#rails updates
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cspcrashing · 3 months ago
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fool's hope
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reichurine · 3 months ago
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shoutout to my friend at twit dot co for the silly idea
it's acheron and aventurine's third re-run, trust
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joker-ace · 1 year ago
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they're all insane for thinking this, actually
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chattematsu · 1 year ago
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umm hi fellow aventurine enjoyers
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soursoppi · 2 years ago
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kiss, bite
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zephyrine-gale · 4 months ago
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finished amphoreus quest, I really like mydei
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sephirthoughts · 4 months ago
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Star Rail 3.1 update summary
they fuck in a sauna till one of them passes out
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and the audio in this scene
diabolical
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requinum · 6 months ago
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color picked from an ocean at sunset
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snarkspawn · 3 months ago
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the son of gorgo will be crowned in blood
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lowkeyren · 6 months ago
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hsr 3.0 livestream
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musubiki · 1 year ago
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please save me star rail danmarch
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jupitisms · 9 months ago
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WHY HE HAS BGUGS IN RHERE?!?
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petorahs · 1 month ago
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it’s good to see you! how’ve you been?
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lunacias · 2 years ago
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of five people, three must pay a price
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shynthoo · 4 months ago
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It was at that fleeting moment... that I glimpsed the familiar face of my very best friend.
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koiukiy-o · 2 months ago
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orphic; (adj.) mysterious and entrancing, beyond ordinary understanding. ─── 006. the phenomenologist.
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-> summary: when you, a final-year student at the grove, get assigned to study under anaxagoras—one of the legendary seven sages—you know things are about to get interesting. but as the weeks go by, the line between correlation and causation starts to blur, and the more time you spend with professor anaxagoras, the more drawn to him you become in ways you never expected. the rules of the academy are clear, and the risks are an unfortunate possibility, but curiosity is a dangerous thing. and maybe, just maybe, some risks are worth taking. after all, isn’t every great discovery just a leap of faith? -> pairing: anaxa x gn!reader. -> tropes: professor x student, slow burn, forbidden romance. -> wc: 4.4k -> warnings: potential hsr spoilers from TB mission: "Light Slips the Gate, Shadow Greets the Throne" (3.1 update). main character is written to be 21+ years of age, at the very least. (anaxa is written to be around 26-27 years of age.) swearing, mature themes, suggestive content.
-> a/n: they exchange emails. i repeat. they exchange. emails!!! potential double update because the next part is 80% finished, hehe <3 i also wrote this chapter when i was on painkillers (and i still man) so if i sound like a DUMBASS in some parts i. it was not on purpose i swear. -> prev. || next. -> orphic; the masterlist.
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Lunchtime rush has taken over the cafeteria. You sit tucked into a corner with Kira and Ilias, your tray pushed halfway aside, your drink sweating onto the wood between you.
Kira’s been nursing her tea for the past ten minutes, eyes half-closed, listening more than speaking. Her food sits untouched. Ilias, meanwhile, is attacking his fries like they insulted his ancestors. There’s a kind of intensity to it—surgical, almost reverent.
“Did they change the oil in these?” he mutters. “They taste like shit.”
You glance at him. “Then stop eating them?”
“Don’t tell me how to process pain.”
Kira snorts.
A clatter near the door draws your attention—trays, muffled apologies, the scuffle of shoes against tile. You glance over. Mydei and Phainon stand just inside, scanning the crowded room with the mild disappointment of people who’ve made peace with the fact that they’re not going to find a quiet spot.
There are no empty tables left.
Mydei catches your eye first. His gaze holds yours, half a question in it. Before you can think better of it, you lift your hand slightly in a wave and gesture to the open space on the bench beside you.
“There’s space here,” you say.
Phainon perks up like a dog hearing its leash jingle. He nudges Mydei forward with the edge of his tray, clearly done pretending to be patient.
“You’re sure?” Mydei asks, already sliding toward the end of the bench without waiting for a response.
Kira shifts slightly to make room, offering Mydei a small smile. “You’re not usually out here.”
You glance between them. “You guys know each other?”
“We share a class,” Phainon says, almost too quickly. “Philosophy.”
“Oh,” you say. “That sounds… interesting.” 
Kira stifles a laugh, shrugging. “It’s not that bad. Once you get past the dread.”
“We had to spend an entire week arguing whether perception is a primary act or a constructed one,” Mydei adds, glancing up. “Phainon wrote his midterms in poetic verse.”
“He rhymed ‘intentionality’ with ‘banality,’” Kira says.
“And you gave it a B,” he points out.
“She peer-reviewed it,” Mydei says, jerking her chin toward Kira.
You blink. “Wait—students grade each other?”
Kira nods, twirling the packet between her fingers. “Sometimes. It’s part of the methodology. Subjectivity and all that.”
“That sounds fake.”
“No, ontology sounds fake,” Phainon says without missing a beat.
“They sit behind me,” Kira says, “and keep having whispered debates over whether Merleau-Ponty would’ve survived group work.”
“He wouldn’t have,” Phainon says, solemn.
Mydei picks at the corner of his sandwich. “He might’ve thrived.”
You raise an eyebrow. “And you don’t mind them talking behind you?”
Kira shrugs. “I correct them when they’re wrong.”
“He finds it sport,” Mydei murmurs, flicking his straw wrapper at Phainon.
“I would die for neither of them,” Kira adds after a moment, “but I would cite them.”
“High praise,” Phainon murmurs, looking genuinely touched.
There’s a beat of quiet, the kind that usually signals someone’s about to break into a joke—except Ilias doesn’t. He’s staring at Kira like she’s hung up the moon, eyes soft, brow faintly furrowed in something like awe. 
You glance at him, then back at her. She’s busy poking at the ice in her drink, oblivious.
“Oh my god,” you mutter under your breath, just loud enough for him to hear. “You’re hypnotized.”
“I am not,” he says, way too quickly.
You raise an eyebrow.
“I’m… admiring her academic rigor,” he adds weakly.
“Is that what we’re calling it?” 
Ilias groans and hides behind the menu. Kira, still completely unaware, crunches a piece of ice and asks if anyone wants to split dessert.
You're about to say yes, please, when a shadow falls across the table.
A flicker of awareness down your spine. Some instinctive ripple that tenses your shoulders before your mind even catches up.
You feel it before you see him.
Your head turns—too fast, on reflex. Eyes already landing on the figure passing between tables.
Professor Anaxagoras.
Your heart kicks once, too high in your chest. He’s not in his usual long coat. His sleeves are rolled to the elbow, collar slightly open, and the book in his arm looks worn at the edges. The woman walking beside him—elegant, composed, and unknown to you—matches his stride like they’ve been walking in step for years.
She moves like a dream you only half-remember—gliding by his side, wrapped in soft earth-toned fabric that shimmers faintly when the light catches it, like morning mist through tree branches. Her voice, low and melodic, curls around her shoulders, spilling down her back in lazy waves, pinned with something that’s shaped suspiciously like gold-tipped antlers, and her scent—something like old paper and wildflowers—lingers long after she’s gone. There’s a stillness to her, a gravity that pulls your attention without ever asking for it. She doesn’t need to raise her voice or call for silence—she could just look up, and the room would fall into reverent hush. And when her mouth moves, you almost forget that she—
Ilias lets out a low whistle under his breath, not loud, but pointed. “Damn.” Kira glares at him.
You don’t respond. Can’t, for a moment.
Anaxagoras walks past without pausing, the conversation between him and the woman low and self-contained. You catch a word or two—nothing sharp, nothing you could hold on to. 
“Who was that?” Kira murmurs, eyes still following their backs.
Phainon, who hadn’t seemed particularly alert, straightens faintly. “Cerces,” he says, tone low but certain. “She used to guest lecture. Phenomenology.”
Mydei doesn’t look up. “She was supposed to take a position here last year. Didn’t.”
It starts like a pinprick, something almost too small to name. 
You glance toward the table where they’ve just sat—tucked near the back, partially shielded by a wooden column. 
She’s speaking, but her tone is too quiet, and Anaxagoras doesn’t look like he’s listening, so much as… enduring.
A slight shifting in your chest, a tensing in your jaw. Your gaze drifts—too often, too long—toward the corner table where Anaxagoras sits with her. Cerces.
Kira murmurs. “Are they… friends?”
“Not unless you count hostility as a form of bonding,” Mydei says without looking up.
“They hate each other?” Ilias asks.
“They disagree on principle,” Mydei replies. “She called his lecture on spatial memory ‘a diluted myth disguised as hypothesis’ once.” 
Phainon lifts his head slightly, blinking at the table. “Is that not flirting?”
You give him a look. 
Ilias snorts at your reaction.
Phainon shrugs, resting his head on his arms again. “Just saying.”
Anaxagoras isn’t smiling. Cerces never does, apparently. 
You glance back over to the corner booth, where Anaxagoras and Cerces are still sitting, barely exchanging words but clearly in some sort of intense standoff. She speaks with measured precision, and Anaxagoras listens—almost too intently.
Like he’s hanging on her every word.
For some reason, you can’t stop looking. You’re not sure why, but something about it bothers you. Anaxagoras, as unreachable as he is, sitting with someone else like that—it doesn’t sit well.
(Why doesn’t it sit well?)
You don’t even notice how your gaze hardens until Ilias speaks up.
“I thought you were the only one he bantered with,” he says suggestively, though there’s a sharp edge to his voice. It’s off-hand, but the tone feels pointed.
You snap your attention back to him, eyes flicking to Ilias, then to Kira, and finally to Mydei, who’s still half-focused on his andwich. It’s not what he says—it’s how it feels, like he’s digging his finger into a gaping wound in your chest.
“What?” you say, the word coming out a little more defensive than you’d like. "What do you mean?"
Ilias raises an eyebrow, eyes gleaming with a bit of mischief, but he looks like he’s holding back a comment. “Oh, nothing. Just that—well, I thought it was kind of your thing with him, y’know?”
Logically, of course, it’s not just you. It never was. Anaxagoras is a professor, and a professional one at that. He interacts with plenty of people. You were never the only one. But why does it bother you so much now? Why does seeing him there with Cerces feel like something you were supposed to have? Hell, you’ve only been his student for a couple weeks.
Then, from behind you, Phainon’s voice breaks the silence, casually chiming in. “You know, you and Anaxagoras would be a good match.”
Your head snaps around to him, eyes wide, caught completely off guard. You try to catch your breath, but your heart suddenly seems to be beating a little too fast. What did he mean by that? The words feel heavy in your chest, but you can’t quite explain why. You shake your head, trying to brush it off, but you can’t stop the small pang of unease that bubbles up.
Mydei, sitting beside Phainon, glances at him sharply, narrowing his eyes, but the clueless guy keeps munching on his food, completely unaware. 
Ilias brightens. “That’s what I’ve been saying!” 
Kira, meanwhile, shifts in her seat, a thoughtful smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. “I can see it, actually,” she says, leaning toward you and giving you a look that’s half-encouraging, half-teasing. “You two would have that whole academic rivalry thing going on. Very couple energy.”
Her smirk grows as she watches you react. The comment is light, but you can feel the sting of it.
And of course, Ilias adds to it. His grin is too wide, too knowing. “Late-night debates and discussions on the meaning of the universe... sounds like a dream weekend to me.”
Your pulse picks up speed at the thought, and suddenly, you’re on edge, wondering why this is even a thing now. Your mind races with thoughts that you can’t quiet: why is it bothering you? Why is it bothering you this much?
Is it bothering you? 
You shift in your seat, trying to keep your face neutral, but the flush creeping up your neck betrays you. “It’s not like that,” you mutter, your words defensive, even to your own ears. You don’t know why you feel so worked up.
Ilias notices the shift in your tone, the subtle defensiveness in your voice. His grin widens, and he leans forward, clearly enjoying the discomfort he’s stirred up.
You’re too aware of the heat rising in your face. “I’m not—” you snap, perhaps a little too sharply. “You’re being illogical. We’re students, he’s a professor. Our professor. And he’s not even my type—”
Ilias, clearly enjoying this, leans back in his seat with a dramatic flourish, one hand raised as if making a grand announcement. “You know,” he says, his voice dropping to a near-whisper, “I think I’ve figured it out.”
You glance at him, raising an eyebrow. “Figured what out?”
“You.” He pauses, letting the words hang in the air for just a moment, before leaning in closer, his grin mischievous. “I don’t think it’s Professor Anaxagoras himself. Oh no, no, no. You’ve fallen victim to something far worse.”
You cross your arms, giving him an exasperated look, but choosing to play along. “And that is?”
“You’ve fallen for his mind,” Ilias says, lowering his voice as if he’s revealing some deep, untold secret. “That black hole of academia. The more you resist, the more it pulls you in. You, my friend, are powerless against the seductive pull of his— of his lectures!” He pauses for dramatic effect, letting the silence linger. “It’s inevitable. You’re already caught in his gravitational field.”
You roll your eyes, trying to keep a straight face, but it’s hard when he looks so pleased with himself. “Ilias, you really need to stop watching sci-fi movies. You’re starting to sound like—”
He ignores you, continuing on in full dramatic flair. “I’m telling you, it’s like you’re destined for this. Like some tragic hero—fated to fall for the untouchable professor.”
You squint at him. “Ilias—”
“Star-crossed lovers, of course that’s what you are.” He raises his hand dramatically, as if making a proclamation. “The one who must suffer in silence, tortured by their own growing attraction while the object of their affection remains completely oblivious!”
You stare at him, half-annoyed, half-amused. “Okay, Romeo, calm down. I’m not falling for anyone, especially not Anaxagoras. He’s our professor.”
“Oh, please,” Ilias scoffs, flipping his fries around on his plate. “That’s the classic denial phase. It’s always like this. First, it’s ‘He’s a professor, this isn’t real,’ and then it’s ‘Oh no, I’m just interested in his intellectual prowess.’ And the next thing you know, you’re writing him anonymous love ;letters about the meaning of life.”
You choke on your drink. “What?!”
Ilias leans back smugly, clearly relishing your reaction. “That’s the part I’m really looking forward to,” he says, completely unbothered by the chaos he’s creating. “The dramatic confessions of forbidden love. You’ll be at the front of the lecture hall, staring at him with those eyes—the ones you don’t even realize you’re doing—until one day, you slip and—bam!—an accidental ‘—Because I love you!’ in the middle of a class discussion.”
You nearly spit your drink out at the absurdity of it all. “Oh my God, Ilias, shut up. That is not—”
“Oh, it will happen,” he says confidently, nodding like he’s just cracked the code of your life. “I can see it now. ‘Professor Anaxagoras, I can’t live without your...philosophical insights...’"
Your face burns even more now, and you throw a napkin at him. “You are insufferable.”
Ilias catches it mid-air and theatrically wipes his brow, pretending to be exhausted by the sheer drama of his own predictions. “Oh, I know. But it’s all part of my genius,” he says smugly. “You’ll thank me when you end up in a tangled, academic love triangle involving forgotten artifacts and ancient texts.”
You roll your eyes, trying not to smile. “Not gonna happen.”
“You say that now,” he says with a smirk. “But I’ll be here when it all goes down. You’ll come crawling to me for advice on how to handle the tension.”
You eyes automatically glance over at the table where Anaxagoras and Cerces are still sitting, and without meaning to, your stomach tightens just a little. 
Ilias notices the shift in your expression immediately, his grin widening again. “Oh! What’s this? A little moment of clarity? I can feel it! Your heart’s racing, isn’t it?”
“No,” you mutter, looking away quickly, but the playful glint in his eyes makes you want to strangle him.
“You can’t hide it forever, my friend,” he says, tapping his finger against the table. “The romance is coming. The fated love between the professor and the student, like something out of a tragic novel. And when it happens? Oh, I’ll be the first to say ‘I told you so.’”
Kira, who’s been quietly listening to the whole exchange, smiles at Ilias in that quiet, amused way she does. For a moment, her eyes are soft, entranced by his antics.
Ilias doesn’t notice, of course. He’s too busy reveling in the thought of his own brilliance. “And when you’re finally ready to confess, I’ll be there. Right behind you, cheering you on. I’ll be your emotional support coach. Don’t worry.”
You groan, slumping forward. “Please stop.”
“Fine, fine.” Ilias leans back, clearly not done but pretending to be. “But you know the truth, deep down.” He lowers his voice to a whisper again. “You’re already halfway there. And when the sparks fly... don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
You fight to keep the smile off your face, but it’s impossible. “You’re unbelievable.”
Phainon, who’s been slumped halfway over his tray like a cat napping in a sunbeam, lifts his head at last, amused. He says lazily, “Ilias managed to build an entire three-act tragedy in the time it took me to finish my sandwich. I’m surprised.”
“Don’t encourage him,” you say flatly.
Phainon ignores you. “So what’s the title? Ode to a Lecture Hall Affair? Or A Treatise on Yearning, Featuring Poor Life Choices?”
“I like that second one,” Mydei says, without looking up. “Could be a bestseller if it comes with footnotes.”
Ilias snaps his fingers at both of them. “Finally. Some cultured taste.”
“You’re literally projecting an academic romance onto the person least likely to pursue such a thing.” Mydei deadpans, still not looking up.
“That’s how all the best ones start,” Ilias says with a wink. “Tragic self-denial. Emotional repression. That’s the good stuff. You think I want this story to be healthy?”
Phainon tilts his head at you, tone suddenly a little too calm. “So. Do you like Naxie?”
You nearly choke. “What?! No— …N- Naxie?” 
“Mm,” Phainon hums, as if making a mental note, completely ignoring the question in your tone. “That sounded like a lie.”
You sit up straighter, voice too quick. “It’s not a lie. I don’t have feelings for him.”
Ilias finally looks up with a beaming smile. “You only get that loud when you're trying to convince someone, and in this case, it is yourself!” 
“I am not loud,” you snap. “And I am not trying to convince myself of anything. There is nothing to convince myself of.”
“You’re so flustered right now it’s almost poetic,” Ilias says, grinning ear to ear. “Like watching  tower of logic collapse in real time. It’s beautiful.”
Mydei hums thoughtfully. “I wonder what Anaxagoras would say if he heard this.”
You freeze, throwing your head back to look at his table.
 Kira bites back a laugh. Ilias gasps dramatically.
“Oh please,” he says, clutching his chest like he’s just been shot. “If he heard this? He’d probably just blink in ancient Greek and then spend fifteen minutes dissecting the philosophical implications of desire as a failed mode of cognition.”
Phainon wheezes, practically howls at that, “And- and he’d do the thing,” he adds, his voice breathless, “Where he raises an eyebrow and smirks at you and then pauses for exactly four seconds.”
Kira giggles quietly. Ilias points like he’s struck gold, practically screams— “Exactly! The pause! The man weaponizes silence like it’s part of the syllabus.”
As if on cue, from the other side of the room, Anaxagoras shifts slightly in his seat—one subtle glance cast toward your table, recognizing the voice. Not long. Just a flicker of movement, but it’s enough. His eyes land on Ilias—still half-mid-monologue—then slide to you. 
He nods in acknowledgement. 
You nod back.
He smirks.
 And looks away.
Cerces doesn’t glance over. She sits serene and unaffected, like her presence was never meant to interact with the world around her.
You’re too aware of the sharp prickle under your skin. You feel wrecked, utterly wrecked, even after he looks away.
Ilias notices. Of course he does.
Your eyes widen at his face, and you contemplate dragging his drama-ridden soul into the nearest chalk circle and trapping him there with nothing but an introductory ethics textbook and a looping recording of Anaxagoras’ driest lecture on epistemological drift.
Or maybe you'd just pin him to a whiteboard and force him to define “romantic projection” in front of the class while Kira holds up increasingly incriminating flashcards titled Things You’ve Said Out Loud.
 “You’re not even subtle,” you mutter, eyeing him like you’re mentally selecting a power drill.
Ilias grins, unbothered. “Subtlety is for people who don’t have prophetic insight.”
“You’re a menace.”
“I’m a visionary,” he corrects, reaching for another fry with the smugness of someone who just cast a match into a very flammable bush.
You make a low noise, possibly a groan, possibly the sound of his spirit exiting his body. “If you keep talking,” you say without lifting your head, “I will hex your shoes to squeak every third step.”
“I’ll do it,” Mydei says. 
Ilias throws his hands up. “You’re all just mad because I’m right.”
You glare at him. “I’m mad because you’re loud.”
Ilias points at you like he’s presenting a final thesis. “And yet—flushed cheeks. Shifty glances. Heightened vocal pitch.” He sets his hands down with finality, attitude dripping in his gaze. “The data is there. I’m merely analyzing it.”
Kira sips from her drink with the serene expression of someone watching a documentary on slow-burning disasters. “I think you should be very afraid,” she tells him lightly, smiling. “I think they’re planning your downfall.”
“Please,” Ilias says, waving a hand. “If they wanted me gone, I’d already be framed for something weirdly specific.” He raises his voice for the rest of the table, almost announcing, “Don’t be surprised if I wake up one morning and am suddenly framed for impersonating a tenured professor in order to smuggle a haunted relic into the archives!” 
Before Ilias can spiral into another dramatic reenactment of his imaginary academic crimes, a quiet hush rolls over the table.
You look up.
Professor Anaxagoras.
He stands just behind Ilias, hands folded neatly behind his back, a ghost of amusement curling at the corner of his mouth like he’d been standing there long enough to hear something he shouldn’t have. His gaze flicks briefly over the group, then settles on you—warm, sharp, and startlingly direct.
“I must admit,” he says lightly, voice like dry parchment curling in a fireplace, “that’s disturbingly plausible.”
Kira makes a sound—half choke, half squeak—and Ilias nearly drops his drink. Mydei straightens just slightly. Phainon blinks up at Anaxagoras like he’s not entirely convinced he’s real.
You forget how to breathe.
Anaxagoras raises an eyebrow at you in mild inquiry. “When are you turning in your application?”
Your confusion must show, because his brow lifts just a fraction higher, something unreadable flickering in his expression. He waits.
You blink. “I’m not applying. Professor.”
It’s quiet for a beat too long.
His eyes widen—only slightly, but enough to notice. Then something more subtle shifts in his expression, as if the air around him has rearranged itself. He tilts his head, his gaze narrowing just a fraction. Then—unexpectedly—he smiles.
Not the cold, amused smile he offers to half-baked arguments in lecture, or the small polite one he reserves for administrative nonsense.
This one feels different. Quiet. Introspective. Like you’ve said something that has genuinely surprised him.
“Would you excuse us for a moment?” he says, addressing the table but looking only at you. “A word.”
Kira glances at you, and Ilias makes a dramatic slicing motion across his throat like he’s already composing your eulogy. Phainon props his chin on his hands, watching with all the intensity of a wildlife observer about to witness a rare predator interaction.
Your heart kicks up hard, then stumbles.
 You stand slowly.
“Sure,” you say, not sure at all.
Anaxagoras steps aside, letting you pass, his presence folding into the space beside you with such unassuming weight that the rest of the world suddenly feels quiet.
Behind you, Ilias mutters, “He pulled the ‘a word’ move! I’m going to eat this fry solemnly, in case it’s the last one I ever share with them.”
Kira shushes him with a swat.
You walk just a few paces before he speaks, voice low and deliberate.
“You’re not applying,” he repeats. Not a question. A repetition for clarity. For the sake of confirming it aloud.
“No,” you say softly. “I’m not. I was never going to.”
That gets his attention. His eyes cut back to you, something almost imperceptibly shifting in his posture. “No?”
“Studies on consciousness isn’t my field of study,” you say, level. “And I’m not interested in pretending it is for the sake of a symposium.”
He considers that, expression unreadable. “A reasonable position. If a narrow one.”
You raise an eyebrow at that. “I’m not sure being selective with my time is narrow.”
“Selective,” he echoes mildly. “Or avoidant?”
You exhale through your nose. “I just don’t see the value in wasting my time on something I don't care about in a symposium I don’t want to attend.”
He tilts his head. “Cerces is one of the most rigorous thinkers in the field. Even those outside her discipline benefit from her lens.”
You squint at him, not bothering to mask the skepticism in your tone. “I thought you didn’t agree with her methods.”
There’s the briefest pause, the lightest shift in his expression. Then, without missing a beat:  
“Disagreement doesn’t preclude respect.”
“Right,” you say flatly. “That’s what everyone says about their academic rivals.”
His mouth twitches at that—barely. “Have you been reading up on me?”
You blink, caught off guard by the shift in tone. His voice is playful—but there’s a glint of challenge there. You recover fast.
“No,” you say, a little too quickly. “One of her students brought it up. Just now. In passing.” You clear your throat, glance away, and add on awkwardly, “—Professor.”
He doesn’t comment. Just watches you with an amused glint in his eyes.
“You might change your mind,” he pauses, “I’d like you to read a few papers.” He says with a finality.
You cross your arms. “You’re suggesting I read Cerces?”
“I’m suggesting, you examine the argument before rejecting the premise.” He lets the words settle for a beat. “I will send you a couple. You can draw your own conclusions.”
There’s a pause. One breath. Two.
You hesitate. “Fine.”
“I’ll need your email.”
You rattle it off without looking at him, the syllables falling out in practiced order, a thin attempt at professionalism. He offers his phone without a word, calm and unreadable, and you take it before you can think twice.
You type—carefully, trying not to fumble—but your pulse stutters anyway.
When you hand it back, his fingers brush yours.
Barely. A blink. A breath.
But it jolts through you like static, immediate and stupidly vivid. You freeze, absurdly aware of how warm his hand is, how close his attention suddenly feels even though he’s barely moved.
It was nothing. Just skin.
But your brain short-circuits like it’s something else entirely, and now you’re hyper aware of everything—the silence, the distance between you, the way your stomach tightens for no logical reason whatsoever.
You don’t look at him. You refuse to look at him.
He takes the phone back, and his voice is quiet. “I’ll forward them tonight.”
You nod, hoping he doesn’t notice how tense your shoulders are. “Okay,” you say, and your voice comes out a little too soft.
You hate how your face feels warm.
“Thanks.”
He gives you a sharp nod, turning back already.
His eyes flick back to you once—just once—before he returns to the booth, slipping back into the conversation with Cerces like nothing ever happened.
You stay where you are, steadying your breath.
What the hell?
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