#but like. in a more serious manner this time

[username-1121]

My Vedic Astrology Thoughts #2💋

- Purva ashadha woman are always so beautiful and have very curvy, soft bodies. They were definitely blessed by Venus.

- Venus in 1st house natives are just so stupidly attractive. They’re genuinely so beautiful, the type where you just want to stare at them and write songs about them. Like we’ve all heard this a million times but WOW, I just had to reiterate that astrology does not lie

- Having a planet in its own sign means that there will be multiple of the significations of the house that it is placed in. Eg: Mars in Aries in 7th house = multiple marriages/relationships, Moon in Cancer in the 10th house = multiple career changes

- You’re most likely to date the sign that is opposite your moon sign, Eg: Cancer moons are drawn to Capricorn placements, Taurus moons are drawn to Scorpio placements

- The sign 3rd house and 11th house from your moon sign are most likely the placements that you are close friends with.

- The planet or rashi 2nd to your Moon, is the key to your success. You should embody this planet or sign if you want to achieve great success in this life. This is where you are getting fame and recognition which is why it’s best to embody the characteristics of that planet or pursue career paths related to that planet.

- If you have any planet 2nd to your Moon, it means that you have to go about your life independently. You won’t receive any help financially and everything you get is from your own hard work. This can also mean that you tend to adapt to the personalities of the people around you. You could be very street smart.

- The planet or rashi that’s 12th from your moon, are the things that you need to let go in order to achieve success. Eg: Mercury ruling or placed 12th from moon, you will achieve success when you stop learning.

- The 12th house from your moon can also indicate what you enjoy in your relationships. So eg: Mercury would be communication, Venus would be traditional romance, Mars would be doing activities with your partner

- People who don’t have any planets in the 2nd or 12th from moon can mean that you have a very hardworking mother. She could either be the bread maker of the household or just takes on most of the responsibilities compared to the father. And she might have to go through a lot of suffering.

- This placement can also make you a loner because no one understands you. You may have gone unrecognised during your school days and it will be very hard for you to get things that normal people can easily achieve. You will have to try multiple times.

- If you have Saturn dominant in your chart, you are more likely appear graceful and well mannered rather than just the “serious” stereotype that people give Saturn. People are more so intimidated because you appear to have it all figured out.

- Whereas Ketu dominant people tend to appear more intimidating and serious because they seem like the type to judge you even if they don’t. This energy can sometimes be off putting to a lot of people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thank you~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[marloree]

ᑎEᗯ ᗷOOKS ᗩᑎᗪ ᑎEᗯ ᗩᑕᑫᑌᗩIᑎTᗩᑎᑕES

Pairing: Librarian! Soobin × Bookworm! Reader

Genre: fluff

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: this has been dusting in my drafts for months, but I finally got to finish it! Hopefully the effort was worth it. 🥹

You, quite literally, never seemed to get your nose out of a book. No matter what you would be doing, a book was an essential. Eating, traveling somewhere, waiting for the next class - you always had a book in hand. Even if you were not reading at the moment, you for sure would still carry a book or two in your bag.

Books were your bread and water, your oxygen and sun. You wouldn’t lie if you said they were almost everything to you. Having developed a liking to fairytales in your childhood, it turned into something much, much greater as years passed. The little feeling of contentment you would feel when your mother read to you at a younger age turned into joy and excitement of seeking knowledge and getting to learn about worlds, lives and situations you never got to experience yourself.

Fairytales got replaced with books of a more serious nature, soon you replaced your mother in reading to you and read on your own. However, the thrill you felt while gulping a page after page didn’t go anywhere. If possible, it got only stronger. 

Reading was your favorite pastime and it wouldn’t be so difficult to guess what your favorite place to spend your time was, besides your room, of course.

That’s right - the library, the home of so many books. And, in a way, yours, too. It was like your second home. You could spend hours there, taking in the numerous beautiful covers that looked at you from all the bookshelves. Well, this is just what you usually would do: waking up early on the weekends just to go visit the local, oh so dear to you, library.

Having spent so many hours there, you were sure you have taken a look at every book and have talked to every librarian there. Or, so you thought. 

It was such a beautiful summer morning, beautiful and peaceful. The heat hadn’t reached its peak, the city hadn’t fully woken up yet, only the rare birds would chirp here and there. Just like the birds, you, too, were up at this early hour. You just finished your book yesterday night and couldn’t wait to read the continuation. But, for that, you had to wait until the library would open and you could finally take the needed copy. Anticipating the moment with every fiber of your body, you sat on the bed, dreaming of all the possible ways the story could take a turn to, while also not forgetting to glance at the clock every now and then. Of course you started preparing earlier than you should, taking an earlier bus as well: the excitement was running through your veins, replacing its natural content, no less.

A solid 10 minutes earlier than the most punctual librarian would open the door for visitors you stood at the entrance. Your feet tapped a beat only known to them, the book getting traveled from one of your hands to the other in a rather impatient manner. It felt like eternity passed when you finally heard the door being opened from the inside. You immediately turned to the direction of the noise, unwilling to lose even a second. Another moment passed and the door was finally open widely, welcoming the early visitor.

But, to your surprise, it wasn’t the usual librarian that greeted you, but a completely new and unfamiliar face. 

“Uh, good morning”, you muttered, looking up at the stranger, as if both perplexed and curious to see a new face.

The smile on the guy’s face grew wider, although he clearly was a bit nervous: it was his first work day here, or in a library at all, for that matter.

“Good morning, good morning!” He stepped aside, letting you enter the building.

In a moment, the curiosity towards a new face was long gone and forgotten as you laid your eyes on the needed cover, the second part of the book you’ve been longing to read. With a swift gesture, the book traveled into your hands, as you looked at it fondly, lovingly almost.

Your expression hadn’t gone unnoticed by the new librarian: he was taking quick curious glances at you every now and then, you were his first visitor, the first person he had to assist as a librarian. But, even so, his eyes sparkled almost as brightly as yours once he read the title on the cover. It was the name of his favourite series, too. In a few seconds, he walked closer to you, almost overwhelmed with excitement.

“Hey, I see you’ve read the first book, am I right? Did you like it?” The tone of his voice carried a hint of warning of a possible trouble: him exploding from his excitement. But how else could one feel when he, after months if not years, have finally found a fellow series reader?

“Yes, yes, I have!” You turned to him, your smile telling a similar story, "and I absolutely loved it!!"

The next thing you knew, you two started bombarding each other with questions regarding the series and other books of the author. Your enthusiasm was contagious, but no less was his. You kept on interrupting each other, speaking like you could never get tired. Surely, you could spend hours just talking about the thing you both loved - books.

You haven’t met many people who shared such a great amount of love towards reading, so you were more than happy to come across such a person. Your lively conversation went on and on, not seeming to be coming to an end at all. You talked and talked, trying to express all of the thoughts and emotions that got to be buried deep inside your brains for so, so long. Once you two finally shared everything you wanted about the book, your chatter quite abruptly came to a halt.

“Oh, I’m Soobin, by the way”, the librarian smiled with a hint of awkwardness, just now realizing he never introduced himself.

“It's so nice to meet someone who’s just as passionate about the series as I am”, your enthusiasm was over the roof, making you too occupied to notice the sudden feeling of awkwardness or to even remember to introduce yourself back. In your defense, Soobin hadn’t noticed he never got your name either.

“Wait, do you know N.N. too?” You suddenly hit Soobin with another question, remembering your second favorite author.

“Yes, yes, I do!” The awkwardness swiped off the guy's face once the conversation was once again turned to the topic he was so passionate about.

After rambling and rambling without seeming to ever stop or even take a breath, you finally shared everything you wanted - for the moment, at least - and, seemingly, Soobin didn’t have much to say as well.

“It's so nice knowing we share the same interest and even favor similar authors”, you sighed contently, “wait, we just have to get to know each other better.”

“Oh, you think so?” Soobin’s more shy and quiet nature immediately showed up once his favorite topic was taken away from him, “honestly, I’d love to, but I’ve been really busy lately, trying to balance my studies and work, and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else, you know,” his sigh was equivalent to how every student who ever had to take up both fields at once has felt.

“Hm”, you hummed, quickly coming up with a solution, “I don’t have much work on me currently, I could visit the library even daily!” You were so happy to finally find an eager book lover that you were forgetting you were talking to an almost absolute stranger. “If that’s okay with you, of course,” you quickly added.

A wide smile appeared on Soobin's face in an instant after your suggestion. “Of course, of course, I’d be so happy if you would! I doubt I’ll have much work during these first days, so it would be really nice of you if you’d come around.”

“Then I’ll surely come tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, too!”, your smile reached all the way from one ear to the other, “and I’ll definitely bring you a list of my most favorite books!”

“I will as well, then, and I’d definitely be looking forward to tomorrow!”

As you walked out of the library that day, the sun was shining so brightly and the birds were singing even more cheerfully than in the morning, nature seemed to be just as happy as you were. You were so excited about your future conversations, it felt like you've found a perfect, if not soul mate, then a book mate, for sure.

You carried the copy in hand, anticipating tomorrow. But, at the moment, your focus was slowly shifting towards the book. To read it, as always, turned into the main goal of the day. Overnight, preferably.

Meanwhile, among Soobin's daydreams, the realization that he still didn’t know your name crept and grew stronger. Well, he surely would ask you tomorrow. Unless the excitement lets it slip his mind once again, that is.

[rekino2114]

Fem. Gojo showing you her domain

You were lying on your bed mindlessly watching videos until you heard a tap on your window. You went in front of it, readying your cursed technique in case it was an enemy. After what happened with toji you were not going to take any more chances. You were very relieved to see it was just your girlfriend. You opened the window and let her come in

"Oh, satori, what are you doing here?"

"What? Can't a girl visit her boyfriend once in a while?"

"I meant why were you outside my window?"

"Your dorm is on the second floor, and I just got back from a training session. No way I'm gonna do all those stairs"

"It's like two flights, and you thought floating was easier?"

"Hey I got my technique I'm gonna use it"

"Whatever, anyway so why did you wanna visit?"

"Oh yeah, I got something super cool to show you"

She smiled brightly and pointed at herself in a dramatic manner

"Guess who just perfected her domain expansion?"

"....For real?"

"For real real, it took training and a lot of mochis to power up but I finally did it"

"That's so cool, tori. domain expansions are the peak of jujutsu, I'm so proud of you"

"Well, of course I'd be able to do it sooner or later, I am the strongest after all but thanks for the praise"

"Don't mention it"

"Soooo are you ready to see it or what?"

"Won't it hurt me?"

"Nah, it's a non lethal domain.......kinda"

"....that's not really reassuring"

"Come on, don't you trust me? It's beautiful to look at, it's gonna be a nice date place"

"*sighs* fine but if I die my ghost will haunt you forever"

"Don't worry, I'll never let anything happen to you"

You were slightly taken aback by her serious tone, but she quickly went back to her silly self as she smiled again, put her hands together, and disappeared, you sighed and waited for a few seconds before she reappeared with an embarrassed expression on her face

"S-sorry, I forgot you can't-"

"It's fine let's just go"

You went outside (using the door this time), and in the courtyard, gojo stood near you and held your hand

"You gotta keep holding my hand. If you don't, then you might be in a coma for a couple of months k?"

".....what?"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. You can hug me if you're really worried, I certainly wouldn't complain~"

"*sighs* just get on with it"

She smiled again and took off her shades, revealing the blue eyes you loved to stare at, put them in her pockets, and did her domain hand sign with her free hand.

"Domain expansion: infinite void"

Suddenly, black filled your vision as you got transported into her domain, an endless plane of black with white spots, satori's grip on you tightened as she looked back at you

"Soooo what do you think? Pretty nice to look at isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful, but I guess it was guaranteed that a beautiful girl like you would have a beautiful domain"

"Eh, such a charmer. You're gonna make me blush if you continue"

You sat down, and she did the same. Her hand made its way up your body until it reached your shoulder. She pulled you into a side hug and layed her head on your shoulder

"You know I love you right?"

"Yeah you tell me that every day"

"No, I mean like love, love you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me"

"*giggle* really? The great satori gojo loves me this much? I'm honored"

"You should be, but seriously, after geto left, you're the only person I have left. Sure, I have shoko, but to be honest, I don't think she cares that much about me. Even if she did, she can't really understand me.....sometimes I feel so...lonely"

You silently side hugged her back as you saw her blue eyes become slightly lucid while looking around

"I guess it's fitting that my domain is a big empty void cause that's where I feel like I'm in sometimes........"

"Except when I'm with you of course"

You turned to see her smiling brightly and staring at you lovingly

"You're what keeps me going. You're someone that i know will never leave me. i love you so much"

"I love you too"

You two kissed passionately and looked at each other with pure love

"Alright, I think that was enough. If I keep my domain going for longer, I might get tired, I'll undo it now"

She did as she said and put her shades back on

"How about we go out to eat? It's almost dinnertime and there's a really good spot around here"

"Sure if we bring megumi and tsumiki too"

"Uh?..........dammit I forgot about them....do you think they'll be mad at me?"

"*sighs* you're such a mess of a mom, we can buy them some toys on the way home, maybe they'll forgive you then"

"Great idea, you're a life saver babe"

"It's nothing. Let's just go"

She dragged around as you brought the toys and food for your adopted children.

No matter what happened, you would stick by gojo's side, and she would, of course, do the same

[velveteenprayers]

IN THE DAYTIME, I'M PERCY JACKSON…

pairing: percy jackson x gn!reader

summary: miraculous au

word count: 1k+

a/n: none! pls enjoy

Percy stood on the edge of the building, admiring the city skyline, crisp wind biting at his cheeks. When the dark floating creature -Plagg, he soon found out - told him he'd be able to reach wherever he pleases, he didn't believe him. Not like he does now, ecstasy bubbling in his chest at the sight of afternoon traffic. He could go anywhere he wanted. No longer contained by degenerates in the hallway or the bum of a man back home. He was free.

He was now tapping his staff (because he had one now) in deep contemplation about where he should go next. Jumping onto his apartment building's roof was easy enough, but now he needed to do a serious stunt. Or maybe he should just go to the ice-cream stall a few blocks down. The owner was usually in full operation this time, considering it was Friday and all-

Just then his train of thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash behind him. Heightened senses now alerted, he turned around,  prepared to attack and scanned the perimeter. Just when he thought he was finally going crazy, a wreck of a person emerged from the now damaged roof exhaust, arms failing as you looked like you were about to topple over the edge. Yikes, he thought, approaching you to assist, his concern outweighing any alarm.  

But as he was, you suddenly seemed to gain composure, taking in deep breaths, a clear look of panic in your eyes. For the first time he saw the black string tied around the roof exhaust, his eyes following it until they landed on a red and black polka dotted yo-yo. Your suit, which he had also just noticed, was similarly fashioned. 

His day becoming impossible more exciting, a smile overtook his face. Were you also like him? Just then, your eyes met, and you swiftly looked away, face scrunched in embarrassment as

you pretended to admire some nonexistent thing in the horizon. He almost started laughing, but didn't for your sake.

"Are you okay up there?" He yelled out, and you pretended to see him for the first time.

"What?"

"I asked if you're okay up there, you seem a little...tied up."

"Are you making fun of me, cat boy?"

…

Cat boy?

"Look, I know this is a bit..." He struggled to find the right word.

"Weird? Strange? Scary? Disorientating?"

Percy nodded his head.

"All of the above. But I think it means something. Did you also talk to one of those, um, floaty magical thingies?

"You mean the kwamis." You deadpanned.

"Hm ?"

"They're called kwamis," you repeated, stepping closer towards him, having untangled your yo-yo, "not floaty magical thingies."

"Wow, you actually listened to that spiel?"

You raised an eyebrow in a faux unimpressed manner, though your face betrayed you,  showing amusement.

"You didn't? Well I don't know how I feel working with a person who barely knows the basics."

"The basics?"

"Why, the basics of being a Miraculous holder, of course." You flicked at his chest playfully, showing him a close-eyed smile, as though you were letting him in on a secret. And weren't you?

Just then, your earring beeped loudly, your hand lurching towards it, a look of horror overtaking your face.

"Gotta go!" You announced abruptly, throwing your yo-yo to the nearest building. It failed at latching onto anything, and Percy had to watch as you awkwardly tried to connect it a few more times. Once you did, you left him with a warm smile and a "Bye! See you next time cat boy!" before unceremoniously crashing into the next building, getting up, and running into the distance.

What a weirdo, Percy thought to himself as he detransformed, entering his building, thoughts consumed solely by you. And if he was going to do this Miraculous thing gig full time, he needed a better name than Cat Boy, seriously. And possibly a better partner.

Gods, Percy hated starting new schools. The fact that it was the middle of the school year didn't help. He stood in the doorway, trying to find a seat in the overpopulated classroom. Everyone seemed to know everyone, and that did little to ease his nerves. He timidly chose a desk in the front row, which would probably do very little for his popularity, but what other option did he have? As he was sitting, anxiously waiting for the lesson to begin so he could go home sooner, he failed to notice the looming shadow over him. 

"I sit here."

"Huh?!" He quickly became aware of the towering, monsterish boy. What in the world were they feeding this kid at home? 

"I said that I'm sitting here."

"Oh." Percy had begun to realise how deadly quiet the class had become, everyone watching in either fear or interest, or a combination of both. His blood was rushing to his ears, and he felt a pit of nausea growing in his stomach. He might die from pure embarrassment before this kid would lay a hand on him at all. Until he heard a yell of "Lay off him, Reno." and caught sight of  a lethal glare, and the aforementioned boy was gone.

With your sudden appearance, the class  seemed to collectively let out an exhale, all of them returning to their previous conversations as though nothing had happened. Percy, however, was fully ensnared by you.

"Hey, um," he cleared his throat to get your attention, your intimidating glare lessening as you glanced at him. Gods, where you pretty, "thanks, for your, um, help back there." 

Why was he stuttering so much?

You observed him coolly.

"No problem. You're new, right?" 

It was not as much a question as it was a statement.

"Yeah." You nodded your head astutely, holding out your hand. His ring clad one met yours in a brief moment of eye contact. You had starry eyes. Like the ones in books.

"Percy."

"Name."

 At the sound of the bell, you walked towards  a seat next to a red haired girl, black earring catching the sunlight.

[bloomingbluebell]

no i don't have a favourite link ahahaha what makes you think that *pointedly not looking at the copious amounts of evidence that says it's botw/totk link*

[lightbulb-warning]

i used to freehand comics all the time as a child and since the part i liked was the drawing part i would just draw panel after panel because i didn't want to stop drawing to think about icky icky words, plus the story TOTALLY still made perfect sense! to me! and noone else, but 'whoooo caaaaares omgggg its not like comics and sequantial art are a communicative meeediummmm lmaoooooo'. i spent my entire childhood telling myself stuff like "oh pfft I know this story by heart- ill SIMPLY remember the dialogue and write it later" ...and. I can't help but admire baby maiora's (call that a minora ba tm tsk) fucking audacity? hubris? confident wrongness? kid couldn't even remember to finish the comics in the first place? INCREDIBLE levels of unearned self assurance, wish that were me, genuinely- what an icon!!! anyway i think i have forever cursed myself

[rinbylin]

可待的意思是 请你 等等我。 (please wait for me.)

[uzumakiheart]

idk if this is an unpopular opinion or wtv but like naruto and sasuke’s respective traumas are super integral to their stories because their entire personalities would’ve been completely different if they hadn’t gone through what they went through. it’s fine when ppl write their families to still be alive but then they write the two of them to be the exact same and it irks me sometimes idk

[submech]

Me making deliberate choices on how Ryuki buttons his uniform in that drawing earlier like it matters at all

[mountmortar]

Seconding 🐭

love this for myself truly. a bit of intimidation is always nice to have on the internet. thank you for the feedback <3

[blyszczopies]

its okay to call werewolves dogs actually since dogs are domesticated wolves and what is a werewolf if not something thats a human aka the most domesticated animal roughly half of the time. theyre dogs

[airenyah]

do you think that joong and dunk will get another show in 2024?

i have absolutely no idea, tbh. do i want one? yes. do i think we'll get one? i'm not even gonna try speculating because at the end of the day that decision lies with people on a completely different continent than me, with people that i have no influence on

[saltycharacters]

The Spy x Family spanish dub is pretty good (as always I prefer it over the english dub) but unlike most other spanish dubs, it tends to have slightly different interpretations of character's responses so the change in context makes their personalities slightly different which is. Interesting and also a bit frustrating but overall. Not too bad

[eyivibyemi]

✧ I won’t really write descriptions for these, but see original post tags for explanation/commentary on the song snippet ✧

[thedevotionaltour]

guy who has been getting really into character acting and focusing on it in their comic work: really appreciate the character acting in here. loving expressions. enjoying the poses.

[odoraful]

𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄.ᐟ

what happens when you don't use their pet name to call them?

⟡ content: zayne/sylus/xavier/rafayel x gn!reader; more dialogue heavy; silly and cute

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ZAYNE ⟡

“Can you help me put this on, Zayne?”

From the reflection in the mirror, you tried not to react at the twist in his brow and the momentary confusion in his eyes. Wordlessly, he moved behind you, fingers taking the necklace out of your hand. With his gaze focused on the task before him, you could see him open his mouth, hesitating to speak.

“Did I do something wrong?” he questioned.

Zayne’s deft hands carefully laid the chain around your neck, centering the pendent between your collarbones.

You plastered on your most innocent expression, despite the twinge of guilt you felt at his question.

“Hm? Why do you ask?”

Swiftly, he clasped the ends of the chain together. His eyes flicked towards yours in the mirror.

“You’re calling me by my first name. I thought pet names were an important step in a relationship for you.”

You nodded. “Yes, Zayne, I do think it’s an important step.”

His eyes narrowed at your continual uncharacteristic responses.

Folding his arms, he mused aloud. “It took you some time to drop the title ‘doctor’ for me and to just use my name. After we became official, you were quick to call me ‘love’.”

You fiddled with your necklace, trying to, impossibly, force away the heat from your face.

“So, either I did something to make you upset, or”—he leaned in close to you, the side of his face almost touching yours—“you’re playing a trick on me.”

You gave a mock frown. He cocked his head to the side, awaiting your response.

“Okay, okay, it was a prank.” Sighing, you surrendered to his deductions. “I wanted to see how you’d react, but you saw right through me,” you mumbled.

His lips quirked. “I’ve known you for long enough to figure these things out.”

Wanting to wipe off the amused look he had on his face, you quickly planted a kiss on his cheek. His face turned into surprise. He chuckled, shaking his head at your triumphant smile.

“Thank you for helping me, my love."

SYLUS ⟡

“Sylus, could you play that new record you bought?”

You called from the sofa. Standing by the record player, he turned to face you. The offence on his face was unmistakable as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Sylus?” he scoffed. “We both know that’s not what you call me.”

Your brows furrowed, feigning confusion. “What are you talking about? Isn’t that your name?”

“Sweetie,” he levelled a look scepticism at you, “that hasn’t been my name for the past month we’ve been together.”

“I still don’t know what you mean, Sylus.”

He paused. Gears turned in his head trying to unpack what was happening, much like he would do when reading the truthfulness of a dealer during a bargain.

“Y/N.”

You’ve never heard your own name being said in such a serious manner. Perhaps you got a taste of your own medicine.

“I’m not particularly fond of lose-lose situations.” The softness in his tone made you feel weak. “You can tell me if I’ve done something to annoy you. I won’t be angry.”

“Not at all!” you quickly blurted out. Unable to hide it any longer, you confessed. “You haven’t done anything to annoy me. I was just trying to pull a small prank.”

All the tension visibly released from his body. A relieved sigh escaped him. “You really do play some dangerous games, kitten.”

Playfulness returned to his voice. “Now then, how will you correct your mistake?”

“Honey,” you drawled out each syllable, making it sound as syrupy as the nickname itself, “could you play that new record you bought now?”

Sylus couldn’t help but laugh at your exaggeration. “Why of course.”

XAVIER ⟡

“Xavier, do you want to try this?”

Subtly glancing at his reaction from the kitchen, you saw his face immediately fall into a pout. The look was fatal, and it took all the willpower you had not to drop the ruse right then and there.

“That’s not my name,” he answered.

“What do you mean?” you chuckled, continuing to put icing on the sugar cookies you baked. “Of course it is!”

“No, it’s not,” he insisted.

Placing his book down, he walked to stand at your side by the counter. You avoided his eye contact, pretending that nothing was amiss.

Resting a hand under his chin, he began to think. “You usually call me bunny, sweetheart, sunshine, or darling.”

Your jaw dropped in amused shock. “You remember all the names I’ve called you?”

His mouth twitches. “There are some more, but… they might be a bit embarrassing to say aloud right now.”

That was enough to make you look at him with wide eyes.

“Xavier!” Your face turned pink as you slapped his shoulder. There was no force behind the hit, but enough to convey your embarrassment.

“You did it again. You used the wrong name.” He stuck his bottom lip out.

You gently poked at his cheek, trying to lift the corner of his lip upwards. “Come on, don’t be sad darling.”

Immediately, he brightened before you.

“It was just a joke I saw couples do online. I wanted to see how you’d react.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “And was my reaction satisfactory?”

“I think it was,” you smiled at him, "but it’s a shame I didn’t film it, it would’ve made for a good Moments post.”

He shook his head. “But, the nicknames we use are only for us.”

The finished cookie in your hand had a bite suddenly taken from it as Xavier leaned down to have a taste.

“I don’t want anyone else to know.”

RAFAYEL ⟡

“Are you ready to go yet, Rafayel?”

He continued to hum to himself, completely ignoring you. You folded your arms as you watched him busy himself with something trivial. He flung open a random cupboard and inspected what appeared to be an assortment of spare art supplies.

“Rafayel,” you called again.

He then turned his attention to the fishbowl in the centre of the room, where a small orange fish darted around.

“Reddie, do you hear something?” he asked, gazing so earnestly into the bowl. This fish paused its movement and stared back at his owner.

“Rafayel~” you sang his name aloud this time, extending the last syllable.

He gasped, apparently receiving some confirmation from Reddie.

“You hear something too? Thank god. I was thinking there must be something wrong with my ears.”

Surveying the room around him, Rafayel intentionally looked past you standing barely a few metres from him, tapping your foot against the wooden floorboards of his studio.

“It sounds like”—he continued—“some kind of voice. Someone familiar to me, but I can’t make out who it is.”

“Rafayel!” you shouted his name between fits of laughter. Only he could respond to your jokes with his own dramatics.

He sucked in a breath in puzzlement. “I wonder who this person is calling out to.”

“Baby,” you finally conceded, “I’m talking to you!”

It seemed like he couldn’t keep up the act either, as he started laughing with you.

“Took you long enough,” he huffed, moving towards you and linking your arm with his. “Otherwise, Reddie and I would have been searching for this phantom voice for the rest of the day.”

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