line level. Hopefully I can get back to some Karma stuff.

[towsterstrewdle]

favourite trope(s)?

enemies to lovers, rivals to lovers, love triangles, first date/kiss/*winky face, fell first and fell harder, the classic "oh." ykwim, uhhh basically im into anything with a little conflict/tension to it. I'm not super into anything really fluffy or really dark.

[towsterstrewdle]

Do you have a wattpad or ao3 account?

I have an ao3 but I don't use it. Maybe if I do character x character fics I'll try, but for now I'm all here!!

[towsterstrewdle]

do you only write assclass characters?

nope. I'm really into jjk, mha, haikyuu, windbreaker, blue lock, and uhh cowboy bebop? as well as assclass. I'm totes open to other things and theres a good chance I forgot something so if u have a request just shoot ur shot

[towsterstrewdle]

yeah I forgot video games existed: Pokemon (just the gym leaders and stuff not the pokemon), ace attorney, legend of zelda, Dante from dmc, Street Fighter, Smash bros? (is that a thing? smash bros. x reader?), Genshin, and uhhh date everything?

also trigun + stampede for animes

[towsterstrewdle]

do you only write assclass characters?

nope. I'm really into jjk, mha, haikyuu, windbreaker, blue lock, and uhh cowboy bebop? as well as assclass. I'm totes open to other things and theres a good chance I forgot something so if u have a request just shoot ur shot

[towsterstrewdle]

what are your favorite genres author? I liked your recent story, the other two are good too! I was wondering if you'd take any requests? Have a good day <3

fav genres for fics is like, anything that comes right before romance - I think it's more fun to write what goes before the relationship begins than after. In general I'm a big fan of either fantastical fiction or biographies lol

yeah I'll do requests as long as its not craazy and I know the character well enough

[towsterstrewdle]

Strongest point of the triangle

Karma x reader x Asano

Aside from kween mother to us all, @/poppylovestowrite, I haven't seen many love triangle fics for them (but if u know a good one lemme know)

Summary: 3rd year high school drama with two ginger geniuses (poorly proofread)

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Firstly… You, who fought tooth and nail to get into Kunigigaoka high, who jumped for joy when you were placed in class A. 

You, who greeted the class president for the first time with a big bow and shy grin, who faced your aversion to attention to volunteer to help with festivals and eventually joined the student council. Who stays behind after class to help him with managerial tasks, or study, or just… talk. 

You, who sits next to Class A’s resident delinquent in the back of the class, who ate with him during lunch the first few weeks before befriending others, talking endlessly about this or that, who was walked home by him once in your first year after almost being shaken down by a couple of thugs. 

Asano, who falls first, but the ever mature, dependable class president keeps it to himself. By your third year, you had blossomed into a dependable leader of the school who was always patient with him… even while he was struggling to break free of his father’s controlling influence. He saw your kindness and optimism as the epitome of charming, but also your greatest weakness. By your third year of high school, he conceded to not telling you for both of your sakes. College would split you apart (as if preparing for entrance exams wasn’t already doing that), and his fervor, commitment, greatness, would overpower you in the long run. 

Which is why, when you asked him out for the school festival… he said no.

Karma, who falls fast and hard. You were just friends for most of your time in high school. He, the class rebel, the one person who Asano could never tame, and you, his part-time partner in crime, who saw him for who he was and never judged. And one day after school, he saw you propped against the school’s front gate with tears streaming down your face. He narily had a second to ask what was wrong before you straightened up and yanked him by the hand. He was so shocked that he almost went the entire way to the cafe before asking again. You didn't answer. He paid for your three slices of cake. 

Asano, who walks into class one day and notices something different. Since when did Karma sit so close to you with his arm propped on your desk? He couldn’t just ask you, either, as you have been avoiding him for the last two weeks. Even during council duties, and especially festival prep meetings, you barely paid him any mind. He could tell you only even looked him in the eye anymore to prove that you were okay, that he has nothing to do with the way you speed walk out of class now. During his morning announcements, all Asano could do was stare and fume as he grabbed a lock of your hair and twirled it around his finger. 

Karma, who noticed your shift in personality immediately. After that day at the cafe, you had become quieter in class. Maybe even a little bit colder too. He takes it upon himself to try and cheer you up, and he’s surprised at how thrilled he is when you quickly warm up to his childish methods. By the day it was becoming harder to see you as just his seatmate. He longed to see your true smile again; every time he gets a glimpse, his heart skips a beat. But, Karma notices, there’s always a catch. Every other time he flusters you, or gets you to giggle in class, you glance to the front of the room. To where he sits. Suddenly, Karma has a better idea of what’s got you so down. And he’s not too fond of the primary source.

Asano, who bumps into a certain delinquent on campus a full hour after school ends - much later than said delinquent could usually ever be bothered to stay. The menace was checking out his own nails, propped against the front gate. The same place Asano rejected her. 

Karma doesn’t bother looking up. “So, planning to ask anyone to the festival, prez?” 

… “why do you care? Don’t you have a water tower to graffiti or something? Out of my way.” 

“Well I am,” I didn’t ask “I think she’ll say yes, isn’t that sweet?” 

Girl… festival… who? Oh. He wouldn’t…

Asano’s brows furrow into a glare “And what exactly was the point of telling me this?”

Karma chuckles at the mutual understanding. All sardonic and insincere. It really suits him.

“Oh, y’know, I’m just a little surprised, is all; You’ve never seemed the type to throw away an opportunity,” 

Karma uses his shoulder blades to push himself off the gate and begins to walk away.

“But a win's a win, I’ll take this under my belt, too”

Asano’s fist clenches with a crack as he watches Karma walk around the gate and out of sight. 

Quickly, he turns back into the building. He knows you might still be here after the last minute festival setup. And he’s got something to ask you. 

.

Karma, who hums as he turns the corner, smiling now that Asano’s gone scurrying off. But when he looks up, he sees you, clenching the straps of your backpack with a numb expression. 

He smiles brightly, not wasting any time for the person he stayed at school for an extra hour for. 

“Just who I was lookin’ for!” 

His little spat with Asano gave him some extra confidence. He wraps an arm around your shoulders and says,

"Come with me to the school festival? As a date, yeah?"

“...Is this a sick joke?”

“Well you know me, princess. I’m always down for one of those. But what are you-”

“You’ve been flirting with me, for weeks, just to piss Asano off?”

He blanches as you shove his arm off; It swings limp before Karma recovers. 

“What? No. I meant it, I really-” 

“I heard you. You, you called me a notch in your belt!”

Your breath hitches. Karma recognizes the sound - you’re holding back tears. It’s the same as the last time he saw you outside the front gate. 

He screwed up. Sweet Jesus, why did he say any of that? 

Before he can get another word in, you walk right past him. Unlike last time, the tears never fall as you speak, 

“No, I’m not going with you, Bye.” 

.

Finally, you again. You, who ignores Asano as he tries to catch up to you on the other side of the gate. 

You, who doesn’t answer any of Karma’s texts or calls over the weekend.

You, who only sees them again during the school festival. 

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Separate Karma and Asano endings r coming soon...

I hope my attempt at making the boys flawed makes it clear that they both need to realize that they have to grow as people - but maybe it comes off as insufferable for one or both of them? You be the judge, but I was going for a Mr. Darcy situation where they will have to acknowledge their egos in order to progress.

Thx for reading!

[towsterstrewdle]

Red with Envy

A bit that I scrapped from my v-day fic, but I thought it kinda worked on its own

Summary: You give the wrong ginger a valentines day gift.

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For the last few grueling months of high school, Asano made it his personal goal to commit all of class 3-A to a schedule that allowed for both nationally ranked grades and rest time. It’s a daunting challenge, but it’s surprisingly working pretty well. Although he’s not much different from the snooty, uptight class prez you met in first year, it’s easy to tell how much he’s warmed up to you and the others. And it’s admirable to see him try and establish a positive environment - a pleasant contrast to the hell on earth that was class A when his father was still the principal, or so he’s told you.

Which brings you to today. Valentines day. 

Not once in high school have you brought sweets for a boy on February 14th. It’s not like you don’t like anyone (cough Karma cough), but you just couldn’t commit. But this is different! On a whim, you bought a cute clear tin of chocolate covered strawberries from your local sweets store to give to Asano. There’s a non-zero chance that he’d receive way too many gifts today for yours to really impact him, but that didn’t matter. To you, being thankful means showing it - no matter how small. Your resolve to show your gratitude to his efforts (and your stable grades) outweighed any awkwardness in your mind. Handing the tin to him was honestly a walk in the park. 

“Morning, Asano.” 

“Hm? Morning, (Y/n)-san” When he lifts his head from the document on his desk, his eyes flick to the strawberries, and he puts on a polite smile as his back straightens up. 

“These are for you, thanks for all the help with studying and stuff.” You hold the tin out for him and he takes it with a nod. 

“Ah, thank you, and happy Valentines day” 

You reciprocate with a smile and walk to your desk with a little pep in your step. Asano looks back at you for a moment, a little surprised at your earnestness. Just that morning, he had already been cornered into two confessions at his show locker. A part of him suspected you would do the same, but he was honestly a little touched that you felt so compelled to thank him as just a friend. Even though he probably won’t ever say it, Asano’s thankful for your chill attitude… unlike the red head who was currently giving him the stink eye. 

.

.

.

dipping my toes into writing once again. I have a real problem with being concise. I'll try to be snappier when writing the finished fic, but for the meantime I thought I should share this since I'm pretty proud of it on its own.

[towsterstrewdle]

God I Wish I Was an Ostrich

Karma Akabane x reader

never written fanfic, haven't done creative writing in a while, lessgo

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Never before have you wanted to feel dumber in a classroom setting. You never needed to in cut-throat class A. Never before now, that is. With your heated face smushed in your hand and facing the classroom wall, you dreamt that you could bury your head in the ground and act like no one could see you. Where he couldn’t see you. 

Approximately a minute and a half ago, you made eye contact with Karma. Karma Akabane, good ol’ red head #1 (or #2, depending on your personal allegiance in the 3-A Akabane-Asano feud – feud as in Family Feud, not the serious kind, because three years of witnessing their squabbling is hard to take seriously), that Karma. 

And what, you asked yourself two minutes ago, is so bad about that? Nothing inherently. You know when you space out in someone's general direction and only realize when they look at you all confused like? Yeah, it happens. You’ve done it to Karma before (although maybe you were daydreaming about him, whatever), and he takes it like a champ. He’s a smart dude, a practiced overthinker, but he also knows when some things don’t need much thought. Also, you’ve noticed throughout high school: Karma’s got eyes on the back of his head. The moment your gaze goes his way, he catches it, gives you that easy smirk, and looks off. He’s got a sixth sense, really. A killer instinct he only ever seems to use to deduce when his out of pocket comments in class draw attention his way, or to bask in the scalding heat of Asano’s glare after a favorable test grade is posted. 

Sooo to reiterate: what exactly was so bad about your blunder two and a half minutes ago? Well,

A long, arduous lecture on photon particle physics was nearing its end. You stretched your arms above your head, eyes squeezed tightly like a cat mid-yawn. When your eyes open during your stretch, Karma is mirroring your exact pose from one seat ahead and to the left of you. Behind his arm and fiery head of hair you can see his scrunched up expression and a long, drawn out fanged-yawn. He must have been at his lecture-limit too – only so many days go by before he calls it quits and cuts class (although, he is shockingly quite respectful towards the teachers, but not enough to fully quit his little hooky habit, you suppose). 

Today, he managed to pull through; even presenting a few questions to the teacher, which is also the only time he writes down full sentences in his notebook. Not that you’ve been paying attention, of course, not that at all. 

His arms are still slightly akimbo behind his head. His lazy eyes skim over his notes and he does that lip smacking thing after a really good yawn. But, from your angle, his right eye slowly trails from his notes to the right, a little further, and then his whole head tilts backwards – arms still crossed behind his head. It’s only after he begins to smile that you realize he’s looking right at you. You, with your arms still loosely in a stretching position; having gone limp and forgotten while you were staring at Karma’s profile. 

The ‘you done goofed’ alarm blares in your head as you make what you can only assume is an Oscar-worthy impression of a tomato while your arms shoot down to your desk and flounder for something to do. You don’t dare think to look up again until you hear his soft giggle. In three years of high school with this jokester, you’ve actually never really heard him laugh. His chuckle is iconic in your classroom. It often preludes - or is followed by - a witty, sometimes vicious, comment. But it's controlled: surgically toeing the line between biting and relaxed. He employs a laugh like a sitcom employs a laugh track - to control the tone of the room. 

But this time, his shoulders shake and his breath catches. He even coughs a little to hide the sound. You peer at the rest of the class. No one else seems to notice, perhaps too busy double checking their notes for photon properties to witness this crack in the little genius’ armor. It almost makes you a little proud until you realize he’s looking at you again with a winning smile that’s only a little less composed than usual. 

With limited mental capacity left, you simply shrug at him and kind of mouth an apology and an awkward smile. He huffs out one last laugh before shooting you a little heart with his fingers. This is enough to make you lose it, but right before he turns away from you, he winks. 

So here you are. Staring with bloodshot eyes on your tomato red face at the wall. You can’t even pay attention to your teacher's final final statements as your brain sifts through every interaction you’ve had with Winky McRedhead. The conversations, inside jokes, one-sided longing stares. You quickly begin piecing together the throughline between this incident and all others - why would he do that? To tease me? Maybe. But he does that with everyone and is careful not to make it too personal, lest someone cling to him with genuine interest that he can’t shake. Giggling? Winking? There’s only one real explanation. 

He soooo knows you like him. Curse him and his faux nonchalance! And curse you and your sleeve-worn sincerity that caught him so off guard he giggled the cutest giggle you’ve ever heard. Agh, if only you truly believed you could disappear by burying your head in the ground. 

You rush out of class right as it's over and spend your lunch break crashing out to your class B friends. They pried your little crush out from you over a year ago (the more you think about it, it’s crazy you thought you could hide it from Karma). They make fun of you and hype you up in equal measure - the perfect combination to make you feel better. On your way back to class you stop by the vending machine for a final pick-me-up. That is, until a second silhouette appears besides your reflection in front of the drinks; with a cheshire grin and sharp eyes. You awkwardly try to keep your eyes focused on the slow-as-balls machine as it vends your soda. Only daring to look at his face in the reflection for a split second just to see he’s already smiling at you. 

“Man, class was boring today, ey (Y/n)?”

“Yeah, for sure, haha” 

“Hard to focus, y’know? I sometimes feel like someone is burning holes in the back of my head” 

“Huh” Frick “yeah, I mean your hair attracts a lot of eyes, bein’ all bright and stuff”. 

“Oh no, I meant you specifically.”

“Oh.” Fuuuuuuuu

You can see your expression in the vending machine glass. A mix between a sour pucker and wide eyed shock. It makes him giggle again and mutter something under his breath. Something along the lines of got me again. 

Finally, you turn to look at him. 

“Ooh yeah, sorry about that! I was, uh, y’know… boredom” 

“Uh huh. Boredom” He smiles at you from under his hair as he steps besides you to get his own drink. 

“Then you have been really bored; you were staring at me for half of class, well, I guess that’s not out of the ordinary.” 

Strike me down Zues, pleaaaase you plead in your head. 

You don’t even have time to half-ass a response when he lifts his head from the vending machine slot, drink in hand, and says,

“Well, hope ‘being bored’ doesn’t cost you your grades, lemme know if you need a study buddy, yeah?”

And with that, he slides around the corner with a mock salute – leaving you motionless in the hallway, save for your thumping heart. 

.

.

.

.

Karma smiles while putting the straw through his milk carton. He must confess, despite what everyone thinks, he doesn’t actually have eyes on the back of his head. Red-headed wonder boy puts a lot of effort into making his eerie tendencies look natural, but it takes calculated concentration to pinpoint where a stare, glare, or dreamy sigh is coming from. 

(Y/n) may think he caught onto her crush by way of sheer skill, but really, he's as interested in them as they are him.

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If there's a character u want me to write abt - ask and if I know them i'll try to do it