#also that people speaking in tongues they will all be able to understand each other WHAT

[sacrilegiousoul]

lmao guys it’s gotten so bad again that ive officially got my The Companion Bible Kings James Version Bible specifically that my grandpa got me and currently asking him to read me bible verses and shit and what he believes alright light bong rip for me, smoke a cigarette in my name imma need it.

[nezuscribe]

you try not to get jealous. it does you no good. but sometimes you get a little miffed when it comes to how women treat your husband, arranged!gojo.

you see how the women giggle at him, how they bite their lips whenever he walks by. you see them giggle to each other, the way they try to catch his attention.

and though most ladies of the high society act this way, some of the servants around the estate, the women of the town, and others behave like this too.

they act as if he’s not married, as if that ring on his hand is purely for decoration. and sure, maybe a couple months ago it was for show but now things have changed and you don’t appreciate those ladies all that much.

and gojo notices.

he knows you’re getting better at talking to him about what ails you, but he also knows that it’s a a lot to get used to at once. he sees the way you tense up at their whispers, the glares you throw their way when you hear his name in their conversation. he understands because he’s the same as you, his feelings mirroring yours.

so he decides to comfort your worries a bit indirectly.

“what…” you whip your head around as gojo stops at a random spot in one of the hallways, taking you away from your tea time with shoko as he fails to give any explanation for his hurried responses, “what are you doing? you have that meeting with your counsel and-”

“missed you,” is all he’s able to say as he slams his lips onto yours, earning a surprised yelp in response.

your back hits against the stone wall, one of his hands against your head to protect it from bumping back as your gasp in surprise, letting him slide his tongue in your mouth as he sloppily kisses your lips.

“satoru, w-wait,” you try to stop yourself from whining out loud, your fingers cuing into his artic strands as his hands move down to hold your waist, “it’s daytime, p-people, people can come…” you can’t speak anymore because he doesn’t let you, lips slotting against each others as your eyes screw shut, heartbeat in your throat as he hands squeeze as your skin.

“i missed you,” he just repeats, nipping slightly at your bottom lip as you mewl, feeling his lips trail down your chin to your throat as you tilt you head upwards to give him a better angle.

you almost want to laugh because it’s only been hours since you’ve seen each other, but for gojo it feels like days since he’s seen you.

you peek slightly too look at him, see the way his lips attack your skin, sucking and biting, surely leaving marks as he makes his way down. you love the way his hair is slightly wavy, most likely from his bath after sparring.

you’re almost too intoxicated from his feverish kisses to notice the sounds of incoming footsteps, but the loud overbearing giggles is what pulls you back to reality.

you tense up, scrambling to push him away from you but he won’t budge. if anything, he seems to be motivated, moving back up to your lips to steal your words away.

“t-there’s people coming!” you try to warn him but he doesn’t seem to care, his blue eyes gleaming with a different look as your whine from one of his hands moving upwards to your chest, giving one of your breasts a light squeeze.

“so?” he murmurs, lips hovering against the corners of yours as his brow cocks upwards.

you go to say something else but he tilts your chin upwards to meet him, one hand balancing on the wall behind you, one on your hip, his hair messy from your fingers gripping at him.

you don’t feel like moving, too drunk off of him to even notice the ladies as they round the corner, not looking their way as you hear their squeals of shock, the way they try to hurriedly leave.

you glance slightly to the right as gojo moves back down to your neck to get a look at them, your fingers still tangled in his hair, one hand draped over his neck, squinting slightly as you remember their faces from last week, when you overheard them talking about your husband.

there’s a slight tilt in your lips as you hear their scrambled apologies, the way they try to leave as fast as they can. you try not to gloat too much in their looks of envy and jealousy.

and if you focused just enough, you could feel the smile on his lips.

“you missed me?” you ask a little breathless, a coy tilt to your voice.

“so much,” he mumbles as he glances up at you from his white lashes, his pupils blown wide, lips messy with spit, red and swollen as he presses a slopping kiss to the slight skin showing of your chest.

“you’re so immature,” you chide, trying to look away, the hide the bashfulness in your face but his hand cups your jaw, pulling your face back down to see his.

“they had to see for themselves,” he tells you, his voice wavering on something darker, “had to see who the only lady gojo is.”

and you smile, eyes a little hazy as your fingers slightly tug on his soft strands, reveling in the way his eyes roll back and his lips find their way back up to yours.

yeah jealousy wasn’t the best. but thank the gods your husband was just as petty as you.

[mediocre-writing]

A chance | LN4

Summary: Lando has been in love with the same person since he was 18. The problem? She doesn't think it will work out because he's younger.

Pairing: Lando Norris X Actress!Reader

English is not my first language, maybe I will do a part two 👀

"Why don't you want to be with me?" Lando says close to Y/n's ear so she can hear.

They were at a party, Lando was P1, and that night was all about him.

"Lando, why don't you enjoy your night?" She says pushing him a little and he kisses her cheek.

"I'm trying to do this, but the prettiest girl at the party is turning me down once again."

Y/n rolls her eyes but smiles, fixing Lando's hair with her hands.

"I already told you-"

"I know, I know, I'm younger than you, but you need to understand that 18-year-old Lando already dreamed of Y/n 22 and now 25-year-old Lando dreams of Y/n 29 and 85-year-old Lando will dream of Y/n... How old will you be?" He says, thinking a little.

"Fuck you're so drunk." She says laughing and he smiles when he sees her smile.

"Fuck you're so beautiful." Lando leans in to kiss her, but Y/n turns her face away.

"Lando, no." Y/n says, gently pinching Lando's belly, making him pull away with a grimace.

"Come on, give me a chance, just one kiss and I promise to stop bothering you." She thinks for a bit.

"I know you won't stop."

"Please, I promise I'll stop." He says, dropping the glass he was holding anywhere, and takes Y/n's face with both hands. "Can I?" He asks inches from her mouth.

"You're insufferable, you know that?" Lando crushes his lips to hers, and my God, it was so worth it to almost beg her on his knees.

Lando asks for passage with his tongue and when he gives in, he just wants to stay there forever.

The kiss gets hotter and Y/n pulls away a little to be able to breathe.

"What a delicious mouth." He says, pulling her lower lip with his teeth and giving her three little pecks.

"Have you gotten your kiss yet, satisfied?"

"I wanted your heart, but I'll hold back with a kiss."

"You don't give up, do you?" She says, putting her arms around her shoulders.

"Never, 18 year old Lando wouldn't believe the girl in my arms right now." Lando always speaks close to her ear so she can understand everything.

"Congratulations, P1." Y/n says kissing Lando's cheek and he feels that this kiss practically sobered him up again.

"Will I get a kiss like this every time I get P1?"

"Don't force it, Cat." She says, walking away and Lando takes her hand again.

"Nooo, you can't do this." Lando says whimpering.

"You promised Lando."

"I promised?" Lando says pulling her by the waist, and kissing her lips again, this time more slowly, more passionate, it was as if they weren't in a crowded place, and God, Y/n is praying that no one took any pictures of this.

But they took it away.

A few hours later the news was all over social media.

F1news Things are heating up! 👀 Lando Norris and Y/n are seen kissing at the party celebrating Lando's P1, some people who were on the way back confirmed that they spent practically the whole night close to each other, could a relationship be on the way?

—

User1 What the fuck is this?

User2 Wow, isn't she much older than him?

— User3 It's only four years girl 🙄

User4 Why is everyone so surprised?

— User5 Yes, Lando had already said that she has been his celebrity crush since he was 18.

User6 I think I'm jealous of Lando.

— user7 I think I'm jealous of both of them.

User8 Well, he never hid the fact that he was interested in her.

User9 Have you ever imagined the beautiful child that would be born?

— User 10 She's much older than him...

User 11 Damn, stop treating her like her age is wrong or something.

——

Y/n wakes up with her phone vibrating like crazy.

"Where the fuck is this?" She gropes blindly on the bed until she finds the device, reading the following messages:

Lando: Please don't be mad at me.

Lando: Are you mad at me? 😟

She sits on the bed, a little confused, why would she be mad at him? But soon she also sees some messages from Carlos.

Carlos: Please don't be mad at Lando.

Carlos: He swears he didn't want to cause a scandal for you.

Carlos: Yes, he forced me to send this, block this bastard now.

And to top it off, she sees a message from her best friend.

Bestf: Seriously Lando? And you still swore to me that you didn't want to get him 😏

She closes her eyes and lies down on the bed again, she already knows exactly what happened.

Fuck.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I know it’s canon that NRC has a translation spell, but do they ever explain how people understand each other when they leave? Like they go to the Scalding Sands and Sunset Savanna for events and understand people just fine. Or are all of those events just noncanon?

Yup, we learn that there is a translation spell over NRC in the first light novel. The protagonist, Yuuya, is from Japan. There is a passage in the book which describes how the Twst characters seem to be saying something else but their words are heard by Yuuya as Japanese.

As for what happens when they travel to places outside of NRC, well 😅 we never get an explanation for that! For the native Twisted Wonderlanders, there is a “common language” that is spoken, similar to how English is often taught in schools as a second language. We see Marja (Epel’s grandma), Fleur City/City of Flowers merchants, the Harveston mayor, fae NPCs, and other characters swap between the common tongue and using another dialect or language.

I assume that most, if not all, of NRC students speak this common tongue too. Some, like Epel (Harveston dialect), Sebek (nocturnal fae language), and Rook (what we perceive to be French), can be considered multilingual. Sam sometimes shouts phrases in what we perceive as English, so he might also count. Ruggie knows a few choice phrases in 10 different languages due to the part-time hospitality jobs he takes over school breaks. He can haggle in roughly the same number of languages. We also know this from Sebek: "Different groups of fae speak different languages and enunciate words in different ways, but magically imbuing one’s voice makes it possible to communicate regardless. In modern times most people even in Briar Valley speak Common, and speakers of fae languages are somewhat rare…”

It’s not clear how Yuu, the otherworlder, is able to understand what Twisted Wonderland residents outside of NRC say. Maybe we can assume Crowley casts the translation spell on Yuu before they leave campus?

By the way, all events and most vignettes are considered non-canon to the main story! ^^ They wouldn’t fit cohesively in a since school year, especially since the main story is only up to like… mid-May by book 7?

[doberbutts]

Tbh I think the comparison to white people might be some simple us vs them thinking (maybe not all the time, though). White people complaining about oppression = nonsense/overeaggeration (if you're myopic), therefore comparing transmascs to white people is a way to call what they say nonsense. Or, if you're under the impression oppression=good person points, then white = bad/wrong, therefore transmascs are bad/wrong. Idk. Lots of these folks have some black/white thinking.

I think the answer is much easier than that.

The majority of people I see using the race analogy to draw a parallel of white vs black racism and trans man vs woman oppression are white themselves. Not everyone, but I would say my casual scroll of Bad Take Havers usually reveals whiteness here.

It does not surprise me at all that the very same white people doing this do not have the nuanced racial understanding to be able to reflect how, for instance, both black communities and latine communities experience racism in different yet similar ways, and how there is both bad blood and also shared history and solidarity between both communities, with many people who exist somewhere in between (afrolatinos) and people who exist completely outside of this equation (other marginalized races of color) or on the fringes (other mixed people of color but with only one of the involved races in this venn diagram) that also may experience their own oppression.

And so, they don't even think to use the comparison of black and Latino understanding, instead choosing to reach for white vs black racial dynamics. They don't have the understanding necessary to get why that's neither a good comparison nor is it a fair one to use especially when this particular conversation was started by trans mascs of color and how prior conversations regarding trans men and mascs occupying a marginalized gender were started by both (cis *and* trans) women of color and trans men and mascs of color.

It also does not escape my attention that those insisting that not only do trans men and mascs have privilege (something I do not completely disagree with, although I think as always it is more nuanced than "have" vs "have not") but also that trans men and mascs are specifically an *oppressor class* are also largely white, and show an inability to understand that "privilege" does not always equally translate to "oppressor". This comes to a head when discussing trans men in powerful positions- teachers, doctors, politicians, business owners, religious leaders, even celebrities- and whether they are pushing harmful rhetoric or if they are holding the line and refusing to budge.

And, while not true in all cases and certainly no one is perfect, because people are people and thus imperfect at the best of times, the majority of all trans people in power hold the line and refuse to budge regarding harm to our community. We can all think of examples- usually celebrities- of otherwise, but those pushing for laws and change are generally hand-in-hand with each other keeping step and refusing to leave their fellow siblings behind.

This does not mean that we cannot *contribute to* or even *lean on* transmisogyny- remember, there were cis women on the Supreme Court gleefully voting away abortion rights even though it directly affects them. There is no identity that makes you immune to bigoted bias, and no identity that protects you from doing harm to others. That is on each of us to do better, to each out in fellowship and solidarity to our fellow humans, and to lift each other out of the pit.

Much like how a Latino friend of mine may experience privilege in that he does not experience the antiblackness I do, and much how I may have privilege that I speak English as my mother tongue and he doesn't in this largely English-language-dominated country, neither of us are inherently each other's oppressors unless we are acting on oppressive bias. Intentionally or otherwise.

Oppression is action, not existence.

But again, I am not surprised a group of largely white people do not understand nearly enough of this nuance as it applies to race to then be able to apply it to gender.

[papermonkeyism]

Surprise Entica thoughts!

Was pondering on Nawani vocal anatomy. The bipedal Entican people and the Nawani have completely different vocal setups, and while they can learn to understand each others languages, it's basically impossible for them to actually speak languages across species lines without obvious modification.

The smaller people don't have a trunk, nor are they able to do the throat rumble, while Nawani have significant trouble learning the fine motor skills of lip and tongue required for Entican speech.

Burruungk has spent majority of her life training and studying linguistics, and has learned pretty good mouth speak skills, but she still has clear lisp, and has to resort to stuff like substituting R-sounds with throat rumble, and can't do TH-sounds at all. She's also physically incapable of whispering without turning the entire sound into illegible - and rather loud - hissing.

On the other hand, Nawani languages use a whole spectrum of different kinds of throat and trunk rumble sounds as well as trunk clicks.

For example, Burruungk's name itself is natively pronounced by letting the Buh-sound from the mouth, rumbling the Rs in the throat and finally producing a NG-sound followed by a click resembling a K-sound at the base of the trunk.

She's very excited if you try to do the throat-R, but also very understanding if you choose to approximate her name instead.

[bappablipblip]

[SPOILERS FOR Warframe 1999 Quest]

Headcanoning that Quincy Isaacs, the Cyte-09’s protoframe, canonically does not use the warframe’s abilities as much as the others because of his hatred for Albrecht Entrati.

When you play as each member of the Hex during the quest, you’re able to use the abilities of the warframe strains each of them have. They also have cutscenes /animations where they actively use them:

- Amir when he’s first introduced at the arcade

- Aoi when she’s first introduced in the cd shop, when she lifts the truck off of herself, when she tries to hold the reactor together, her introductory trailer. She even admits to not being able to fully control her powers yet (requires guidance from the Drifter)

- Arthur’s introduction in Whispers in the Walls, when he first meets the excalibur/drifter

- eleanor when she needs to speak to people before severing a good part of her tongue, when she controls the techrot, when she comments on knowing about the drifter and operator (in passive dialogue)

- lettie when she heals

Quincy is not really seen displaying his abilities. Right off the bat, it’s noticable that he’s an excellent shot, but he has a history of being in the military. It doesn’t mean he uses his powers to be accurate, it could just mean that he’s a great soldier.

One can argue that it is because cyte-09 is not a flashy warframe. It was only a functional weapon that was meant to be a soldier. Thus, there isn’t any outstanding point where u can test out all his abilities.

BUT, even when you play as him, you’re only able to shoot through his gun, you don’t have access to his abilities like the other hex members.

In the bad ending 1999 quest, he dies because a tank locks in onto his position and he calculates that he can’t stop it from firing, nor can he dodge the blast in time. If he were to jump from his position down onto the ground, he’d be surrounded.

Also, protoframes are notably less durable than full warframes (as seen with amir’s death, as well as eleanor’s and lettie’s), so he’d probably die from the fall.

It seems that he uses his 4th ability exalted weapon throughout the whole quest, though which may have been the only ability he actively uses. He does not make an effort to learn or understand his other abilities out of pure spite. That being said, he’s a remarkable fighter for surviving this long on just one ability.

In the good ending, once the Drifter gets close enough with the Hex, they are able to connect with the members on a more personal, emotional level. They’re able to guide each member because their built relationship allows them to tell them exactly what they need to hear. On top of that, the Drifter is also trustworthy to them, so it is easier for them to listen more.

The Drifter is the one to show Quincy what other abilities he can do because of their experience with other warframes.

It’s also fitting that Quincy received the Cyte-09 strain. It is a warframe that was so purely functional with solely militant purpose that only the batch number remained. In a war, you count the number of soldiers per battalion, you don’t list the name of every soldier.

That’s just my feelings on it!

[theamarischapter]

He’s Not My Boyfriend!

CHAPTER 07; truth uncovered

new here? chapter 1 - previous: chapter 6

pairing: beomgyu x f!reader

w/c: 1.9k

genre: strangers to frenemies to lovers, high school au, slow burn…ish (?), fake dating (for a day)

warnings: not proofread bc im lazy! lol

summary: after talking to kai, you learn a valuable piece of information and realize the truth. it's time to confront beomgyu...

fic below the cut! enjoy <3

“Soo…what’s up?” Kai asks, voice muffled through your phone speaker. You sigh, face illuminated by the glow of your phone, where you can see Kai leaning back in his desk chair. After staring at the ceiling in contemplation for about thirty minutes, you’d decided to facetime him. 

“Nothing much, I guess.” You reply, shrugging and looking off to the side at the posters on your wall. Despite how close you’ve been with Kai since childhood, you’ve never really indulged him in your romantic life. You’ve always had other friends for that. But, considering he’s Beomgyu’s best friend, you thought maybe he’d be able to give you more insight than Chaewon or Yunjin. “I don’t know.”

“Well, what did you need to talk about so urgently?” He jokes, raising an eyebrow at you. You scoff, rolling your eyes at him as you figure out what to say. 

“It’s…” you hesitate, the boy’s name feeling forbidden on your tongue. After everything—after such adamant refusal of ever liking him—you can’t believe the words you’re about to say. And to Kai of all people. You’ll never hear the end of it, but whatever. “It’s Beomgyu.”

“Beomgyu?” He repeats, suddenly all too eager to hear what you have to say. “What? You like him? What did I tell you—” 

“Shut up,” you huff, waving a hand in front of your screen to dismiss his words. “And yeah, I do! But that’s not the problem—”

“Then what is it?” He cuts you off, expression morphing into confusion. “Wait…problem?”

Huh, Kai could’ve sworn… 

“Okay, well, if you’d let me speak, then maybe I could tell you,” You reply sarcastically, letting out a long sigh. He nods, ushering you to continue. You take a moment, deciding where to start…how to phrase your words in a non-incriminating way. 

“Well, I like him. But I think he thinks I’m into Yeonjun? I’m not. But then also I guess he and Yeji are still a thing. But then I don’t understand why he agreed to fake date and then get weird about it—” You ramble, voice dying as you notice Kai frowning, sitting up straight. 

“Hold on, hold on. Go back a bit. Since when were he and Yeji still a thing?” He asks, leaning closer to the camera, a furrow in his brow. You blink, not quite understanding his question—wouldn’t Beomgyu’s literal best friend know who he’s talking to…? 

“What do you mean? Aren’t they still talking?” You ask slowly, your heart doing a nervous little flutter.

“What? No. They stopped talking ages ago—Yeji said they’d be better as friends,” he explains, shaking his head in disbelief. The gears turn in your head, his words taking a moment to process, each syllable echoing in the sudden silence of your room. “Who told you that?”

“Uh…he did?” You reply slowly. Kai stares at you through the phone, eyes narrowing. He doesn’t understand his friend sometimes. Beomgyu said— 

“Choi Beomgyu told you that he’s still talking to Yeji?” He clarifies, sounding so baffled that it makes you question your own memory. 

“Yeah…? I mean, not exactly, I guess. But it was implied, I think.” You shrug, brows pulled together as you attempt to comprehend what’s happening. 

“What did he say? Exact words.” Kai asks, tone suddenly serious.

“Well, he was like ‘You have Yeonjun, and I have Yeji,’ so…” your voice trails off. Maybe you misinterpreted his words? Kai says nothing, as if expecting more. “Oh, and he said he was avoiding me because he didn’t wanna give her the wrong idea. Which honestly doesn’t even make sense—”

Kai cuts you off, calling your name in a tone that quiets you immediately. For a moment, you think something is wrong…until he laughs. Kai, of course, knows everything that happened on April Fool’s Day. He knows about the almost-kiss and the run-in with Yeonjun, and he’d actually advised Beomgyu to try and get over it. But Beomgyu said he liked you a lot—he needed time to think. He didn’t understand why there’d be a problem if you like him, and he likes you, but he understands now. “You guys are both stupid.” 

“What? Hey, not true!” you defend. “What’s so funny?”

“He and Yeji aren’t anything, but he told you they are because…” He motions for you to complete his sentence. 

“Because what?” You deadpan, and Kai honestly can’t believe that you’re not joking. Has his cousin always been this stupid? Aren’t you a straight-A student?

“Seriously!? C’mon, just think. Why else would he lie about that?” He replies, attempting to guide you toward the truth. Still, you stare at him with a dumb, confused expression, painting your features.

“Uh…to make me jealous? But why…?” You raise an eyebrow, not understanding what he’s trying to get at.

“Didn’t you say that you think he thinks you’re into Yeonjun?” He huffs, sighing and slouching in his seat. Right, you did mention that.

“Oh…” The pieces finally click together in your head. April Fool’s Day, when he tried to kiss you and you evaded him. Did he really want to kiss you? And then you’d run into Yeonjun, and he was being distant. He thinks you like Yeonjun, so obviously he tried to come off as nonchalant by mentioning Yeji. And the dating prank in general, did he— “Oh. Oh shit.” 

“You get it now?” His head tilts, a knowing look in his eyes. 

“Yeah. Yeah, uh, I have to go—” You hang up the call before he can say anything back, pushing yourself onto your feet. There’s actually no way you’ve been so stupid this entire time. 

— °˖✧✿✧˖° —

Beomgyu’s at home, bed-rotting like he always does. Though recently, he’s felt more down about everything going on in his life—mainly, you. And, now, he’s staring at your message asking to hang out after school tomorrow. He agrees, as much as he kind of doesn’t want to. He remembers a conversation with Kai the other day, the boy’s words echoing in his head. 

“Well, if you’re not going to do anything, it’s better to move on.” 

How could he ever move on like this? Seeing your pretty face every day, hearing your cute laugh, looking into your mesmerizing eyes…someone, please save him. He’s whipped. He could make a move, but last time he tried it didn’t go so well. Then again, that was April Fool’s Day, so maybe things were different. Nonetheless, he mentally prepares himself to see you. He’s forgotten how to be normal, honestly—it’s been forever since you’ve hung out alone. Shit. He has to be alone with you? How will he ever survive…

…

He’s not surviving at all, actually. You look prettier than normal, with light makeup enhancing your features. Gosh, he feels dizzy. His shoulders are stiff, heart pounding as he sits beside you in the park, holding an unopened soda. His arm lightly brushes yours, and he pulls it away quicker than normal. He jumps when your voice finally breaks the silence. 

“I have a question,” you say bluntly, staring right into his eyes. He nods slowly, finding his voice. 

“Okay…what is it?” His voice trembles. He sounds so stupid. Be normal, Beomgyu! Your head tilts to the side, and he hates his heart for fluttering at the sight. He forces himself to look away, admiring the bright grass instead of your face. 

“Are you still talking to Yeji?” You ask, analyzing his expression. His eyes widen a little, lips parting, then closing. Fuck, what should he say? He musters a small smile, laughing awkwardly. 

“Uh. I…guess. Why?” He mumbles, taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady the rapid beating of his heart. You hum in thought, shrugging and slouching a little.

“Well, I dunno. I asked Kai yesterday. He said you stopped talking ages ago,” you reply. Okay, maybe you’re being a little mean to him…but he did this to himself! You hold back a laugh when he freezes, face falling. He chokes on air, ears turning a bright shade of pink as he scrambles for an excuse. “Why lie?” 

He’s an idiot, that’s why. Ugh, he wishes he could punch Kai right now!

“Uh, well, it’s—you know. I thought—like, I mean, we aren’t talking. I, um, I don’t—” He’s stumbling through his words, embarrassed as ever. Great, you totally think he’s a loser.

“Gyu,” you call his name softly, getting him to look at you. You think he’s pretty when he’s flustered like this. He panics, heart dropping. You must be mad, right? 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said—” he starts, but you cut him off, deciding you’ve teased him enough. 

“I like you,” you admit, smiling. He blinks, unsure if he heard you correctly. Uh, what? He must be dreaming. His heart flutters, all the thoughts in his brain coming to a halt. 

“What?” He asks, sitting up straight. 

“I like you, Beomgyu,” you repeat. What the actual fuck!? His ears burn, and so do his cheeks. Butterflies swarm his stomach, his body frozen as his brain processes the information. He’s unsure whether he should scream or laugh, or maybe jump up and down. He’s so happy!

“Really?” He asks, eyes glimmering in the sun. He’s like an excited puppy, a wide smile pulling at his lips when you nod. He laughs, looking away—oh yeah, he should probably say it back. “I like you too. I mean, I have for a while.” 

“How about a date, then?” You ask, smiling at him. His heart is doing flips as he nods eagerly. 

“Okay. Okay, yeah,” he replies, warmth spreading through his chest. It’s the happiest he’s felt in a long time. There’s so much he’s been wanting to do and say. His heart stutters when his gaze connects with yours again, eyes finding your lips. You move a little closer, palm lifting up to his cheek. 

“Can I?” You ask softly, close enough to feel his breath against your face. He nods, eyes fluttering shut. 

“Yes, please,” he mumbles. Your lips press against his slowly, tentatively. He melts into the kiss, hands carefully holding you still. You pull away, smiling. His face is red, heart pounding impossibly fast. This is all he’s ever wanted, he thinks. You’re all he could’ve hoped for. 

And he’s all you could’ve wanted. 

— °˖✧ epilogue ✧˖° —

The first date is fun and exciting, albeit a little awkward. Then again, aren’t most? Beomgyu’s sweet and caring, and he makes sure that you don’t have to spend a single penny. You go to the arcade, then get some food after.

When he asks to be your boyfriend, the gesture is grand and carefully planned. A picnic with flowers and all of your favorite snacks. Of course, you give a very happy, excited yes, hugging him. He stands there, flustered and smiling ear to ear. 

Your friends tease relentlessly—their ship finally came to life, even after you’d both denied it before. So what if they were right? That had nothing to do with you two liking each other…you would’ve been together regardless! Probably. Things were meant to be, perhaps. 

He’s the sweetest, most loving boyfriend. He’d give you the world, the moon, and the stars—and you’d do the same. You hate being cringey, but truthfully, you believe he’s your soulmate. He was the man put onto earth for you, and you were for him. He completes your heart. 

You belong together. 

taglist: @whatblop, @innies-goth-gf, @woncheecks, @ewsnup, @etherealid7, @beomgyusluver <3

a/n: yippie! finally finished this story (after literal ages omg...) i realllyyyyy hope you guys enjoyed this final chapter! these idiots needed some intervention smh my head #oblivious. anywho! likes, comments, and reblogs greatly appreciated! stay tuned for my next story (≧∇≦)ﾉ <3

— °˖✧✿✧˖° —

[hopekreymin]

Postal 2 Dude x Slavic s/o headcanons

I decided to write headcanons about what if Dude suddenly started dating a Slav. It seems to me that this gives rise to many interesting topics that can be thought about. Also dedicated to all Slavic fans of Postal, in particular fans of this ginger, schizo cockroach with an unstable psyche <3

I'm also Slavic myself, so I just wanted more representation or something, yeeaahhh.

• The first time you met, Dude couldn’t understand where you were from, although he could hear your accent. This intrigued him a little and he was already making his own guesses. When you told him that you were Slavic, he had a mixed reaction. At first it even seemed to you that he began to look at you with caution and suspicion. He probably even speculated about whether you were an undercover agent or not, but you didn’t want to believe that he could think that way about you. Because it's just silly. And although when you had already started a relationship, this thought still didn't leave you for some time. But you tried not to take it seriously, often joking that you would live with him for 30 years, only to later find out that you were simply gaining his trust and recruiting him all this time.

• There is clearly a language barrier between you two. Most of the time, Dude doesn't pay attention unless you're speaking your native language to someone else. Then he feels deprived and even somehow stupid for not understanding what you are saying. Sometimes he's sincerely surprised when he finds out how familiar to him words in your language sound completely different, or similar, but have a different or opposite meaning. Once you mentioned компот (compote) to him, and he first looked at you suspiciously and asked: “What cumpot?” Although most likely, he just wanted to play a silly joke on you.

• Be prepared for all Dude's stupid and awkward jokes about your country or language. He simply cannot keep his sharp, sassy tongue behind his teeth when he wants to joke. Most often, his jokes are based on the theme of the Soviet Union and stereotypes about your country or all Slavs in general. For some reason, in his brain there is still a fictitious fact that all Slavic countries are still closely connected and similar to each other, as if the USSR never collapsed. Of course, half of his knowledge about the Slavs is based on American films, where Slavic characters were often portrayed as the bad, cold and tough guys. Also, he cannot help but mention vodka to you at least once, although you may not drink it at all. And of course he thinks that it’s always cold in your country and that’s why its people are usually so unwelcoming.

• Dude's geographic knowledge leaves much to be desired, but simply put, he sucks at it. He probably wouldn’t even be able to find France, Sweden or New Zealand on the map on the second try, let alone Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia or Macedonia. He knows practically nothing about other Slavic countries that are not Russia, so it seems to him that they are all similar, like the languages. Although he has to admit that he likes your unusual accent, which is different from the southern American one he is more familiar with. Sometimes he has screw-ups and he can’t understand what you’re saying the first time, so he asks you to repeat it a couple more times and slowly, but this is just another of the many ways to tease you.

• If you want to teach Dude some words in your language, then it’s better to leave this idea because his silly ass doesn’t hear or learn at all! It's not that he doesn't respect your language and your desire to teach him something new, but he just doesn't think he can understand and remember anything. At first it was funny for him to repeat the words after you, but then he simply refused to do it and pouted gruffly. Maybe he’s just tired of it, or maybe he doesn’t want to seem stupid next to you?

• If you want to let him listen to music in your language or watch movies, then you can try, but Dude will often insert comments like “How funny that sounds” or “What does this mean? Can you actually translate everything into English for me?” This is sometimes tiring and annoying.

• When Dude somewhere notices some text in a language he doesn’t understand, he always asks you to translate it, as if you were some kind of philologist or teacher. Well, perhaps in his eyes it is so. True, there were several funny incidents.

“Sweetie, can you translate what is written here?”

“Dude... It's Portuguese. I don't know it.”

“Ah. Didn't notice.”

• Dude wouldn’t mind or even be happy if you cooked him dishes from the cuisine of your country. To be honest, man would be happy with any home-cooked food, since his diet of junk food, irregular meals and alcohol on an empty stomach clearly has a bad effect on him. His favorite dishes cooked by you? Probably borscht, dumplings, varenyky, cabbage rolls, potato pancakes, pierogi, shuba salad. He doesn't have the sweetest tooth, he likes salty, hot or smoked food more than sweet. But sometimes he still asks you to bake some cookies, pies, sweet rolls or make kissel. Once upon a time for Easter you baked a traditional Slavic sweet - paska. And Dude certainly liked it, although he is not the biggest fan of raisins. In general, he likes everything that you cook for him, because he doesn’t know how to cook himself, and you’re afraid to let him near the kitchen.

[starlightshadowsworld]

I have a headcannon that a lot of the orphanage staff fought in the Great War. They were originally from other countries that were allied with Japan before settling down there.

And work in an orphanage because orphanage staff were in high demand after the war due to how many were orphaned because of it.

The Headmaster himself grew up during war times and I feel he’d open his doors to them.

They’re just as cruel as the native staff with the added bonus that they will speak their mother tongue. They do not care at all of the kids don’t know what they’re talking about.

‘I don’t understand’ is not a valid excuse. So the kids had to learn and adapt in order to not to be punished for ‘disobedience’ for not knowing other languages than Japanese.

This results in Atsushi being multilingual.

He doesn’t actually know it’s not a normal thing to be because everyone at the orphanage knew several languages outside of their mother tongue. It’s how you survived after all.

I can just imagine so Atsushi is confused when everyone’s trying to figure out Fitzgerald’s message.And he recites it almost perfectly to them.

Because we know European countries such as the UK and France were involved in the war. It stands to reason a number of the orphanage staff would be from European countries.

Hence Atsushi knowing English and well he’s not perfect, far from it. But he also spent at least a decade surrounded by and talking to native speakers. So he knows quite a lot, especially swear words because no one at that place knew how to talk kindly to children.

Especially Atsushi.

I like to think there’s a similar precedence for Yosano. Having to interact and treat soldiers aiding Japan that weren’t Japanese. I can see kid Yosano stubbornly refusing to give up and learned so she could better treat and comfort people.

Even if they’d end up screaming in her face like everyone else did.

So when Atsushi starts to think this is another thing that alienates him from everyone else, Yosano talks to him. She reassures him he’s not alone and knowing other languages helps you connect with people.

Yosano and the others especially Kunikida encourage Atsushi to learn more about the languages he knows. And Atsushi does, he and Yosano pick a language everyday to speak in to each other.

And yeah and their a bit out of practice but they get there. And Atsushi feels a sense of comfort in speaking more than one language, because that was his reality for years.

And this time there’s no punishment for getting things wrong.

To the point Atsushi managed to muster up the courage to talk with foreign clients during non serious cases. And they more often than not think it’s sweet, are happy to see someone try to speak their mother tongue and give him pointers.

Atsushi is able to talk and help people that are often forgotten by society, much like he himself was. And it makes him feel better about it, that he can use this knowledge to help people.

Although he would prefer if Dazai didn’t come to his desk everyday and badger him into teaching him Russian swears.

[d0g-water]

OMG WTH that fic you posted with rubius included was AMAZING !!

Can we maybe get a part two with reader meeting rubius in person during an event she went to with alex, and getting swooped away to a room with him where he performs unholy things on her while alex is distracted?

this is not necessarily cheating! Maybe alex and reader are opening their walls in their relationship and have been trying out new things to spice shit up in the bedroom!!

Like the other anon said, if this is too much for you to write i understand as well!!!

Also your writing is so super amazing!!!

THANK YOU MY LOVE!! like i said before, your wish is my command!!!! heheeheh

btw pretend they're speaking spanish because i'm not making you guys translate everything (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

another lame fortnite event in madrid! of course, you have to go with him because everyone wants to meet you. they all already know what you look like, so you don't understand why they want to hang out with you, despite not really wanting to be on the internet or around huge people.

they're really looking forward to meeting you, and alex already promised that you'll travel with him no matter how far or how busy... you two will be spending quality time together, wether it was far from home or trying disgusting american food in his car.

you don't regret flying to spain with him, it's a gorgeous country... and you had alex by your side, making it even better.

there was one thing though,

meeting rubius.

the guy that listened to you get eaten out during your first ever conversation with him, you were going to meet him.

you had a feeling he hates you for it. he never spoke to you after that day... your name left his tongue as well.

it was really scary, whatever you'd tell him about that incident was just excuses after excuses. he definitely wouldn't want to hear it, he's under the impression that you're unabashed. that you're a slut. that you're trying to keep alexis all to yourself..

it is what it is, though.

even if he's the host of this event, you shouldn't think about him.

you're here for alex and alex only.

as you stood by alexis, he was chatting away and leaving you in the dust. you've met everyone, and you're too shy to approach absolutely anyone. these people are known by millions of people, constantly having the inability to get through a whole day without being stopped by fans or recognized.

you felt really out of place.

before you could think about it, somebody knew it.

somebody knew you didn't belong there.

you let out a small yelp, feeling a strong force on your body. the collar of your shirt was pulled, and your body was thrown into a whole different room... an empty one. a room where there was only a small couch. this must've been the break room or something..

your eyes look back to see who took you here. you didn't know anybody here. from your intuition, you felt it was a man about to harm you.

what would you tell alexis? would it be your fault for not defending yourself? or protecting yourself? knowing you're somewhere you're unfamiliar with, you still weren't prepared?

it didn't matter.

you weren't prepared in the slightest, you weren't prepared for the swarm of emotions that're going to surround you when you see ruben standing behind you,

with the door locked. just him. and you. alone...

your boyfriend far outside the door, not having any idea where you two are.

his gaze let you know that he had just got what he wanted, his mingy smile making you brittle. you can't read him, and you haven't been able to since the start.

he hates you, doesn't he? what is he going to do to you?

your head was pouring with anxious thoughts, each one got worse and worse. you began to sweat, letting fear take over completely as he shifted closer to you.

it felt as if he can hear what your internal voice is saying.

you couldn't bother to think any more...

his intentions were unpredictable, but something tells you that it has nothing to do with hurting you.

his expression softens, guess he noticed how scared you were, but it didn't change the fact that he isolated you two in a room where nobody entered.

his hands cup your cheeks, and oh god, it felt wrong...

this was your boyfriend's close friend. the same guy has a girlfriend of seven years. you had only started dating alexis not even six months ago...

but you couldn't find yourself to care?

if anything, maybe this could finally answer the question you two have had for so long: can another person have sex with you?

ruben is staring right at your lips, his hands lowering to hold your shoulders as you feel your back get cold. he asks you a question that awakens something in you, "did he eat you right?"

you couldn't answer him, all you could do was sigh and tilt your head back. it wasn't that he was bad, it's just that you didn't know how to answer the question. if you said no, would he tell him and ruin the relationship? if you said yes, would he leave you here neglected?

his lips kiss your sensitive skin, sending shivers down your spine. your grip instantly on the sleeves of his oversized shirt, short gasps escaping your mouth- ruben's like a butterfly on your collar, his kisses are long and all over the place. he's leaving no patch of skin spurned.

his large hand squeezed your hip and his tongue is in your mouth, these sensations from a whole new person are exciting you. ruben has always been pretty, and his voice is what made him so much more desirable.

you never thought a moment like this would happen. especially right now. and you are not wasting it.

it was a perfect day to wear a skirt, maybe it was what urged him to do this. his fingers swirled their way to the inner corners of your thighs, and you hear him curse into the kiss.. he's getting impatient?

there weren't any shorts underneath it either, so his tug on your underwear was relentless.

you laid on the random couch with your legs laced around ruben's arms, his sucks on your clit making you squirm- you moan as quiet as you can. no one should hear you. this was going to be hard to explain...

"ruben, fuck..." you whisper, but it felt like it wasn't enough. he's so good at this, maybe cause he's far more experienced than alexis and probably does this to his girlfriend most of the time. you couldn't help but crave for more, knowing there's more that he can do.

the way he eats is a lot more sensational, he touched the spots that're always overlooked.. and he really likes the way you taste. he dives farther in, every single droplet of you relished by him.

he wanted to continue, but he couldn't. he eventually stopped, letting go of your legs, hovering his body over yours..

"you wanna cum, y/n?" he asks, undressing your top carefully.

he's casting a dangerous spell on you, but you don't mind it in the slightest. you let him set your tits free, answering his question, "yes, ruben."

you hear some slight clanking when his hands disappear from your vision, must've been from his belt. you were kind of running out of patience, you wanted his cock inside you now,

but he did the opposite.

you felt his large dick fit between your wet folds, and him leaning into your chest to treat himself with your nipple.

your hands grasp onto the cushions of the couch, his hips gently rocking against your pussy- loud slick sounds echoing around the room, hidden by the loud crowd outside.

"oh god- ah, ruben..." your whine eggs him to keep going, but much better than before.

he grunts at how wet you are on his cock, voice muffling out "you're beautiful.", especially when his tip is swallowed by that lubricious pussy of yours.

fuck, he grinds so good. it was all for one person at first, but now, you're lucky enough to know how fucking amazing he is at this.

your breast is covered in saliva, and now he's leaving splotches around your chest. he's bringing you closer.. you're not sure if he's doing this to tease you, earlier you revealed to him how fragile you are.. how easy it is turn you on.

as stated earlier, you can't read him.

he lets out the hottest groan you've ever heard when he cums, decorating your pelvis with his nut. a part of you really wishes he came inside, but you'll take what you can get.

he lets you cum tonight, on his fingers.

they're long and skinny, like alex's, but his arms never got tired... even at the quick pace he was going when they were inside of you.

he jabbed at your cervix until you couldn't take it anymore, giving you the hardest orgasm you've had in a while. there was almost a mess of cum, and from the looks of it, he was proud.

you heard him speak quietly, "pobrecita."

~

you didn't know what to tell alex. you didn't know how to tell him...

he was going to be really mad that you were doing something you weren't supposed to do with his friend.

you felt guilty and ashamed... you knew it was going to eat you alive if you hid this from him.

you shouldn't have done this to begin with...

as the three of you hung out together,, you were the only one feeling tensed. you didn't know that ruben and alex didn't feel the way you do.

it was a surprise, when alexis asked you if you liked how ruben did you.

saying yes felt wrong, but...

"if you did, when are the three of us doing it?" alexis asked.

____________

help i dunno what to tag ;-;

[weepingpatroldragon]

Anaxa and Aventurine: Where Anaxa is always trying to outsmart Aventurine but Aventurine conveniently wraps Anaxa into his plans much to the former dismay. At first Anaxa completely hates Aventurine's guts but eventually grows a begrudging respect for the man because well done you are actually brave enough to challenge him meanwhile Aventurine is just endeared by Anaxa's antics he has already been through the ringer with Ratio so he is pretty endeared by another scholar trying to outsmart him and bicker with him plus he doesn't really have many friends so he finds a weird comfort in Anaxa and his odd dynamic. He at first tries to buy stuff Anaxa likes because that is his love language and also because money is one of his ways to establish a relationship with someone but Anaxa a dead man walking doesn't really have a need for gifts from others if he wants something he could just buy it plus he doesn't like his relationships detected by simple materialistic pastures so he refuses most of the time sometimes he does accept but only because he wants Aventurine to know that they are on decent terms but most of the time no thank you. They sometimes go for drinks and talk about their busy lives Aventurine is usually able to make the conversion entertaining enough where they could talk for hours upon hours. Aventurine's cat cakes like playing with Anaxa's dangling bits of clothing they are like ooooh shiny Aventurine tries to get them to stop but Anaxa says it's fine because he actually wants to understand these mysterious creatures Aventurine has kept as pets and also because he is a cat person at heart. People fear when these two hang out because what do you mean we have to deal with an unhinged almost practically dead man and A cunning broken luck man it's so over for us man. Sometimes Aventurine accompanies Anaxa when he goes tending his own grave nobody knows what is going inside that gambler's mind when he is watching Anaxa do his usual thing but for some reason his eyes looks duler than usual.

Anaxa and Dr Ratio: they argue, they bicker, they fight, hands are thrown, what are they arguing about? Who knows, Could be the physiology? Could be maths? Could be beliefs? Could be the freaking weather for all we know? What's absolutely clear is that the girls are fightingggg. The other person is too mean in their opinion yet they still choose to hangout with each other because they are the only ones to challenge each other and have an actual debate with each other something they both want but aren't able to get because most people get scared to confront them. People don't know what their dynamic is because at first they think oh they hate each other only to then find them eating lunch together talking about their students or something along those lines. Sometimes they visit each other's academy and their students audibly go oh god there is two of them. The students pray that they aren't the one to ask a dumb question when these two hang out because then they will get twice the scolding. These two are very much aware of each others special interest to the point they see each other in their interest Anaxa when he sees a duck his first thought goes to Ratio and when Ratio sees a dromas his first thought goes to Anaxa. They still speak highly of each other when someone asks their opinion on the other because yeah they do respect each other even with their differences but when they are talking to each other oh boy they have a sharp tongue that they aren't afraid to use in front of the other.

Anaxa and Topaz: they aren't that close they are just brought together by their shared love for dromas. Topaz loves every animal she finds and dromas are no exception and Anaxa well he's pretty self explanatory he is their number one fan. They don't really hang out with each other outside of their loves for these beautiful creatures so they're pretty casual friends who talk about animals and sometimes maths. Topaz always teases Anaxa about the fact that he sleeps with dromas plushie she thinks it's actually pretty sweet and adorable for someone like him and Anaxa always huffs with so what can't a man have a special interest in peace. Numby and Anaxa get along pretty well actually the scholar has pretty good patience and care for the space totter he usually strokes its back if the creature decides to sit on his lap which Topaz finds this adorable she is actually pretty amazed at how Anaxa is able to have care for animals despite his rather prickly personality to which he just vaguely responds with he has experience with animals. He is referring to his time with his sister back when she was still alive.

Anaxa and Reca: Reca thinks Anaxa is an interesting person and honestly he just wants to see Anaxa's full extension of his freak. Show him the horrors that is Anaxagoras the Grand Sage it would be absolute cinema in his opinion. As for Anaxa well... he is amused he usually lets Reca get away with most things as long as he isn't interfering with him too much and calls him by his proper full name the memokeeper can have whatever he wants. After all he is but a humble performer how could he deny his audience the simple pleasures of seeing the greatest show of their lives and Reca well, He is simply a good director that someone like Anaxa could use to enhance his craftsmanship. A win-win situation in his books.

[throneofrayllum]

Lab Partners headcannons. Yes. You heard me.

Soyona had wanted Brooklynn dead for...obvious reasons, but when she had been doing research on Brook, she couldn't help but feel sorry she had to die. The girl had ambition, smarts, and wouldn't take no for an answer. She had also just happened to fall down a rabbit hole of Brooklynn's social media and hated to admit it but she found Brooklynn to be gorgeous.

When Brooklynn first saw who the broker was whilst spying, her first thought was "Holy fuck she's hot"

Brooklynn had scared Soyona. Not many people could do that. When Brooklynn had the clicker in her hand, Soyona had genuinely feared for her life. She liked that Brooklynn was able to scare her, even if she later realized the girl had no murderous bone in her body.

They don't trust each other fully, how could they? (especially Brooklynn). But they feel drawn to each other. Attracted. Soyona doesn't really mind the attraction, but Brooklynn? She hates it. How could she want someone who's done such awful things? Who literally tried to kill her? what?

Soyona does feel for Brooklynn, she notices when Brooklynn drinks a bit too much in an attempt to numb her pain, or the sound of muffled sobbing that comes from the guest room some nights.

Soyona enjoys watching Brooklynn marvel at her way of life. She secretly likes spoiling Brooklynn too.

Soyona lets Brooklynn wear her clothes because all she has are her jeans and t shirts, and they're relatively the same size. When Soyona took Brooklynn to an event she let Brooklynn borrow a suit (she threatened to take away Brooklynn's access to the liquor cabinet if she spilled on the suit).

Brooklynn is surprised to feel both flustered and...jealous when Soyona brings a woman home from a bar. She had just been finishing up some case files when Soyona waltzed in with a beautiful red head whom she brought straight to her room and shut the door. Seriously? Couldn't she have gone to rando lady's place?

The next afternoon, Brooklynn was bent over her desk, rummaging through files when Soyona ran her hand up Brooklynn's spine and whispered "You were Jealous last night." Brooklynn had scoffed, although a blush crept into her cheeks. "No I wasn't." She snapped. Soyona clicked her tongue, "So defensive." Before Soyona walked away she kissed the back of Brooklynn's neck.

The first time Soyona and Brook...y'know, Soyona had been painting Brooklynn. Soyona had once again felt like something was missing from the painting. "Take off the dress.", Soyona instructed. Brooklynn went red. "What?" She looked like she couldn't understand what language Soyona was speaking. "Take off your dress, it is not needed for this painting." Brooklynn felt nervous, but obeyed. When she was finally just in her underwear and bra, she raised her eyebrows at Soyona. "This what you want?" Soyona smirked, "Very much so." She continued to paint, but Brooklynn was hot all over. Soyona sighed, "I know you want me." Brooklynn snorted, "Yeah, right." Soyona stood from her seat and went to stand directly in front of Brooklynn. "Don't deny yourself. I know what your apprehension is about. But let me assure you, dear, just because you want me does not mean you have to love me. You would not be betraying anyone." Brooklynn looked into Soyona's eyes. "Fine, maybe your right. But what about you? Do you want me?" Soyona knelt before Brooklynn and ran her hands up Brooklynn's thighs. "What do you think, love?" AND THEN DOT DOT DOT

(please tell me you understand what I did with the "dot dot dot" mamma mia reference - it just means they bang)

HELP I'VE IMPLIED SOME SEXUAL THEMES IN KENLYNN HEADCANNONS/FICS BEFORE BUT I THINK THIS IS THE MOST RISQUE MY POSTS HAVE EVER GOTTEN

it's really pretty tame but still. Also WHY did this kinda turn into a fic?

[garthofshayeris]

"you're always so negative, what kind of Aquaman story would you NOT complain about?" so glad you asked. I have some thoughts, DC, on how to make things fun again. You can reboot everything at any time and I will only be a lil mad if you don't let me write it.

To begin, the info below would cover multiple arcs: I think too many Aquaman comics just start out putting him in Atlantis, but not this one. The journey to Atlantis will take some time, giving the reader the opportunity to know Arthur before he's a king and get the lay of the land (extra joke) underwater.

Let's start with Arthur. We're doing a little combo action here: Arthur is fully Atlantean, abandoned by a baby but found by a pod of dolphins. Since he's a telepath, and for Divine Plot Reasons, the animals know he is someone of great importance. However, he very quickly becomes too much for them to handle. They're just dolphins, after all. The dolphins, led by the iconic Porm, bring him to a lighthouse when he's around 5ish. There, he is discovered by Thomas Curry.

Tom Curry is no dummy. He knows this kid Is Not Human, but he also knows that revealing him as a non-human will just get the kid sent to some unknown lab to be experimented on. So he raises the kid as if he's a human and tries to keep him out of the water at all times.

Obviously, this doesn't work. Arthur is drawn to the ocean, and the dolphins who keep visiting him. There’s no hope in keeping him from the water. Tom doesn't reveal that Arthur is non-human, but he does coach him on never revealing any of his powers to people. Arthur becomes a local hero, mostly because he's often out swimming or on the fishing boat and ends up saving people.

Tom gets sick and, fearing he will die and leave Arthur unprepared for the world (he's in his 20s but just chills at home) he explains Arthur's origins and how Arthur is not his biological son, but a creature from the oceans.

Arthur always assumed he was a meta human; he knows now that he's not human at all. Arthur wants to learn about his people and Tom is like "we have no idea if they're dangerous, we have no idea why you were left here" and Arthur is like "how bad can they be?"

Arthur leaves home and tries to find Atlantis. This is no easy feat, considering he has no idea where to start. The dolphin pod is able to give him general directions to where they think they found him, but he still doesn't end up anywhere near a sunken city. Eventually, he finds the ruins of some kind of settlement, a cave...and a kid.

The kid is speaking a language that Arthur doesn't understand, but they quickly realize they are both telepaths! Slowly they learn to communicate; the kid will say something out loud and then convey the same message telepathically, and Arthur will do the same while responding in English. They slowly figure out how to speak each other's language, but the kid has a very limited vocabulary of his native tongue. However, he manages to explain some things:

The cave they are in used to be full of people, rejects from Atlantis for some reason or another; criminals, "mutants", etc. Atlanteans have a tendency to abandon their kids to die of exposure but people can be kicked out for any reason. This kid was the last baby they found, and were raising him as a group until Something Happened. They were attacked and all the adults died; he only survived by being hidden and has been alone in the years that followed the attack.

Here's the thing: the kid thinks his name is Baby, because that's what he was referred to as (aka "the baby") before everyone was killed. Arthur is convinced that the kid must have parents who are grieving him in Atlantis, and that they have a name for him. So he doesn't want to assign a name that's wrong, but he can't just call him Baby. So he starts using similar names, Baby Shark, Minnow, Tadpole, etc. as nicknames.

So! Arthur is convinced that he needs to find Atlantis and figure out who he is. The kid is like I was always told to avoid going there also they killed everyone, but I like your energy. Also you are my dad now. The kid doesn't know where Atlantis is, but he has seen some people like them nearby. So they start venturing off to find other Atlanteans.

Eventually, they discover an Atlantean man out in the wild, doing some kind of research. Arthur swims right up to him to introduce himself. The man is absolutely shocked to see Arthur (and the kid, who followed behind) and introduces himself as Vulko. Vulko works for the king as a scientist and advisor, but honestly hates that guy. The king is a real dick and only king because of marriage, not royal lineage. He believes the ocean is dying and they need to reveal themselves to the surface to save their home. Arthur is like omg no way, I'm FROM there can you introduce me to the king I can defend your case! :3 I'm somewhat of a folk hero on land, you know...

Vulko says no, and that Arthur and the kid are "throw backs" or undesirables in Atlantis. The people of Atlantis will not take kindly to someone like Arthur, but also implies that Arthur SHOULD try to win their affection because he likes his style. They decide to do that by "saving the ocean" they start taking on bigger, badder threats. Vulko provides them with some outdated Atlantean armor that he steals from the palace (orange for Arthur, red for the kid) and they begin to take on pirates, monsters, etc. They are not only gaining notoriety on land, but in the sea as well. Scouts from Atlantis are reporting back about a duo of mysterious Atlanteans taking out threats the king had been too cowardly to take on. They take on celebrity status.

Along the way they find Mera. She has fled her home dimension (unrelated to Atlantis at all, she's literally not from their world) who needs a place to crash. Arthur and Garth invite her to stay with them, in that destroyed settlement turned bachelor pad, and explain their plan to get into Atlantis. Mera, a princess, has the tact and manners that the others lack and joins the team.

Meanwhile, Vulko is stoking the rumor mill, trying to put in a good word for Aquaman and Aqualad, and he starts digging around for records of them. Vulko finds no record of Arthur's birth, and can only find ONE instance of a boy being born within the approximate age of the kid; the boy was named Garth and abandoned as an infant. There is no official record of him, or his parents (which is customary) and it appears this was done intentionally, and that information was destroyed. He only learns about this from talking to people who used to work in the palace. Vulko starts to suspect there is more to the story and also tries to dig into any of info on about Arthur…

And eventually he finds it; everyone knows the late queen had a son named Orm, but what they DON’T know is that she had a son before him with an unknown father. The people believe this child died during childbirth but Vulko finds a single woman who was around for his birth (the others involved have “mysteriously died”) who can confirm that the child was born, and born with blonde hair. While the queen rested, the king took the child out of Atlantis to leave him to die. The queen was told her child died shortly after childbirth but she never truly believed this. The queen bore a second son, Orm, and took her own life when Orm was a child.

So, why is the king so adamant about killing off the outsiders? Although he believed the baby had died, an oracle told him that the boy lives and would dethrone him (he’s VERY superstitious). He has been sending out soldiers to kill anyone harboring throwbacks and he has been training his son, Orm, to be a great fighter so he can defend his father and anyone who might claim the throne. He’s paranoid that the child he tried to dispose of will return and dethrone him.

So anyway. Arthur returns to Atlantis to try and convince the king to let him on as an advisor to the surface world. The king recognizes the blonde hair immediately but cannot react and give himself away. He tries to remove the squad by virtue of them being throwbacks but the people LOVE Aquaman and Aqualad, they are so excited about their visit that to avoid an uprising they are allowed to stay as guests.

They meet prince Orm during their stay. He's a little standoffish and not at all happy to see throw backs trying to get into the palace; his father had assured him that they were all dead, that throwbacks cannot survive into adulthood.

In an attempt to kill them off/make them leave and lose favor with Atlantis, the king starts making up increasingly dangerous tasks they must complete (like the trials of Hercules tbh) but of course Arthur is absolutely killing it! He’s having a great time and thinks this is very normal, but Mera, who is unfamiliar with Atlantis but very familiar with royal schemes, decides that something fishy (extra joke) is going on. She and Vulko investigate the events surrounding the queen’s suicide.

One of the “challenges” is for Arthur to fight Orm in a public arena. Orm gets his ass beat but Arthur, who had taken a liking to Orm, let’s him get a few punches in so he’s not embarrassed. Even after the fight he’s acting really buddy-buddy with him. Orm is confused and angry at being public ally defeated, but cannot help but think that Arthur is a really nice dude.

Once again, I’m imagining this taking a long time. It’s part monster fighting, part investigation, part hijinks in a new location, etc. They leave Atlantis occasionally to take on land-threats and visit Arthur's father. FINALLY, though, Mera figured it out; the queen didn’t kill herself. This is already long so I'm just going to say that she confronted her husband and he killed her to secure Orm's place on the throne.

The king has another very public venue in which to try to embarrass Aquaman. For example, having him fight some giant monster. But Arthur doesn’t like to kill innocent animals and he uses his telepathy to calm the beast down. Telepathy is not a common ability (and until now nobody had seen Arthur use it) but it’s also a mythical sign of the divine right of royalty in Atlantis. Only kings of yore have shown the ability, and even the late queen couldn’t manifest it. So ofc the king accuses Arthur of being some kind of freak or faking it. That’s when Mera, Garth, and Vulko come on the scene with their receipts: they’ve pieced together the king’s attempted murder of the baby, that Arthur is rightful heir to the throne, and that the king murdered the queen. The king initially claims they’re lying, but then they pull out the receipts and display them to the entire crowd. Enraged, he tries to kill Arthur and another fight ensues. Arthur manages to get the king pinned but refuses to kill him. The king takes this opportunity to break out from under the trident and flees the city. although soldiers pursue him it seems that he has completely disappeared. There is a bounty out for him, leaving the possibility of him returning as a major threat still in the air (extra joke).

Arthur is named king, as the oldest heir to the throne, to his absolute bewilderment. Orm is absolutely furious, as he thinks Arthur only came there to steal the throne from him, just like his father said he would. Arthur tries to explain that it wasn’t his intention, but Orm storms off and hides away in a wing of the castle. The squad lets him stay, but there’s animosity for sure.

Now that he is no longer in celebrity status, the people begin to poke holes in their love of the group; they did not have the full story (of them being throw backs) and now they're a bit suspicious about Garth and Mera, specifically (they don't realize she's not Atlantean, though you would think the flipper feet would give it away...) and there are some who loved the old king and want him back on the throne (conspiracy theorists essentially) Now that they aren't essentially there on vacation, they begin to notice how isolating it is in Altantis...and then we begin the more introspective plot lines, talking about feeling like an outsider and what it means to fit in!

Now Arthur has a new job, a reputation as a hero, and no idea what to do next!

Character's main traits/inspiration

Arthur: did NOT anticipate finding out he was a long lost king, he just wanted to learn about Atlantis! He's trying to balance being a hero, which he likes, being an adventurer, which he loves, and being a king which is...fine, I guess. This version will lean more into his Silver Age personality, which is my favorite, where he seems a little confused but excited about everything. Rather than try to sweep all the "uncool" things under the rug like some versions of Aquaman do, he's so genuine about his life that it's difficult to make fun of him. He is not actually that great at being a king, so luckily he has a lot of friends to help him.

Garth: he follows Arthur around like a lost puppy and is SO happy to be living in a place with real walls and a real bed. However, he still wants to know more about his parents and why records of him were destroyed... We are going back to the classic sidekick genre with him, something DC seems afraid to do. If DC also wanted to have the Titans, or the rest of the fab five be older, I could see him being significantly younger than the others but still part of the "first wave" of sidekicks so they're lumped together anyway. Like the Silver/Bronze age, he could visibly age during the run of the comic and be in his teenage years for any Titans-related plots DC wanted to run. I would be keeping his lost prince backstory, but that wouldn't come up for a very long time. I like the idea of having him age throughout the series, I think that's a very fun aspect of comics that has been lost. He would keep his post-crisis origins, but not learn about them for quite some time.

Mera: She never told Arthur the real reason she was exiled, and to be fair he didn't ask. She's excited to be in the political world of Atlantis and make changes for the better, something she couldn't do back home... I like the idea of Mera being from another world altogether, I think it adds to the overall theme of them being outsiders. She will be a combination of her very domestic original version and the feisty modern Mera. Since Mera doesn't have much of a personality usually (sorry girl) I'm going to make her very studious and politically minded. She LOVES politics and is passionate about making changes to help the everyday Atlanteans. She’s also worried about being sent back to her home dimension, so she tries to keep everyone pleased with her.

Vulko: the only one of the group who understands Atlantean customs. He is always so, so tired of shenanigans... Vulko is going to be a bit like Merlin, an advisor and advocate for Arthur taking the throne. and yes he WILL be old and he WILL be fat.

Orm: royally (extra joke) pissed about losing the throne, but conflicted about his father being Very Evil and hiding the existence of his brother/killing his mom. He mostly sulks and keeps to himself, making it unclear if he is friend or foe... I LOVE his Silver Age jealousy, but DC wants them to be related by their mother and I don't want to fight them on that. I actually prefer when Orm is at least partially human, but I don’t think I can have my cake and eat it too with the origins here, so he’s the biggest compromise tbh. I think Orm could be a shifty character, not outright evil but clearly angry about how things are going so he causes problems on purpose. But there's still the chance that he might sway to either side...

Manta: Honestly, he's the hardest one to introduce into the fray because he only recently started getting actual reasons to have beef with Arthur. Which I respect. Since Tom is going to be alive (for now) I think having Manta slowly develop a beef with Arthur that all comes to head by killing Arthur's father could be interesting. Or maybe Tom gets to live, and Manta does something equally terrible. It's unclear in my mind tbh. So! Manta is trying to develop his empire of piracy and Arthur, trying to win over the people of land and sea, starts really going after him. He sinks every single one of Manta's subs, thwarts every single plan, and is ruining Manta's reputation. He HATES Aquaman, and unfortunately Aquaman doesn't really know who he is or realize he's made an enemy... he would show up as a big threat in later comics, after Arthur has established himself in Atlantis

The former king: this could be Orvax, who was introduced in N52, but honestly if the writer wanted to make a new OC I wouldn’t mind. Orvax doesn’t have much in ways of background of personality because he only exists in flashbacks, but I know how sucky it is to just use the same name for a totally different character (looking at you, rebirth Garth!) so I’m just going to call him King for now. It would be interesting if he was corrupted like Orm in previous volumes into making a deal with an entity in exchange for power…perhaps even serving as a patron for Orm if he shifts to the dark side.

So. That's a quick rendition of my ideal Aquaman reboot. I think it s a fun combo of all the elements I've liked over the years without simply be a rehashing of the stories. Thoughts, opinions. etc?

[thesparklingwriter]

millenia precede us

“Let’s play a game,” You say. “Whoever finds the other first wins a prize.”

tags: reincarnation au, fem!reader, reader is part adeptus, inspired by this ask from aine

word count: 3k (apologies for this monster of a fic)

ao3 link | taglist | masterlist | next

Zhongli dreams of you again. For the first time in centuries, he sees your face, your smile, your laugh. The dreams had first started when he was young—or young by archon standards. He’d drifted off to sleep one night, and woke up entirely occupied by the face of someone he’d never met before, by the smell of something he was sure he’d never smelt in his lifetime.

He’d found comfort in seeing you—in listening to you talk in a language he didn’t yet understand, wearing clothes he hadn’t seen before. You’d come for a few years, and then disappear, only to reappear later, wearing something different, speaking in a different language. Your smile never seemed to change.

The two of you could never truly communicate either—your shared dreamscape was simple, a park in the height of autumn, a small picnic blanket on the floor. There, you’d snack on whatever was laid out on the blanket and try your bests to communicate however you could. Most times, however, you’d cuddle up to each other and sit in silence, watching the way the landscape changed.

He’d always known that you’d come back. He hoped that you’d come back. But you’d been gone for so long that he began to fear that your reincarnation cycle had ended, that he’d never get to meet you in real life.

“Hello,” you smile. Zhongli can barely reply to you—hes so stunned that he can understand you, that he can recognise the clothes you’re wearing and the floral scent you always carried with you. Glaze lilies. That’s what it was. “First time here?” You ask kindly. Zhongli stares at you before clearing his throat.

“No.” he replies. You seem confused, but sit yourself down on the blanket and run your hands over the copper-coloured silk. “I’ve met you a few times.” He says, lowering himself to sit beside you.

“A few times?” You say quietly. “I recognise your voice, the way you smell, but not your face. Is that how this is supposed to be?”

Zhongli is ashamed to admit that he doesn’t know. As far as he knows, he was the first to experience anything like this, and slowly others began to too, until it became commonplace for people across Teyvat. Something he or the other archons did must have made this happen, but none of them had any clue what it could be.

“I’m not sure,” Zhongli replies, shifting himself so that he’s not so close to you, for fear of making you uncomfortable. You notice him shifting away and close the gap yourself, resting your head against his shoulder the way you did when you first met all those centuries ago. “Not much is known about the dreamscapes.” he says.

“How long have you been able to visit?” You ask, looking up at him.

Zhongli is torn between lying, or gracing you with the truth. “A number of years,” He says finally and you look at him with wide eyes.

“How much older than me are you?” You ask. Zhongli looks at you, again torn as to what he should say. The truth is always better, especially in situations like this, but the truth may also be too much to handle.

“I’m an adeptus,” he decides this is a better course of action. “I’m older than I appear.” You don’t seem as surprised by this as he expected—in fact, you don’t seem to have a problem with it at all.

“My mum’s an adeptus, this isn’t new to me.” You smile. “Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Zhongli,” He says. You say his name under your breath, resting the words on your tongue. Zhongli looks at you in wonder, at the way you take this all in your stride. You ask him questions and he responds, and you don't seem to miss a beat. He reckons he could tell you everything, the whole truth, and you probably wouldn't even flinch.

It’s strange to you, the way he already seems so comfortable. How long has he truly known you for? And how is that even possible? But even despite your thoughts, you know Teyvat is place a where the most random things can happen, and you know you won’t find the answer you seek without asking him. But you'd like to enjoy his presence, so you decide to pack it in for the time being. “You don’t have any questions for me?” You ask him, tilting your head slightly.

“Not necessarily, no.” He smiles. “I’ve learned to know you fairly well, though you might not remember our past encounters.”

“That’s sweet,” you reply, sitting up. You sigh as the beautiful landscape begins to fade and you sense yourself waking up. How unfair, you think to yourself. It feels like I've barely had five minutes with him. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll be looking out for you when I’m out. Bye, Zhongli.”

Zhongli stays seated once you leave, staring out into the middle distance. He sighs. He never got your name.

You sit up in bed, head pounding. It’s still pitch black outside, but your alarm continues to ring incessantly as you pull yourself out of bed and get ready for a day at the office. A new publishing company has begun shipping its books to Liyue and it’s your job to read through as many of them as you can and provide thorough and honest reviews. The only problem with this is that they aren’t really the kind of books you usually read. If anything, they’re the exact opposite of the Liyuean fiction you’re used to reviewing.

As you read, your mind drifts to Zhongli, the way he’d looked at you as if you were coming home to him, as if you were familiar. And it scares you—the fact that somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you know him, but can't place your finger on it. A stranger shouldn't feel familiar.

“Everything going okay?” Your coworker lets herself into your office, smiling brightly. “I heard you got lumped with the Inazuman erotica. How’s that going?”

You sigh, placing the book down. It’s not like you were truly going to get to the end of it anyway, with your mind so focused on the way Zhongli smiled at you with such fondness.

“Oh, it’s going, alright,” You sigh, leaning back in your seat. “I just never know what to expect next, if I’m honest. Did you know there’s a whole book that’s just about a dragon?”

“Dragon…erotica?” Your coworker asks, glancing dangerously at the pile of books on your desk.

“Sorry, half dragon, half-qilin. I should be more specific.” You run your hands through your hair. “I’ve been avoiding that one like the plague.”

“Isn’t your deadline in like three weeks?”

“Don’t remind me.” You say, standing up to shoo them out of your office. “It will be the last thing I read. A final hurrah of sorts. Now get out.”

Over the next few days, finishing work for the day is a much more exciting event than it usually is. You know that the minute you hit the hay, Zhongli is likely going to be there. He goes to bed early so it seems like he’s always waiting for you in his shared dreamscape.

“You know,” You say, resting your head on his shoulder. A lake suddenly appeared in the dreamscape and you’ve taken to watching the koi as they dance around each other in the glistening water. “Why don’t you just tell me where to find you? Make this easier on both of us.”

Zhongli chuckles. “I could do that, yes. But it would be rude of me to send you on a wild goose chase across Liyue. It would be easier if you just told me where to find you.”

“As if.” You scoff, getting up to dip your hands in the lake and feel the fish brush past you. You’d named them over the last few days: Ai for the fish with heart-shaped scales, Lian for the fish who was easily startled, and Gan for the fish that seemed to protect it. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m sure you can identify the hypocrisy in your own statement.” Zhongli says.

“Let’s play a game,” You say. “Whoever finds the other first wins a prize.”

“And that prize is…?”

“A secret. What do you say, Zhongli? Up for it?”

Zhongli looks at you in awe and mild frustration. He always knew that you enjoyed problem-solving and a good challenge, which was clear by the way you used to try and find ways to communicate with him all those years ago, but he never expected this. Either way, he nods, listens dutifully to your rules (three clues each and no cheating by asking for each other by name) and agrees to your terms. That is, not that you gave him much of a choice in the matter.

And thus the game begins. The three clues you give him are mean—you work ‘normal’ hours, you like to read, and you spend a lot of time near the harbour. It doesn’t really narrow down much for him, but he humours you anyway, giving you his three clues in return. Arguably, his are even worse than yours—they’re riddles that seemed to have no connection to him whatsoever. As you try to accuse him of unfair play, you feel yourself stirring awake, and instead swear you’ll call him out on it on a later date.

Of course, you didn’t expect that you’d be seeing him so little over the coming weeks.

As your deadline pulls closer and you begin to pull more all-nighters to try and finish reviewing all the books that have been sent to you, you spend so little time sleeping that by the time you’re deep enough in sleep to reach the dreamscape, your alarm goes off and you’re dragged back into the real world.

“Mr Zhongli, are you alright?” After a week of watching Zhongli descend more and more into a worrying state, Hu Tao realises that she has to speak up. “You haven't been yourself lately. Do you have too much work?”

“I’m quite alright. I’m simply concerned for an acquaintance of mine.” Zhongli says, snapping out of his daze, and swiping imaginary dust off his blazer. “It’s not something to worry yourself about.”

Hutao dutifully ignores the last past of his sentence, seating herself on the other side of his desk. His office is always spotless, ready for a customer to come in at any time. That being said, he seems to get more menial questions from history buffs than paying patrons.

“Now, Mr Zhongli. I’m going to give this to you straight. You’re a loner. And I’m very curious as to where this friend has spawned from. So talk.”

Zhongli chuckles. It’s not the first time he’s been told that he essentially has no friends, for it was improbable that his adepti friends would be open to meeting in the harbour. “She is an old friend.” Zhongli says.

“‘She’?” Hutao gasps, jumping up from her seat. “Oh, this is great. You have a crush on her, don’t you? This is why you’ve been in such an odd mood recently.”

“I really do dislike you sometimes,” Zhongli says quietly, as Hutao begins her incessant teasing. “It is difficult to explain, so please do not ask that of me.”

“Fine, fine.” She returns to the seat. “Well, let’s go find her. Then you can stop being worried, and I can see her for myself.”

“That may prove difficult.” Zhongli says, rising from his desk. “But I suppose the task will be easier with your help.”

You sneeze lightly as you finish the review of your penultimate book. You’re running on two hours of sleep, three coffees, and the hope that when this is done, you can finally get to finding Zhongli again. No matter how much pay your boss offers you, you won’t accept a job like this again. No way.

You glance at the final book with a glare. Why someone decided to write erotica about the archon of a nation they didn’t even belong to was beyond you. Furthermore, you really didn't feel like trudging through thousands of misconceptions, concessions in knowledge of Liyue’s customs, and of course the blatant blasphemy. And you definitely aren’t going to do it in this office.

Taking the book and a newfound sense of dread, you walk out of the office, tell the receptionist that you’re going to find somewhere nice to read the book and find yourself strolling along Liyue Harbour in search of a nice bench. You haven’t had the time to walk around like this since you started your job a year ago, and it’s crazy how much things have changed. You look around some of the stalls before asking one of the stall owners whether they know any relaxing places to sit and read.

“A koi fish pond has just been installed. Apparently it’s a symbol of friendship between Inazuma and Liyue.” She says to you. “It’s just along there, you can’t miss it.”

You thank her gratefully, following her directions before arriving there. It looks exactly like the one in your shared dreamscape, shiny silver rocks around the border and clear teal water. Even the fish look the same, and you kneel down at the pond to look at them, one jumps out of the water, almost to greet you.

“Hello, Ai,” you say softly. “I have no food for you today.” The fish jumps back into the water, disappointed by the lack of food, and you rise to your feet, getting comfortable on the opposite bench to read the book. Sitting here like this makes you miss Zhongli. With your sleep schedule being so messed up the past few weeks, you never truly get to see him anymore. This is the closest you’ve felt to him in days. And maybe it’s your own fault for suggesting you play that silly game, maybe it’s your own fault for being afraid of what would happen if you finally met, but you’re tired of the torture. Next time you catch him in the dreamscape, you’re going to tell him how to find you.

The sun beats down on you as you read, and paired with the caffeine that’s slowly draining out of your system, you slowly feel your eyes start to close. It’s not the book’s fault—it’s certainly not bad as you expected, but when you’re this tired, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

“We should start at koi fish pond,” Hutao says excitedly, as she drags Zhongli along the harbour.

“Why?”

“It’s new. I’m sure it would have garnered her interest.” She says. “And I've never had a chance to look at it.”

“I should have known better than to allow you to recruit yourself to this task,” Zhongli says. “No matter, let us go and look at the pond.”

Zhongli remembers your love for the koi pond in the dreamscape, so whilst Hutao’s suggestion may have been selfish, it wasn’t the worst possible idea. He remembers the way you named the fish, fed them with care and watched them with unleashed curiosity and joy. Even if he didn’t find you there, he would be happy to just relish in the memories of you for a while.

“What’s all that commotion at the pond?” Hutao says. Zhongli snaps out of his daze, looking up at the Millelith crouching beside the bench, his spear flat against the floor. “Miss, are you alright?” The man asks, tentatively reaching out with the intention to shake her awake.

Hutao drags him closer to the scene, ignoring the way he seems to resist her.

“Miss, are you alright?” The Millelith repeats, and the woman he’s waking up sits up slowly. Zhongli can’t believe his eyes.

“Archons, I need to finish reading that book.” You mumble, thanking the man for waking you up with a slight smile, and almost instantly burying your face back into it.

Zhongli makes no effort to move towards you, overwhelmed by seeing you in real life for the first time. The version he sees of you in dreams doesn’t even do the real you justice—in real life, you’re so much brighter and striking. Your voice is something he could listen to for hours. You’re so perfect and he fears that if moves any closer, he’ll find that it’s all an illusion, a cruel trick his mind is playing on him.

“You are aware that it’s creepy to stare at people, yes?” Hutao says lightly. And Zhongli nods, slowly walking up to you, your name on his lips.

Your book falls to the floor as you look up at him. “Zhongli?” Your body moves before you mind can and you pull him into a hug. He’s real and he’s here and you can smell him and hold him and archons, he feels like home. You pull away to look at his face, to commit every single pore of his skin to memory. He’s real. “What are you doing here? How did you find me? What’s going on?”

Zhongli smiles. “You’re just as perfect as I remember.”

“Even when I’m falling asleep on a park bench?” You grin, running a hand over the back of his head.

“Especially when you’re asleep on a park bench.”

You roll your eyes, pulling him into a kiss. “You have terrible taste.”

“Perhaps,” He says, gently stroking your face with his cheek. “But in that instance, so do you.”

© 2023, thesparklingwriter. please do not copy, edit, repost, or translate.

notes: hi this is a repost I just couldn’t bear watching it flop 😭😭 omg so i didn't mean to make this so long and i am absolutely confused as to how i got this many words. im so sure i blacked out somewhere in the middle and ended up with 3x the amount of words i usually aim for lmfaoo. anyway everyone thank aine cause if it wasn't for her you would not have this monster of a fic xoxo removing tags as I don’t wanna disturb y’all

(coloured @s couldn't be tagged)

[gojooooo]

students au brainrot…....…...

— sukuna would already be too good he should skip to second year but gojo is like nuh uh you’re reckless and you need to learn the basics so i know you’ll be able to protect yourself out there, you can’t count on infinity like me hehe. sukuna is fuming

— sukuna comes from one of the most important families and he’s not exactly their preferred heir as he lacks in manners and obedience but being strong and a man grants him to still be considered part of the family despite him thinking a bit too much with his own head for their likings. which means in the jujutsu world everyone knows who he is and what their place is when in his presence

— him and yuuji just. bicker all day and everyone is like uh why is he talking back to #The ryomen sukuna gaaasp

— yuuji never cared. he’s unapologetically himself. he’s curious, stubborn, not afraid to say what he thinks

— the thing is, sukuna is never actually pissed off by it. sure, yuuji makes him sigh and roll his eyes twenty times a day, but he always allows it. he even looks forward to it. their banter keeps him entertained, he likes that there’s someone as stubborn as him who will keep that back and forth going

— he likes gojo, he really does, but his attitude and his stupid laugh are a nuisance. megumi is a great company during missions or quiet afternoons, but he always fixes sukuna with an unimpressed look when he starts being mean or way too energetic for megumi’s standards. nobara can match his feral energy at times and listening to her talk shit is fun and he gets along well with the seniors too, especially maki because he really respects her for not caring about what other people think and can always count on her to understand what it’s like to be an outcast in families like theirs but also to never say no to a sparring match, plus she’s a pleasant company like megumi as she doesn’t talk too much. but they all shut him down as well at some point, which at least it’s better than when people are afraid of him. but yuuji… yuuji is different. yuuji always has a playful smile and a quick comeback on the tip of his tongue ready for him. yuuji is pure fresh air.

— so yeah they’re always bickering like an old married couple, but for some reason they get along extremely well at random moments. and i mean extremely well. sukuna would be yelling at yuuji that he was too slow during their mission that day and then an hour later they’re cooking dinner side by side and shoujo bubbles is all that’s missing to make it perfect, nobara sits there flabbergasted because how are these the same guys that kick each other’s desk during class as if the whole room can’t hear it? the same sukuna who pushed yuuji out of the way just because he was standing in front of the shelf sukuna needed to pick his book from? the same yuuji who gives sukuna the finger everytime he turns around to leave? and now look at them. sukuna laughing at yuuji’s jokes while cutting veggies and telling him to be careful with the knife

— so nobara starts paying attention. she notices that yuuji is always in a good mood when sukuna is around even if he was pulling his cheek a minute before. she notices that sukuna always speaks highly of yuuji when he’s not there, like that one time when someone called yuuji soft and sukuna looked like he was about to rip their head off and quickly replied that yuuji is actually tough and never backs down from a fight no matter how dangerous

— and it looks like nobara started paying attention at the right time because she gets to see how their relationship slowly starts to change. yuuji’s tone is different when he’s talking to or about sukuna; it’s gentler, softer. he trains until late to make sure he’s never a step behind. his ears turn pink when it’s a sunny day and sukuna is sitting on the grass next to him, his sleeves rolled up and sweat dampening his shirt, laughing loud and open at maki sending megumi facedown on the ground. and sukuna, albeit subtly, starts touching and observing yuuji more. he sits closer when they’re on the bench during training, he lays his forearm on yuuji’s shoulder when they’re listening to ijichi’s explanations before a mission, he rests his hand on yuuji’s head when they’re all watching a movie together before sleep, absently running his fingers through his hair… and he stares at yuuji. a lot. he silently looks at him from afar, pensive, looking like he’s pondering the most important things in the universe and nobara wishes she could take a peek inside his brain and find out what’s stealing ryomen sukuna’s attention so intensely.

— so nobara looks for a partner in crime to witness it all with her but they all lift their eyebrows in disbelief because, ryomen sukuna, falling in love? ryomen love-is-worthless sukuna? the same sukuna that falls asleep and starts snoring when nobara chooses a romcom for movie night? there is no way. but she insist until she gets at least megumi to take her seriously and he has to admit it would explain many things such as why sukuna’s eye starts twitching whenever yuuji is hanging out with ozawa or why both their faces almost match the color of their hair when they’re around each other. (so even megumi has a little fun with it when he tells yuuji “ah, looks like you remember what sukuna’s favorite dish is but not mine” and watches him furiously list anything that pairs up with ginger until he gets it right – and he knows what he’s gonna find in his plate for dinner that night)

— then one day, yuuji protects sukuna from an attack he didn’t see coming. they’re often paired up together during missions as it slowly became clear that they work super well together (as long as they’re more focused on the mission than on each other) but sukuna is reckless and old habits die hard. it’s nothing serious and sukuna sits there staring at the door so intensely he might bore a hole into it until they inform him yuuji is awake. he stalks into the room and finds him sat up sipping orange juice. his smile disappears when sukuna comes close and grabs him by the shirt.

“why the hell would you get in the way”

“huh?”

“you heard me.”

“i don’t know what to tell you. you were in danger and i did it by instinct”

“i can take a blow.”

“i know”

“then don’t fucking do that again. if i make a mistake the price is mine to pay”

yuuji shrugs. “it wasn’t a rational choice. i can’t promise you i won’t do it again”

sukuna sighs, sits on the bed in front of him. “you’re such a brat” he grumbles, taking note of the way yuuji’s ears turn pink at the nickname. “just don’t jump in front of attacks that aren’t meant for you. i’m not asking, i’m telling you not to”

yuuji’s lips quirk up in a smile. “and since when do i listen to what you tell me to do?”

sukuna huffs out a laugh. “that’s true”, he admits, then cups yuuji’s face with his hand. “i couldn’t stand it if you were to be seriously hurt because of me.”

yuuji leans into the touch. “won’t happen. i’m tough, you know”

sukuna’s features soften. he smiles. “yeah, you are.”

there are megumi, nobara and gojo eavesdropping outside the door and nobara wants to scream, just kiss already!!! but they both know that’s not the right moment.

— the right moment comes a while later, when they’re alone. the sun is about to set and they’re still training, yuuji has sukuna pinned to the ground and accidentally hits him on the nose. as blood trickles down to his lips yuuji starts apologizing profusely but sukuna’s eyes are glinting in amusement and admiration and he just laughs fondly as he pulls yuuji down for a kiss.