#The (International) Noise Conspiracy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

brazenskald · 7 months

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In my first year of university, I was going through a very tumultuous time. There was all the many new things that come from leaving home, some good, some bad. There were the difficulties of a demanding if rewarding job, and I first became acquainted with the not-so-fondly-remembered and not yet fully un-internalized “student lifestyle.” Terrible food, awful sleep schedule, and this omnipresent sense of impending doom that was, at least in my case in Fall 2019, surprisingly prescient. Throughout all of this, I was not prepared to be struck by the warmth and depth and resonant Truth that cut through the noise and spoke to me with a certain book I picked up, by happenstance, because of its pretty cover. That book was A Conspiracy of Truths by @ariaste. You may have heard of them. https://www.alexandrarowland.net/a-conspiracy-of-truths

Now, needless to say I devoured aCoT, and subsequently its excellent sequel A Choir of Lies. I was sorrowfully disappointed to find out after finishing the absolute rollercoaster of Choir that there was in fact, no further reading yet to do. And so, profoundly affected as I was by this (for now) duology, which I will doubtless craft a dedicated and appropriately lengthy treatise at some point in the future, I set the books in a prime place upon my shelf and turned to face the rest of the year buoyed in my hopes for the brightness of Spring and the long lusty laughter of Summer. Alas, they were all of them deceived for another global epidemic was to begin. One (or two) life-altering years in a pandemic later… I returned to university, fully prepared to enjoy the hell out of an actual honest-to-gods academic institution that didn’t begin and end with a computer screen. It hit like a truck. Same awful student lifestyle, more bad habits piling up, and a rapidly growing sense of my own undiagnosed issue rearing its ugly head. I made one decision that saved me, probably. I kept buying and reading phenomenal books. I kept looking for stories to motivate, enervate, and inspire. Somewhere deep in my subconscious, I remembered that fateful message spoken by a Chant on a page three years past. To loosely paraphrase, “Stories [are] people, and the way people are.” I chose to focus on resilience, made it my motto, and sure I still had lots of work to do, but it helped. It gave me the push I needed to keep going.

That last long Winter that seemed so dark that the sun was never going to come back? I went a-wandering, and lo, a new instalment from @ariaste ‘s Mithalgeard universe! Not a Chant sequel as such, but I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough. It was an oasis. A respite from the grind and dreary routines. It was also gay as… well as gay as a rainbow covered in gold, let’s say. And I cannot recommend A Taste of Gold and Iron fiercely enough, because although in many ways I managed to end my degree on a high note, that book drew me out of the darkness of the coldest part of the year. It gave me the sense to smell the flowers, to bask in the green and golden glow of a soon-to-be-attained victory, long overdue.

Alex had by this point also published several shorter works, (and a whole library’s worth of content on AO3, naturally) which I leapt to read whenever they crossed my radar. It helped that I joined their discord community which was leaps and bounds more reliable in terms of getting updates and also just having the chance to share in mutual fandom gushing. If you’re even remotely interested in learning more about what I’ve talked about here, you should join in! https://discord.gg/XHJ9Uy5gef Everybody there is absolutely lovely. So why do I bring all this up? To summarize a preamble that is, to put it mildly, not short, Alex’s writing sings to my soul. I love it more deeply than my non-existent children, and their body of work continues to evolve and grow and deliver on the themes and core messages that hooked me with that first book.

But wait, there’s more! Life carries on, and with it comes new stories! Specifically, Running Close to the Wind! It’s Our Flag Means Death meets Mithalgeard, which if I haven’t convinced you to go and read those other instalments, well just trust me when I say that is a potent and persuasive pairing! It’s also going to be dropping at an important time for me, what with convocation, another big move in my life, and a whole whack of uncertainty. Much like Avra, Teveri, and Julian though, I’ll just have to brave the rocky waters and hold on to those nearest to me, and that’s what I’d like to focus on at the end of this post. A Conspiracy of Truth taught me that stories are people, A Choir of Lies showed how stories can change people, and A Taste of Gold and Iron drove home that stories we tell ourselves are the hardest to rewrite, but also the most rewarding when we take ownership of them. I anticipate that with Running Close to the Wind, Alex will likely show us (with ample amounts of pomp and queer circumstances) how the story of ourselves can only ever be written by interweaving the tales of those closest to us. Perhaps, we’ll even discover how to navigate the often stormy seas of uncertainty that seem omnipresent these days, whenever we deign to pull our noses out from whichever books we’re currently nestled within. I know that’s certainly something I’ll be looking out for, come this June, and now hopefully you will be too! (This last link does go to the webpage for Running Close to the Wind, Tumblr’s just being weird I guess.)

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anonymous-dentist · 1 year

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Could we get a Cellbit being a cat moment possibly w/ roier? (It's ok if not tho no pressure at all!!!)

It’s hard to get Cellbit to act like a cat. It’s a shame, really, because he’s a cute cat. A gatinho, even. He keeps his tail tucked into his pants, trained to be still after years of hiding. His cute little cat ears are pinned beneath his goggles in a way that has to be uncomfortable.

Cellbit explained it once. Back in prison, he started with the whole human thing because, really, cats aren’t scary. He wanted to be scary. He needed to be scary. He wouldn’t have been taken seriously with fucking cat ears. Same logic applies now that he’s on the island, if not slightly adjusted because he’s a conspiracy theorist trying to be taken seriously, not a serial killer.

Honestly, Roier thinks it sucks. Is internal kittyphobia a thing? Because Cellbit’s got it, and he’s got it bad.

It’s not all that bad, though. More and more recently, Cellbit has been letting loose around the castle when he thinks he’s alone, when Richarlyson is with one of his other dads and when Roier is supposedly asleep.

Today is one of those days. Roier is almost awake and languishing in bed, abysmally cold without his warm-blooded husband wrapped around him like a second blanket.

Roier shivers, his eyes still firmly closed in the hopes of falling back asleep. He curls into himself, and then he sleepily smiles as the toilet flushes from the bathroom, and then he grins as the bed next to him dips and Cellbit slips back under the covers and against Roier’s back.

Roier wriggles around until he’s able to tuck himself against Cellbit’s front and shove his face into Cellbit’s neck. Warm…

He startles himself awake as something long, thin, and furry wraps itself around his ankle. But then he remembers, oh, gatinho, and he relaxes.

It isn’t too long before the purring starts- something that Cellbit has never been able to control despite his best attempts otherwise. It’s a reflex, easy. Impossible. Adorable. A perfect white noise machine.

Roier feels Cellbit’s cheek rub against the top of his head. Cute.

“Te amo,” Cellbit murmurs, his voice distorted slightly by his purring. “Go back to sleep.”

Roier responds by kissing his neck. Then he goes back to sleep, warm and content and very, very happy.

#a.d.'s fics i suppose #a.d.'s fics i suppose.#I join the war on catboy cell on the side of catboy cell

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brian-in-finance · 9 months

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Jamie Dornan in ‘The Fall’ / HELEN SLOANE/NETFLIX

Jamie Dornan reveals Fifty Shades fame led to a 'stalker-type' situation

"The more I can block that out, the better it is for me and family," he said.

Though he generally manages to fly under the radar, Jamie Dornan has had to deal with a potentially dangerous fan in the past.

Dornan, 41, rose to international fame when he played billionaire-with-specific-sexual-tastes Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. And while the films opened some doors for him, they also put him in the path of some unhinged fans.

While speaking with British paper The Independent, Dornan revealed that the fame and rumors surrounding the franchise led to a disturbing encounter. “I’ve been involved in situations where it’s impacted my family," he said.

I had a situation... a stalker-type situation before Covid. That was f-ing scary. Someone turned up at my house when my kids were there. It was not something... The more I can block that out, the better it is for me and the family.

Dornan also addressed ongoing conspiracy theories that he and Grey costar Dakota Johnson have a secret relationship and family (in reality, Dornan has been married to Amelia Warner since 2013, with whom he shares three children).

I tried to put walls up around [the fans], to really try and not let that in. I’m pretty good at just blocking any of the noise associated with whatever fandom is – not letting it affect me, or more importantly my family.

Jamie Dornan in 'Fifty Shades Freed’ / EVERETT COLLECTION

His time in the Fifty Shades franchise was marked by boffo box office combined with behind-the-scenes strife, largely due to author E.L. James' differing creative vision from original director Sam Taylor-Johnson. But Dornan also revealed that his past history as a model meant he was often only considered for romantic heroes like Christian Grey in his early days as an actor.

“All I’d ever get to audition for was, you know, ‘the count who comes in on a f-ing horse and ravages the woman’,” he remembered. “I’d come from modeling, so I thought those were the only types of roles I was going to do."

The opposite has proved true with Dornan playing everything from a serial killer on The Fall to a lovestruck himbo in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar to a dad fighting to keep his family together during the Irish "troubles" in Belfast. He's hoping to avoid projects that might bring him the level of notoriety of Fifty Shades in the future.

Jamie in ‘Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar’ / CATE CAMERON/THE CW

"There’s never going to be anything like Fifty Shades again," he said. "It felt very much like its own thing, particularly because it focused in and around sex. But there are obviously other jobs that bring insane scrutiny, like superhero stuff, or f--ing James Bond – any of that stuff. I’ve done pretty well to avoid that sort of s-- so far."

Though he also doesn't rule out the possibility of finding himself in a project of that nature at some point. “I think if you’re an actor of a certain standing, who has a certain sort of recognition, you’re going to be in those conversations,” he noted. "I’m not saying I’d never do anything super high-profile again, or a big [intellectual property] with all eyes on it. I probably will. But I’m also really happy with where I’m at right now."

"I can live a pretty normal life for the most part," he concluded. "I can sit on the Tube and I’m fine. I’m an ambitious person, and I have a fire under me, but in the last 10 years or so, I’ve realized I don’t want big peaks all the time. That doesn’t interest me. I’m happy to keep ticking over as I am, then one day just disappear and play golf for the rest of my life."

Jamie in ‘Belfast’ / ROB YOUNGSON/FOCUS FEATURES

Remember how the Belfast stars probably compared notes?

#Tait rhymes with hat #Good times #EW #31 December 2023 #Stalking #Fan delusions #Thanks sunsetmagic85

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haveyouheardthisband · 10 months

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#Garage Rock #Garage Punk #Garage Rock Revival #Indie Rock #2000s #poll

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ohsalome · 2 years

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How Russia is using the fossil fuel propaganda playbook to win the war

Climate war and Russia

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity and life on Earth, but the fossil fuel industry has managed to block or delay the much-needed political action for decades. Michael Mann, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, has done a lot to untangle and categorize the various propaganda tactics used by the fossil fuel lobby. He refers to this joint propaganda effort as “climate war.”

Russia – a petrostate and the main beneficiary of carbon-based economy – is one of the main fossil fuel propaganda architects. Unsurprisingly, Russia now uses the same propaganda template to weaken global support for Ukraine and win the war.

And no, I’m not talking about all the wild state TV talk shows where people actively call for genocide against Ukraine, cheer for nuclear war, and portray Putin as their supreme leader. I’m talking about much subtler and smarter tactics and channels aimed at the rest of the world with one goal in mind: to help Russia win the war in Ukraine.

So let’s look closer at this similarity and learn how to spot Russia’s propaganda machine using the concepts from Michael Mann’s The New Climate War book.

Inactivism

Fossil fuel lobbyists realize they don’t need to convince people they are right. No, they just need to do enough to prevent people from fighting for green reforms. That’s why the main goal of fossil fuel propaganda now is to spread “inactivism” – the lack of meaningful action about climate change.

Russia’s propaganda regarding Ukraine also boils down to one goal: to stop or delay international support for Ukraine, especially military support. Russia doesn’t need to “win” the informational war – it doesn’t need to convince everybody that the invasion of Ukraine is a righteous thing. All it needs is just some “inactivism” from the rest of the world.

If other countries stop or just slow down their support of Ukraine, Russia will eventually win the war by brute force and larger ammunition stockpiles.

Denialism

Climate change denialism is the idea that climate crisis isn’t happening or that the change isn’t caused by human activity. Denialism isn’t used as widely now, but it had been the main fossil fuel propaganda tactic prior to the 2010s.

Today, Russia keeps denying everything. It denied it was planning to invade Ukraine, it denied it was waging a war while it was invading Ukraine. Russia also denies it has committed war crimes and atrocities in Bucha, Izium, Mariupol, and elsewhere in Ukraine.

Denialism is dull and easily refutable, but it works well for already sympathizing audiences and conspiracy theorists. That’s why there are people who think the Buch massacre was staged by Ukraine.

Whataboutism

Don Draper of the Mad Men TV series once said, “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” And that’s exactly what the fossil fuel lobby (Russia included) has been doing.

When scientists and activists called for a massive reduction of global carbon output, the fossil fuel industry invented the “personal carbon footprint” nonsense that blamed the consumer choices of ordinary people for the climate crisis. This tactic isn’t aimed at winning an argument – it is designed to create enough noise and confusion to block any meaningful public discussion and thus political action.

Russia is doing the same thing with Ukraine. When it gets blamed for illegally invading Ukraine in the first place, Russia and its trolls bring up all the wars waged by the US or spin the “Ukraine is Nazi” nonsense. They don’t need people to think Russia is right – they just need them to think everybody else is not right either.

By drowning the discussion in endless “but what about” arguments, Russia tries to prevent the public from focusing on important things. That is, Russia illegally invaded a sovereign state for the sake of territorial conquest, and it needs to get out of Ukraine for the war to stop.

Doomism

In climate change advocacy, “doomism” is the idea that humanity can no longer hope to solve the issue of climate change, so it needs to adapt to the new reality. While “doomism” is rooted in a very real sentiment – the feeling that humanity is failing to decarbonize its economy at the needed pace – it benefits the fossil fuel interests in the end.

Why? Well, if it’s too late to save ourselves, why bother demanding change? Why put in all your energy to try to fix the unfixable? The fossil fuel industry has long realized that fatalism leads to passivity and disengagement. Hence, they can keep doing business as usual.

The most dangerous thing about doomism is that it poisons well-meaning people by turning them into “inactivists.” Just like when American writer Jonathan Franzen wrote an opinion piece claiming that “The climate apocalypse is coming. To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it.” This article was later dubbed “the most brilliantly unintentional fossil fuel industry propaganda” because, while being a cry of a concerned person, it actually harmed the cause of climate activism.

So who are the doomists of the Russo-Ukrainian war? The people who, prior to February 24, said there was no point in arming Ukraine because if Russia decided to invade, Ukraine wouldn’t stand any chance anyway. These “experts” then said: “Okay, Ukraine defended well, but there’s no way it can actually retake the occupied lands from Russia.” Now, these voices are saying Ukraine won’t win the war against Russia no matter how many weapons it receives from its allies.

Most of these arguments lead to one conclusion: it’s impossible for Ukraine to win, so we shouldn’t waste our time and money supporting it – let’s just strike some kind of deal with Russia. Of course, none of these voices address the fact that such a deal would reward Russia’s invasion and wouldn’t bring lasting peace to Eastern Europe.

Needless to say, this mindset directly benefits Russia as it promotes inaction in the face of an obviously criminal invasion of a sovereign country. Buckle up, the voices of doomism will get louder as the war grinds on.

Division

Sowing division among your opponents is an old-school political move, but it still works.

Instead of jointly demanding systemic change (the fastest possible decarbonization of our economy), people are dragged into endless culture wars, like shaming people for traveling by plane. The fossil fuel industry is pouring a lot of resources to spread conflicting narratives and make people fight among each other instead of uniting against their common enemy.

Russia also uses this tactic against Ukraine by promoting multiple narratives at once. Depending on the audience, Russia brands itself as the ultimate global fighter against Western colonialism, as the bastion of traditional family and Christianity, and as the enemy of global elites. That way, it is trying to disrupt the unity of Ukraine’s allies and prevent joint global action.

As Timothy Snyder said: “If you don't like gay people, they tell you the Ukrainians are all gay. If you don't like Nazis, they tell you they're all Nazis. If you do like Nazis, they tell you that they're all Jews.”

The non-solution solution

Finally, one of the newer propaganda tactics is the promotion of “non-solution solutions.”

According to Michael Mann, “The inactivists have sought to hijack actual climate progress by promoting “solutions” (natural gas, carbon capture, geoengineering) that aren’t solutions at all.”

There is a clear scientific consensus on what should be done to solve the climate crisis: abandon fossil fuels and turn to renewables ASAP. Instead, the fossil fuel lobby pushes numerous questionable alternative ideas for solving the crisis, thus slowing down the implementation of real solutions and meaningful political action.

Russia, too, is trying to hijack meaningful international anti-war effort by promoting scenarios that won’t actually solve anything. Right now, the only real way to actually save innocent lives in Ukraine and end the war is to arm Ukraine sufficiently so it can push the Russians out of its internationally recognized territory. Everything else is just a distraction at this point.

Negotiations are pointless when Russia is still aiming to exterminate the Ukrainian nation and destroy its statehood. Limiting military help to Ukraine “to not escalate the conflict” will only increase the chances of Russia’s military success. Focusing on humanitarian help will not help save human lives and liberate Ukrainians trapped under Russian occupation.

Russia will try to use different channels and “useful idiots” to promote various non-solution solutions, as all of them ultimately benefit Russia.

Let’s focus on meaningful action: for the world and for Ukraine

Fossil fuel propaganda is so similar to Russian propaganda for a reason: Russia is one of the main architects of fossil fuel disinformation. Right now, both interest groups are using these various methods to cement the status quo and prevent our fight for justice. Let’s make sure they fail.

People around the world deserve a future. Life on Earth deserves to be protected. Ukrainians deserve to live in peace. Ukraine deserves justice.

source: Ukraine Explainers on Patreon

#ukraine #russia #propaganda #ecology #fossil fuels

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sollucets · 1 year

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could you maybe write something where akk calls aye his home?

i absolutely can do that, nonny, thank u for asking! have a little bit (1.5k. of course.) of long-distance akkaye :') loosely related to the last prompt but fine to read without it

💜

“Akk, are you sleeping?”

Aye’s voice is tinny, the noises of a subway station behind him just the right side of too-loud through Akk’s phone speakers to catch his slow-moving attention. His headphones must have slipped out; he doesn’t remember it happening.

“No,” he answers, like a liar, and pushes himself upright on his dorm bed with some effort.

He’d given up on holding his head up to look at the screen part way through Aye talking about one of the other international students he works with and her hopeless crush on a Thai grad student senior of theirs that Aye is 100% sure is taken, and all of the accompanying drama. “You think P’Win has a partner already.”

“That’s the last thing you heard?” Aye asks, pouting a little on the tiny screen under his big blue scarf. His cheeks are pink. It’s really, really cute. Someone passes behind him; Akk thinks he hears the edges of a robotic voice making an announcement. “I don’t just think so, I know so, and I was telling you all the evidence.”

“Do you have a conspiracy board for this too, or am I still special?”

Aye says something extremely inappropriate for a public place in response, but he says it in Thai, so he’s probably safe. Akk still opens his mouth to scold him on principle, but he’s caught by a yawn before he can say anything, jaw cracking unpleasantly.

Aye’s expression melts from put-upon irritation to fondness so quickly it’s impressive. “You don’t have to stay up so late for me,” he says. “Don’t you have class in the morning? At nine, right?”

“Don’t remind me,” grumbles Akk with a sigh, but he swings his legs over the side of the bed, picks up his phone sans headphones, and heads into the bathroom barefoot. “It’s not really so late. And besides, you’d pout if I went to bed without calling. It’s our day.”

Their day, Thursday specifically, had been the day that worked best with both their busy schedules and the six-hour time difference for most of the first semester of their time apart. They’ve missed only once, during Akk’s midterms, and Aye had texted no less than thirty times that day, all test-taking memes and supportive emojis. Now, though, Aye’s classes combined with his new work in his university's tutoring center run into the London evening; it’s midnight in Chiang Mai.

Aye says something in response, but whatever it is is drowned out by the noise of a rush of people behind him, all probably getting off of a train.

“What?” asks Akk, propping his phone against the bathroom mirror and grabbing his toothbrush.

“If it’s really not that late, then why are you falling asleep while I’m talking, hm? Am I so boring to you?”

Akk rolls his eyes, squeezing out a little toothpaste, and says, “Maybe I just didn’t want to hear you go on and on about P’Win anymore, hm?”

As expected, Aye zeroes in on that immediately. “Aww, is my baby jealous?”

Akk sticks his toothbrush in his mouth to avoid answering and weathers the ensuing and expected storm of teasing very bravely, if he does say so himself. He lets the ease of falling into a familiar dynamic soothe the very slight sting, and he listens patiently without showing even a hint of a smile on his face at how pleased Aye looks to have ‘won’ that admission.

“And he’s almost as handsome as me,” Aye is saying, in his most annoying tone of voice, when suddenly he seems to stutter for a moment, his expression freezing in place on his face. It’s odd enough that Akk makes a questioning noise through his mouthful of toothpaste.

“Akk…” Aye starts. He looks conflicted now, mouth turning down even as he speaks. “You’re not — really, though, right?”

Akk blinks. Then spits. Then says, “No,” even though it’s not 100% true.

His face must show it, because Aye’s frown droops even further and he says, clearly enunciated, “It’s not like that. You know I’m just—”

“Teasing,” Akk interrupts, having mercy on him. “I know. Aye, no, you’re fine. I don’t actually think you’re serious, or you wouldn't have spent the last half hour explaining why P’Win is absolutely definitely taken anyway.” And you wouldn’t usually worry that I did, Akk thinks, so why?

Usually, if he thinks he’s gone too far, Aye just drapes himself over Akk like a particularly affectionate cat, no matter what he’s doing. He kisses his way back to forgiveness, he brings Akk dinner or looks over his homework or buys him stupid, cute little charms to put on his phone keychain, and Akk always lets him even and especially if he isn’t actually mad, and — he can’t do any of that, six hours and half the world away. Oh. This is that communication thing they’re supposed to be better at by now.

Aye is still staring at him with giant, horrible pleading eyes, because he doesn’t believe him, and he shouldn’t because Akk is still sort of lying.

Akk sighs. “I’m jealous of anyone who gets to see you all the time.” He can’t keep looking at Aye, his gaze drifting towards the edge of the bathroom counter. “Just a little. That’s all it is. I’m— glad you have Thai friends, actually. You seemed a bit homesick lately. I think it’s cheering you up.”

It’s silent for a little too long, and Akk finally looks up to make sure nothing’s happened to the connection and finds Aye with one hand over his mouth, eyes still huge but soft around the edges now.

“What,” he mumbles.

“My boyfriend is the sweetest,” Aye says, as he’d feared he would, all earnest and sincere and completely without the teasing edge, which makes it worse.

Akk jerks his head away again, in a motion he couldn’t control if he wanted to. He puts his toothbrush into the cup with more force than is strictly necessary. “It’s just the truth, isn’t it?”

“Phi reheated omelets on his break the other day and I thought I was gonna cry for a minute,” Aye tells him, laughing an embarrassed little laugh. “They’re not right here. They’re all undercooked and flavorless.”

“Did you get to have any?” asks Akk, imagining Aye looking (up, statistically) at this mysterious P’Win with his awful begging eyes.

“I wouldn't steal my senior’s lunch.”

Akk can’t help the little satisfied twitch of his mouth at that scandalized tone. Aye steals Akk’s lunch all the time. “Too bad. I get it a little, though. I really miss the way my mom prepares things.”

Chiang Mai is easily 14 hours of travel from his house, more if you count having to switch trains, and he’s only been back once. He dutifully calls his parents every Sunday, but they don’t really have good enough reception there for regular video calls.

Aye makes a sympathetic noise, then glances at something up and to the right of the camera. He frowns. “Baby, I have to go soon.”

“‘Kay,” answers Akk, raising a hand to cover a sudden yawn.

“Don’t worry about me too much,” Aye says, smiling at the screen all little and v-shaped. “I’m okay. I’ll go to a market and get my own ingredients and make my own omelet, and I’ll text you all the time, and I’ll call my mom twice so she can pretend I’m her favorite over you. Don’t you get too homesick either, okay?”

“Even if—“ Akk starts, hesitates, then forges on. He can say these things; he’s worked to say these things. “Even if I visit,” he tells Aye’s tiny, beloved face, miles and miles away and here in his dorm bathroom, “I’ll still be homesick until you come back. You’re my home.”

Aye stares at him, mouth open for a minute, then demands, “Pick up your phone.”

“What?”

“Just do it. Pick up your phone.”

Slowly and distrustfully, Akk takes his phone off the counter and holds it closer to his face. “Wha—“

Aye’s screen moves suddenly closer and then goes dark, the sound weird and muffled. “Hug me,” he says, just barely audible.

Akk laughs a little, breathless and pointlessly fond. What must it look like, to those people in the subway station? Alone in his own room, though, he doesn’t hesitate to pull his phone to his chest, right over his heart.

After a moment, though, he gives in to the temptation to peek and finds the screen still dark. “Aye.”

The station blurs into view again behind an Aye who looks notably pinker than before, a rush of people just like the last one passing behind again. “You’re so — I love you so much,” Aye tells him, sounding helpless, “and I miss you. It’s stupid that term break is still so far away.”

“Aye,” says Akk again, unable to stop grinning if he’d actively tried. “Don’t be late for your train.”

“They’re always late for me,” grumbles Aye, but he sighs and says, “Go to bed, okay? I’ll talk to you later.”

“Love you too,” Akk tells him, just before hanging up so he doesn’t have to deal with whatever new heart-squeezing thing Aye’s face is going to do at that.

Just before he actually gets into bed, quiet in the sudden silence of his empty dorm, his phone lights up with a text: "❤️❤️❤️❤️"

And far away, in a subway car in England, Aye barely represses a little noise of delight to receive “❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️” in return.

#akkayan #the eclipse #my fic tag #arbitrary milestone prompts #yes by the way that *is* absolutely between us win #who goes on exchange to the uk postseries also #(or at least. kirano has written so many fics abt it i assume it's novel canon and won't be told otherwise)#i couldn't resist #aye and win would be such a combination though can u imagine #also i did engage in a little light making fun of england here as is my right but thai omelets actually are like. cooked a Lot more #like they use a whole ton of oil it's almost pancake-like #(and! im aware it's called 'the tube' there but i'm not writing that in the internal narration of a non-english-speaker ok)#also. i gave aye my old job in this one haha. i worked in my college's tutoring center all 4 years i was there #ok. i'm stopping now enjoy these embarrassing boys

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