#like icb i have to explain this to you.

[kalpalatas]

western "leftists" sharing that tiktok of a korean woman talking about signing up for arranged marriage agencies as a gotcha against korean radfems. y'all are not very smart

[bunniwords]

໑ৎ ׁ ׅ♡ ALIBI 🌀

part xxiv - masterlist - part xxvi xxv. skipped a few chapters

bunni speaks — tasldkfjadslf icb this but i think the next chapter is the last one… i’ll probably do an epilogue and a few side chapters because i love them so much, but it’s almost the end… im gonna cry

︶︶ 　 ˚ ᡴꪫ synopsis — you are known for your brain rot anime content on twitter. so much so that you caught the attention of txt’s soobin on his secret stan account and became mutuals. what will become of this new friendship?

more under the cut!

the rest of the week probably went by a little too fast for you. although you made the effort to see him after both your work schedules, the day he had to leave was anything but easy. 

“you’re leaving tomorrow,” you pouted. 

“i know,” he pouted along with you, “i wish i could take you with me.”

“you’ll text me everyday, right?” 

you could feel yourself cringing at yourself, asking that kind of question. never did you ever see yourself being clingy for a boy, but you can’t really say soobin was just any boy. 

“don’t i already do that?” he chuckled.

“okay, well, don’t feel like you have to text me throughout the day if you’re busy. i’m starting to feel bad about all the times i’ve probably bothered you,” you mumbled. 

soobin frowned and pulled you into his lap.

“you could never bother me,” he said as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, “i still expect daily calls.”

your eyes lingered on his face even longer, trying to memorize every single bit of detail you could. it felt unfair that he had to leave already. 

“is there something on my face?” he asked. 

“no… i just want to make sure i remember what you look like this close,” you explained.

“i already wish i could be here again with you,” he muttered and stared at your features.

“stop looking at me like that. my heart is going to burst,” you chuckled while putting your palms over his eyes. 

“well, as long as i’m the only one making you feel that way,” soobin’s grin grew and even without his sight, he could tell how flustered you were. 

“were you always this smooth? i read your tweets! you were simping for me,” you tried teasing him, but he seemed to be shameless at this point. 

“you think i’m smooth?” 

“i’m leav—“

“no, you’re not!”

you squealed when you felt soobin’s strong arms hold you back down on his lap. your body toppled over his. soobin knew he had to savor these moments because it won’t be for a while before he could enjoy your presences again. 

[ghostofhyuck]

NCT Dream getting rejected by you.

Mark Lee

He's going to be so understanding about it! He understands that you're not looking for a commitment at the moment so he thinks that your reason is valid turning him down. Would probably give you a smile and will apologize for taking up some of your time just to meet up with him! You'll feel bad but you don't want to hurt Mark, so you end up apologizing to him too, but he's okay with it! You two assured that you two still can be friends. 

Huang Renjun

Renjun is also very understanding that you rejected him. You told him that you're not looking for a relationship at the moment that's why you rejected him. He'll probably nods and tells you that he's thankful that you straight-up rejected him instead of just leading him onto nothing. You promises Renjun that he's such a nice guy and everything but it's just a you problem. Renjun understands your situation but deep inside he's probably still devastated that he got rejected. 

Lee Jeno

ICB YOU'RE REJECTING JENO. JK. But imagine him smiling at you as he ask you to be his girlfriend and when you turned him down his smile never left! >:( He'll only nod as he listens to you explaining to him that you still have issues from your past relationships that's why you couldn't commit at the moment. His smile never left and he even comforted you during the process! You just rejected him and he's still there comforting you, you'll feel bad because of what you did but you know deep inside that you'll hurt him more if you said yes to him. 

Lee Donghyuck

I feel like Haechan's confident with himself, I mean why would you even reject Haechan? OKAY so you rejected him and you immediately apologized to him. It won't probably sink into him that he got rejected, "what did you say?" he asked, and even though the guilt is swallowing you, you have to repeat your no and your apology to him. "you're rejecting me?" he asks. You only nod and said sorry once again. "Oh. It's okay, I understand." no really, he wanted to ask you why you said no but he's afraid it'll just hurt him more. 

Na Jaemin

Oh I feel like Jaemin's an all-out suitor, he's very sweet and caring to you. But you just couldn't commit at the moment because your priority is your study, you don't want to burden yourself with a relationship that you have to exert effort to. That's why you rejected Jaemin, even explaining to him that you like him too but it's just you're focused on your studies. Jaemin understands it, he knows you! But it'll hurt him that he got rejected, he only nods and wishes you goodluck to your future. 

Zhong Chenle

Chenle would probably nod the moment you said no. His smile fading into a flat line on his lips. He nods then crosses his arms as he listens to your explanation. You told him that you're not looking for a relationship at the moment and you apologized to him for rejecting him. He'll understand why you did it! You offer him that you two can still be friends and he'll just accept it. It doesn't hurt him at all, probably disappointed but he'll brush it off because if he keeps on holding to his rejected feelings, he thinks it's not worth it. 

Park Jisung

BABY COME HERE WHY WOULD YOU REJECT HIM >:( Oh you hurt him! He'll be shocked when you said no and would try to be as understanding as possible but it hurts him when you said that you just see him as a friend because it took him courage to confess to you and to ask you to be his girlfriend only for him to be put into the friendzone. He'll give you a smile and will tell you that he's thankful that you're honest with him. You'll feel guilty but that's what you truly feel about Jisung. :(

[love-killed-the-superstar]

The Last Ronin 2: Re-Evolution Issue #1 LIVEBLOG

SPOILERS ABOUND. I'M NOT GOING TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS IT'LL PROBABLY GET SUPER LONG

Okay so Casey Marie's muscles are something I'm never going to get over. SHE LOOKS GOOD!!!!! Her getup is feeling a little too reminiscent of a cape-wielding superhero for my tastes to be honest - I really loved the more practical outfits she wore in TLR Lost Years, especially in issue 4 when she was running the training mission for the kids. But ah well, I'm sure this will grow on me. It may not be practical (edna's law of no capes is coming to mind, also PLEASE TIE YOUR HAIR UP WHEN YOU'RE FIGHTING GIRL!!!) but it's very cunty anyway which I appreciate

Straight up thought she killed this guy - what was that sound effect if he's still able to walk??? I fr thought she snapped his neck

IDK if we needed a whole 8 pages of punching and kicking to exposition dump what we kinda already knew from what's been shown in the lost years (esp the lost day special) but IT'S FINE IG... NOW ONTO THE BABIES

SORRY, SORRY. TEENAGERS NOW.

GIGGLING KICKING MY FEET. We're ALREADY getting the leo-v-raph adjacent dynamic with these two and I'm living for it. if one of them drops a stone cold 'fearless leader' jab i will lose my shit

HI? HELLO, EXCUSE ME, MIND-TALKING? PICTURES IN HEAD? ARE WE A FAMILY THAT LUCID DREAMS OR SOMETHING?!?? I DON'T REMEMBER THIS BEING SOMETHING THEY COULD DO?? every new speech bubble here is like a punch to the gut, wdym telepathy wdym secret lair wdym honouring everything master splinter taught you???? (although i'm proud that when this panel dropped on news sites i was immediately like THAT ISN'T THE KITCHEN FROM LOST YEARS. turns out it was a Secret Lair TM)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Seance -- TURTLES COUNT IT OFF!!

not gonna screenshot the whole backstory but they're basically doing a telepathic puppet show explaining the backstory and it's pretty much the mirage origins with a bit of extra tlr flair. as always it HURTS ME seeing the turtles dying so thanks for that tlr2 :'')) icb these kids watch a mind movie of their uncles dying every fucking night. yall are messy

SOBBING AND CRYING,, I WISH YOU'D ALL HAD THE CHANCE TO KNOW HIM TOO!!!!!! I WISH YOU'D GOTTEN TO KNOW ALL OF THEM!!!!! (tlr splinter doesnt count tho because hes a dick)

there was a cool sequence of them rooftop hopping n stuff but i wont cover it bc we already saw it in a bunch of news articles weeks ago

i just did the SHARPEST INHALE. casey marie you and your beautiful muscular arms have aged like the finest wine

YI NO!!!!!

lmaooo moja is JUDGING your taste in women u two

lots of text... blah blah blah jobs, crimerates, blah blah... jiro in pig uniform jumpscare.. casey marie i thought u were going to fix him :(((

YESSSSS KIDS ARE GOING ON A MISSION WITH THEIR MOM, LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

MY BABIES ARE KICKING ASS!!!!!

....,.HUH

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY BABY BOY ODIE!!!!!!!!!!! WHO DID THIS TO HIM!!!!!!???? WHAT??!???? HUH/1?!!? EXCUSE ME????

I'M . LIKE WHAT DO I EVEN SAY TO THIS. IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE??? WHAT IS GOING ON!!!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

dude that first issue was wordy but the kids were ON POINT. they were so fun!! their dialogue is fun and they kick ass.

i loved yi announcing the punishment for casey while the others were like NOO SHE DIDNT MEAN THAT DONT LISTEN TO HER. we're getting more of their personalities and it's great!! it was a nice throwback to issue 2 of lost years when they were cleaning - yi refused to help because of how strictly she was following instructions. im picking up that she might be neurodivergent but i did get that from the lost years too - only doing things within strict instructions, getting frustrated at teaching odyn chess, not because of him playing horseys with the knights but that it was Against The Rules Of Chess - and now not picking up on some social cues. It's nice to see!! I love her very much, but it feels like besides rehashing the origin story she took a bit of a backseat to the other three.

i want to know more about why uno said being a rebel was moja's 'thing', since she didn't seem to be any more rebellious than the other three in this issue. we didn't get any unique interactions between her and casey marie which is what i felt was lacking from lost years but i wonder if this is hinting towards a more turbulent mother-daughter dynamic with them... I REALLY HOPE SO!! her and uno butting heads in a leo-raph way is very fun - i don't mind one or two prior group dynamics leaking into the new turtle siblings because they're all so different from the original 4.

uno seems to be taking on slightly more of a leader role than moja so i think he won the title of fearless leader. which is fine, i think it'll be fun to see and he's definitely less of an asshole now than when he was growing up in lost years. still picking on odyn a bit but seems to snipe at moja just as much. even when he was commenting on yi's storytelling he didn't make fun of her, though - i think she may have inherited the 2k3 don ability of being Completely Unbullyable.

i was really pleased that odyn felt more involved!! i feel like he took the backseat a few times in lost years - it was fun seeing more of his personality shine through! he and yi seem to get on the best, and i giggled at them rolling their eyes at moja and uno's raph-leo schtick. i didn't expect him to TURN TO FUCKING STONE THOUGH, so i'm nervous about that. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHO DID THIS TO MY BOY? IS HE GOING TO TURN BACK NEXT CHAPTER OR IS HE OUT OF COMMISSION UNTIL THE END OF THE RUN??? (if it's the latter i'll be a bit annoyed - don't take odyn away from the equation please!!)

I do wonder if by introducing casually that they can PSYCHICALLY CONNECT, the turtles will use that as a technique to reach odyn's mind to make sure he's still in there and piece together what's happened to him. i mean, their casual telepathy has gotta be some sort of chekhov's gun right?

and shit.... april was so fucking mad casey took the babies out so she's going to EXPLODE when she finds out what happened to her baby boy, her beloved favourite, her baby odyn :''(( im giggling rubbing my hands together waiting for the fallout but also if she cries i might cry too. speaking of april, she seems to be working on a new project and i saw nano particles mentioned - are we going to have a roninverse version of nano in this run???? I NEED MY ROBOT SON

as always, casey marie... u have aged like fine wine. u are stunning. disappointed that ur still believing that jiro can do good as a cop when their entire police force and government is corrupt as fuck. just feels very naive of her. i'm excited to see her break down at the concept of losing odyn - in fact i need everyone to mourn this beautiful kid. they tell us so much that shes a super clingy helicopter mom and i am picking up on the strict part, but it would be nice to see more of her just... hugging her kids. holding them. i get why she didnt in this issue but id love more mama casey squishing their cheeks and kissing their foreheads.

i have zero fucking clue what's going on with odyn. im wondering if it's somehow related to nano, or to whatever project April is working on - she says it's to do with clearing the tunnels, but I''m not convinced. who knows, there might be some ulterior motive happening.

Anyway, that's the end of my liveblog!! thanks for reading all the way to the end... go read it wherever you read ur comics!!!

[taywans]

as a person who grew up in hk, studied in britain (not oxford, unfortunately, i cant flex that) and is still experiencing the effects of british colonialism to date, babel was the perfect piece of fantasy / alt historical fiction that i could have dived into this week. truly the most well-deserved hate wank fiction i've ever read about bigotry.

icb stumbled into this book blind, didn't read the blurb properly or anything, just knew it would be good based off the ratings and hype. imagine my surprise when i figured that it was set in canton? and mentions the opium war within the first chapter? that shit got me hooked so fast. and then, all the interspersed references to idioms + hanzi radicals were so satisfying. robin explaining the word dan4 / 旦 to ravy against the backdrop of sunset is just. <3 my heart cannot take it. my only gripe is not hearing robin speaking in canto when he was in canton ( guess they couldn't be bothered to engage a cantonese speaker for the audiobook .... @ audible . lol )

also r f kuang out here doing gods work. like what do you mean this isn't a way to raise awareness in european cultures about the injustices that have been wrought upon colonies. :))) because lbr no average person will pick up a history book on the opium war where it doesn't concern them. repackaging it into internationally-parseable fiction tho ??? best way of getting people interested and talking about history. 10/10.

[fadeintoyou1993]

💕Positivity prime time! Share five things you love about yourself, four things you're excited about, OR three people you care deeply about and why. Pass this along to someone whose posts make you smile💕

this is so cute i'll do all of them bc i'm in a good mood today :)

5 things i love about myself

i love how resilient i am :) i used to think i wasn't and i just was weak as hell and everything was too hard but by learning my limitations & understanding how the things i've been through over the years (especially growing up In My Context undiagnosed w several mental disorders) have affected me & made me into who i am today and i love that even if things get pretty bad now, i know i'll get through it somehow

i love my sense of humor. i really think i'm so funny and i'm not sorry everytime i make someone laugh i feel like i've won a million dollars

i love how passionate i am about things because whenever it gets too hard to keep going or even seeing a reason to, things i love and care about can take me out of that mindspace pretty quickly

i love my tattoos! even the smallest ones have special meanings to me and i grew up obsessed w them and wanting to have them for so long and i think it's so awesome that I just. Get to have them now. awesome

i think i'm a pretty patient/understanding/forgiving person? not w myself (altho i'm working on it so hard and it kinda shows by the first item) but i think that i'm a good friend/person that people can count to and feel comfortable to be themselves around me. sometimes it's to my own detriment (i'm also working on it but codependency is so hard) but idk i like that like, i'm not good at socialization offline due to autism, but within this little community i have built for myself over the years i have known and kept up friendships with people from different places/contexts/lives and i just. really love having friends lmao i guess that's two things? but well here u go

4 things i'm excited about

i'll have a yellowjackets watchparty sleepover w my friends on saturday!!! i'm excited abt that :)

i get the stitches off my mouth on friday HOPEFULLY so i'm also excited to be able to like. Open my mouth without feeling like i'm going to die

i'm excited to get my tracy chapman vinyl! my cousin went on a trip to são paulo w her bf last week and she said she found an awesome used record store that she wants to take me too sometime and she remembered i mentioned i was looking for this one when we were talking about the records i want ♡ i should get it sometime next week I think!!!

i'm excited to get my updated assessment results this month 😭 i miss being medicated so fucking bad my god... BUT SOON!!!!!

3 people i care about & why

@scre6m -> well dee is my bestest friend in the whole world like i dont know how we have spent most of our lives not knowing each other & icb we only know each other for lile 4 years. they r literally like a brother / sister / soulmate i've never had anyone in my life i can be so vulnerable with & know that they feel the same way like genuinely i've learned a lot abt myself / friendship / love / life in general by having a friend like him & i literally cannot imagine not having them in my life i'd probably die fr fr. dee has helped me understand i'm allowed to be myself unapologetically & i literally cannot even explain how much he means to me. whenever we have lil misunderstandings & spend like 3 hours without talking bc we r both stubborn n dumb (affectionate) its literally like in bottoms 2023 when josie and pj fight and complicated by avril lavigne is on and josie is kicking cans (dee) and pj is being a stupid bitch eating canned food on the stairs (me) literally just like that. i cannot imagine life not being tweedle bru to their tweedle dee frfr. anyways yea dee is my person 🫂 i hope in like 30 years we live in a big weed farm like in popstar: never stop never stopping

@blackfairyemoji -> tami is literally like a little sister to me like i love showing her things & love learning abt the things she cares about & i'm always like rooting so much for her. she is so incredibly talented and smart and one of the funniest people on EARTH like i'll remember some shit she said while i'm doing something and i'll just start laughingjdkdkdk she is so creative & kind & such a beautiful person inside and out and i cannot wait to see her do big things bc i know she will!! trust n believe!! thats my lil sister genuinely. and the fact she is literally the exact same age as my brother makes it all so much real frfr. my dream is to be present for the first time she gets high and listens to music

@nightmarebees -> MY WHITE DAD JACKIE BEAR.... literally love jackie so much like from the moment i saw her blog back in like 2018? or 2019? im bad w numbers but i rmr reading her description and she literally had all of my very specific niche interests listed and i was like. Dude what. we have got to become friends. and we DID!! jackie is such a kind, understanding, funny, loving person and quite literally the smartest person i know. like she knows so much whenever i have a question about something i'm like hey dad what the fuck is____ and she's like thank you for asking, and it's incredible. i love talking to her about media & literature and getting really fucking meta about things bc jackie understands and helps me organize my thoughts w her big historian brain. she's truly one of the best people i know! and i cannot wait to try her baking 🥺

[lesbiancarat]

ur post made me realize how little mr wen junhui shares about himself like? i didnt even know he had poor eyesight wdym he got lasik… people would usually say wonwoo or another member when they think of “private” svteeners but really who is this enigma of a man!!!!! icb much of the info we know about him came from others

on that note i would love to hear more obscure jun facts if you have any more 🤲🏻

haha i feel like he shares more than u might think, there are a lot of little tidbits he shares on his weibo lives and such that mostly circulate among huihuis. which is probably true of every member, it makes sense that ppl would pay a bit closer attention/remember more details about their bias. but also tbf 90% of the things he talks about on lives or in fansigns etc. is literally just food so he can also get away with talking a lot without sharing much so i see where you're coming from DKJHG

but i would be happy to share some more obscure jun facts! (this wasn't intentional but these are all predebut lmao)

when he was young he asked his mom why everyone had flowers that day and his mom explained valentine's day to him. when he realized his mom didn't have a valentine (because she was a single mother) he ran off when his mom wasn't looking and came back with a single rose ;-; (from this article about jun's childhood published from his child acting days, it's a good read with a bunch more obscure jun facts but this is my favorite story from it bc it feels like something out of a drama ;-;)

he learned to cook from his mom and grandma

he did martial arts as a kid bc he wanted to act in wuxia dramas

he also injured himself when doing martial arts at one point and developed spinal tuberculosis and had to get surgery

in highschool he was asked to join the modelling club but he declined

he WAS in the tennis club in highschool and joined it bc there was a tennis anime he thought was cool (i don't think he ever specified which show, it may have also been multiple animes where there were characters who played tennis that inspired him to join)

i probably have more obscure jun facts bouncing around in my head but these are the first ones that came to mind

[arachine]

Omg I cannot explain how good you write neteyam. Sometimes with smut included fics, the characters are OOC. BUT your neteyam is so realistic-like that’s how I imagine him being. Anyway I write this to say, you inspired me to write! So good, hoping you have more neteyam fics coming but I know it’s a long process. Loved it!!!

WHAT? little ol' me inspired you to write?!! stfu i love that sm ;(( this means a lot to me and it really makes me feel so good like...icb ppl actually fw me like that?? when (or if) you decide to post a fic, pls send it to my inbox honey 💞

[moonglittering]

i can never repeat it enough: diren, you and virote are such staples on my dash. from the hilarious ic shenanigans that i can't unknow (vi wants to do fred flinstone, really? ;'P) to the running gag that vi is retired but somehow almost gets roped back into the whole "saving the world" thing again to his wisdom, to your wisdom ooc. the other day when i was exhausted, you dropped by with just a few words ("be well & you will get through this") and that really helped. sorry i missed your birthday but i hope you had an amazing one nevertheless and i hope that there are many more conversations and quotes from favorite writers shared next year and i also hope that vi gets what he wants next year. and you too. and if he ever wants to explain the intricacies of a good charcuterie board, he's always welcome to explain it to udyati! :-P - tessa

✨ @dvarapala sniffles a lil.

TESSA I AM SMILING LIKE A GOOFY ASSSSSSS

i luv u and im so glad we’ve been mutuals for as long as we have because its been interesting watching you grow into yourself as a writer and person overall... like ive always felt like im watching a sibling really find creative aspirations and grow. and im so proud of u wtf and icb u dropped by to send me something so sweet im gonna die fr!!! as for the other day, look at u! u’re getting through it! i wanted to say more but i feel like that was enough. and im glad it was.

thank u so much..... we will not disappoint. and im looking forward to seeing more from u. uve always been exciting to have around. ur pretty much god tier on making lore, im kinda envious of you lol.

time to write a thread about virote teaching ud how to make the perfect charcuterie board glfjdglkd. it’s gonna be more intense than it should be. a bit more serious than you’d want LKGJFDLSKGJDF.

[pinkseas]

[parasocial bestie] am going thru hte ask and methinks everything's settled and now we can go bac to square one of our routine braining i think <333 ALSO I SAW THE POST ABT THE. DNI with me unless you are a perfect clone of me like REAL SO REAL altho we have diff interpretation on things icb i did manage to find someone out of pure coincidence who likes 98% of what i like abt xlmi and genshin in entirely i just <3333333 like EEEEEEEEEEEEEE i finally have a reason to take my mind off twitter. tumlr ur always hte man 4 me. anyway

"its just part of his life part of his duty nothing more and nothing less. but that doesnt stop the shame that comes with anything he perceives as failure" OH GOD YEAH THAT IS SUCH AN EXCEPTION he holds high standards of what he does to ppl but not what he does for himself. it just feels so fucking painful abt xiao's character never considering himself in everything Except when it comes to other ppl to the point he goes for self sacrifice is SO!!! and yet what he does hold such noble intentions of a selfless hero even by the means of thankless acts, that he'll never be a figure to be worshipped and known as much as other adepti do. "After living for so long... to die in the act of saving others would not have been a terrible thing." is always a line that gets me about his character in entirety that he really needs to see things in another perspective too.

"it may not be the Main focus but zhongli and xiao's relationship in this fic is basically the second biggest focus beyond xiao himself/the xiaolumi of it all tbh" even before The Brainrot Festivals GOD WE ARE SHARING THE BRAIN. ive always had this impression since the start i knew of xiao those years ago, how important zhongli is as that certain figure in his life; a master a mentor a guardian just someone who reflect on his life for experiencing the same thing. but xiao doesnt know that well about zhongli, about morax, and how much the guy's changed and felt the need itd be better for xiao himself to change too. it doesnt have to be the same, for what zhongli tries to teach him, it had to be something that makes his life at least, if not bearable, is simply for xiao to be comfortable and free of suffering bc the guy doesnt let himself to. and dkfksajhdas i explore this sm though brainrots and all the different scenarios like when i told u about them going fishing, and then there's the very Very important chain of events i had in mind how it is when xiao coped about rex lapis' death and what happened after knowing.

it's a little embarrassing to explain how but like yknow my tendency to just Hurt Xiao in ways not completely whump but in a form of vulnerability he truly needs that attention and care bc of his routines and duty are slowly eating him inside out. vulnerabilities of his emotional detachment affecting his body that makes him so human. i think abt how he supresses so much in the past pre-morax he genuinely doesnt know how to express anymore, and when he does, its a sensation so overwhelming that his body isnt used to it anymore with the catharsis all the fight and flight responses the adrenaline giving him the chest pain of just,.. having emotions yknow. and the death of the yakshas the disappearance of bosacius all had different magnitudes of emotion that the death of rex lapis affected him so much being the last straw of it all, how it all crashes down when exuvia fell and not rising back up again giving him that strong reaction then he Overworks To Cope.

then comes the time zhongli came to the balcony (in canon he reveals the truth in dreams,.. but i Like the two that they have a diff confrontation bc of how much zhongli knows xiao back then until the present) to tell everything, just for the revelation to hit xiao like a truck the pain the catharsis the exhaustion Everything hes been through the past few days where zhongli prolonged saying the truth now hit him that his body couldnt take it all and just shuts down. like boom he collapsed. and that's not a good reaction at all, and yet the yaksha recovers (as much as he managed, despite how weak it rendered him), assuring he's ok, trying to dismiss it with the same numbness that plagued him since morax saved him. back to square one. mf factory resetted himself, starting over. rex lapis is alive and thats good in all things thats it, all the unwilling attempts in processing it are now useless. and it brings a whole new story of how zhongli sees this all unfold altogether.

and i just,... shniffsniff....... think about what comes after, bc zhongli is not gonna let that slide even if he's pretending as a mortal even if he has to spend most of his time in the harbor since he wants to, but he also wants the best for xiao; the only one who hasnt let go of the past and accept change like the adepti does bc he doesnt know how. and its through the little things; giving the remedium, be it through posting or directly to the inn (id like to think verr goldet is the only one who knows by mere guess hes rex lapis, but respects his decision to step down no matter the reason, and zhongli trusts her immensely on the secret in exchange he becomes that special balcony visitor. an unspoken agreement o both of them.), the times xiao blacks out from karma and he wakes up on bed in his personal room in the inn with cold tea by the bedside. when he finishes his battle in the middle of heavy rain, drenched and cold, and he feels the bullets on his shoulder stop from the shield of an umbrella behind him; zhongli doesnt say anything more than to advise him of proper shelter nearby. when he finds xiao curled up, knees on his chest in his own needed respite, in pain but also in shame, zhongli takes the time to simply kneel and pat his head and keep him company until xiao can quietly teleport away. like god do you have any idea how much i love the thought of parental zhongli or at least a zhongli who Cares like can you tell

anyway icb thats enough for me to go on 4 paragraphs longer than i intended OK MOVING ON EVERYTHING YOU EXPLAIN ABOUT XIAOS WINGS,... GOD its the way it makes sense it makes so much sense he'd rather have any semblance of his past severed to build himself anew but its kinda funny too. that he intends as such and yet he also doesnt; still thinking himself as sinful as he was as the bloodhound who deserves all the punishment when the whole point of starting anew is Not Doing That and actually continue as a fresh warrior with new roles and new things to do without counting the past. like WHAT BRO

personally id go for the first one bc i still like the thought he keeps them for the mere sentimentality and i feel like he wouldnt bear to lose the only thing he wants to hold on about a childhood he lost before, even if he doesnt remember it. the mere thought of it existing providing him that sort of painful comfort its still there, even if seeing it hurts knowing he cant taste the joy of flight anymore. having flight being out of reach and he'd have constant reminders of it is just that little sign xiao never really moved forward even in the beginning o)-( he doesnt even summon it after it recovered, doesnt even pay attention while people tended it, only finding the solace of it existing at his back. and yknow for the Pain Points i actually thought that after it had been mangled so bad xiao never actually showed it to anyone its condition despite his human body recovered and he purposely Dismisses Its There than just Knowing, and its only when the pain of it being untreated becomes unbearable and at the right topic being brought up did he reveal them. guizhong had been so terrified of its condition, so pitied and devastated that they werent told and xiao was so small so young hes a child hes a child and he revealed them without an change in his expression to the moment he falls from the pain. the way he speaks of his wings as a mere fact it existed. and at some point in her grief to him she felt the need to just,.. restore his flight by making mechanical wings bc she just knew his real ones wont support him anymore even after treatment. and morax himself shared the exact sentiment, the two standing forlornly and the half-progress blueprints guizhong spent day and night in her tears to just give xiao back what he lost.

other bits im just AUUUUUUUUEUEUHUSHFVUFBKDSHFKJSDFKH SO TRUE SO TRUE UEEEEEEEEEEE CUS I RAN OUT OF BRAIN JUICE WRITING THE OTHERS. like i hope u get da message. i rlly spend everything on two things JDFHKSDJFHKSDJH ok but wait "learning to feel human learning to live as mortal people do learning the values of life itself learning how to love the little things" LIKE MAN....................................... also giggling wit u thats the problem on the theory when 500 yrs had passed then wats the use of scouting, hows the other world going bro? 500 yrs late and alrd destroyed? yeah

teehee

"i finally have a reason to take my mind off twitter" YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and in the end isnt that the most important thing of all… LMAO no but genuinely so so so glad bc ur right the sheer Coincidence of liking so many of the same aspects of this game i love it so bad we're so cool and epic for this fr

"never considering himself in everything Except when it comes to other ppl to the point he goes for self sacrifice" yeah o(-( THE NOBLE INTENTIONS THE THANKLESS ACTS… dies a little bit. AND YEAH THAT FUCKING LINE KILLS ME EVERY TIME ITS SO. IM SO. IM SO.

"a master a mentor a guardian" HE IS SO IMPORTANT TO XIAO AND THEY ARE SO IMPORTANT TO ME !!!!!!!!! and ohhh my god xiao not realizing how much has changed and that zhongli thinks itd be for the better if xiao changed too… trying to teach him how to be comfortable and how to suffer less………..

"my tendency to just Hurt Xiao in ways not completely whump but in a form of vulnerability he truly needs" NO BC UR SO BASED FOR THIS imo xiao is like. either a) you have to really Get In There and take his walls down brick by brick with so much patience and care, or b) something uncontrollable has to come in and smash those walls to pieces all at once, to the point where he needs the help from others where he has no choice but to let people in and be vulnerable around them. specific people cant really try to force it, i REALLY dont think that would work at all i think thatd make things so much worse, but either lots of patience and care or smth that isnt done Purposefully By Anyone Else for the sake of him opening up yknow??

"bc his routines and duty are slowly eating him inside out" NO BEACUSE YEAH. YEAH. GOD. his karma :handshake: his duty settling on his shoulders consuming his life eating away at him so slowly but surely. and what would he do without them? who would he be without them? he doesnt even know. he thinks there'd be nothing left but there'd be so much and then so much room for him to grow, too, and i just. i just. fmgnmdfngmfdg.

THE CHEST PAIN OF EMOTIONS repressing so much he literally just doesnt know what to do with it im so. Explodes. that last fucking straw after centuries of hardship is something that can be so. AND XIAO TRYING TO DISMISS IT WHEN HE FLAT OUT COLLAPSES being ashamed to have been so """weak""" as for that to have happened going back to square one with feeling numb im so. and the way that changes zhongli's perception of everything ohhhhh my god. xiao going from someone so strong and resilient, every bad thing seemingly rolling off without stopping him, only to realize that while he is strong and he is resilient everything that he seemed to have dealt with on his own has just. made its way into his chest and festered there, buried and ignored and rotting, eating him alive bit by bit.

"but he also wants the best for xiao, the only one who hasnt let go of the past and accepted change like the adepti do bc he doesnt know how" THISSSS he doesnt know how. god. GOD. xiao seemingly so detached from the past, he himself not realizing just how much he clings to it the fact that he's still living in it something something a house on fire something something being so used to something that you dont realize its not supposed to hurt this much, its not supposed to feel this way.

"(id like to think verr goldet is the only one who knows by mere guess hes rex lapis)" THIS FUCKS i support this wholeheartedly it makes a lot of sense and mmmmm the mutual respect and trust they have for one another even unspoken…. the care they have for xiao the gratitude that someone is looking after him in ways they themselves are unable to do…. explodes.

BLACKING OUT AND WAKING UP ON HIS BED ohhh my god. there is osmething So Personal about all of that about zhongli not always actively Doing Something or Saying Anything but just BEING there being around xiao showing that he cares that xiao isnt alone. fuck. I CAN TELL AND I LOVE IT SO BAD ITS SO GOOD idk i like. i rly liked the idea?? but it takes more of a push for me to really Think About and brainrot parental characters or guardian figures and everything youve ever said abt them has made me go from "yeah that fucks, nice" to "yeah that FUCKS let me think about every scenario ever on earth with them now" which i am so grateful for <3333

"still thinking of himself as sinful as he was as the bloodhound who deserves all punishment when the whole point of starting anew is Not Doing That" YEAHHHHH man said alright let me sever all ties let me cut myself loose. except for every awful thing i have ever done which will live with me in my heart forever amen. king PLEASE

and god yeah wanting to hold on even without remembering it, that painful comfort the constant reminder of what he once had and never will again and IT BEING A SIGN THAT HE NEVER TRULY MOVED FORWARD…. man. Man. guizhong being so horrified and sympathetic, mourning for him when he cannot mourn for himself, MECHANICAL WINGS……. thinks so hard about those blueprints gathering dust, not quite perfected, eternally unfinished. thinks so hard about the traveler someday stumbling across them, or zhongli after his retirement digging them up again, either way them going to each other with the knowledge and searching for someone who could help make them a reality, working with perhaps inventors from fontaine and getting venti's blessing similarly to how its his power that allows the wind gliders to work (i think??) and using the traveler's knowledge from other worlds and familiarity with flight and determination to help xiao regain what was lost.

i like to think that where lumine is awfully fond of nature aether excels with machinery, maybe she could use what she'd learned from him or maybe he himself In The Aftermath if things go well enough could help and just. god. polishing up those finishing touches making them work testing them out. xiao being able to fly again. xiao healing enough mentally to be able to bring himself to even try fly again.

[seiwas]

Sel!! I'm glad that you liked the songs :3 While I dont have any off the top of my head right now - I think you would absolutely love japanese music !! And yes- I definitely see the D.O vision - I've fallen out of my kpop phase but I've been meaning to set out my playlists again. And I listened to your ones; I love the soft and groovy vibe to them!! I absolutely LOVED "Maybe We Could Be A Thing" - I can't wait to see how this pans out in your atsumu fic 🥺 I'm listening to it rn and it's making me so soft 🥺🥺 Also the Ex!Gojo one 🥺🥺 So many favourite lines - "We're hanging on by threads and I can't hold it any harder on my end // I'm something to regret but without you what am I? // Don't hesitate to call me up and curse me out" GAAAAHHHH this hit so hard sel!!! I can't explain how my heart physically clenched at that 😭😭 I say definitely watch it! Even if you go alone - it's no different than watching on a big screen. I'll be going tomorrow so I'll let you know my thoughts then <3 haha, I'll have to apologise for the person I'll be when I see kuroo playing on big screen... Have a lovely weekend Sel <33 🍧 anon

🍧 anon hello!!! i am SO SORRY i’m getting to this late omg 😭 i was out of town over the weekend and have been so busy w work since coming back 🥺

but let me respond to everything!! thank you so much for messaging and checking in 🥺 you are so lovely!!

i feel like i should be listening to more japanese music tbh!! 🥺 u should check d.o out too when you have the time 🥺 honestly i just recommend exo in general… bc i love them… w my entire heart…

and omg that atsumu song 😭😭 it isn’t for the atsumu fic in particular but it’s in my general atsumu playlist 🥺 that i think just adds on to his sogginess 😭

AND OMG ICB U SINGLED OUT THE LYRICS TOO FOR THE EX!GOJO ONE 😭😭😭 U GET IT AKNSKDJDJ i get so sad thinking abt it fr 😭😭😭

and omg i asked around w my friends too if i should watch it in the cinema 😭 its been mixed reactions but 😭 URE SO CUTE FOR COMING BACK TO LET ME KNOW UR THOUGHTS ON IT 🥺🥺🥺 thank u for thinking of me!!

omfg the kuroo awakening JAKANKEJD i honestly forget how much i love him 😭 but my phases for him go really hard when i’m in them 😭 and i’m afraid with what ure saying… it’ll be my kuroo reawakening… i alr screamed at his first appearance during my hq rewatch of the older seasons 😭😭😭

omg the fact that the entire theatre turned into kuroo stans is INSANE 😭😭😭 yALL THE FACT THAT HE HAS THE SAME VA AS GOJO TOO AKZMDKXKKD INSANE omg… may i ask why u give it an 8/10 ?? 😮 like why the minus 2!!!!

u talking abt the fun they had and how much they still respected eachother is making me so emotional ☹️☹️☹️☹️ omg… i think ill feel the same 😭😭😭😭 i was rewatching the hq eps and alr felt like things were too short 😭😭😭😭 KKEJDJD I WONDER HOW THEYRE GNA WRAP UP THE REST OF EVERYTHINF 😭😭😭😭 w just 1 more movie 😭😭😭😭😭 like wtaf

thank u so much for sharing this with me 🍧 anon!! i appreciate u 🥺🥺🥺

[sohmiya]

I always send you E hcs, so I think it’s only fair that I send you Cy x Frankie ones too:

If Frankie is a Starbucks girlie, I imagine Cy having her order memorised and he always gets it for her before or after training whilst complaining about the price of their drinks and Frankie would jokingly say, “yup, you’ll happily buy tickets to New York but not Starbucks.”

I know you mentioned that Frankie’s a perfectionist and I think it’s something Cy would quickly notice so he’ll avoid making comments on her matches to ensure he doesn’t put pressure on her.

Cy getting a bracelet with a shield charm on it and giving it to Frankie so they have jewellery that’s similar.

Late night/early morning cuddling where they’re both so close to falling asleep and Cy tiredly whispers into Frankie’s hair, “I never thought we’d be together but I’m so grateful that we are.”

I just imagine their makeout sessions being top tier, like Frankie’s the one to start them and Cy confidently finishes them.

And Frankie just being the person who brings Cypress out of his shell a bit…and get him to smile.

Oo, and Frankie’s dynamic with the de Vera siblings:

I think Kei would end up liking Frankie pretty quickly and she’d mention that to Cypress a lot. And they’d be close enough for Kei to go and talk to her about stuff in her life like school, relationships, sports, girl stuff etc.

Cairo is similar to Cypress in some ways so it’d take him longer to warm up to Frankie, but when he does I imagine him throwing her a basketball and saying, “best out of three. if you beat me I’ll show you Cy’s most embarrassing baby pictures”—even if Cairo won he’d still be showing those pictures.

^ But whenever Cy disagrees about something they ask for/want, then they’d immediately go to Frankie like, “Cy will listen to you, can you tell him [insert thing Cy said no to here] and change his mind?”

I expect Frankie and Kenzo to have the best relationship ever! so much so that Cy has worried that if they end up breaking up he’d have to explain to Kenzo that he won’t see Frankie much anymore and that would be heartbreaking.

^ Not that Cy wants to or expects to break up with her, he’s just learned from a young age that you have to prepare for absolutely everything in life.

Another Frankie and Kenzo hc is that whenever he watches the football he’ll point her out. or just when he misses Frankie during the day he’ll tap Cy’s arm and say her name.

Oo, and lastly, I see Cy and Jake bonding pretty well. Cy would know how much Jake means to her so he’d do absolutely everything to make a good impression.

HELPPPP it’s actually insane how aligned most of these are with my headcanons 😭😭

yes frankie is a victim of capitalism and loves matcha and it’s so funny to me that cy complains about beverage prices but will not hesitate to buy plane tickets LMFAOOO but like frankie would also tease him like “if they’re so expensive you can just make it for me” and like i wouldn’t be surprised if cy, being the acts of service lover he is, actually tried to make frankie’s matcha drink at home 😪

and OMG THE PERFECTIONIST HEADCANON!!!! no cause i always imagined cy being attentive to things like that so i hc him only giving frankie pointers that she really needs to hear to help her improve but he’d also reassure her every once in a while that it’s okay and that she’s doing great. something like that. like idk i feel like if cy trained with frankie he’d more likely say “try doing it like this” “that’s better” than saying outright that she's doing something wrong

ok but the matching charms and this

Late night/early morning cuddling where they’re both so close to falling asleep and Cy tiredly whispers into Frankie’s hair, “I never thought we’d be together but I’m so grateful that we are.”

and the kiss….. feel free to debunk this but my hc is that there are definitely times that frankie initiates it but in the early relationship “icb i’m dating my idol” stage, the bravest she can go is kissing him on the cheek and like as soon as she pulls away cy does that thing where he chases her lips….. yeah… 🚶🏻‍♀️

And Frankie just being the person who brings Cypress out of his shell a bit…and get him to smile.

PLEASEEE frankie would be so annoying about it like i imagine her having a dumb joke that she told cy when they just met but he was so unimpressed by it then frankie repeats it now that they’re dating and it gets a chuckle out of him and she just goes “i KNEW you found it funny”

and okokok our frankie x de vera siblings headcanons are CRAZY accurate

i also headcanon kei being close to frankie with kei being the only daughter and like they’d bond over talking about what it’s like having annoying (affectionate) brothers and like if cairo’s out with his friends and cy’s busy with whatever kenzo needs, i imagine frankie and kei hanging out and like going shopping and having girl talk or whatever

and like i also imagine cairo being in that teenager stage where he thinks he’s too grown and cool for some adult guidance so yeah i also hc him being the last sibling to get along with frankie. he doesn’t hate her but when he sees her he just thinks “she’s cool ig” then moves on 😭 i imagine frankie talking about it to cy one time like “does your brother hate me?” “which brother?” “are you serious?” “i have two brothers” “CAIRO obviously. kenzo loves me” “mhm” “what? it’s true” “ok” “ugh whatever. so? does cairo hate me?” “no he doesn’t. he’s a teenager. you know how they are”

whenever Cy disagrees about something they ask for/want, then they’d immediately go to Frankie like, “Cy will listen to you, can you tell him [insert thing Cy said no to here] and change his mind?”

HELPPSJSKSJSJ LISTEN it depends on what they want. frankie loves the side of cypress where he acts all strict but goes soft after a little persuasion and she definitely likes seeing him give in to his little siblings so like for example if they wanna go somewhere that won’t really cause them any harm frankie would tell cypress “it wouldn’t hurt you know” “you’re not helping” “if you’re so worried, i can go with them” otherwise frankie would look at his siblings kinda apologetically like “you gotta listen to your brother” and one of them (cairo probably LMAO) would say “icb you’re listening to him” and cy would interject “so are you. it’s still no”

AND FRANKIE AND KENZO LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVE DUOS pls like frankie is peak goofy when she’s hanging out with him. i mentioned before that frankie easily gets along with a lot of people but she makes extra effort with kenzo because being a toddler’s favorite is like a badge of honor for her 😭 frankie watches his favorite shows with him and she would download some games on her phone for kenzo and cy would jokingly say “don’t turn my brother into an ipad kid” shdsjskaks sometimes if cy is too tired to cook a meal frankie would ask kenzo “do you wanna go to jollibee?” and since kenzo can’t pronounce cypress yet, i imagine he also can’t pronounce frankie so he calls her kaki. and even though frankie never really minded it, at first cypress would go “frrrrankie. fuh-rankie. say it. frankie.” “kaki.” so he gave up. and i remember you mentioning him trying to stay connected to his filipino roots so whenever kenzo calls frankie kaki, cy just teaches him “ate kaki. she’s your ate”

Another Frankie and Kenzo hc is that whenever he watches the football he’ll point her out. or just when he misses Frankie during the day he’ll tap Cy’s arm and say her name.

THATS SO CUTE WTF 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

but also the way that headcanon would also work so painfully well with this headcanon

Cy has worried that if they end up breaking up he’d have to explain to Kenzo that he won’t see Frankie much anymore and that would be heartbreaking.

like imagine cy just saying “yeah i miss her too” and because kenzo’s too young to understand cypress would keep saying frankie’s just busy 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 ANYWAYYYYY THEY WILL NOT! BREAK UP 😣

Cy would know how much Jake means to her so he’d do absolutely everything to make a good impression.

LISTEN JAKE WOULD ALSO DO EVERYTHING TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION ON *THE* CYPRESS DE VERA 😭😭😭😭😭

the twins grew up being very sporty like they were into A LOT of sports and even though jake didn’t pursue a career in football, he’s also a fan of cy’s. so if frankie ever picks up on cy trying to impress her twin, she’d say something like “trust me you can do no wrong in my brother’s eyes” and cy’s confused at that until frankie introduces him to jake and jake is absolutely starstruck LMFAOO and at first jake would be so self-conscious to hang out with cy alone so he would only hang out with him when frankie’s there. and frankie would tell him “seriously it’s fine. he wants to get to know you too” “that’s THE cypress de vera. what do i even do?” “not act like an idiot” “shut up” and frankie would get all serious like “it’d really mean a lot to me if you guys would get along”

so yeah when cy and jake hang out, they would have a drink and sometimes jake would tell cy embarrassing stories about frankie. but i also think jake would secretly check on frankie through cypress and making sure she’s not being too hard on herself lately and maybe cy would also come to jake for some advice too when he isn’t sure what to tell frankie.

ALSO if it’s not ooc for cypress, i imagine him suddenly remembering how stern he was when he and frankie first met so he asks jake “so… did frankie tell you anything about me?” 😭

[yhwhrulz777]

A Bible Devotional 21st June 2023

God's Word Is A Seed

Most people expect God's Word to work like a stick of dynamite -- but Jesus told us God's Word is like a seed.

LUKE 8:11 NKJ 11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

The Holy Spirit, through Peter, also said God's Word is a seed.

1 PETER 1:23 NKJ 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

God's Word is alive. Just like a seed -- the Bible is full of unseen life.

JOHN 6:63 ICB 63 It is not the flesh that gives a person life. It is the spirit that gives life. The words I told you are spirit, and so they give life.

Jesus said His words are alive. They contain life, so they give life. The words in your Bible may look lifeless and powerless. Seeds do, also. But they are not without life or power.

In Mark 4:30-31, Jesus explained that the kingdom of God works like a seed. So, if we are to understand God's kingdom and how He operates, we need to understand seeds.

SAY THIS: God's Word is good seed. I will plant it in my life and it will bring forth a good harvest.

To give: http://aDevotion.org/give

Devotions in book form: http://CFApublications.com To hear audio teachings by the author of this devotional, visit https://adevotion.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5ccca9ca3fa78afdf489a2454&id=9a22b79684&e=22c78815cb

[samuelsdean]

I love LOVE "Who needs time management when I have you"!! It's so cute 😭😭 but while I was reading I thought about this Tiktok trend where it features two characters, one being the "lalala" person and the other being the "okayokayokay" person. (It's a bit hard to explain without seeing a tt abt it😅), but honestly, Spencer would be a total "lalala" person and the reader would be "okayokayokay" if that makes sense😭🙏

THANK YOU!! 🫂❤️‍🔥 i just woke up like an hour ago bc i had to take a quiz & answer an attendance thread for class when i saw that it almost has 900 notes like WHAT?! 😭 i’m so happy rn icb a lot of ppl love it

as for the tiktok, i think im familiar with what you’re talking about bc i’ve seen it in passing but im not sure. can you send me the link? but anyway yeah i see that as well like spencer would def be the lalala & reader would be the okay person 🥺

[interstellix]

hi vivi this is really corny and kind of out of nowhere but sometimes i just randomly think about how lucky i am to have met u and how wonderful you are and sometimes when i'm sad i open a page in my old journal about things to be happy about and ur on that page and i can't believe stardust aligned for me to live in the same time as u, anyway have a nice day stink ilysm

NO BC YK WHAT i saw your ask pretty early i just suck at answering i'm sorry 🤡 and just those few days before that i was all 'shit i miss mae sm i gotta talk to her soon :((' and then i saw this ask and tbh cried a bit BECAUSE LITERALLY you say these things (icb you have me written in your journal wanna cry again just thinking abt it) but i don't think i could ever ever and i mEaN EVER explain just </3 how thankful <////3 i am that i got to know you like shit look at a rat like me being loved my a whole ass angel like you i'm :(((((

moral of the story ily k </3

[yutafrita]

hey nat 💗💗 icb its only wednesday... i mean i can, but i just want more sleep :'') i hope your week is going well! c: could i request a drabble with faerie!chenle? -🚀

Aaaand now it’s Friday! I’m hoping to sleep in tonight but I doubt it lol. I do hope you get to sleep though- idk I feel like this week has been exhausting lol. Anyways- yes you can! I meant to have this up yesterday 😵‍💫 but i hope you like it! I’ve actually have never written so much for Chenle so i had a lot of fun 🥹

[4:01pm]

Pairing: Faerie!Chenle x Vampire!Reader (she/her)

Genre: General fluffiness, magic au and college au

Word Count: 1.7k (!?! idk how this happened)

CW: mentions of fake blood, reader is discriminated against for being a vampire

You hated having to ask for help, but you had gotten desperate. Your History of Magical Beings course was kicking your ass. You were struggling to properly memorize important dates- such as differentiating between the elvish wars, Satyr wars, and the elvish satyr war which are all different. Chenle was the smartest person in your class, and the only one that would be willing to help you- maybe. You weren’t sure, but this is what you were hoping for.

Your university only recently had lifted its ban on vampires, and Chenle was your only peer that didn't look at you in disdain. You always kept your colored contacts on so that people couldn't tell that your eyes naturally were red, and you never had your fangs exposed, but you still stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the mostly non-vampiric student body.

Quietly, you maneuvered through the university’s library, avoiding the glares sent your way. This floor of the library contained books mostly on lycanthropy and other magical transformations, so while you expected there to be several werewolves threatening you with their eyes, you still weren't sure why Chenle chose to linger on this floor by himself to study.

Winter was the only other vampires in your major (and your roommate) told you that they smelled a faerie on the floor above you two before then deducing who the smell belonged to.

"I don't understand why Chenle would hang out with a bunch of dogs," Winter grumbled. You quickly excused yourself from the table you two sat at, earning a shrug from her as you impulsively made your way upstairs. Faerie’s had a distinctly sweet smell, one that felt like a breathe of clean, fresh air compared to the werewolves on this floor.

The more you wandered the floor and followed his scent, the more you found yourself losing your nerve. Chenle may be the only one of your peers who would smile back at you in class, but it was bold to assume that he would want to speak with you- let alone study with you. Still, you pressed onwards until you found the nearly vacant table he sat at.

In class, he typically wore a sweater, but as he studied now, his jacket laid strewn on the table, his wings fully exposed. They were a soft yellow with a golden shimmer, yet so delicate that they were nearly see through. You were so entranced that for a moment, you forgot what you were there for. You cleared your throat, and steeled your nerves before moving towards him.

"For the millionth time, I'm not interested in howling at the moon tonight," Chenle spoke without looking up, as if this was a normal irritation for him.

��That doesn’t sound like much fun for me,” you joked, forcing a smile as Chenle looked up at the new voice.

“Oh, hi y/n!” Chenle smiled, a genuine smile that made your undead heart almost flutter. Still feeling timid, you sat down on the chair across from him, and explained to him your struggle in your shared course.

“… I don’t have anyone else I can ask for help,” you added, already feeling bad for bringing it up. Winter had barely passed the class the semester before, and didn’t have as much as any old notes to pass your way. “It… it’s okay if you can’t though, I understand.”

You met his gaze then. He seemed to be studying you, his wings fluttering behind him as he did.

“How come you can walk in the sun?” The faerie’s question surprised you enough for your mouth to hang open in shock for a moment. Pressing your lips on a tight line, you took out the Faerie enhanced sunblock that most modern day vampires had on hand. “So that was developed in the Satyr-Elvish wars when vampire clans aligned themselves on the elvish side. Faeries fought alongside them both and developed this defense so that vampires could be utilized as a secret weapon.”

After your shared class with Chenle, you two would meet in the library. He would help you with your course work, and you slowly found yourself finally getting the material while also getting to know Chenle.

"Let me take to you to dinner- as a thank you," you offered one day after a surprisingly long tutoring session. To be honest, you found yourselves getting more and more sidetracked as the days went on. Chenle was surprisingly easy to have a conversation with, and never made you feel unwanted.

“You can eat normal food?" He raised a teasing eyebrow at you.

"Yeah, just nothing with garlic."

"Seriously?" This seemed to surprise him.

"No of course not," you laughed, earning a booming laugh from the faerie. Walking through campus and the small town it presided in felt strange. Usually, you and Winter would walk and ignore the glares that other people would send your way. Vampires, even if they were like you and were just born naturally, were considered less than to other beings, hence why it took hundreds of years before your university really considered letting you all enroll. So, for you, walking through campus and receiving glares and grumbles your way was nothing new.

But, you could tell that Chenle was not too happy with this.

"Do you need something?" he shot at a group of other faeries you two were passing, their own green and blue wings seeming to hang low after Chenle snapped at them.

"You don't have to say anything, this is pretty normal," you noted, keeping your eyes focused on the ground in front of you.

"It shouldn't be," he grumbled. "Why do you let people be so mean to you?"

You stopped walking, looking up to look at him head on.

"Do you think I want that? Of course I don't- but if I stand up for myself, all it does is further the narrative that vampires are emotional beings who can't control their impulses. You get to just be smart and pretty but..." your voice trailed off, as you frowned to yourself.

"You think I'm pretty?" Chenle spoke, his own smile wide. You playfully shoved his arm, forgetting for a moment that you were a vampire and that he was a faerie- in that moment, you were just two people who really liked to be around each other.

Hanging out with Chenle began to go above just simple tutoring sessions.

"You smell like fresh linen... were you with that faerie again?" Winter asked one night after you gotten back to your apartment late.

"Yep!"

"Y'know, you've been hanging out with Chenle quite a lot. Has he introduced you to any of his friends?" she asked casually, not looking up from her Nocturnals Digest Magazine. Winter was really your only confidante and Chenle had met her on numerous occasions- yet, you never met those Chenle chose to spend the rest of his time with.

"I mean... we aren't dating or anything," you mumbled, yanking out your factory-made blood from the fridge to try and numb the intrusive thoughts filling your brain. "I mean... well... do you think there's a reason he wouldn't want me around his friends?"

At this, Winter glanced up at you as if it was obvious, then looked back at her magazine before sneering, "you've got some blood dribbling down your chin, you vamp."

Walking through campus the next day, you passed by the different groupings of students. As per usual, most species tended to stick together, and all shot you glares. Was Winter right? Did Chenle not trust you around his friends?

You did like Chenle, this you had come to realize fairly early. And while Chenle was flirty with you, beyond brushing his hand against your own or his wings lingering close to your back when you’d walk side by side, he hasn't made much else of an actual clear indication of his feeling. Perhaps, and this was a shot in the dark, he was worried about what his friends would think.

You didn't get to mull on this too much though, as you looked through the grassy center of campus, sun shining almost perfectly on a small group of men sitting in a cluster. Standing around the edges was someone with a familiar set of golden wings, and as if you were being beckoned, you headed towards Chenle.

"…. I wouldn't wish Calculus III on my worst enemy," one of the young men loudly complained before his gaze set on you. It wasn't the typical glare you were used to, though, it was a look more of curiosity than anything. This gave Chenle, who turned to face you before you could fully approach the group.

"Oh, y/n!" Chenle smiled, his wings shimmering in the sunlight as he moved to sling an arm over your shoulder. "Guys!" Chenle called the attention of the group behind him, earning collective looks of curiosity. The group was mostly as you suspected- mostly faeries, mostly.

"Is this that girl our Chenle's been gushing over all semester?" one of them taunted, standing up and moving to pinch Chenle's cheeks before getting brushed off. His wings were of a deep purple, and far less transparent than Chenle's.

"Haechan!" Chenle hissed.

"Aw, he's embarrassed!" the first young man that saw you laughed before promptly introducing themselves as Renjun, and he, you noted, was the only one without a pair of wings. Instead, you could easily pick up the scent of crisp apples and berries, his pointed ears giving away his status as an elf.

"So, are you guys dating finally?" the third boy asked, his own black wings giving off a silver shimmer in the sunlight.

You stood wide eyed, looking over at Chenle in awe at his friends openness.

"This is why I did not want you guys around her- especially you Jaemin," he groaned, earning mocking words from the other three boys.

“He was scared we’d take you away from him,” the one named Jaemin mocked, sticking his tongue out. You laughed with the rest of his friends, meeting Chenle’s nervous gaze as he tried to assess your thoughts. His friends were funny, accepting of you, and you would soon come to find out that they had been friends for many, many years.

“I’m glad your friends like me- or, I think they do,” you told him that night after class.

“What’s there not to like?” He playfully shoved your shoulder, his wings once again caressing your back as he did. Quietly, you laced your fingers through his, and smiled as he squeezed your hand tightly.