Frayed-at-the-seams - Procrastination At It’s Finest

Preach!!!!!!^

I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT NIE HUAISANG FOR A HOT MINUTE.

Ok. The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi has a lot of awesome characters. Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan? Epic. Love ‘em. Wen Ning? Precious. And I would die for the Juniors.

One character I was absolutely sleeping on was Nie Huaisang.

Now, one of my favorite tropes is Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass, except Nie Huaisang isn’t any sort of secret kung-fu master. He’s legitimately bad in a fight, and would rather other people do it for him anyway. And he’s not a schemer, not really - he stays in his lane, minds his own business. He just wants to sit here and feed his birds.

Except he’s always paying attention. He’s absolutely an airhead, but he’s listening. And watching. And asking the questions that sound dumb but make another character realize something important.

This ambush predator’s strength is being underestimated by literally everyone.

And he could have so easily been evil. He and Jin Guangyao have this in common: they are polite, and subserviant, and people don’t think much of them. But while JGY seeks recognition, power, and retribution, Nie Huaisang be minding his own business.

Until he isn’t. (Aw now you fucked up!) Then he’s gonna end this man’s whole career - with minimal effort and personal risk, of course. 

Just, wouldn’t it be a shame if the one guy with the power and motive to end you came back to life? And almost immediately met up with his soulmate “good friend” who would both kill and die for him? Wouldn’t it be a shame if the people who knew your darkest secrets were empowered and allowed to tell their story? Aw, nuts. Rough for you, man.

But my favorite part is how he absolutely wants no recognition. When JGY gets the chance, he monologues for two episodes. Nie Huaisang doesn’t say shit, and he would appreciate it if you’d stop bringing it up, actually.

I just - I might have to rewatch the show just for him, because during those last few episodes, every time he turned up just to say how he didn’t know anything about this or that, I almost died. 

Dude took a nap face-first on a dirt floor for hours just to avoid confrontation. Fucking legend.

10 People I’d Like To Know Better

Tagged by @gosiksmallspace and I thought why not.

- Last Song: Take Me Back To Eden by Sleep Token. (I absolutely love this band).

- Last Book: Not going to lie, I haven’t read a novel in ages. If you want last physical book, then it was #DRCL manga. Last story I read was fanfiction.

- Last movie: Monkey Man by Dev Patel. Bit surrealist for a revenge action but beautiful cinematography and it really explores the city life in India very well. I enjoyed it.

- Last Tv Show: Castlevania Nocturne Season 2. It was amazing. The graphics went hard. Big fan of both Castlevania shows.

- Last Thing Googled: A Ramen and Tteokbokki recipe. It was delicious.

- Favourite Colour: Viridian Green.

- Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: Either Sweet or Spicy depending on my mood. If it’s a snack, then I prefer Sweet. If it’s a meal, then I love spice.

- Relationship status: Single and far too busy sorting my life out to try dating. (Also I have far too high standard due to all the media I consume).

- Current Obsession: I have a revolving wheel of obsession in my brain and I have about two or three on the go at any given moment. Right this second I’d say Castlevania, BNHA, and probably Beyond Evil. I don’t know how I juggle them.

- Looking forward to: The Ateez Concert I’m seeing next week. I’m far too excited.

Tagging: anyone who sees this and wants to continue it. I don’t have many mutuals to tag here. 😅

Hands up! 1/2

Jack/ZhaoZi soulmate au.

Everyone had soulmate words tattooed somewhere on their body. They were the first words that you would ever hear your soulmate say. Due to this, they were beheld with a certain degree of importance. Society loved the idea of soulmates, frowning on those who rejected or ignored their soulmate marks. Those who were born without marks were often outcasted, viewed as unloveable.

Jack knew for a fact that his boss, Tang Yi, had the words “Do you know who shot you?” Inscribed on his left forearm. His words had made sense. They had belonged to the police officer Shaofei who had been on the hunt for the murderer of his friend. They had danced awkwardly around the topic of them being soulmates for four years before developing a relationship as well as uncovering the killer of Mr Tang and Li Cheng. Now they were ridiculously in love. Especially since Tang Yi had been released from prison.

Jack was almost jealous of them and their love, if not for their disgusting PDA. He had often though of his soulmate. But in his line of work it was hard to have relationships. It had been years since he had been in a real relationship, even longer since he had seen his family. Besides, his words were a bit embarrassing, especially since he was a mercenary who made it his job not to get caught. But the words “Hands up! You’re under arrest!” Told him that one day he would be caught. It was all just a matter of time.

As he approached the polished oak door of his boss’s office, he absentmindedly traced the palm of his right hand where his words were inscribed in tiny neat black letters. Despite the fact that they were obscured by his gloves, he could picture each flick of handwriting. Insanely adorable handwriting that never failed to make him smile. With his signature smirk, he rapped a sharp knock against the wood.

“Everything alright boss?” Jack asked as he entered the pristine office. Tang Yi was sat at his desk frowning down at at a piece of paperwork laid out inform of him. He looked up as Jack entered the room, face as composed as ever. Jack fell into the chair in front of the desk, lounging reflexively back as his hand reached for his knife, flicking it backwards and forwards. It was a habit that worked well in intimidating people, not that Tang Yi ever fell for it. Jack was just doing it because he was bored.

“Shao Fei has an undercover operation with his squad in a strip club”, Tang Yi stated, voice cold. “They are planning to arrest a known sex trafficker who I’ve been meaning to hand over myself”. Ah, this was why the boss was so stressed. His soulmate was going on a dangerous mission in a unsavoury place where he would be dealing with a man who boss knows is dangerous. Jack almost felt excited. “He has forbidden me to go”, Tang Yi continued. “Insists that he will be okay since he’s a police officer”, he was practically grumbling now.

Jack grinned evilly. Sheathing his butterfly knife, he stuck it in his pocket and held out a hand. “Of course boss. None of your men would ever think of going to the strip club. Especially not to keep an eye on a certain police operation”. Jack wondered when his life had gotten boring enough for this to seem exciting. It most likely to the organisation going straight, which was great for him. No more hiding. Although if he had to hear more about Tang Yi’s and Shao relationship then he was probably going to have to quit his job.

“Of course the blue rose on fifth is completely off limits tonight”, Tang Yi spoke nonchalantly. “The barman, the drunk man in the corner, the bunny waiter and the man with the pink jacket, and the policeman stripper are totally off limits”. Jack nodded. “Of course boss”. Tang Yi returned his nod and returned to frowning at his paperwork as Jack left the room, closing the door with a snap behind him.

Once jack returned to his cold apartment, he opened his laptop to review the files that Tang Yi has definitely not so secretly, secretly sent about the case the police were working on. From the looks of it, the man they were hoping to arrest, a certain John Smith (what a ridiculous name) was a suspected serial rapist and had strong connections with the sex trafficking industry. Jack read further, finding the names of the officers involved. Shao Fei was registered, along with a Zhao Li An, who must be his partner.

Jack had heard of Zhao Li An before from both Tang Yi and Shao Fei. They had called him Zhao Zi. All jack knew of Shao Fei’s partner was that he seemed to be a complete weirdo. He was an alleged foodie with a almost supernatural talent of making people repent their sins and see the error of their ways. According to Shao Fei, Zhao Zi and once been allowed to interrogate a hit man which had ended with the hitman sobbing heatedly whilst promising to be a better son to his parents and confessing to all his sins. Since then, Shao Fei had explained that they only unleashed Zhao Zi on really despicable criminals such as murderers and rapists. Each and every time they had ended up confessing to all their crimes within an hour, sometimes even crying and apologising to any of their family members as well. Jack found the thought hilarious. There was no way this was true.

As the day dragged on, Jack continued with his tasks with his usual smirk. It was around eight in the evening, the streets already darkening, as he strolled into the Blue rose strip club dressed in his usual red shirt and leather jacket. It was a dingy place with bad lighting and suspiciously sticky floors. The room was not overly crowded which was lucky as Jack was able to score the table with the best vantage point of the room. A few Waitresses dressed in skimpy outfits tottered around the room on three inch heels, handing out drinks menus and cigarettes. On stage, a girl wearing barely nothing twirled seductively on a pole. Grabbing a passing waitress, he ordered a drink and sat back to let his eyes explore the room.

From his position Jack was able to spot all of the undercover policemen exactly as Tang Yi had described. The barman with the black shirt was paying far too much attention to the room than his task, almost dropping the glass he was cleaning. Whilst the waitress with the bunny ears was too nervous to be at ease with the place. The drunk man in the corner was obviously not actually drinking alcohol. And the man in the pink jacket in a booth near the stage, who Jack recognised as Shao Fei, was surveying the room with a clear disinterest in the girls. Jack would have laughed if it would have not drawn attention to himself.

A waitress came over and handed him a glass of gin, just as he had ordered. He took a sip, eyes scanning for the last policeman, Shao Fei’s partner. If he recalled correctly, this was the one undercover as a stripper. Maybe he would be preforming. Smirking to himself, Jack too another sip of his drink as he let his mind try and picture what the performance would be like. He bet it would end in catastrophe, or cause him to crack up. The thought of a policeman trying to be a stripper made him giggle.

He was on his second drink when the target walked in surrounded by goons. Jack fought the urge to laugh again, but it could have just been the slight alcohol. No wonder the guy preferred to rape his victims, he would have a hard time picking up girls with that face. To make it worse, he was so stereotypically a gangster that it was almost painful for a professional like Jack to watch. He cringed as the man arrogantly had one of his lackeys order him a drink, leering at the waitresses and bartenders disgustingly as they sat in booth right next to Jack’s. They were so close he could smell their disgustingly strong aftershave

Across the room, he could see Shao Fei watching them. He caught his eye and the policeman’s gaze widened for a moment as Jack smirked, undoubtedly recognising him even through the terrible lighting. With a slight frown, Shao Fei went back to ignoring him, making a slight signal. Jack watched as the bartender nodded and the girl on stage disappeared behind the curtain. The music changed to something more pop than the sultry tones that had been playing before. Eagerly, Jack leant forward slightly, anticipating the performance that the policeman would put on.

The lights dipped as a small figure walked onstage. Jack though that he looked far to cute to be sexy. The policeman costume he had on was more boyish than sexy with knee length shorts and a cute little cap with a white shirt where a badge was pinned. As the guy walked closer to the pole, he bent forwards on to his hands, flipping slowly over in the air so that he was upside down. Jack watched as the guys legs wrapped around the pole and he raised himself upwards so that he was hanging from his legs. Jack was pleasantly surprised and a little turned on. He hadn’t been expecting the guy to be cute as well as acrobatic. He took back his earlier thoughts. This was definitely sexy.

Biting his lip, Jack glanced at the group on the table next to him. The guy was loving it, eyes firmly stuck on the contorted body on stage. Jack sniggered to himself as he watched Shao Fei’s squad slowly move across the room, subtly surrounding the intended criminals who were too absorbed in the show to notice.

Turning his attention back to the stage, Jack whistled under his breath as the undercover policeman spun around the pole, legs pulled into a split. He spun a few more times, shirt now slightly see through in the stage lighting, making Jack’s eyes dart up and down his small figure. On his fourth spin he seemed to get a signal, stopping his action and jumping off stage on to the club floor. He began stalking his way across the room, closer and closer to Jack’s table. Now that he was nearer, Jack could see the sweat on his neck and the adorably furrowed eyebrows. He looked so damn cute. Curse him and his weakness to cute things.

As the guy passed Jack reached out and caught his wrist. He stopped, facing Jack with a confused, surprised expression. Jack grinned cheekily up at him. “Can I have a bite?” He asked jokingly. Jack saw the guy flinch slightly before tearing the badge off his shirt and stepping away from Jack’s hold. He pointed the badge at John Smith as his fellow officers held up their guns.

“Hands up! you’re under arrest!”

The skin on the back of his left hand burned slightly as Jack gaped. His words faded on his skin, letters indicating that they had been spoken. He watched as Shao Fei and his coworkers descended on the criminals, handcuffing them and pulling them out of the club before standing up to follow them outside. A police van was waiting and the criminals were being pushed inside it whilst Shao Fei read them their rights. His policeman, the guy was definitely his now, was standing to the side. He had been given a jacket and was pouting sullenly about something.

Approaching the small policeman, jack grinned and held out a hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jack”. The guy’s face brightened as he saw him and eagerly shook his hand. “Oh you’re my soulmate. Hi! I’m Zhao Li An But everyone calls me ZhaoZi”, Zhao Zi grinned at him. Jack felt himself fall, the guy was so cute.

“So”, he began, feeling his grin turn into a smirk. “Can I have a bite?” Zhao zi looked confused. “Are you hungry? I wasn’t able to grab lunch and I’m starving but all the shops are shut now”, he looked so adorably upset that Jack had to take pity on him. “You got any food at your place? I can cook for you if you want”. Zhao Zi beamed, grabbing Jack’s hand excitedly. “Really? Then I want egg, and ham, and noodles with chicken broth and orange juice...”. Jack felt his eyebrows rise with each listed food. The guy was a cute weird foodie. Jack couldn’t help but feel endeared.

“Well I’ll cook for you. Come on”, still holding Zhao Zi’s hand, Jack began walking with him down the street. Zhao zi called a goodbye to Shao Fei before happily skipping alongside him. “Grandma said you would be a good cook”, he remarked. “She said that my soulmate would be able to cook and provide for me”. Jack grinned wider. “That I can do”.

“My grandma also said that you will stay”. Zhao Zi looked up at Jack earnestly. “Will you stay?”

Jack smiled, wrapping a arm around his soulmates shoulders. “If shorty asks then I will stay”, he promised.

A.C.E Lucky Aesthetics pt1

I was watching Ace’s mv Lucky, looking for images I could use in my art, and I slowed it down to 0.25% speed.

If you’ve ever watched the mv then you know how amazing it is. The colour, the editing, the band. All so cool and pretty. But when I slowed it down I got to fully see all the cool editing that they use. So I thought I would share with you some of the aesthetics images I got.

Junhee looking stunning and killing us with the lack of buttons on that shirt. He’s so talented.

Donghun is a ‘classy girl’. Those images are so aesthetically pleasing and the pink lighting looks so pretty on him.

It won’t let me add any more pics so there is going to be a part 2. Feel free to use these images if you want.

Korean BL episodes STILL only being 15-30 minutes long in the year of 2023, is a crime actually.

love watching kdramas that aren't gay but they're literally SO GAY

And then it was him.

(Lan Jingyi x Lan Sizhui)

Jingyi gazed out of the window languidly. In the front of the classroom, the teacher’s voice faded to a monotonous drone as Jingyi watched the leaves sway in the warm spring breeze. He absentmindedly chewed on the end of his pen slightly. The soft early morning sunlight making him doze. He had spent too much time playing mario cart with his friend, Ouyang Zizhen, the night before and the lack of sleep was making itself known.

<p>“Lan Jingyi!”

<p>Jingyi jerked his head up with an undignified yelp. The teacher was levelling him with a fearsome glare. Jingyi hastily wiped the stray drool from his mouth and brushed his curtain of a fringe behind his ear. “Yes Sir?”

<p>“Pay attention. I know that you are still new to this school but I expect better”. Humiliation curled up in his stomach as the rest of the class giggled and Jingyi felt himself blush in shame. He had only been in cloud recess a week but he missed his old school. There had been less rules. ‘And’, he thought as the teacher continued the lesson, ‘the teachers had been nicer too’.

<p>Originally, Jingyi had been born and raised within the rich district of town known as cloud recess. But his dad’s company had fallen in to bankruptcy and Jingyi and his parents had moved to the far away Mo village. Jingyi had been six at the time. However, he had adjusted quickly to the poor but friendly village, making friends with Zizhen and joining the local school.

<p>But whilst he had flourished within the small community, his parent’s relationship had grew progressively worse. It started with drinking, then snide comments which progressed into shouting fights and slamming doors. By the time he was sixteen, there were bruises on both his parent’s faces. The fights having turned physical. Jingyi learnt not to step between them after he had gotten his third black eye. It didn’t mean that he didn’t still try though.

<p>It was Zizhen that raised the subject of scholarships. Jingyi, who was beginning to feel suffocated, jumped at the idea and applied to as many sports scholarships he could. It was only luck that he was able to win a Classical Chinese dance scholarship to the prestigious Cloud recess academy. It was given that something would go wrong and ruin his luck. Just one week in and he was already mucking it up. Curse those who decided that he had to take maths and Chinese classes as well as his dance classes. Whoever they are, they were evil.

<p>The slamming of the classroom door made Jingyi jump, disturbing his train of thoughts. Startled, he turned his head to the doorway to watch as two figures bowed to the teacher.

<p>“Mr Lan, Mr Jin, what time do you call this?” The teacher asked. ‘Ah’, Jingyi thought. He eyed the two boys up and down. ‘The princes’.

<p>“I apologise sir”, Sizhui smiled charmingly, as polite as always. “We got held up in traffic. Jin Ling snorted at the excuse but did not speak. The teacher assessed them warily then sighed.

<p>“Just go and find a seat”. Both Sizhui and Jin Ling nodded before turning their faces towards the class. Sizhui’s purple brown orbs flittered across the room before alighting on the empty space next to Jingyi.

<p>Trying to look busy, Jingyi pretend to be reading through his notes as the chair moved beside him. It was only when Sizhui had sat down did Jingyi notice that he had not actually taken any notes and that his notebook was not even open. Glancing up at his new desk partner, he watched as a neat white pencil case and a clear pale blue notebook were placed on the table. The colour of the notebook matched the famous Lan ribbon tied around Sizhui’s wrist.

<p>Before he even came to cloud recess, Jingyi had heard of the Lan family. His father from from a very distant branch, so removed from the main family that the only thing they shared was the name. They were nothing like the twin jades.

<p>Everyone knew of the twin jades, head of the Lan mafia which controlled fifty percent of China. The other half was split between the Jin clan, the Nie clan and the Jiang clan. All the clans got along famously. Especially due the the fact that the head of the Lan clan, Lan Xichen, was married to Jin Guangyao and sworn brother’s with the fearsome Nie Mingjie. But a more famous story, one that everyone knew, was the love between the Yiling Patriarch and the Second jade. It was Wei Wuxian, adopted brother of clan leader Jiang Wayin, and Lan Wangji who were the most feared.

<p>It was their adopted son who was sitting next to Jingyi now.

<p>As if he could hear his thoughts, Sizhui turned and gave Jingyi a stunningly warm smile. Feeling the blood rushing to his face, Jingyi hurriedly broke contact and turned his head towards the front. It stayed like that for a few minutes before he heard the click of a pen and the sound of Sizhui taking notes, that Jingyi could relax his stiff posture slightly.

<p>Despite being the child of the mafia, Sizhui was an elegant student. Ever since they had first met as kids in preschool, Jingyi had admired him. Sizhui never let his reputation affect him. The guy was as charming and gentlemanly as a fairytale prince. He was the president of the student council and had the top grades of the year. People ignored that he was the heir to the largest mafia in China, and instead treated him like an idol. Jingyi had even heard a rumour that Sizhui had beaten up a gang of bullies single handed, only to then scold them on bullying and assist them to the infirmary.

<p>But despite having been fierce childhood friends, honestly, the guy was a conundrum. They had lost contact when Jingyi’s family had moved away, which his younger self had cried about. He gazed at his new desk partner. Sizhui’s black hair was cut short and neatly against his head. His skin was smooth and unblemished, almost matching the pristine white of his shirt. His uniform was ironed and fresh. Compared to jingyi’s rumpled and still sleepy state, Sizhui might as well have just walked out of a fashion magazine.

<p>“Is everything okay?” Sizhui’s calm voice asked. Jingyi blinked to find Sizhui watching him.

<p>“Oh um yes!” His voice cracked. “Yes! I’m fine. You just have blood on your...” Jingyi broke off, his hand moving to catch Sizhui’s sleeve. He caught the end of the blue Lan ribbon between his fingers and began to absentmindedly rub at the small stain.

<p>There was a beat of tense silence as Jingyi realised what he was doing. Colour drained out of his face. Mercifully, the bell rang. Dropping the ribbon, Jingyi hastily gathered up his stuff and fled the classroom, leaving Sizhui alone at the desk.

<p>“What the hell was that all about?” Jin Ling barked, having watched the scene from his desk a short distance away. He was obviously spending too much time with Jiang Cheng and his potty mouth was increasing because of it.

<p>Sizhui let out a hum, fingers toying with end of the ribbon on his wrist. “Nothing”, he decided finally, despite Jin Ling’s assessing gaze. “Let’s go”.

——

<p>“Good! Again!” The instructor called with a clap of his hands.

<p>Jingyi paused to wipe the sweat off his forehead before taking his position at the beginning of the mats. The mats covered a long line across the floor of the gym, almost like a runway. A runway and Jingyi was a pretty awesome plane.

<p>Grinning, Jingyi started his run up. One flip, head over heels into a forward somersault. He flipped into a series of five forwards somersaults before using the last of his momentum to launch himself up into the air, body twisting sideways before landing on his knees. The mats cushioned his landing, so when he got up it was only with a slight ache.

<p>“Excellent Jingyi!” The instructor, Mr Lee, called with delight. He was a large heavy set man with a encouraging grin. Jingyi liked him the best out of all his teachers. He clapped him hard on the back, almost sending Jingyi stumbling.

<p>“Thanks Mr Lee”. Jingyi grinned and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. His fringe, which was long enough to graze his jaw, was pushed back by a white sweatband. The rest of it was cut short for convenience, but Jingyi still wished that he could grow it out.

<p>Catching his breath, he walked over to the side of the room to grab his water bottle. He took a swig as footsteps sounded behind him. As Jingyi turned around, he choked in surprise. Hurriedly, he wiped at the water dripping down his chin.

<p>“What are you doing here?” He gasped.

<p>Sizhui smiled at him. He was still immaculate in his pristine white and blue uniform. Jingyi felt inappropriately embarrassed. He was sweaty and gross and probably smelt. Sizhui smelt of sandalwood and orange blossom. Even his damn scent was perfect.

<p>“I came to speak to you”, Sizhui’s smile was like dawn light, innocent and pure. Jingyi fought the urge to snort. “Is this a bad time?” Sizhui looked like a kicked puppy.

<p>“Um”, Jingyi glanced around at the rest of the class. “I’m in the middle of practising at the moment. But we should be done by four”. Why did he mention the time?

<p>“Oh”, Sizhui perked up. He beamed at Jingyi. “I’ll wait then”.

<p>“Oh um sure. You do that”, Jingyi averted his gaze and tried to quell his flaming cheeks. He set his water bottle back on the ground. Sizhui lowered himself into sitting cross legged beside it, smiling pleasantly. Jingyi tried not to make it look like he was running away.

<p>“Why is Lan Sizhui waiting for you?” Zizhen hissed as Jingyi preformed a windmill turn. He transitioned out of the movement into a vertical split, holding his position.

<p>“I don’t know”, He muttered back, focussing on maintaining his balance.

<p>Zizhen did not answer for a moment. Throwing himself forward into a travelling straddle jump. Once he had landed, he circled back to Jingyi’s position. “Dude, he’s Lan Sizhui! You must know something”.

<p>Jingyi let his foot touch the ground. Rolling his shoulders, he spared Zizhen a sheepish look. “It may have something to do with the fact that I touched his ribbon earlier”.

<p>Zizhen gasped. “Jingyi! You know how important those ribbons are”. Jingyi winced with the scandalised tone. He did know. Every member of the Lan family had one. They represented restraint, only to be touched by your family or significant other. It was a family tradition that had been held for years. Even Jingyi had been given one at birth like all Lans, but his parents didn’t care much for the traditions. He had lost his as a child and never received a new one. When they had moved away and the Lan family had cut ties with his parents, it didn’t matter anymore.

<p>Jingyi felt a small amount of dread settle in his gut. Those ribbons were held within the highest esteem by the main family. So much so that there were rumours that the last person to try and forcibly touch Lan Wangji’s ribbon had died a gruesome death. Jingyi shivered.

<p>“It can’t be that bad right?” He asked. Zizhen, who was preforming his cooling down stretches, shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. Jingyi put his head in his hands and sighed.

——

<p>Once the class was over, Jingyi reluctantly made his way back over to where Sizhui was sitting. The boy smiled at him and handed him his water bottle, which Jingyi drank from greedily.

<p>“I can talk now if you want”, Jingyi said as nonchalantly as he could. Sizhui stood up, causing Jingyi to mentally curse the few centimetres that the older boy held over him.

<p>“That’s good. Shall we get drinks? I know a coffee shop nearby”, Sizhui asked. Jingyi eyed him warily but nodded.

<p>Together they walked out of the practise room. They made their way through the building, only pausing long enough for Jingyi to pull on a jumper and a pair of shoes in the changing room. Sizhui insisted on taking his bag.

<p>“You shouldn’t have to-“, Jingyi started, hands itching to pull his backpack from the other boy’s shoulder.

<p>Sizhui smiled in that disarming way and shifted the strap up higher. “I insist. Your muscles must be aching from all that practise. Let me do it”. Jingyi grumbled a bit more but eventually gave up with a huff, pouting as they walked to the coffee shop.

<p>The coffee shop was only a few blocks away luckily. The silence as they walked was so awkward that Jingyi felt like crying. When they got there the scent of coffee and the pleasant sound of chatter and clinking cups washed through Jingyi like a wave of calm. The cafe was warm and cozy. The walls were accented with wood and photos. A sign above the door named the place ‘ghostly scent’ and Jingyi found himself feeling a bit better.

<p>“Uncle Ning”, Sizhui greeted as they neared the counter. A frazzled and nervous looking man looked up from the coffee machine and beamed at them. He had long black hair tied away from his face in a low ponytail by a red hair tie which matched his red apron.

<p>“Sizhui”, he greeted in a quiet, stuttering Voice. “What can I get you?”

<p>“I’ll have a black coffee and he’ll have a honeycomb hot chocolate”, Sizhui answered. Jingyi blinked. How they hell did he know his favourite drink? His mind faltered for a moment as Wen Ning turned to make their drinks.

<p>“Wait, I can pay”, Jingyi said, scrambling for his wallet.

<p>Sizhui shook his head dismissively as Wen Ning waved a hand. “No need. Sizhui and his friends always get free drinks here. Just go and sit down. Xue Yang will bring you your drinks in a moments”.

<p>Sizhui thanked him and took Jingyi gently by the wrist. He lead him over to a table in the corner, removed from the main hubbub of the cafe. Jingyi felt like he was going to spontaneously combust right there and then. He didn’t. Instead, he obediently sat down opposite Sizhui, ignoring how he still had his wrist within his grip.

<p>“Um, is this about your ribbon?” Jingyi stuttered. “If so then I’m really sorry. I was half asleep and I didn’t realise what I was doing-“. Sizhui shook his head, cutting him off. Jingyi fell silent as a scowling teenager with badly cut black hair set their drinks on the table.

<p>Sizhui took a long gulp of his tar like drink and Jingyi nervously followed his example. The flavour of honey and chocolate eased his aching body and he found himself relaxing in his seat with a moan. Sizhui watched him.

<p>“To not about the ribbon”, Sizhui smiled. Jingyi blinked slowly at him, not computing.

<p>“Then why am I here?”

<p>“Because I wanted to talk to you”. Sizhui’s grip on his wrist had travelled down to his hand without Jingyi noticing. He linked their fingers together with a smile that had Jingyi blushing as red as Wen Ning’s apron.

<p>Sizhui squeezes his hand and continued. “I want to ask you on a date”, he stated. Jingyi must have died, how could this be happening?

<p>“What?”

<p>Sizhui used his free hand to pull something from his pocket. He unfolded a piece of white material to reveal a embroidered Lan ribbon. With shock, Jingyi watched as Sizhui let go of his hand to tie the ribbon around his wrist.

<p>“Remember when we were kids and you were moving away?” Sizhui asked. Jingyi nodded numbly, brain trying to absorb what was happening. “You had come running to me crying about leaving. I told you that we would see each other again and you gave me your ribbon and made me promise”.

<p>As Sizhui talked, the memory surfaced in Jingyi’s mind. He had been distraught that he would have to leave Sizhui behind and had runaway to his house. He had cried and dropped his ribbon onto Sizhui’s palm before running home.

<p>“I thought I lost it”, Jingyi breathed. Sizhui smiled warmly at him and unravelled the ribbon around his wrist, stretching it out to show the embroiled characters of Jingyi’s name sewn amongst the cloud design.

<p>“Jingyi”, Sizhui asked once he had retied the ribbon. He took his hand again, palm warm against his skin. “We found each other again. Will you go on a date with me?”

Jingyi found himself laughing slightly hysterically. All doubts and fears left his mind as he giggled. He grinned, squeezing Sizhui’s hand. “Yeah. Let’s go on a date”.

what the fuck is "dark academia" isnt real academia dark enough do you know what some of these fuckers woudl do for funding

KP AU

where everything is the same except Macau and Kim are trans. Kim is FTM but likes to fuck with gender (in true Jeff style). WIK is an open lgbt supporter and supports lgbt youth charities but is not open as trans (cause wik was formed after he had transitioned and he just enjoyed being seen as male and completely forgot to mention that he had been born in the wrong body).

Kim is the mafia son who was a daughter and who’s only future was to be sold into marriage alliances. That would explain so much about Kim’s alienation from his family. He moved out as soon as he could and got everything changed, name, legal identity. He got surgery and testosterone. Tankhurn helped with that. Also he and Macau vibe every so often for complaining sessions. He helped Macau get access to good medical care.

Nothing about the plot changes. Kim completely forgets to tell Chay (he’s so comfortable in himself to see it as a thing that needs brought up). Until one day they’re changing together and Kim pulls his packet from his trousers and Chay goes brain dead. 😂

Marvel snap AU

Just to be incredibly angsty, imagine your OTP going through the snap.

Imagine how they are in the middle of something normal and one turns to the other to share a smile or say something when they other just falls into dust.

Imagine that they felt it coming, crumbling slowly away as the other sobs and tries to desperately hold them together.

Imagine the one left behind waiting for years, trying to live without their partner at their side.

Imagine they joy when the other returns. The tearful reunion and the promise not to leave each other again.

Or, imagine the confusion when one returns to find that the other has moved on, aged and in a new relationship. Imagine them trying to cope with all these sudden changes without their partner, remembering a time when they were happy and wishing that they had stayed. Imagine them moving on with a family now years older than them, feeling misplaced in this whole new world.

Imagine your OTP.