Unheard Love

You’re born with the first words your soulmate says to you as a tattoo on your wrist. You know who your soulmate is as they say those words when you meet for the first time face to face. Today, we learn the story of a boy with a blank wrist.

Chandra was just another boy. He went to school, got good grades, and read comics. However, the strange thing about him was; Chandra had a blank wrist. Usually, people with blank wrists never have a soulmate, and he was so terrified that he’ll go his entire life without experiencing the kind of love you can only get from a soulmate. He got bullied so much for not having any writing on his wrists, and Chandra withdrew from everyone and just wore long sleeves. With very few but close friends, he was officially an outcast. He sighed but tried to be positive and go about his life, but it was hard.

One day, his friends convinced him to go to a party, even though he despised them. Too many people around to mock him or worse, and it didn’t help that “appropriate party wear” rarely included long sleeves. He looked in the mirror and sighed, staring at his blank wrists, pulling on some bracelets to cover them. He knew they would slide down, but it’s better than nothing. He squared his shoulders and left.

The party was awful. Chandra knew no one there, and his friends had left and mingled and had fun or spent time with their mates. Debating whether or not to exit the party, he started looking for Kai, his best friend. “Hey! The party’s great, right? Come meet my new friends?”

“Okay,” he sighed.

“This is Luna, Iris, Kirsten, and Rohini.” Kai gestured to each person. The last one, Rohini, was possibly the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

“Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? I’m so sorry, ignore me,” he mentally smacked himself.

Stupid, you keep forgetting that you have no soulmate. Why torture yourself like this? Besides, she’ll never like you now, especially with that pickup line.

He felt someone touch his arm, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was Rohini. She showed her wrist to him, and the flowing script said, “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“But, how? I thought I had no soulmate! Look!” he showed her his blank wrist.

She signed something to him, which made him realize that he had nothing on his wrist because his soulmate was Deaf, and the mark only recorded spoken words. “You’re my soulmate?"

She nodded, and he hugged her while sobbing tears of joy. "I thought I’d never find true love.”

They broke apart, and she signed while Luna interpreted for her. “I had always thought that no one would love me or want a Deaf girl as their soulmate. I thought that once they found out I was Deaf, they’d reject me. Thank you for proving me wrong.”

“If someone had rejected you like that, they don’t know what they’re missing out. You aren’t any less because you can’t hear. People learn other languages for their mate, and if they can’t be bothered to learn ASL to speak to you, they’re wrong.”

“Thank you,” Rohini said, tears in her eyes.

“Hey man, we gotta go. My dad’s here, and you’re carpooling with me,” said Nathan.

Chandra and Rohini quickly exchanged numbers, promising to see each other soon. He wished they could spend more time together, but they had the rest of their lives before them. He had never expected something like this to happen. Ever since he was born, everyone around him had immediately condemned him to never finding true love simply because of his blank wrist. There needs to be more visibility and acceptance of people who can’t verbally speak or have blank wrists like him. The world was so cruel to those who are different, and he was so tired of it. They were the same as everyone else, and besides, there was no such thing as “normal."

"Did you say something?” he asked.

“Yes. I asked if you had fun at the party,” said Mr.Holland.

He looked out the window and smiled, “Yeah. I did.”

Mr.Holland smiled and focused on the road again. It was nice to see him smiling. He always seemed so sad and alone in the world. He wondered what had made him so happy but decided to leave it and enjoy his happiness.

Chandra looked up ASL classes near him and signed up for one. He intended to keep his promise to Rohini and learn ASL for her.

He entered his class, a private one-on-one with a tutor.

“Hello! My name is Jack, (signs the entire time they’re talking, making sure to be slow, every time they speak). What’s your name?”

“My name is Chandra. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Shall we get started?”

“Sure.”

(basic ASL because I forgot.)

“Bye! See you tomorrow!” called Jack.

He signed goodbye (insert goodbye sign) and smiled. Maybe he can do this. Perhaps he can learn to help and accommodate Rohini. He was thinking about this when he got a text from a new number. (idk the signs for most of this)

R: Hello, this is Rohini. You probably don’t remember me

C: Hey! Of course, I remember you! You’re a hard one to forget

R: You sure?

C: Completely

R: It’s okay if you say no, but would you like to go on a date?

C: Yes! Of course! Where do you want to go? There’s this cafe I know nearby if you’d like

R: That sounds nice, and the name?

C: It’s called the Roasted Bean Diner, and their scones are to die for

R: Sounds good. Are you free Friday night?

C: Yeah! Is it okay if I ask you a question?

R: Sure?

C: I started learning sign, so could you tell me how you’d prefer to communicate on the date? I’m probably not good enough yet to have a regular conversation.

R: Don’t apologize. Thank you for learning it for me. For now, could we try texting if it’s okay?

C: Sure! See you then!

He put his phone away with a smile. He never thought he’d get love like this, and he got to experience it. Now he finally did, and it was with such a wonderful person. Now, to make plans for a first date to remember.

Friday arrived, but not quickly enough. They both wanted it to come around so badly, so they could see each other again. No one at his school had seen him crack a smile, much less beam an entire week. She had done so much for him, even without knowing. The lessons had been going great, and he finished the introduction unit. Soon, if all goes well, he’d be fluent! He knew he was too optimistic and that things’ll probably go wrong the way it always does. It was hard to think of that right now when he had a love for the first time. He prayed to the gods for this to be the first thing in forever to turn out better than he’d thought if such a thing was possible.

He arrived at the cafe and found a booth for them, away from the crowds.

C: I found us a booth in the back

R: Nearly there, thanks!

He looked up to see her smile and wave at him. He signed (hello), which made her face light up. His phone dinged

R: Thank you so much for learning it for me

He signed (you’re welcome, nice to meet you again)

She giggled (nice to see you too. You look handsome)

He blushed (thanks, you look gorgeous)

She looked away, flustered.

(It’s true (finger spelling?))

R: You sure?

C: Positive

Tearing up, she typed No one outside of my family has told me that.

He wiped her tears away. Then I’m going to tell you every day because you are.

R: Thank you

“What can I get you two lovebirds?” A waiter suddenly asked, startling them.

“I’ll have a coffee, please.”

Rohini pointed to a picture of a blueberry scone and a latte.

“I’ll be back with your orders soon,”

C: Have you been here before?

R: Once or twice with my friends, what about you?

C: I come here pretty often. I, never mind, it’s stupid.

R: What is it?

He sighed and flushed. I liked to play this game where I invented backstories for the people here.

R: That sounds fun! What do you think that lady over there is like? She gestured.

(Nice)

(C-H-A-R-M-I-N-G?)

The lady turned around and saw them signing. “Why are you waving your hands around and making gang signs, hmm? Speak like the rest of us. You’ve got mouths, so use them or get a hearing aid already! Just stop pretending!” She turned around and muttered about loveless pretenders who’ll never get far in life like this and how they should fix it already.

Rohini started crying, trying to hide it but failing. Chandru moved closer to her and signed (H-U-G U?). She nodded. He held her close and rubbed her back, helping her calm down before he started to speak. Her sobbing had slowly gone down to a few tears running down her cheeks. The employees kicked out the lady for her comments and apologized to her. He typed out everything he wanted to say to her and sent it.

C: What she said wasn’t true. She’s a sad woman who tries to cancel their pain by taking it out on others. Her thoughts aren’t valid. What matters is what you think of yourself, what you know is fundamentally true about yourself. She will regret saying this one day and don’t let it affect you. A single misguided person is not going to change who you are. You’re one of the strongest people I know, and nothing is going to change that.

R: Really?

He nodded, and she hugged him. They might be broken and imperfect, but they can help each other heal and go through it. After all, isn’t that what true love is?

THE END

Pinned Post my writing <3 my writing original content original fiction original character character finished my words my work my stuff i tried my ocs what do you think? soulmates soulmarks soul connection twinflame loving soulmate au fluff deaf deaf and hard of hearing deaf representation deafness deaf culture deaf and hoh deaf awareness deaf character deaf community deaf people

squidsandthings

no1onepiecefan

today i’m thinking about luffy’s dream to be the king of the pirates, not out of any motive for power or status but for one reason, freedom. and specifically how zoro conceptually opposes that dream if zoro & luffy were anyone other than themselves.

luffy, from the beginning of the series, has yearned to be freer than anyone. while this is a simple dream by nature, it takes critical reflection of the society he lives under to understand that he is not free if he exists without opposing it. to oppose the world’s powers, the looming figures of punishment and protection, is how he is free. to be a figure of ultimate disobedience is to have ultimate freedom.

however, in comes zoro. pirate hunter, demon of the east blue, bounty hunter zoro. everything luffy isn’t. zoro objectively abides by the system, in fact he aids it by hunting pirates. of course, this is done out of necessity and not a personal moral compass; a system he eagerly opposes when he has the opportunity to not be reliant on it. nonetheless, we meet zoro quite literally (and much more than literally) tied to the marines. famous for one reason- hunting the exact group of people that luffy has strived lifelong to become.

zoro has never opposed the system like luffy has, instead has a grumbling and pliant apathy towards it; cooperating with it for personal gain until it became unbearably and openly corrupt (shells town). luffy would've long since burned the marine branch to the ground because it simply, fundamentally opposes his beliefs. luffy would've never made a deal with the marines like zoro did and that's a part of their relationship i find so interesting.

their morals align, oh absolutely, but luffy has a much more established relationship with opposing the structures he doesn't like. hell, luffy was raised by mountain bandits and zoro was raised by no one, which i think summaries their initial dynamic with authorities. zoro and luffy met, further apart than they would ever be.

luffy strives for ultimate freedom, to be the king of the pirates, yet he welcomes a man who had a working relationship with the enemy, the antithesis of freedom. luffy strives for ultimate freedom yet he welcomes a man who gives himself the role of protector; luffy's swordsman.

another, more indirect, opposition to luffy is zoro's role on the ship (until other crew members began to join, and luffy wasn't the only one to protect). to be luffy's swordsman, especially with zoro's narrative in one piece, he plays the role of the strawhat's personal executioner and guard. zoro acts as a singular figure of security within the strawhats, something luffy actively opposes and has consciously chosen to become an enemy of- the world's symbol of security.

to be the crew's protector, especially when the show began with the two of them, hinders luffy's freedom. he has a protector, a knight who serves his king, someone who inherently dampens the idea of ultimate freedom. and yet, none of it matters because it is them.

luffy doesn't give a damn that zoro may conceptually challenge the idea of ultimate freedom as his protector because, more than any semantics, he loves zoro. luffy wholeheartedly adores zoro, and appreciates the security he offers. security is not inherently negative.

one piece is about dismantling the bad, and reigniting the good. one piece is all about the clamber of an underdog, fished out the sea in a barrel. protection does not need to be in the way of freedom, like the marines are, like zoro shows. protection is not an inherently bad notion, and we see that through zoro and luffy's relationship. zoro may conceptually clash with luffy, but never personally. in fact he proves that freedom and security don't have to be options, but can instead intertwine.

zoro conceptually opposes luffy, like the marines as a symbol of protection do, like the world government as a symbol of security do. but zoro doesn't oppose luffy, never. i think a semi-accurate metaphor would be that zoro doesn't offer a concrete box of safeguarding like the world powers do, instead he offers a home, with a door to use if you'd like it. zoro could never harm luffy, because his role as a protector could never hurt. they're more perfect for each other than i can articulate

squidsandthings

bunmellos

🐱~

bonus:

squidsandthings

hellboundhimbo

one piece more like one wip haha (these two make me fully insane not even joking)

miyamiwu

Wait, Kurona was in this game?

I didn’t know that

riririnnnn

Do you guys remember this panel:

It happened after BM Vs Barcha.

So, Kaiser was like, "Choose me or choose Yoichi."

And, obviously, Hiori being a sane person, he was like:

Guess what was everyone's reaction?

Yeah:

Let's zoom in and lo and behold who we see in corner right at the bottom? Yes, Kurona Ranze!

And now let's jump into the Chapter of BM Vs Manshine City, and oh look! What do we have:

. . .

Excuse me?

EXCUSE ME, KURONA?

YOU JUST MADE MY SON LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE FOOL OUT THERE AND NOW YOU ARE SAYING THAT??!?

HUH????????

I'm now happy Chigiri called you a midget.

.

I love Kurona so much though.

He is my little wittle shark skittle.

doll--slasher

I feel like people severely underestimate kurona and just label him as Shark Boy,but in reality, he has SUCH a heavy impact on the story. Half of Isagi's goals wouldnt have happened without him,not to mention he was able to consistently keep up with Isagi,who,while does have spatial awareness,Kurona does not,so he was actually focusing on Isagi and his movements and trying to figure out where he"d need to be for isagi to score WHILE ALSO being aware of whats happening around him.

Needless to say under appreciated character.

miyamiwu

4S Blue Lock Ego Classification v2

@mathematical-apprentice left some insightful suggestions on v1, and I’ve been pondering over them to see how I can improve the classification system. Although I think their idea for a major class and sub class is good, I decided to keep all the classes on the same level for the sake of simplicity. @mathematical-apprentice has also pointed out that the Striver and Supporter classes are too broad, and I think this was just because I didn’t define them well. What v2 will include, then, is better definitions on the different categories to make them more specific, limiting their scope. Additionally, I will be changing the name of Striver to Savant because I think it better captures the idea I have for that class. More examples for each class will also be included.

Moreover, I would just like to clarify that this system is meant to classify character egos based on what a character desires and what would bring them fulfillment (i.e. what would boost their ego). It does not refer to how a character plays.

Lastly, all characters strive to improve in one way or another, but how they measure their improvement varies. This is also partly why I decided to rename the Striver class because it sounded like they’re the only class who cares about self-improvement when that isn’t the case at all.

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