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konigenblobbity · 9 months

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Drabble: Hobie Finds Out He Likes Being Choked

Hobie Brown x F!Reader

Warnings: Smut, riding, mutual orgasm, p in v, tits, mention of bondage, choking ofc

A/n: Kindaaa similar to the Hobie with a Leash one but I wanted to post something :p Still on vacation at the moment

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Hobie has always been in love with watching you ride him, whether he ordered you to and guided you through it, or you wanted to take charge and became more dominant.

In this case you wanted to be more dominant, riding Hobie with your hands braced on his shoulders to help you while his hands were tied to the headboard. His eyes never left you once, not even daring to blink at fear of missing the sight in front of him.

The way your head was tilted back meaning he could only imagine the way your eyes were rolling back and how your lips were probably parted slightly to allow your moans to flow past effortlessly. He wouldn’t complain though, more than happy to watching your tits bounce instead, or how his cock disappeared repeatedly into your cunt.

Just like all the other times you ride him, he can hear your shaky breathing, see how your back arches, how your movements become more inconsistent, how you begin to grind more to make up for your soreness… all tell tale signs you were close.

Since his hands were tied back he couldn’t help much, deciding to grind his hips up slightly to help you in your efforts. Through soft moans he began to shower you with encouragement, wanting to help you fall over that edge.

“I can tell you’re close love. Don’t stop, I wanna feel you shake on top of me” he’d say, his own voice shaky. “Even with your thighs sore you don’t stop~ It feels too good doesn’t it? How my cock presses against your walls just how you like it” the whole time his eyes half-lidded with pleasure.

You didn’t respond, only able to moan out softly and occasionally tremble from the pleasure. “Cmon love, tell me how I can help” you’d just whine at those words, why he thought you could answer him lost on you. “What should I do hm?” He repeated, waiting for a response. It was so sweet how he was trying to help but your tongue was numb.

You didn’t even try to respond, focusing only on the movement of your hips, the way his cock pressed against your g-stop over and over, how when your hips met his- “Cmon love, tell me.” He’d say again and your brows furrow.

Unable to speak and his questions dragging your attention away from what you desperately chased. What you desperately needed. Much to your dismay, Hobie goes to speak again “Should I-“

Without thought you did something you’ve never done before, something he definitely didn’t expect.

Suddenly your hands moved from his shoulders to his neck, silencing him instantly with your grasp. You tilted your head forward again and met his eyes with a half-lidded yet somehow pointed look. “Shhh. H-Hobie, just shush” you mumbled. It was both demanding and pleading.

He was frozen, but as he felt your fingers gently pressed against the sides of his neck he nodded… completely speechless. You’ve been dominant before, but never like this. It unnerved him how much he liked it. He could feel how the pressure from your hands against his neck sent a jolt of pleasure straight to his cock.

You felt how Hobie throbbed inside you, the head of his cock managing to abuse the spot inside you that had you seeing stars. Practically throwing you off the edge of ecstasy.

He watched how your head fell back again, your walls clenched down tight around him. He could feel how your hands gripped his throat tighter when you came. Their grasp not suffocating but restricting enough to have him taking deep inhales. He was falling apart beneath you.

The feeling enough to thrown him over the edge abruptly. His head fell back onto the bed and his hands gripped at the belt holding his wrists to the headboard. “F-fuck… yes, god thats-“ a low groan breaks apart his words, unable to finish his statement.

You continued to grind your hips, no longer bouncing up and down. His hips did the same, both of you riding out your highs. Your head still thrown back and moaning again softly at the warm feeling of Hobie cumming deep inside you while you continued to drain him with your pulsing walls.

Once you both recovered from your post-orgasmic haze your bodies naturally relaxed. Your hands loosening around his neck and he whimpers softly at the feeling. You tilt your head to look down at him and then finally registered what you did.

The red marks on his neck weren’t very dark or apparent, but you could clearly see where your nails dug into the skin of his neck. “S-shit Hobie! I’m sorry, I-I didn’t realize” you say, letting go of his neck entirely, gently cupping his cheek with one hand to tilt his head to the side for a better look at his neck.

He watched your movements and expression of concern with amusement; half-lidded eyes and a lazy smirk on his lips. “Can you untie me?” He asks softly and you immediately reach your hands up. “Y-yeah of course! I-I really am sorry, I feel awful Hobie, I should’ve been more careful” you begin to ramble.

The second his hands are untied, you place your hands on his chest and go to move off of him but his hands immediately grip your hips like a vice “Don’t move. And don’t you dare apologize love…” his voice slightly raspy but still the low baritone it usually was. You look back up into his eyes, not seeing any pain or regret in them.

“I loved it…” you blushed at his words, there wasn’t an ounce of sarcasm or teasing in them. In your shock you only manage to stutter out a soft “r-really?”. When he nods, you can’t help but bite your bottom lip.

You’d be lying if you said you hated doing it to him. He placed a hand on top of one of yours, pulling it up to his lips before placing a tender kiss on your palm.

“Feeling these soft hands against my throat… fuck love the things you do to me” he groans out and moves your hand back down to his throat. You sit in silence, completely taken aback by this discovery. Hobie smirks at your state of shock and decides to use it against you.

“You’re so cute when you get all flustered…” he mumbles teasingly. His other hand reaches up and gently grabs your throat, pulling your face down closer to his own. You didn’t even fight back, at his bold action you instinctively gripped his throat with your hand.

“Fuck… just like that” When he groans lowly you blush, “What? Didn’t think I was boring did you?” He mocked and you chuckled at his teasing and then lightly shook your head adding “Not at all…”

“Good” he leans up and kisses your lips softly. Unable to contain your smile as he did. He gives your throat a quick squeeze and he can hear how your breath hitches “Guess we have one more thing in common now...”

Small note: being vanilla or not liking this type of stuff doesn’t make you boring. Whatever gets your rocks off ;)

#konigenblobbity #hobie brown #hobie brown x reader #hobie atsv #hobie x reader #fanfic #astv hobie #Hobie brown Drabble #across the spiderverse fanfic #across the spiderverse Drabble #across the spiderverse hobie

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lex9923 · 1 month

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Tw// SA

This will be my one and only official statement on this situation, because frankly I’m done with all of this mental hopscotch happening.

I am a sexual assault victim. I was the same age as Caiti is now when it happened, and I was cornered with his hands down my pants touching my vagina and up my shirt touching my boobs, while I tried to get away and make it stop. I still to this day don’t know who my attacker was, but it will follow me for the rest of my life. It’s been five years since then, and my story has not changed once. Not ever. I hadn’t told people for a couple years cause I thought since I didn’t know who my attacker was, I wouldn’t be believed. As well as the fact that I came forward about a sexual harassment I faced at a job and was met with “well, boys will be boys”. Through it all, I am here, and I survived.

Watching the reaction to this situation from both of the main parties involved, those who weren’t there, those who were, and the fans had sent me spiraling. I’ve spent the past two weeks reliving that trauma from five years ago cause I thought I misinterpreted my assault as something else. I had not, and never have. It’s been incredibly invalidating watching the alleged “victim” change the story multiple times, make fake texts, omit important information, all while not even listening to the person she accused of a criminally offensive act.

Caiti is absolutely allowed to feel uncomfortable and regret what happened after the fact, but it is not, and will not ever be assault-unless George actually did touch her boobs, and then that will be a different discussion, but with her credibility disappearing, I’ll only believe it if he admits it himself. I’m trying to extend grace to her being young, sexually inexperienced, and caught up in online culture, but it’s hard the longer this gets dragged out. There are things you do when approaching a situation like this:

1. You absolutely need to provide evidence and proof of your claims. You can’t prove something that never happened, but you can prove something that did. It’s why it’s innocent until proven guilty. Expecting people to blindly believe you is delusional at worst and ignorant at best.

2. You must absolutely have your story 100% correct and factual to how you perceived what happened, before bringing forth any accusations. Using purposefully charged language and then changing the story to match the one you accused is not it. Nor is changing your story yet again when people are catching on to the inconsistencies.

3. Allow the accused person to defend themself. You can’t expect people to listen to all of your claims-most of them blindly doing so-and then get upset when people wait for both sides to say their piece, especially when you present no evidence at your initial statement. Again, you have to prove guilt. If you can’t prove it, the accused are allowed to defend themself.

4. You are in no way obligated to accept apologies, but acknowledging one was made-multiple times in fact- is the bare minimum. Trying to change your story one last time to make it seem even worse than what you both agreed upon, and then hiding behind “I’m not going to address this anymore” is manipulative at worst and cowardly at best.

I hope Caiti gets therapy, cause it’s clear she’s been severely affected by something, though I’m not sure she even knows what it is. I also hope she learns from this, and next time utilizes the “direct message” function every single app has. This could have been a dm, and the way it spiraled has been a shitshow and her intentions are coming off less and less pure the more this gets dragged out. I’m so sorry she was uncomfortable, and regretful, but until she shows any proof whatsoever of any assault happening, it will never be. I hope she heals, and I hope she gets better friends cause they have all failed her.

For George, I’m sorry this got blown so out of proportion and no one even privately talked to him about any uncomfortability being felt. I’m sorry his friends are performative. I’m hopeful that he was made aware of things he wasn’t before, and will do better next time. He is not irredeemable, and I believe growth is possible (the difference in his two responses proves as such). I hope this isn’t the last we see of him or his content, and I hope he can heal from this as well.

To my fellow SA survivors, I’m so incredibly sorry that our trauma has been thrown around like this. Our hurt and pain do not deserve to be mocked in this way, and I wish it would’ve never even happened. You’re stronger than what happened, regardless of how shitty this situation has been for us. And as a 24 year old, I like to consider myself a big sister of sorts, so I love all of you. We got through it then, we’ll do it again.

Speaking woman to woman, I’m sorry this has been so messed up. This will make it harder for us to come forward in the future and that is indescribably frustrating. However, that does not take away from the pain and hurt we went through, and I hope if you do have the strength to come forward, you are believed.

I’m done with this whole situation. It should not have come to this point, and if you stayed this far, I greatly appreciate you reading this. One last time. Caiti, I’m sorry you were so uncomfortable. Get therapy, better friends, and take a break from the internet. George, I hope you learn from this situation, and I’m sorry you were made out to be a criminally offensive person before giving your side or anyone ever speaking to you.

I hope you both heal.

I hope sexual assault victims having to relive trauma, and are affected by this continue to heal.

I love you all.

Lex

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 months

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Hey, same anon that talked about the school magic barrier. So you think the magical barrier sucks? Because in the comments someone mentioned that, for example, Chenya broke in multiple times

[Referencing this post!]

I wouldn’t say so? The students talk about the magical barrier as though it is strong and reliable (here’s an example from the beginning of book 6; Vil is surprised that there has been a breach):

It wouldn’t make sense for the barrier to be weak or sucky when NRC is such a prestigious school that houses many important people. (Why bother erecting a barrier at all if it can’t protect the people it’s supposed to??) I think there must be some alternate explanation, either with Chenya or with how the barrier operates 🤔 (since we don’t have a lot of canon on either).

For the Chenya thing, it could really be a case of us not fully understanding his UM or his strength. Maybe he just knows a weak spot in the barrier he uses to sneak in (he isn’t exactly a stranger to this kind of thing; he also took advantage of Mrs. Rosehearts’ blind spot and snuck Riddle out of his lessons). If we want to run with the “Crowley is orchestrating everything” theory, then those hypothetical weak spots could be intentionally created by him to let Chenya in to trigger Riddle’s OB? Or Maybe Chenya is way more powerful of a mage than we think he is. It could also be that his UM works in such a way that it allows him to bypass barriers. (Like, if his UM makes him intangible and the barrier somehow doesn’t keep out intangible things.) We don’t have anything to prove that’s how his UM works, but we also don’t have anything to disprove it. This could also be the case for the ghosts that show up at NRC for Ghost Marriage, who also lack physical bodies and could breach the barrier just fine.

I saw a comment on the original post suggesting that the barrier was ineffective because it couldn’t even keep out trespassers on Halloween. I think the barrier works slightly differently in that case?? Like, if there are already people allowed in (for the Halloween festivities on-campus) the barrier isn’t capable of booting them out—ie a door can keep a wild animal out, but once the wild animal is already inside your home, the door is useless at protecting you. It’s also possible that whoever regulates the barrier magic (probably Crowley?) didn’t bother to recast the barrier after lowering it for Halloween guests because “it’s too much trouble” and the activities will be lasting a few days anyway; they might be waiting until post-Halloween to slap up the barrier again. (I’d imagine this takes a lot of effort, and they’d probably be worn out just from overseeing the Halloween events anyway.) This may also be the case for the Tsums, who drop out of a hole over the sky of Ramshackle. The portal is immediately bypassing the barrier and opening up overhead, inside of the barrier already.

… Ooooor it could just be as simple as “the lore is inconsistent, please suspend your disbelief for these details” since some of these stories would not play out at all if the barrier actually worked as intended all the time. We wouldn’t have Ghost Marriage, Chenya visiting, the Tsums (which Crowley confirms were able to bypass the barrier despite him reinforcing it) or Halloween shenanigans if the barrier didn’t conveniently not work 😂 You could call the magical barrier a plot device, honestly.

#twisted wonderland #twst #Vil Schoenheit #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst theory #twst theories #twisted wonderland theories #twisted wonderland theory #Chenya #Che'nya #notes from the writing raven #question #Riddle Rosehearts #Dire Crowley

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steadymongerbatscissors · 10 months

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Leo Valdez And His Mistreatment

Recently I have taken some time to go back to some books and reread them for the hell of it. One of these books being the Heroes of Olympus series. Now the Heroes of Olympus series has been my favorites series overall yeah I know people think its worse than the others but I just honestly prefer the multiple point of views. Of course some characters could do with some fleshing out like Jason,Piper,Frank,and Hazel. My personal favorite of all the characters was Leo Valdez mostly because I though his fire powers were cool and he was a surprisingly deep character compared to fellow new characters.

But while reading I noticed multiple facets of his character that I felt did not need to be added or needed to be expanded on and this post I will tell you them all.

His Powers

I’m starting with his powers because that was the main thing that drew me in and in my believe sort of made Leo the person he was in the books. I mean without his fire powers he wouldn’t have accidentally killed his mother therefore never being an orphan and meeting Jason and Piper. This all say nothing about his frayed mental state.

So there pretty important but while also being important they are pretty inconsistent.

What I mean is that when Leo first uses his powers he had been purposefully not using them since he was 8 years old. This gives off the impression that has major control over his fire powers to supremes them for so long. Yet when they are on the bridge to the Wind God’s palace in the sky he suddenly loses control even though he realistically should have not done that since he had already shown he has major control over his power and wouldn’t suddenly lose control just cause he got excited.

Another problem his powers have is that they are supposedly super dangerous yet the only thing he does is throw a couple fireballs towards monsters and that’s it. Well except for when he somehow learns to nuke Gaea with his fire powers.

Wait what?

He learns to nuke somebody!

You see how his powers are super inconsistent. Like how do we go from fireballs to fire nuking a primordial goddess.

This problem seems to only exist for Leo since we get see Hazel get over her tragedy and control her powers to a far more powerful degree,Piper gets to hone her charm-speak so when she makes Gaea go to sleep it makes sense,and finally Frank multiple times throughout the series get to show off his shape shifting and how strong it is. So why does Leo never get this treatment cause we never see him actually hone his power and develop new ability’s from it.

Like your telling me the guy whose dad is the god of fire never once threw Greek fire out of his hands even though he is supposed to be the special fire guy.

His Appearance

Allow me to read you this passage describing how Leo looks.

“Leo looked like a Latino Santa’s elf, with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects. His long, nimble fingers wouldn’t stop moving—drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo”

To put the description simply he is described as ugly and extremely hyperactive.

I don’t understand why Rick wrote him that way because why does the outsider of the seven have to be the ugly and can’t sit still.

It’s not like any of the other characters are described as ugly unless their Frank before Mars blessing. Rick has Hazel literally think that Percy is a Greek God. Piper is the daughter of the goddess of love. Annabeth is described as a princess implying prettiness. Hell it’s not even kept to just the seven, Will Solace (the character with no personality trait aside from being a doctor and loving Nico) is described as being hot by Nico.

So like why does it seem that Leo Valdez is the only character described as ugly and hyperactive. Hell it doesn’t even make sense that Leo doesn’t have a little muscle considering he’s a mechanic and mechanics have to lift heavy shit all the time like realistically Leo would have a decent amount of muscle.

Note:Expanding on his hyper-activeness, we know that demigods ADHD helps them react to monster attack better and Annabeth describes Leo as extremely ADHD so wouldn’t that just mean that Leo would have like spider-sense and dodge extremely well.

His Character Connections

Why does everybody seem to hate Leo or at the very least try to avoid speaking with him. Like for real half way through the series Jason,and Piper completely stop hanging out with him. The only interaction they have after the Lost Hero is them going to Asclepius to make the Physician’s Cure.

Rick tried to have Hazel and Leo be friends because she knew his Grandfather or something but that is so flimsy. Frank hates Leo from the jump even though he started the beef by asking Leo if he was Sammy and getting mad every time Leo looked at Hazel. Yet there the ones he confides his whole plan to beat Gaea.

Percy is yet another person who doesn’t like Leo even though they are the basically the same person in different fonts. Annabeth seems to dislike having Leo aboard the Argo with the rest of the seven because she has no problem making fun of Leo in her mind by mocking him cause of his ADHD but then again that’s a bigger problem with Annabeth’s character than their relationship.

The only thing that seems to like having Leo around is Festus the dragon who Leo rebuilt after accidentally destroying him in their first quest.

I don’t care what you say just because Calypso insults Leo a little. It doesn’t mean that she hates him because she actually care like she really fucking cares.

So to recap Leo only has two people that genuinely like being around him and seven friends who put up with him and don’t really want him around.

Compares this to the main character of the last prophecy I.E Percy. Everybody likes Percy even people who realistically shouldn’t like him like him. Like your Reyna the girl who lost a home and was put on a pirate ship thanks to Percy had a crush on him just because he was a decent fighter. Yes right I call bullcrap.

Small Problem

Leo Valdez is a character who throughout the series has a lot of problems in his character. One problem is his treatment towards or more accurately why does Rick write Leo to be incredibly disrespectful even though he himself acknowledges how it was for his mom to get a good job just cause she is a women. One scene that I think emphasizes this problem is when the trio of the Lost Hero book meets the Hunters of Artemis. Now your expecting that since Leo himself saw how hard it was for mother just cause she was women would be extremely respectful towards the Hunters especially Jason’s sister Thalia. But nope he goes right up to Thalia and just says she’s hot to her face like come on Rick your contradicting yourself. Then in Trials of Apollo Rick has Reyna teach Leo about respecting women no like come on Leo since childhood should have know to respect women. I know you might be saying that’s just the persona he uses around people but like that doesn’t change the fact he should have already knew not to do that thanks to his mother.

Conclusion

In conclusion Leo Valdez is a character who could have been treated far better by the story,author,and the people inside the story. He is a wonderful character who in universe only has two people that genuinely want him around and deserved to have his powers explored more than just fireball. But sadly he is riddled with holes that shouldn’t be there if you actually look at his character.

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cherrybeartoast · 5 months

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As Loved by The Aces - "Going Home" - Seungmin x Reader

୨୧ a Cherry Song Series ୨୧ As Loved By The Aces Series Navigation

A series of individual-member centred stories based on songs by my favourite indie band, The Aces, portraying different love stories, emotions and people.

Pairing: Seungmin x GN!Reader

Genre: Fluff, very sappy, incredibly self-indulgent (I'm not sorry, ever since I got Seung's Nylon mag I've been having the most uncontrollable Minnie brainrot)

Warnings: Kind of implied that the reader has ADHD, but can also be read as a reader who simply has a super bubbly, slightly chaotic personality <3 (did I mention this was self indulgent?)

Series playlist: Spotify

★ Track 7: S.M - Going Home

I love everything about you, you know, even all of the the things you say you don’t like, nothing I don’t like, I love that you never pretend with me, even from the start you taught me to be, nothing but me

“What are we even here for?” Seungmin asked, feigning annoyance as you roamed aimlessly through the aisles of the supermarket.

“I don’t remember,” you replied, wandering into the haircare aisle.

Seungmin huffed, although you didn’t miss the soft smile on his lips before he did so. “That’s why I told you to write a list or something, baby, you always forget.”

When Seungmin had introduced you to his friends, they’d been expecting someone scholarly, quiet and well-organised; essentially, a second Seungmin. “Did you meet her in the library?” Hyunjin had teased. “No, in the stationary section looking at notebooks!” Jeongin had snorted.

However, when you proved to be almost as chaotic, if not more, than Han Jisung himself, they’d been surprised, albeit happily. You couldn’t be more different from Seungmin; you were very physically affectionate, and had no troubles expressing your emotions through words. You were forgetful, yet refused to take actions to prevent it. You were sporadic and inconsistent, planning things last minute and taking your boyfriend on adventures on a whim. It had taken Seungmin time to get used to you when you first met as friends, but he soon found himself drawn to your confidence and chaos. You were a bit all over the place, yes, but you were his, and you found he helped contain the unhelpful aspects of your personality, such as struggles to focus and just generally get shit done, whilst you brought out the louder, gigglier side of him.

“Oh well,” you chuckled and shrugged, pulling out bottles of shampoo and examining the labels closely. “Ooh, this one’s on sale, Seung! Maybe I should try it, your big sister told me it was really good.”

Seungmin took the bottle out of your hand and placed it back on the shelf. “No,” he said stubbornly.

“Excuse me, Kim Seungmin?” You raised an eyebrow and crossed your arms across your chest. “I think I’m allowed to select my own shampoo brand.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t smell the same, stupid. I like the one you use now. It’s nice.” He pulled you close and shoved his face into your hair to prove his point, and you giggled and smacked his arm lightly.

“What a sappy baby,” you tsked, pinching his cheek and grabbing two bottles of your usual shampoo and conditioner.

“Is that everything?”

“I just want to look around, Seung, then I’ll remember,” you pushed the trolley happily, skipping a little.

“Baby, we’ve been looking around for like twenty minutes. It’s gonna get dark soon, and it’s already snowing outside.” Seungmin gestured out the big windows, where flecks of snow drifted through the wind, dusting the cars parked outside, including yours, like icing sugar.

“Okay, okay, fine,” you huffed, picking up your two bottles and returning your trolley, and he shook his head. You squealed as he scooped you up, staggering along to the cashier.

He deposited you, and you paid for your items, then ran outside, almost slipping on the icy tarmac.

“It’s so pretty,” you gasped, squeaking as a snowflake landed on your nose and another melted down your cheek. “It’s very cold, though. Can we get inside, Seung?”

He nodded and opened the car, and you bundled yourself into the passenger seat, shivering as he turned the heater on.

“Dramatic, much,” he chuckled fondly, starting the engine.

“Shut up, I’m so cold,” you hissed through your teeth, blowing on your hands. “Hey, stop that, turn the car off.”

“That’ll turn the heater off,” Seungmin stated.

“I don’t care.”

“Where the fuck is your logic, baby?” Seungmin laughed.

You shook your head and dragged yourself over the console, planting yourself onto his lap. His cheeks flushed a little and he took the keys out, his arms moving to your waist automatically.

“You’re really warm, Seung,” you mumbled into his shoulder, wrapping your arms around his neck. “You’re always so warm, like, you just make me feel so cosy and soft and fluffy and gross.”

“Gross? Excuse me?”

“In a good way. I feel so sappy and lovey-dovey when I’m with you. I disgust myself. If I saw a couple acting like this in public, I’d be like, ew, that’s so weird, but I love acting like that with you. It doesn’t feel cliche or weird. It feels right.”

“Oh, baby.”

“Shush. You’re gonna make me blush.”

Seungmin lifted your head off his shoulder. “You already are, idiot.”

You slapped his cheek lightly. “Fuck off. It’s your turn to be overly sappy with your feelings now, Seung.”

Seungmin took a deep breath. “When I first got with you, all the guys were so surprised, because you’re so different to me. And when they were surprised, it made me nervous, because I trust them so much, though you better not tell them that, or they won’t shut up about it. Then Chan told me he hadn’t seen me act so carefree, so happy around anyone like this in a long, long time. He said he thought you were so good for me, you brought out parts of me he missed seeing.”

You stared into his eyes, biting back a smile.

“And it’s true. I’ve never really felt this happy around anyone before. I worry less, and when I worry, it's less about myself. Because I know you don’t care about the things I worry about myself; like my appearance, or my personality. You just love me. And I’ve never been loved like that before.”

“You went way sappier than I did, loverboy,” you giggled, but pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. “I love you so much, and it makes me happy that I make you as happy as you make me. You’re mine, yeah, Seung?”

“Always,” Seungmin pressed his nose to yours, then wrapped his arms around you tighter.

You sat, in the front seat of your car, in the supermarket parking lot, bodies entwined.

Sure, you should be getting home, but you weren’t in a rush.

Wherever he was, he was your home.

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yuikomorii · 5 months

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What do you think are the routes where Yui has a better writing, that shows more abt her, where she shows more improvement in comparision to the others, etc? And wich ones do you think are the worst writing-wise for her?

I think the bad endings count as development since the development is the change of the character whether is for the good of the character or for the worse, the character is developing in those cases so is Yui in the bad endings.

// I can’t say she has really a lot of improvement in any route but I think she was the strongest in MB, where she proved that she’d truly do anything for the person she loves even before starting dating. I think putting yourself in danger is not really a sane mindset but I liked her courage there. I feel like her strongest version is in Kou’s MB route. Laito, Kou, Carla and Kino were the characters who hurt Yui the most: Laito successfully broke her; at some point she breaks in Carla’s route and wishes to take her own life; and despite starting off well in Kino’s route, she ends up getting so brainwashed and not being as cool anymore as in the beginning of the route. Nevertheless, she never broke in Kou’s route, no matter how terrible he was towards her there, which is something I really appreciated. As for worst writing, idk, I guess whenever she’s inconsistent or just turns into an emotional support and does dumb stuff to “advance the plot”.

I don’t really take bad endings as development, since she turns out pretty bad in those, doing things she normally wouldn’t do, and when I think of development, I imagine positive progress not involution. >_<

However, even if she didn’t grow as a character that much, my favorite version of Yui must be the one from Ayato’s DF route. She was a sweetheart for the WHOLE route and was the happiest Yui ever gotten in a main game. On top of that, even if Rejet wanted the route to be Ayato’s hero arc, they didn't sideline her; instead, they gave her a significant part in it too, allowing her to befriend Cordelia and have girl talks with her while still being a good girlfriend and not serving as Ayato’s therapist but rather letting him make his own choices and succeeding like that. No couple drama, no unnecessary heroine or love interest angst, no OOC, no uncalled dumb moments; just straight up a good story, that did justice to the main characters there. This route proved that, if they truly wanted to, they could write the heroine and the love interest in a way that is balanced and allows both to shine simultaneously.

#admin

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flightfoot · 1 year

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ML fic Underrated Masterpieces

So there are some ML fics that are absolutely brilliant, but haven’t gotten as much attention as I think they deserve. So I’m gonna give that attention to them, and hopefully make them more well known! This isn’t limited to any particular year. BTW, in case any of the authors haven’t made the connection, I’m Keyseeker on AO3. All Multi-chap fics must have fewer than 300 kudos, and all one-shots must have fewer than 100 kudos, and they must be complete in order to count.

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Multichap-fics

The Ghost in the Machine by @jheqiawrites

As part of this function, Adrien knew about Monarch, the akuma butterflies, the victims, and, of course Ladybug and Cat Noir, the heroes of Paris. He was authorized to contact the Ladyblog as well as the citywide alert system if one of his platforms was active during an akuma manifestation, allowing his friends to get somewhere safe until Ladybug and Cat Noir could deal with the situation

While the necessity of these functions was disconcerting, it was programmed to be his routine so he gradually grew used to the inconsistencies. After all, humans tended to be selfish, highly inconsistent, and often flighty, but once you had observed them for a while an intelligence such as his could begin to see the patterns.

That is until she came online.

This fic is fantastic! I adored diving into Adrien Alliance’s thoughts, his emotions, as he slowly evolved, became more aware, and more... well, human, I guess you could say. You can easily tell he’s based on Adrien with how similar his character traits are, how he latches onto Marinette especially, and even get jealous at times. But also how he grows from that, becomes a better person, and ultimately values other people and their happiness above himself. He has some magnificent character growth that all culminates in a heart-wrenching finale!

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in case you don’t know me tomorrow by @thelibraryloser

“We live in a crazy world where pieces of our lives can be erased like they never even happened. I just wanted to memorize this moment so… so I could keep it, if that makes sense.”

Adrien's heart gave a little flutter. She wanted to keep this moment, meeting him. She wanted to keep… him.

“I understand exactly what you mean."

In a world that has created a way to selectively delete memories, no moment is truly safe. So how do you hold on to something when the memory of it is gone? And how do you keep fighting for someone when you're the only one who remembers?

Yes, I know I already recced this fic in my top ML fics of 2022 post, no, I don’t care. The fact that this hasn’t gotten more attention is a travesty. It just... it’s its own complete story and Adrien’s and Marinette’s fumbling around, trying to figure out what to do after Gabriel tears them apart, finding their way to each other despite everything... it’s amazing.

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Stealing Freedom by @rosie-b

Adrien Agreste was a good person. Marinette knew this to be true, of course; she wouldn’t be marrying him if he were some irredeemable villain. No, her fiancé was practically the opposite of evil. He cooed over babies and kittens, literally stopped to smell the roses and always brought large bouquets of them to dates. He had trouble killing spiders and bugs, begging his partner to take on the task whenever she was around to save him. Adrien was the sweetest person Marinette knew, the most kindhearted, the most forgiving; he was almost too perfect for her sometimes.

But now, Marinette knew that the same Adrien who still blushed when his fiancée kissed him was also the well-known terror of Paris, Cat Walker.

Now, this fic really SHOULD have been in my top fics for 2022 post. I’m a sucker for enemies au and I love a good Sentiadrien fic, so combining the two of them here is great! I feel so bad for Adrien, and I love that the heroes know from early on that Cat Walker isn’t really the enemy here. It’s short, but it’s sweet.

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Strangely Familiar by @sunfoxfic

Alya Césaire’s life is perfect. Indeed, between the success of the Ladyblog, how well she’s doing in school, and the fact that she’s a superhero who has never bore the weight of a crisis of epic proportions, her life almost couldn’t be better. Almost.

But Alya has always been a go-getter, and so she’ll chase after that perfect life if it kills her. Which is how she ends up rushing to move out of her father’s apartment and in with Marinette, Adrien, and a complete stranger: Nino Lahiffe. And in fact, her life does seem perfect — she and Nino are fast friends. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other really well.

But in the end, fortunate situations will bear unfortunate truths, and she learns things about herself that aren’t quite comfortable. Like I said, though: Alya has always been a go-getter, and she won’t let new feelings deter her from chasing after her perfect life.

This one is still criminally underrated, which I’m guessing is because it’s DJWifi-centric. It’s really worth checking out though, it really fleshes Alya and Nino out, and there are even some Lovesquare-esque shenanigans going on, since they don’t know each other’s identities.

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life’s waiting to begin by kopycat_101

Marc is the shy and soft-spoken Prince of the Underworld, used to being ignored at best and feared at worst. He greatly admires Nathaniel, the Prince of Nature, who’s much too out of his league. Handsome, kind, charming, and charmingly modest, with hair as red as a rose and talented artists' hands.

Yearning for the love of a nature deity when he’s a deity of death is beyond ridiculous, so Marc keeps his hopes low.

But an encounter at the border between the Underworld and the surface leads the two to speaking, which leads to Marc showing Nathaniel his writing and Nathaniel his art. And from there blooms a beautiful friendship…Or maybe more.

This is a marvelous Hades and Persephone inspired story, with a fair bit of drama going on near the end. Marc and Nathaniel may be from two different worlds, and their powers may clash, but that won’t keep them from seeing each other, however much the other gods may wish otherwise.

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Forging Our Own Ending by Ryleesheep

It was one thing, to know your father was Hawkmoth. It was entirely another thing to watch him transform with your own eyes. Adrien watched it again and again, his Lady by his side, determined to find the truth. No matter how many tries it would take.

Brilliant Hawkmoth Takedown fic here, it differentiates itself from most of the pack with how strategic it is, especially with the use of Second Chance. I love how it shows every use of it, with all the differing reactions and information gained from every loop, until finally everything can be put into motion.

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Into the Unknown by NUMBER1ANGIRL

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been Ladybug for 12 years now. She’s been fighting Hawkmoth by herself in this time, without the partner she was promised. When Hawkmoth is defeated, she starts fighting a new villain, and the strange ache of something she wasn’t aware was missing.

This fic is great. Gabriel sent Adrien away immediately after he received the ring, so he never even got to meet Ladybug. She ended up assembling an entire team to compensate, and when they finally defeated Hawkmoth over a decade later, Adrien’s called back to France in order to deal with Gabriel’s affairs. Which Marinette is very suspicious of...

Oh also Marinette and Luka had a daughter from a one-night stand, and while the two of them are great friends, they’re not married. The daughter, Sara, is great and a lot more perceptive than she’s given credit for. Quite the little Adrienette shipper too!

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Gabriel’s Big Mistake by LilacEnthusiast and Mr_BlackCat

Gabriel makes a bad decision, and it backfires horribly. Shenanigans ensue.

This is a fantastic and brilliant fic. It’s a “crack treated seriously” type fic, with Gabriel doing a ceremony to try to make himself more powerful, and turning himself into a butterfly as a result. His attempts to write a note to Nathalie are less than successful. He’s attacked by a bird, saved by Nino, and becomes his pet butterfly, Subwoofer. But his butterfly mind slowly starts overwriting his human one over time...

This is both a hilarious and an angsty fic, all wrapped into one. Kind of reminds me of how Fullmetal Alchemist is both hilarious and tragic at times, though this one leans more towards the humor. It also has a sequel, which is sadly incomplete, but still worth checking out. Seriously, check out this fic!

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Butterflies Don’t Speak: Gabriel’s Version by Falling Papillon

Nathalie gets struck with an akuma. Her mind gets sent a year into the future. She starts to live her days backwards up to the day she was akumatized.

Gabriel and Nathalie fall in love with each other backwards.

For doctor who fans, you know the Doctor and River Songs? It’s like that but Gabenath and ACTUALLY reversed timelines and instead of “spoilers” its “butterflies dont speak”

This story is in Gabriel’s pov. Nathalie’s pov is in a separate story since they are both going through time differently. I recommend reading one pov at a time but you can read it however you wish!

Butterflies Don’t Speak: Nathalie’s Version by Falling Papillon

Nathalie gets struck with an akuma. Her mind gets sent a year into the future. She starts to live her days backwards up to the day she was akumatized.

Gabriel and Nathalie fall in love with each other backwards.

For doctor who fans, you know the Doctor and River Songs? It’s like that but Gabenath and ACTUALLY reversed timelines and instead of “spoilers” its “butterflies dont speak”

This story is in Nathalie’s pov. Gabriel’s pov is in a separate story since they are both going through time differently. I recommend reading one pov at a time but you can read it however you wish!

So truthfully? These stories (or this story more like, it’s the same story from two different perspectives) is the reason I made this list, and I specifically waited until they were complete to post this rec list.

I have ADORED reading through them both as the author posted them, usually posting one chapter of each at the same time, so that we, the audience, learned what was going on at the same time as the characters. And then to see the crossover point, to get to where we saw what one character experienced, and then to see it from the others point of view... it was just great.

The romance-in-reverse, with both of them slowly warming up to the idea of getting together, of letting go of trying to bring Emilie back, and enjoying what they have together instead, and then having to watch as the other person slowly forgets everything they’ve experienced together as they go forwards or backwards in time (depending on whose perspective you’re reading) is just... it’s great.

And the way both Gabriel and Nathalie start off frustrated with how the other person refuses to tell them what the future holds, until they get used to it, and then gradually as they move through the story THEY end up being the one concealing information... the reversed passage of time just makes for such interesting scenarios!

Oooh, I also love how it complicated gift-giving, since objects only travel forwards, not backwards in time. Gabriel and Adrien have to be creative about gift-giving in order to have any success!

Just... this format, with the way time works, and how it affects both Gabriel and Nathalie, just... it’s very creative, I love it a lot, and honestly I’m probably gonna keep it in mind because I could see wanting to write a story for some other couple at some point in time using a similar idea.

One-shots

I Won’t Let You by @generalluxun

After Gabriel's defeat, two individuals not party to the celebration run into each other, and find each other.

I’ve talked about this one before and I’ll talk about it again. Or rather, rave XD.

The way that Chloe and Felix almost dance around each other to try to get the other person to understand why they’re unhappy and even kind of scared, comparing who has it worse, with Chloe making Felix understand how she’s treated by her parents and the expectations society has for her, and Felix making her understand, viscerally, the sword of Damocles he’s under... it’s brilliant and poetic, and beautiful to read.

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When You Broke Me by @emmalylis

Adrien runs away from home. Gabriel simply replaces him with a sentimonster duplicate. Of course, it isn’t an exact copy…

This is short, but really intriguing, I’d love to read more of this! This new SentiAdrien is innocent and confused about what’s going on, he thinks he has amnesia, not knowing that Gabriel just full-on made him as a replacement after Adrien ran away. The original Adrien is compassionate towards him, even as he tries to figure out what’s going on and what to do.

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The Little Things by christallized

Marc's going on a date with Nath and he only has a few hours to prepare. What will they do? What should they eat? What will Marc wear? Will Nath like all the little things Marc worked so hard to set up to give them the absolutely best, most perfect date?

(Also there's an Akuma breaking reality into an endless, painful fragmentation of horror and suffering but that's not important)

This fic is just fun. Marc is mostly worried about his date, while ignoring the Welcome to Nightvale-esque horror going on all around him. The cashier may be floating in the air with his body being puppeteered around and his detached head screaming, but there’s no reason to let that ruin Marc’s date plans!

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#ml fanfic rec #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfiction #ml fanfic

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punkpoemprose · 5 months

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Virtual Chemistry Pt 10

Universe: Modern AU/ College AU/ Cam Boy AU

Rating: E (Explicit, this is filth)

Length: 2116 Words

A/N: Forgive me for any inconsistency, it's been a hot second.

Anna awoke to the familiar sound of her phone’s alarm and rose with uncharacteristic quickness. It was just the first of the three alarms that she set for herself each morning during the semester, and she couldn’t recall having ever risen with the first one, let alone now when she didn’t need to be up for anything.

Falling asleep with your phone on your face certainly has the benefit of startling you awake.

She made a mental note to avoid the position in the future, and quickly unlocked the device with her fingerprint, just to confirm that last night’s texting had not, in fact, been a dream.

The blue and grey text bubbles that greeted her had her heart fluttering as she looked at the screen and replayed the conversation. He’d been so easy to talk to, and she’d found that having to wait a bit longer for his replies than she was used to when texting Elsa had made each message just that bit more precious. It felt silly to count the extra few seconds as “worth the wait” but it had been.

She flushed when she scrolled down past the last message she remembered sending and receiving, to find another.

Huhgtgcfrgyu

She really had fallen asleep with her phone on her face, and somehow, as it the universe didn’t think she’d had quite enough mortification, the message had sent.

Huh?

She scrolled past his response and found another ten minutes later:

I’m guessing you fell asleep? That’s alright, it’s late.

Then a few minutes after that, a series of texts sent a minute or less apart:

It’s been a long and exhausting semester honestly. I wouldn’t blame you for sleeping all week, I feel like that’s what I’m about to do.

I’m glad you were part of it. Even with everything.

Maybe we can talk about that? The everything?

When we both wake up from our hibernation of course.

Sorry, I’m rambling again.

Sleep well Anna.

She didn’t feel quite so embarrassed by the time she got to the end of his messages back to her. There was something about his messages, short as they were, that mirrored the gentleness with which he treated her in person. There was a nagging part of her that was imagining one more message after what he’d sent. She just couldn’t put out of her mind that he was the sort of man who would end his messages with “I love you”.

She tried to push the thought aside but she only succeeded in hearing his last message in her head, complete with her silly addition, in his voice.

Sleep well Anna, I love you.

It was unfair how her brain could forget the answers to exams after several hours of studying, but how she could perfectly mentally replicate the tone of his voice saying something that she’d never even heard him utter before. She could even imagine how it would sound, breathy in her ear, with her back pressed to his chest and his arms wrapped around her.

She collapsed back on the bed, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to put herself back to sleep, but feeling unwilling to face the day until she managed to stop blushing and thinking about how good it would feel to just be in Kristoff’s arms.

***

Kristoff allowed himself a moment to breathe, Sven not the least exhausted at his side, was looking at his owner in rapt anticipation of the next leg of their jog around town.

He’d barely slept, unable to keep himself from listening for his cellphone to chime with another message from Anna all night long, even hours after he’d sent her a goodnight. He’d just stayed up and let his imagination run wild with both the ways he wished and feared his relationship with Anna would evolve in the coming days, weeks, and months. The worst fear was that it wouldn’t go anywhere at all. He already knew her too well to let himself worry about the worst case scenario effecting his work, despite the fact that they still had plenty to talk about there, he knew that Anna was not going to tell anyone about his extracurricular activities.

It had really been his hopes keeping him awake all night. He’d forced himself into a cold morning run at 8 am because of those hopes, because of those fantasies. He’d imagined holding her in his arms and kissing her gently and slow. He’d imagined lifting her from the floor, pressing her back into a wall and swallowing her gasps and whimpers as he kissed her. He’d even thought about what it would feel like to have her small hands explore his body.

Then he’d envisioned carrying her to his bed and giving himself to her in all the ways she wanted him. His fantasy was that she’d share her fantasies with him, carefully curated from hours of watching him, and rife for exploration together.

He flushed now, and not from running, at recalling the ways he’d imagined that he would tuck her into bed at his side, pressing gentle soothing kisses into her hair to help her fall asleep. He wanted everything with Anna, and his active imagination wouldn’t allow him to come up with any situation in which he didn’t take care of Anna in every way. He wanted her for more than sex, he wanted her for life.

The frosty run was helping, but he was still thinking about running toward the park next and launching himself into the partially frozen pond to cool his head. Sven, always excellently observant for a dog, tilted his head at him with curiosity.

“Look buddy,” Kristoff said, huffing from the particularly hard run he’d just subjected them to, “I know you like her a whole lot, and that’s making this even harder because I know you deserve a mom, but we have to give her some space, okay? I kind of did this whole thing wrong I think, and we’re going to have to wait for her. She might not even want to see me again.”

He didn’t have it in him to say that she wouldn’t want to see them both again, because he was extremely aware that he was the one who had screwed up in this situation, and that his dog was, frankly, irresistible, and impossible to stay mad at.

Sven, fully knowing this about himself, huffed through his nose and lowered his head before giving Kristoff a meaningful look.

He knew what the dog was communicating.

Don’t count yourself out yet.

In his pocket, his phone chimed.

The dog wagged his tail in response and Kristoff couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“If this is her, I owe you double treats when we get back.”

***

Anna typed and deleted at least five texts as she poked at her oatmeal. Elsa was taking a call in the next room over, and Anna could overhear all the details of the business transaction taking place. It was hard to think about what she wanted to say when she was listening to her sister talking shop. It was a good thing that it was a family business, or her breakfast would constitute corporate espionage.

She finally settled on setting her phone down and actually putting some food into her actual mouth. Normally the quantity of brown sugar and maple syrup she put on top of the oats would have been enjoyable, but she’d spent too long ignoring it and nearly gagged at the cool sticky gruel she’d managed to shovel into her mouth.

She couldn’t stop herself from opening her mouth and letting the mush fall back into the bowl with a very unladylike and unceremonious plop. It wasn’t the oatmeal’s fault that it had turned into a disgusting gluey abomination, but Anna still stared at it with narrowed eyes as if it were the enemy.

It’s too early for this. Or anything.

She sighed and picked up her phone again before standing up deciding that if she was awake, and if her home was currently being used as a corporate office, she may as well go out and get a halfway decent breakfast. Visions of cinnamon rolls danced in her head as she trudged toward her bedroom to don some clothes that were at least halfway appropriate for public consumption.

She decided to tear the proverbial band aid off before tossing the phone on her bed.

Good morning

Two words, zero punctuation, no room to read into anything at all, putting the ball firmly in his court so she didn’t have to text any of the things she wanted to say because they were undoubtedly too much to say now.

She slipped off her pajama yoga pants and made the difficult decision to choose her jeans over her daytime yoga pants after consulting the overly complicated smart home device that Elsa had purchased for her as a birthday gift and being informed that it was too damn cold for thin breathable fabric. Comfort, sometimes, unfortunately had a temperature component.

When her phone buzzed from its place on her unmade bed, she made herself take two whole breaths before descending on it like a woman starved.

Good morning

She grimaced. She’d never been good at tennis but she could see, very clearly, that it had been an easy serve to hit and that the proverbial ball was, once again, in her court.

“Shit.”

She took another two whole breaths before buttoning and zipping her pants and thinking long and hard about both the t-shirt she would choose to wear (whichever was on top) and whether she could text him any of the eighty things she wanted to say.

“Hi Kristoff, just wanted to say that I absolutely didn’t have a dream about you and I making out on a lab table last night because that would be super weird, haha.”

She rolled her eyes at herself and instead typed out what she knew she should say.

Sorry I fell asleep on you last night.

She couldn’t help but to wish that she had fallen asleep on him in the literal sense. She could only imagine how good that might feel. She just hoped that she didn’t mess this up badly enough that she would never get the chance to find out.

It’s okay Anna, I’m glad you got some rest.

She’d tugged her top off while she had been waiting for his response, and she forced herself to choose a shirt to put on while she thought about an answer to send back. It was easy enough to manage the first requirement, tugging on a green sweater when she remembered exactly hot cold the weather was meant to be. The second was, as the rest of the conversation had been on her side, more complicated.

What are you up to this morning?

She played it safe, because the last time she hadn’t, she’d been crushed. She knew Kristoff enough to know that he wouldn’t ever hurt her intentionally, but she’d grown up since her last assumption of a man’s feelings toward her, something that being home brought back to her mind.

She was dressed and out the front door by the time she got his answer.

Just went for a run with Sven. We’re about to get breakfast. Have you ever been to Oaken’s?

Anna nearly snorted out loud, but the cold biting her face kept her from dawdling long enough to manage it. She didn’t run to her car sitting in the driveway, worried about any ice that wasn’t making itself evident, but she did walk briskly.

I used to think they had the biggest cinnamon rolls in the city.

She texted him quickly when she sat in the car and pulled the door shut and then, once she’d managed to click on the seat heater with chilly fingers, she sent a follow up.

You proved me wrong at that diner by campus, but they’re still my emotional support baked good.

She’d been planning on going to a closer, less delicious breakfast place, but there was really no harm in going the extra few minutes towards the city center to join him if that was where he was heading. She did find him much easier to talk to in person after all.

Did you grow up here?

Immediately after, faster than she thought that he could type, her phone buzzed again.

I think I just put two and two together with your last name. I feel like an idiot.

She tried not to laugh, but it was impossible. She suddenly felt much less embarrassed about sending him a sleep gibberish text.

#Virtual Chemistry #Kristanna #Frozen Fanfiction #kristanna fanfiction #college AU

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humanbeanisnotamused · 8 months

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i don't exactly think of this as "canon" but i need attention or i'll die so it is on AO3

She turns at the crash, and there’s blood all over the floor. No–not blood–the splatter is inconsistent and the colour is just slightly the wrong red, and–Marion has dropped the jar of tomatoes he was supposed to put in the pan. He’s still standing, hand outstretched, as if he’s not sure what to do next.

“Are you alright?” she asks, watches his eyes lift to her, not glassy or distant or dilated any more or less than they should be. He looks… put out, maybe faintly puzzled.

“Yeah,” he says, and looks back to the mess on the floor. “Slipped outta my fingers. We don’t, ah– We don’t got anything else in the house.”

“Well,” she says–she’s tried to bring the boys groceries before–they don’t like it. She chooses her moments to treat them, and this isn’t one of them. “We can eat it without the sauce. We’ve all had worse.” She’s still watching him, as she speaks, the furrow between his eyebrows as he turns something around and around in his head. He hasn’t put his hand down yet. “Marion?”

He looks down again, avoiding her eyes. “My uh–My grip’s not what it used to be.”

“Is this since the…” She angles her head towards the ground. To way, way beneath the ground.

They haven’t talked about the incident since it happened; it had freaked Marion out so badly that it seemed almost cruel to bring it up. But she’s noticed the scar peeking out from his collar, and she’s noticed the odd sort of frailness to him recently. She’d hoped some rest and good food would take care of it, but the more days of rest and good food pass, the more certain she is that it won’t.

“I’d like to have a look at that scar on your chest,” she says.

Marion doesn’t answer for a moment. She watches the muscles around his jaw tighten and clench.

“I, uh,” he says, eventually. “You’re off the clock, Doctor. I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”

His body tells a different story, hands crossing protectively over his chest. He turns away from her, to attend to the pasta still boiling on the stove.

“Marion,” she says, and waits for him to look at her again. She smiles, in a way she hopes is encouraging. “I doubt you’re even the strangest thing I’ve seen this week.”

“Is this an order, Doc?” he says, smiling with his mouth, trying for light in a way that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, looking away again.

“I’d never order you to do anything,” she says, honestly, “but I’d be very happy if you agreed to it.”

He presses his lips together.

“Alright,” he says. “Lemme finish this.”

When he’s turned the fire off, he turns a chair out from the small kitchen table and sits on it; unbuttons his shirt slowly. She wonders if anyone else has ever been allowed to freely look at the scar. She doesn’t linger on the thought.

She pulls off her gloves. “May I?”

She touches his chest with her fingertips, right at the centre of the starburst she’s seen in her head before. Where there should be warmth, there is none. It’s no cooler than room temperature, and yet it’s as if it’s sucking the warmth out of her fingertips. “Is there sensation here?” she asks, as she would ask any other patient, and then moves the press of her fingers to a few different places. “Can you feel this?”

“Uh, no. Kind of. I can feel…pressure, but not your fingers? Does that make sense?”

There’s a prickle, at the base of her skull. There’s something there, something that would become clearer to her if she leaned into it, but. First things first.

She presses out further, into the fresher, bluer tendrils. “What about here?”

“Nothing.”

“Do you–this is going to sound like the same question–do you feel things from it? Not external sensations. Anything emanating from the scar itself.”

He doesn’t answer for a moment. A long one. “It’s… cold, sometimes. Not all the time. Especially when I…”

He gestures loosely towards his temple, the way Sean does when he’s talking about Marion’s visions. If she were to guess, he doesn’t feel those visions from his temple at all. He uses that gesture because Sean uses it.

She holds out a hand to him. “Take my hand and squeeze it? As hard as you can.” She smiles. “I’m not fragile.”

She doesn’t have most of her equipment on her, but it’s a weak doctor who’s reliant on their tools. She knows how to feel for a good, steady heartbeat, for good breath sounds, for intact reflexes. She does have a bleed detector–she’s never without it–and she’s going over bleed levels–definitely present, contained within the scar itself and no further, and she’s not going to make him reach into the well at this moment in case it hurts him–when he opens his mouth, and closes it again.

She waits.

“Jean?” he says, softly.

“Yes?”

“When that… thing, had me. It reached for… it tried to pull out my soul, and it. Came up short. There was nothing there.”

She doesn’t know what to say to that, so she doesn’t. She lets it hang, and oh what she wouldn’t do for this man. She wishes she could kill that thing twice, for that tremble in his voice.

“Did you know there’s no such thing as a perfect body?” Jean says. “It’s one of the first things they teach you in medical school. When you get in there, nothing looks exactly like it does in the textbooks. No two bodies are the same.” She’s not focusing on anything anymore, but she keeps her eyes down as if she is. Instinctively, she feels that if she looks straight at him, he might scarper. So she doesn’t. “There was this one woman–I didn’t see her myself, but my instructor did–who, they were trying to relieve cranial pressure. So they got out the drill, and they tried to make a hole. And they kept going, and going, and going.” She glances up. “Does this kind of talk bother you?”

“Not at all,” he says.

“Well,” she says, “all told, her skull was about 5 centimetres thick.” She holds up her thumb and forefinger in demonstration. “That’s not supposed to be possible. But it was.”

His chest is still under her hand. It rises and falls. The lack of warmth is–not quite distracting, but it’s as if she misses it. “You think my soul skull’s too thick, that what you’re saying?”

“Well, maybe. I know it’s not the answer you’re hoping for, but I’m afraid we haven’t yet found a way to test for souls.” She chances looking up at him again, and finds he’s already looking at her. “You’re the most caring person I’ve ever met, Marion. That must count for something.”

Something happens in his face, and Jean suddenly finds she has to look away, busy herself with the same tasks she’s already done; the prodding for sensation, the feeling for his heartbeat–if this stops being a doctor-patient interaction and starts being Jean and Marion, she’s highly aware that she might just stop functioning.

She’s examining the mottled skin at the edges of the scar when Sean bursts into the kitchen, and where Jean freezes, Marion startles; drawing back and trying to pull his shirt back over his chest, putting most of the table between them.

“Oh, sorry, sorry, didn’t realise I was interruptin’ something,” Sean says, breaking into that insolent grin of his. “You two kids have fun, forget I ever walked in here.”

Painfully aware that she’s blushing, Jean casts about desperately for her dignity, and finds none so she tries for composure instead, pulling her gloves back on in a way that distantly strikes her as deeply incriminating. “It was a medical–”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you wanna call it,” Sean says. “I’m not a snitch, whatever two consenting adults wanna get up to in their free time is their own business.”

Meanwhile, Marion’s got all his shirt buttons done up, a little lopsidedly, and she’s almost relieved to find he’s blushing too, up his cheekbones and down his lovely clavicles. “Dinner is–” he starts, and then does this huge sigh. “I’m gonna be honest with you, Sean, dinner is fucked. I dropped the tomatoes and we don’t got nothing else and it’s fucked. I fucked it.”

“Huh,” Sean says, strides past them and towards the stove where he pokes uselessly at something with a spoon. “Well that can’t be right, I can smell the garlic and we got some bacon grease left over, I know you can do something with that, you’re good at the cooking thing…” and amidst the useless, comforting noise of Sean filling the space with words, she watches Marion take a breath and compose himself, and she follows suit.

“Doc,” Sean will say later, in a spare moment when it’s just the two of them, “that thing isn’t killin’ him or anything, is it?”

“Not,” she starts, and then takes a moment to arrange her words, “I don’t believe so. It seems stable. I’ll keep as close an eye on it as he’ll allow me to.”

He lets out a slow, measured breath that he’s probably trying to keep from being a sigh. “Was hoping for a stronger answer than that, Doc, I’m not gonna lie.”

“We all hope for a lot of things, don’t we Mr Finnerty?” she says, almost on autopilot, and then on an impulse braves the space and takes his hand. He looks startled for a second, open and young in a way she doesn’t often see on him. She squeezes. “He’ll be okay,” she says. “We will make sure of it.”

#candela obscura #jinnah basar #sean finnerty #marion collodi #i sincerely do not know the nature of the relationships happening here. but they sure are happening #no proofreading we die like men

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anaveragebibliophile · 1 year

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All Smiles (Carlisle Cullen x OC)

You’d think that that part would’ve been easy. You’d think that the minute he heard of the vision he’d have run. You’d think that that insatiable desire to fight for his family would’ve sparked a fire within him to leave and allow Rosalie and Emmett to take the reins.

No. Not by a long shot.

Instead, here we were two hours later. Still on the couch. Still nowhere closer to getting him to see reason.

“I can’t just leave you, El,” my husband said. “You’re still ill, and you’re not getting any better. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened while I was away.”

Placing a hand on my growing belly, I gave him my most disapproving look. Once his eyes caught mine, he immediately looked away, chagrined.

Clearing my throat, I began. My voice was even hoarser than in days past (if that was even possible at this point).

“Honey, let’s be realistic here. You staying here isn’t going to increase the probability of a timely recovery any more than you leaving. What’s more, this little guy enjoys the pampering I’m getting. He’s not going to want to end this anytime soon.”

As a phoenix, a resurrector of the dead and believer in the goodness that the life of all beings brings, I’m capable of connecting with any being, those that are living, dead, or on the periphery. In this case, our son, the little dude in my belly, would be considered as a being on the periphery. He’s alive but not co-existing with us in the land of the living just yet. However, despite that, I have been able to establish a connection with him that allows me to determine who he is, who he’s going to grow up to be, and what he’s capable of.

With respect to what he’s capable of, manipulating situations is a big one. And while it might seem like this is a malicious act on his part, the truth is that he has good, kind intentions. Out of his love for me, he wants his father to continue to shower me with his love and compassion. He wants his father to remain dedicated to his mother. Ultimately, this allows our child to understand Carlisle better. It goes without saying that their bond has strengthened over the last few months. At this point, my husband can barely keep away from the both of us.

So, how did our little guy manipulate the situation this time? Well, it would seem that he compromised my immune system somehow, leaving me with one of the worst flu strains I’ve had in years. And the best part is that he’s the only one that can decide when it will end. Not Carlisle. Not me. Not medical science. Just him. And considering the fact that his father has been within close proximity around the clock, I wouldn’t count on any reversal anytime soon.

“That doesn’t mean you should be without medical assistance. Rosalie and Emmett, albeit resourceful, aren’t doctors,” Carlisle retorted, his hand moving towards my bump, waiting for his son to kick him hello.

Soon enough, it happened. We both grinned down at the beautiful creature just waiting to make his appearance. Only a few more weeks to go.

Looking down, I responded. “I know they’re not doctors, sweetheart. I just think that we shouldn’t take any chances where Bella’s concerned. She’s still human. And she has a family. What if that were him?”

“I understand what you mean. She will be our daughter-in-law sooner than later.”

“Much sooner than you think.”

Alice isn’t the only one that had visions in this coven. I do too. The only difference is that mine are pretty inconsistent. I’m always given myriad possibilities and unable to determine which is the correct one. Yet, we had all agreed that any vision would be taken seriously because it’s validity depends on the choices one decides to make. In this case, we don’t know if Bella’s decisions are going to force her into a potentially harmful confrontation with Jane in Volterra or not. Only time will tell.

But that was why Alice and I wanted Carlisle to be out there with Bella and Edward. Just in case.

That yearning doesn’t seem to be getting us anywhere though.

“Please, darling,” I said. “Do it for me. I’m telling you that I feel well enough to have Rosalie and Emmett watch over me. If I didn’t, I would’ve demanded that you stay.”

It was so obvious that he was torn. His gaze turned away from mine and down to our son once again, his brows pinching in both frustration and agony. “I know, darling, I know. It just doesn’t sit well with me. As a husband and a father, it’s my duty to be present and attentive to your needs as well as his. I feel like I’m doing you both a disservice by traveling to Italy when there’s been no indication that she’s been harmed.”

“If it’s any consolation, I still believe she’s at risk. I just have this gut feeling.”

Mulling that over for a few moments, my husband sighed in resignation. “Then it’s settled. I’ll go. Let me go speak to Rosalie and Emmett.”

At that response, I leaned forward from my spot in front of, let’s just say, a ton of support pillows, completely preventing Carlisle from moving away from me.

Cupping his cheek, I smiled at him. “You’re such a good man, Carlisle Cullen. I hope you know that.”

His hand reached up to his cheek to grasp mine, leaving all the unspoken words to be heard and appreciated with just that one touch.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Now, remember that her nightly dose of Amoxicillin must be given at eight o’clock if she wants to be eligible to take it early tomorrow morning. And as far as comfort levels go, she’ll want her pregnancy pillow that’s laying on our bed upstairs, the heating pad for her lower back–which is in my office–, and some tea as well. Earl Grey, to be specific, which can be found—”

“Carlisle, it’s okay, we’ve got it,” Rosalie said, sitting down next to me. “Eloise will be in excellent hands, so you don’t need to worry so much. We’ve read your notes three times over and will consult them if need be. Plus, she’ll have her phone on her, I’m sure, so you can contact her whenever you please.”

“Rose’s right, Carlisle,” Emmett interjected. “We promise to be extra vigilant and prudent. We understand how important they both are. We love them too. But it will all work itself out. It doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere anyhow.”

All her husband could do was nod, watching as I shrugged and blew my nose. The look of agony on his face was all I needed to know that this separation was going to destroy him. But it needed to be done, for the sake of our family and our sanity.

“Thank you. Thank you both.”

Dropping his carry-on, the only bag he was bringing, my husband came to kneel beside me on the couch. Kneading his fingers through my hair, he pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, savoring the last few moments we would have together for a few days.

Him and me both.

“I’ll see you soon, okay? Call me if you need me.”

“Will do, sweetheart. Now, go be amazing. I’ll be here, keeping our little one safe,” I said, watching as our son wanted to get in on the action.

Kissing my forehead one last time and then my lips, he moved to place a long, loving kiss on my belly.

“I love you both. I’ll see you soon.” he said, all smiles.

#carlisle cullen #carlisle x reader #twilight #newmoon #eclipse #breaking dawn #jacob black #alice cullen #Bella Swan #edward cullen #emmett cullen #jasper hale #the volturi #volturi #twilight carlisle #vampires

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ambrossart · 11 days

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He is reading some chapters of Paper Men again and I was wondering why Victor denies being Evelyn's friend and hides it in some way, is it just from Henry or from everyone? , (I mean he says they have always been friends) but well he contradicts himself a little

So… couple things about that:

1) I think, with Victor, there’s always this duality about him. It’s almost like he’s at war with himself. You have the old Vic VS the new Vic. You have the quiet, aloof member of the Bowers gang VS the boy who’s struggling with his mental health. So I think when you take all of that into consideration, it makes sense that he would compartmentalize his relationships. Vic has his friendship with Henry and Belch, his friendship with Scott and Christie, and finally his friendship with Evelyn and Jimmy, who unfortunately is no longer around.

Out of everybody, Evelyn knows Vic the best. She may not know the full extent of his issues, but she has the clearest understanding of them. And I think that’s why Vic is so protective of Evelyn and their friendship. In many ways, she represents his past and his innermost self. Why wouldn’t he want to keep that safe?

And I think that’s more of his intention here. It’s not about hiding, necessarily. Vic isn’t ashamed or embarrassed by his friendship with Evelyn (Evelyn may think he is, but he’s not). He just wants to protect it because it’s important to him. She’s important to him.

2) Henry is the obvious exception to this. Vic has definitely been hiding their friendship from Henry, and it’s pretty easy to see why:

First, it was because they’re bullies and Evelyn is very outspoken against bullying. By that logic, Evelyn and Henry should be natural enemies. Why would he be okay with Vic being friends with her?

Second, after Vic found out about Evelyn and Henry’s secret relationship (if you wanna call it that), he and Belch mutually agreed that, given Henry’s unpredictable temper, it would be better for everyone if Henry doesn't know. They assume he won’t be cool with it.

3) Vic only denied his friendship with Evelyn out of spite, out of anger. They had been fighting when he said to that her, so it was a cheap low blow on his part. At that moment, Vic wanted to hurt Evelyn, so he said they weren’t friends because he knew she would internalize that and believe it to be true (because that’s a very real fear for her, that Vic only tolerated her because of Jimmy).

During their little lollipop truce, Vic sets the record straight once and for all. When Evelyn asks, “Are we friends again?”, Vic tells her they were always friends. Even when they were fighting, even when Vic was icing her out, Vic always considered her his friend. She doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

4) The early chapters are a hot mess. I had no idea what I was doing when I started this story, so all the characters are pretty rough early on. If something seems inconsistent, it's probably just that: inconsistent. (I'm human, I'm allowed to make mistakes 😂)

Does any of that make sense? I’m getting over a cold, so my head is a little foggy right now. I hope it makes sense.

#answered asks #thanks for the ask!#paper men #ambrossart

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alwaysmypearl · 2 years

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“You’re not very big, are you? Or particularly pretty?”

Okay so! I wrote a one shot about Peeta rectifying his D13 comment about Katniss not being pretty. I got this idea from a headcannon post by @paintedpeeta! It is longgggggg and soft. I hope you enjoy!

Katniss didn’t mean to get frustrated with him.

She really didn’t.

But, the weather in District 12 was particularly dry and sweltering. Not only that, but she didn’t catch anything in the woods. All the animals hid in the shade from the glaring sun. And increased time in the woods doing nothing gave her increased time to think.

To think about him.

Four months after the end of the war, they created a routine. Katniss finally gained the energy and the will to go back into the woods. When she was done, she would arrive home to the smell of fresh bread wafting through the entry way. While she showered, Peeta would plate the food and they would eat. During the day, they worked on the memory book, they talked, read books, and even played around with whatever new hobby supplies Effie sent in on the train that week.

Once they passed time till dusk, they would cook, eat dinner together, and retire to bed.

It wasn’t until a few months passed that they decided to share a bed again, agreeing that more sleep was worth it, even if they agreed that they were “just friends”- relearning themselves as “Katniss and Peeta” after a war that took everything from them.

But Katniss was beginning to get frustrated.

Some days, she was tired of studying his face, only for his gaze to flick away when he caught her staring. She was tired of him sliding his hands away when they got too close putting dishes in the sink. She was tired of being so, so, close to him- but feeling so far away. But other days, they seemed more in synch. Peeta would be more affectionate, light hearted, and teasing. On those days he would allow her to rest her legs on his on the couch, and he would lightly run his fingers up and down her calves. The lack of consistency confused her. Though she wasn’t positive that she would say it out loud, she knew how she felt for Peeta, and she wanted more. Finally, in a world without cameras or wars they could just be whatever they wanted; there didn’t have to be a weird air or confusion between them. But there still was. She couldn’t help but feel that maybe he had moved on. Maybe his gestures were rooted in friendship, and that his attitude of indifference or annoyance toward her in 13 had just stayed with him. Maybe he just stuck around because sticking around was the only way he knew how to protect her- and she knew he wouldn’t ever give up on that.

It got to the point where Katniss would spend all day wishing for darkness to come- which she had never done before- so that he would allow her to coil into the folds of his side and feel the warmth of his skin. Nighttime brought a certain surety for Katniss that she no longer felt in the day time.

On this particular day, one comment swirled around in her brain, over and over. “You’re not very big, are you? Or particularly pretty?”

The words weighed heavy in her brain, making her feel small and slimy, and convincing her that Peeta’s inconsistency was because he was too scared of being honest.

So after spending most of the morning sitting with her frustrations in the boiling outside air, Katniss was in no mood to talk to Peeta, let alone spend the day with him like they had been doing.

At breakfast, Peeta can tell that something is wrong. She hasn’t smiled at him once- and though he didn’t think she realized she even did it, Katniss and her soft smile coming through the door was what began his morning. She didn’t seem to be hurt, and he couldn’t fathom her having any bad interactions while out in the woods. Maybe she just didn’t feel well today. But he wanted to know. He knew Katniss was never good with words, but Peeta didn’t think that mattered. He just wanted her to be honest.

He decided to broach the topic between the loud, angry clanking of her silverware.

“Are you okay, Katniss?” She didn’t even glance in his direction.

“I’m fine, Peeta. Thank you for the rolls.”

He made one of her favorite breakfast delicacies- cinnamon rolls. Instead of scarfing down two and offering him a hug like she did usually, she rose from the table with a loud clammer, and began to wash dishes at the sink. That was usually a job reserved for him.

The war may have changed a lot, but Peeta Mellark knew Katniss Everdeen. And he knew something was wrong. And it was something he did.

Instead of finishing his own plate of rolls, he got up to follow her. If she wasn’t going to talk, he was going to try to make her feel better.

Peeta slid behind her at the sink and wrapped his hands around her waist. For awhile, he hadn’t noticed how she felt whenever he did that, but eventually he started to notice the slight shudder on her skin and the melting of her body into his own.

This time, he only felt the shudder and felt her stiffen to the likes of wood.

“What are you doing, Peeta?”

He nuzzled close to her ear. Katniss wanted to escape, desperately, before he lessened her resolve but his breath on her neck almost brought all of her thoughts to a halt.

“I’m trying to make you feel better. It’s so hot today, I was hoping you would just stay here with me. But you slipped out early instead.”

Katniss felt bad that she left him-she felt like she needed to soak it all in wherever he woke up in a particularly cuddly mood. But today was just not the day. Especially with the heat. And his warm hands burning into her waist. She wanted to turn around in his grip and hold his face, but she snapped instead.

“Exactly, Peeta, it’s hot. So get off of me.” She threw her hands in the air and he released his grip. She missed it as soon as it was gone.

“I’m sorry- I just want to be near you. I’ll get a cool cloth and we can just lay down in front of the fan together, how about that?”

Katniss immediately felt bad for snapping, but her bad mood persisted. Of course he was going to try to take care of her- it’s Peeta. But she was tired of whatever was going on, and if she wasn’t going to get answers anytime soon, she wasn’t going to let it persist.

“No. Stop trying to take care of me.” Katniss continued with the dishes and hoped that her hostility would convince him to at least leave the room.

“Of course I’m going to take care of you, what are you talking about?”

“No! You don’t need to anymore.”

“Katniss, seriously, you need to tell me what’s going on here.” Peeta tugged on her arm in an effort to get her to turn around and face him.

Katniss slammed a plate down and finally looked in his eyes.

“I don’t know what’s going on here! There’s no cameras here. You don’t have to pretend that you want to take care of me and start over with me.”

“Katniss I want to start over with you. I want to take care of you, why don’t you think I do?”

“I told you that you don’t have to pretend! It’s fine, I know that things are different now, okay?”

“Yeah, maybe things have changed a little, but-“

She cut him off. “But nothing, Peeta! You don’t even think I’m pretty, just admit it to me already!”

With the way those words cut into Peeta, you would have thought Katniss threw something. She hated the look on his face. The disappointment, the sadness, the way his broad shoulders turned slightly in.

“You...you think I don’t think you’re...pretty?”

“You told me as much.”

Realization washed over Peeta’s face and his shoulders fell even more as he remembered the retched days of District 13. The retched days where he struggled to tell the difference between the love of his life and the illusion of her the Capitol pumped in his veins. He didn’t think she remembered that day- when the venom that controlled everything spoke for him and commented on her body and her face.

“I didn’t think you remembered that.”

“Of course I remembered that.”

“It really hurt you, didn’t it?”

“I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter.”

Peeta shook his head and moved around the island to come closer to her.

“Yes, it does. You have to know that that wasn’t me in 13. Don’t you know that?”

Katniss wasn’t sure. Yes, logically she knew that her Peeta didn’t say that, but why did it still swirl around in her brain?

“Yes, I know.”

Peeta let out a small breathy laugh and rolled his eyes.

“You aren’t any better at lying these days, Katniss.”

This time it was Katniss that rolled her eyes as she stepped forward to move around him. Instead, Peeta caught her by the arm and trapped her, with her back against the kitchen island and his arms on either side of her.

As his blue eyes bore into her own grey ones, Katniss was speechless. She didn’t know how to say everything she wanted, and she wasn’t completely sure Peeta knew why she was upset in the first place. But sure enough, he did. Because Peeta Mellark knows Katniss Everdeen. That’s one thing she was sure of.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so...inconsistent. Im terrified of doing something wrong, Katniss. Sometimes I still feel like a mutt.”

Katniss interrupted him. She hated when he referred to himself as a mutt.

“You’re not-“

“I know. Sometimes I still feel like I am though. I already hurt you once, what if I snap and do it again?” Peeta lifted one hand to rub away the heat rushing to his face. “But sometimes I feel so warm and comfortable here with you that I just let myself go. Because at the end of the day, Katniss, this is all I want to do. I want to be with you, take care of you, build a life with you. I want to figure out what being us looks like after all this time and pain. But we have all the time in the world to figure that out, because it’s just you and me. So if you’ll let me, I’ll stop trying to hold back so much, and I’ll stay right here with you.”

She felt overwhelmed with so many sweet words. Peeta never lost his gift. Still, she looked him in the eyes and whispered “Always?” in confirmation.

“Always, Katniss.”

The hug he wrapped her up in was suffocating, and still felt so impossibly good as it did long ago. One of his hands came up to stroke the back of her hair, just like she did to him.

Katniss did not want to let go, but Peeta did, and he did so abruptly, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her back to look at him.

“I forgot something.”

Katniss let a smile creep on her lips.

“What, Peeta?”

“I think that you are the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Every moment of every day.”

As he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears, Katniss blushed.

His hand stayed pressed to her cheek, lightly grazing it with her thumb. They both stared at each other, not quite knowing what to do next. But Katniss caught his gaze flick to her lips, and she knew what he was waiting for.

“Damn you, Peeta Mellark! Just kiss me-!” Katniss was half laughing, but half serious. She didn’t even get to finish her sentence.

Katniss thought that their hug felt so impossibly good, but nothing rivaled the feeling she got as his lips moved against hers and made her feel like she was floating.

She felt him smile into her mouth and heard him say in a low voice,

“I thought you’d never ask.”

From that day forward, Katniss got kisses freely. And after every one, he would pull away from her and tell her she was beautiful.

When he greeted her after a trip to the woods, “Hello, beautiful.”

When she kissed him after he found a missing puzzle piece, or when they finally finished a board game that took ages, “You are so beautiful.”

When they finished an entry in the memory book, “That was beautiful, Katniss. Oh, and so are you.”

When he made her taste a new recipe, “Did you like it, beautiful?”

When he stroked her hair to lull her to sleep, “Goodnight, beautiful.”

And in no time at all, Katniss Everdeen really did feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, and Peeta Mellark would make sure it always stayed that way.

#peeta mellark #katniss and peeta #katniss everdeen #thg #everlark #the hunger games #mockingjay #fanfic #oneshot #post mj

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dangermousie · 1 year

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More 2ha reread

It’s so interesting to see Mo Ran’s understanding in the past life try to work around the edges of the curse - not noticing inconsistencies in his own views which are blatant but the curse does not allow him to notice - for example, Mo Ran 1.0 remembers how TXJ even wondered at the contrast of how CWN was good to strangers and random people but so cold to his students; and the curse prevented him from thinking about this seeming inconsistency (even more inconsistent since the only two people MR would have thought he was bad to was him and Shi Mei since he knew (rightly) that CWN cared for Xue Meng.) The curse literally prevented someone as quick as he is to even wonder about why and how this was. It’s like his remembering thinking CWN was the last piece of warmth in his cold world when he was TXJ and he does not think why he thinks that of his enemy, why he thinks that his greatest joys and strongest emotions in past life were from CWN and not Shi Mei or conquest or whatever. You can tell he is beginning to snap out of it when he is wondering how he can lust after someone he hates so much - that’s because you don’t hate him!

Perhaps the most telling inconsistency is his thinking that he did three unforgivable things towards CWN in the original timeline and one of them was marriage (tho we don’t know that yet if we are reading for the first time) and he thinks of marrying CWN as the most gratifying thing in his life- marrying not defeating or fucking. (And he also feels guilt for this and that the price was too high for making CWN kneel - once again, because he is waking up.)

One of the joys of a reread is watching the curse slowly lose its potency and Mo Ran regain not just more and more of himself in terms of feelings, but ability to reason. It’s like he’s waking up. He wants to make CWN angry and he does not know why (I know - because he wants attention!), his first reaction on seeing CWN asleep in a pile of his inventions is pity (and only later he remembers to gloat). He is “wow cool!” when CWN shatters a cursed tablet and a little later finds himself thinking CWN’s voice is pleasant to listen to now that he’s not filled with rage at the thought of him. It’s like watching someone detox! At one point, when MR watches the sniveling merchant family without feeling moved, the Russian translation says that the reason he is not moved is “Mo Ran was deprived of the feeling of pity” and that is basically a Russian phrase to say someone is lacking in that feeling but it struck me how accurate it actually is - because Mo Ran WAS deprived of the feeling of pity or any other warm and good feeling and only now they are slowly coming on line.

But also, as a rereader, the cracks in Shi Mei’s perfect facade appear so clearly. For example, look at Shi Mei bringing wontons to MR after the whipping. If he truly was caring and wanted to reconcile, he’d tell Mo Ran who made the wontons instead of not only keeping it quiet but also trying to cause more trouble “oh teacher was too harsh on you” SHUT UP DUDE!

Speaking of Shi Mei - I still remember being so sad at the wonton revelation and thinking “if only Mo Ran knew in the beginning, things would be different” but the real tragedy is due to the curse it wouldn’t have made a damn lick of difference. If he knew, the curse would just have made him forget it. (Also, in your face Shi Mei, who constantly keeps prodding whether MR prefers the wontons or other stuff Shi Mei actually makes himself and MR always says wontons. Even MR’s tastebuds are devoted (Side note - did you notice that when MR is cleaning CWN’s library, he notices two cookbooks and they are both about Sechuan cooking - so spicy spicy spicy not what CWN himself likes - I nearly screamed because he clearly has them so he’d know how to cook wontons!) Btw, so grimly amused at SM trying to come up with excuses as to why he can’t randomly make wontons for MR, that’s because you don’t make them, liar!)

It’s like the kiss in the mist - Mo Ran devours “Shi Mei” only to discover it’s CWN and you know, his body knew even when his soul didn’t because it’s clear only CWN evokes this mad desire in him. At one point, MR thinks that he does not feel desire for Shi Mei because he’s such a pure person but that’s the thing - MR is not asexual, he’s a strongly physical person so he cannot really love someone without desiring them and this is a huge red flag of how this is all fake.

So much of it reads so differently - Mo Ran thinking he is so grateful to Shi Mei for being the only one who does not despise his rough manners and habits and past when we know that Shi Mei loathes him and looks down on him and CWN is the one who truly does not care about any of it but cares about MR deeply. So much of this story is about seeming vs reality - even the seemingly random side quests deal with this - the seemingly respectable merchant family who are murderers and thieves, the seemingly perfect Rufeng sect that is anything but, the seemingly weak and gentle Shi Mei who is neither, etc etc etc. What people present themselves as and what they actually are is quite different. In a way, Mo Ran 1.0′s whole persona plays into this. Meatbun is so skillful about it - when you first read the book, between the continuous mentions that he used to be evil tyrant TXJ and Mo Ran’s own gonzo thoughts, what ends up hidden in plain sight is that except for Mo Ran robbing the hooker in the very beginning (when he is most under influence of the curse and just got TXJ memories to boot), he does not do anything whatsoever that is outside the realm of a slightly acting out teenager. I mean, drawling x-rated sketches in CWN’s unused books? Not being cuddling to crying strangers? (But still continuing with the mission to help.) LIKE THE KID DOES NOTHING BAD A GRUMPY TEEN WOULDN’T DO!

Not related, but the scene near the beginning where CWN eats alone and MR either is smug about that or one time he eats with him annoys him on purpose is so different from the latter scene where he sits and eats with him every day but also makes sure he eats well (one of my favorite sequences tbh).

#2ha #cnovel

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where-fantasy-meets-reality · 10 months

Text

“Reflections Of A Distant Past” Chapter 6

Masterlist

Pairing: Ben Kenobi x F. Reader

Word Count: 5.9 K

Warnings: None that I can think of, other than I fall in love with this man every day.

A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the delay in posting this, but I was struggling with writer's block due hectic schedule and lack of free time. Nonetheless, I am happy with the end result. There will be more updates I am just not sure when, so I apologize for the inconsistent schedule. As always thank you to everyone who reads and shows support, it is always appreciated. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts and if you want to be added to masterlist, just let me know.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There had been an undeniable pep in your step in the days following your date with Ben.

You had been humming, smiling, and daydreaming as much as it pained you to admit it. It’s as if you were fifteen years old again.

That thought made you both giggle and roll your eyes in frustration at the same time.

As promised, you had taken a look at your schedule and gotten back to Ben. You had suggested meeting him Friday afternoon for a coffee at the shop Ahsoka worked at. In the summers she worked the morning shift, so she wouldn’t be present when the two of you are on your date; as that would have been awkward for the both of you.

Even though there were only two days between your first date and the next, you felt it went by even faster than you had anticipated the previous date…but that could have been due to your overwhelming excitement.

- - - - - - - - - -

Ben stood in his bathroom mirror, fussing over his hair. He wanted to look his absolute best.

Considering this date was much more casual, he opted for a pair of dark wash jeans and a forest green polo with a pair of brown dress shoes.

Finally happy with the way his hair looked, he quickly combed his beard and grabbed his cologne.

Whistling while he was spraying himself, he hadn’t heard Anakin walk into his bedroom.

Leaning against the frame of the bathroom doorway, Anakin causally crossed his arms and allowed a smile to creep up from the corner of his mouth.

“Wow…look at you….two dates in one week….When should I expect her to move in?”

Glancing at him with his sassy side-eye expression, Ben didn’t pause his fussing with his appearance. “Easy there.” He cautioned.

Anakin gave out a short laugh. “I’m just saying…for a guy who has made it a point to not get involved romantically with anyone in his very long extended life, this week has been a huge one for you…”

Ben smiled thinking of Emma. “Well, that is because there is no one like her Anakin….she’s breathtaking ... .amazing really…”

Straightening, Anakin let his mouth fall open and his eyes widened. “Damn…..You really are in love….you just called her breathtaking.”

“I wouldn’t go that far yet ... .Do I have feelings for her?…yes, unfortunately ... .Am I going to keep seeing her…Well, yes, until she orders me away…”

“IF she orders you away…” Anakin interjected. “...And what do you mean, unfortunately, you have feelings for her, mutual attraction is a strong start to a stable relationship.”

Finally turning away from the mirror and looking fully at his friend, Ben frowned slightly. “...I say unfortunately because she deserves better than a 160-something-year-old monster…”

Rolling his eyes, Anakin leaned against the wall again.“Really? You’re still on this? Are you ever just going to let loose and relax? Doesn’t she make you forget all of that angst and negative emotion? Be free and feel happy again, allow yourself that.”

Walking past Anakin, Ben sat on the side of his bed that occupied the middle of his room. “...She does…When I’m with her…Well…I’d swear it was 1888 again, only because I feel human again, the rest is very un-1888 but…. if I close my eyes, I can envision…I can see her….But she makes me feel better than any woman I loved ever did…”

Sitting next to his alpha, Anakin gently nudged him with his elbow. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? I mean most people would say it is, but leave it to you to complicate things…”

The two men shared a laugh at the awkward truth.

Ben sighed. “...I think it is a good thing…It only makes me melancholy because I realize that I didn’t really know what love was back then or even now…but honestly, in that society, we were given no choice…in most marriages, the partners learned to love each other because they had to, divorce was not an option if you wanted to keep your standing in society and I suppose…Shopie and I would have made it work over time…I think we were in love…I’m sure I was…”

“Wow…You said her name…”

Nodding his head slowly, Ben looked at Anakin. “I know I need to let go of the past…or at least the pain of the past…the three of you are always telling me that and I think in order to be the best I can be for Emma then I am going to have to actually do it…or at least try to do it…”

Anakin’s head swayed back and forth as he gently shook it. “I can’t believe what I am hearing….”

“Well don’t get too excited yet…She still doesn’t know who or what I am exactly…”

“You haven’t told her?!?!” Anakin exclaimed as he leaned back, away from Ben. “...You’re in this deep and she still doesn’t know?”

Pursing his lips, Ben closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, centering himself so that he didn’t blow up on his friend.

“What was I supposed to do, just blurt it out? We only just had our first date. Other than that we exchanged a handful of text messages and a few in-person conversations…How am I supposed to slip that in? …” Oh, by the way, I was turned into a werewolf, most likely by a psycho serial killer in 1888 and I was born in 1857 in London England which makes me roughly over 160 years old” ....Yeah…that will go over real well…”

Breathing in to also center and calm his wolf, Anakin eyed Ben expectantly. “...You can’t wait too long, you know better, you're the one always on us about the consequences of our actions ... .If her feelings are as strong for you as yours are for her, then waiting too long to tell her something like that will be disastrous.”

Ben knew he was right. He had told himself multiple times that if he was in Emma’s position and that a guy she just met came out with this type of secret after months of dating and thinking that she had feelings for what she thought was a normal guy….well, to put it lightly, he knew he would blow it.

“If things go well this afternoon, I’ll ask her on another date….and on that date, I will tell her…something….No matter how it scares me….”

“You will feel better once you do…”

“Oh, I am sure I will….I can’t tell you how many times I almost said something that gave me away…She is so easy to talk to and at dinner, she was asking me all these questions about my past and I so desperately wanted to tell her the truth because she deserves the truth…”

Ben didn’t voice the part of the silent truth that he discovered…that Emma was the first person he had met in his non-human life that made him feel like it was safe to talk about those things…to allow himself to be vulnerable.

Alpha werewolves had a hard time with vulnerability and emotion. If shown too much in the wrong circumstances, it could negatively affect them or give a rival alpha or pack member the wrong idea. Therefore, most alphas were jerks or hardasses, even to their packs.

Over the years, Ben had learned to walk a fine line. It helped that his pack was built organically, out of genuineness for the members and that they were small in number. He wasn’t some king-pin type who went around turning people or collecting already-made werewolves to build his pack up so that he could rule with an iron fist and do as he pleased….no, that was not him…man or beast.

Rather, Ben had just tried to detach himself from his emotions altogether and go about things without emotion. At first, all the rage and angst about his new life made it pretty easy. He had been a lone wolf till he found Anakin…after that, it was all about keeping him safe and in line….from there, he developed his traits and style as a leader. It helped that the man he was had been groomed to be a leader; as most men in that society were.

Anakin reached out and placed a gentle hand on Ben’s shoulder, cutting his internal thoughts short. “If your feelings are mutual and as strong as they are, she will understand…It may take her a minute to accept it as it did for Padme, but she will come around….”

“I hope so,” Ben whispered.

“The way you describe her, I’d swear she’s your mate, Padme thinks so too….But I know you don’t want to hear that…”

Ben heaved a sigh as he stood up. “Again, do not get ahead of yourself, there is still a lot to be determined.”

Walking out of the room, Anakin decided to lighten the mood. “Whatever,” he raised his hands in surrender. “…Have fun and ugh…” He looked at Ben over his shoulder and winked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ben had offered to pick you up again for your Friday afternoon date, but seeing how the shop was down the street from your shop, you decided just to meet him there. Besides, it was a beautiful bright, sunny day for a walk. The temperature was perfect, there was a slight breeze, and the way downtown looked this time of year always warmed your heart.

It wasn’t a downtown that was towering with looming skyscrapers and gray with concrete. No, instead, downtown looked like something out of a Hallmark movie. Small storefronts, owned by generations of the same family, lined wide paved sidewalks, a flower box in every window. The same old-fashioned-looking street lamps that you walked under on your date night lined the streets. Everyone knew each other in this town and the two biggest things in town were the Walmart and the hospital.

When you walked into the coffee shop, Ben was already there. He was sitting at a table in the corner facing the door. His dark green polo contrasted with his strawberry-blond beard and hair quite nicely, making him quickly noticeable. He was sitting casually cross-legged, reading the newspaper. Yet, you could tell by the way his eyes crinkled that he could see over the top of the paper and knew you had arrived. As you approached the table, he folded the paper and placed it down on the table. Rising to greet you, he hugged you.

You relaxed into his embrace, the feeling of the warmness of his body mixing with his cologne was becoming something you craved. He bought you a coffee of your choice and another for himself.

The conversation lasted for hours and you two were able to pick up right where you left off on Wednesday. You noticed that Ben seemed more relaxed and easygoing, but he would still do that thing where he would square his jaw or tense up when he seemed to be too chatty. Yet, at the same time, he seemed to be aware of this and it almost seemed like he was actively working to not do it, to be more…open.

Growth…effort…. mindfulness…those were positive things. It pleased you to muse that he was aware of his little quirk and that he could be trying to work on it. It was the one thing that would make Ben even more attractive than he already was, mentally and physically.

After hours of nonstop conversation, your stomach growled, halting the conversation. A deep blush slowly overcame your cheeks as your eyes diverted to the floor quickly.

“I’m so sorry, I guess I was more hungry than I realized...It’s been a long day and I only ate breakfast.” You mumbled.

Chucking Ben checked his watch. “No apologies necessary. Although I do apologize for my lack of manners, it’s past 6 o’clock, I’ve kept you out all afternoon…I’ve yammered on…”

He looked at you, his Caribbean blue eyes full of concern as he looked you over as if he had made a grave mistake.

“No! Don’t be silly…I honestly was having such a good time, I didn’t notice ....It was time well spent.”

Softening, he gave you a half smile. “May I take you to dinner then? There’s this great Asian restaurant down the street from the college and I’m in the mood for some Pad Thai…”

That crooked smile he gave you could tempt you to jump off a bridge with him if he asked you to….saying “yes” to dinner was far easier….

“Only if you let me pay…You paid for the coffee and you paid for dinner on Wed. While I appreciate, and enjoy the fact that your gentleman, I’d like to reciprocate as this relationship will be one of equality…After all, my feelings and intentions for you are mutual.”

His eyes somehow became bluer, as if they were electrified. Leaning in forward, so close that he took up your whole vision, he whispered, “...I guess if it is mutual…I can allow it this one time…” He kissed your forehead as he leaned closer.

Catching your breath from the butterflies he had sent surging through your system, you hadn’t noticed that he had been up and on his feet. You turned to find him with his hand extended, “shall we?”

- - - - - - - -

How you had overslept the next morning, you didn’t know. You swore you had set your alarm the night before, but for some reason, you had slept right through it.

Then again, that was unlike you….maybe it never went off?

“Did I forget to set it all together?”

Dinner with Ben had been a lovely continuation of your coffee date. You had been on cloud 9 when you came home and went to bed so it is a possibility that you forgot.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now.” You huffed jumping out of bed.

Frantically brushing your teeth and trying to dress at the same time, you threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with the bookstore’s logo on it. Normally you would try to look a bit nice for work, but this morning, anything would do.

Grabbing an empty travel mug from the kitchen cabinet, you resigned yourself to the fact that the little pot you kept in the stock room for emergencies would have to do for today.

Making sure Cole had plenty of food and water, you locked up and dashed out to the garage.

Opening the car door, you all but threw your stuff in the passenger seat as you jumped in.

Turning the keys in the ignition, you heard a “clunk” sound.

A wave of dread washed over you like ice water.

In an attempt to not panic, you tried to turn the key in the ignition again. But the same “clunk” sound was made no matter how hard you turned the key…almost as if the car was coughing in protest, refusing to start.

“No, no, no, no, no….” You panicked as you tried to turn the key again, but it was to no avail.

Flopping back against the seat, you slammed your fist on the steering wheel in exasperation.

This was not what you needed right now. Sales at the store were just enough to keep the door open and although you didn’t like to show it, you were barely getting by. Not showing up at all, on a Saturday. no less, unannounced would not only hurt your overall bottom line, but you would hope it wouldn’t damage the store’s reliable reputation.

Who knew how much this car trouble was going to cost?

Even worse, how were you going to pay for it?

Your eyes pursed shut as you held back tears….

It would work out…it always did…you always made it work and you weren’t about to give up now.

Getting out of the car, you took some calming breaths as you centered yourself.

Pacing in the small garage, you tried to seek out the situation.

The car was fairly new…only about five…maybe six years old at the most…so it couldn’t be too bad of a problem….right?

You’d need to call a tow truck to send it to the repair shop.

Ignoring the sinking feeling at the prospect of another payment, you tried to think of where to send the car.

The dealerships always charged top dollar, and even on your best day you couldn’t afford top dollar, so you usually sent it to a local body shop in town.

“It really is not my day today….” You sighed as you leaned against the black car, resting your head on your arm against the vehicle.

The mechanic shop you had used since college had gone out of business. The sweet old couple that ran it had retired and moved to Boca….

Smiling fondly, you remembered Jim and Barbra. Jim had been a mechanic since he was 17 and specialized in American cars (you drove a Ford) and his wife, Barb, had run the front of the garage; doing the billing and paperwork, answering phones, and handling customers.

Jim was a good mechanic and never screwed his customers like some mechanics do, especially young college girls. And, because you were always a favorite customer of theirs, they usually gave you a slight discount on whatever you needed.

“Whelp ... .Unless I tow this thing to Boca, they can’t help me now.”

You were happy for the elderly couple, they had worked hard and deserved a happy retirement….but as you had realized, they couldn’t help you now….

This led you to your next question, what shop were you sending this to?

Picking one at random made your skin crawl…this was not something that you felt comfortable about, just choosing one at random….

You had once compared it to a pediatrician…would you leave your child in the care of just any old doctor? Heck no…just because it was certified to treat the baby didn’t mean that was the one you wanted to treat your baby.

Maybe you could call Paisley or the girls? See who they used.

Checking your phone, you realized the time.

Huffing, you shot Paisley a quick text, as you realized this had messed up your whole day. She usually did her own thing on Saturdays, so who knows where she was or what she was up to.

The clock on your phone teased you. Not only did you miss out on any potential morning customers, but you might not be able to get to work at all today…or any other day until you got your car back.

Then there was your next date with Ben, you were going to have to call him and either let him know that you were going to be late because you needed to call an Uber or ask him for a ride.

As you played with the phone in your hands, you thought back to Ben…hopefully, he won’t think you were making this up.

What was the likelihood that your car would actually die on a day that you were supposed to meet up for another date…that didn’t look good at all.

“WAIT!” you shrieked as if suddenly hit by a bolt of realization…”Didn’t Ben say that one of his roommates was a mechanic?!”

“Yes! Yes, he had at dinner the other night!”

Desperation overruled nerves. Normally you would have had major butterflies and a dry mouth for a phone call with Ben, especially this early in the relationship, but this took precedence.

Surprisingly, he picked up after one ring.

“Hey Emma!” Ben’s crisp British accent came through on the other line clear as day and normally it would have sent you off into dreamland…but instead, it surprisingly evoked a sense of security and comfort.

“Ben?” You said a little more hesitantly than you would have liked to.

“Emma, Is that you? Emma, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

You heard a chair slide across the floor as if he was standing up suddenly and his voice sounded alert, his tone ready; as if he could spring to your location through the phone lines to help if you needed him to.

“It is, it's me. I’m sorry to bother you in the morning, Ben…”

“No, that’s alright. Is everything okay, you sound….panicked?”

Panicked…that was a good word to describe the situation.

“Kind of…” You chuckled. “Again I am sorry to bother you but I was running late to the store and when I went to leave the house…well, I can’t start my car and I need a mechanic ... .Your roommate is a mechanic right?”

Ben’s breath slowed and seemed to relax.

“Yes, Anakin is a mechanic, I can arrange to have him look at it, I’m assuming if you can’t get it started then you need to have it towed, right?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, you let out a small giggle. Of course, he anticipated your needs and was one step ahead. Multiple interactions with this man had led you to expect nothing less. “Yeah…I can’t get it started at all, so that would certainly help.”

“Alright, hang tight. I’m grabbing my keys now and I’ll be over. I’ll call Anakin at the garage and have him send a truck to pick it up and then we can follow it to the garage…”

“No, no that’s okay, I can always get an Uber, I don’t want to inconvenience you…”

Ben let out a “pft” sound as you heard him shut a door. “Nonsense, it is no trouble at all really…I’ll be there in 15…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ben arrived before the tow truck did and you didn’t know it until it happened, but you were grateful.

As he jumped out of his car, he was by your side unnaturally quickly…

But that didn’t matter…you just must have not been paying enough attention to him.

Despite your self-warnings about falling for him too quickly, you practically threw your arms around him as he approached you…and he didn’t hesitate to reciprocate.

You could Ben grip you closer and the scratchiness of his beard as he nuzzled himself into your neck. The way your breathing regulated and the relaxation that washed over you memorizing.

If the tow truck hadn’t pulled up to ruin the moment, you weren’t sure you’d ever let go of him…the pull toward him from inside of you was almost magnetic, you wanted to just touch him all the time.

As if time moved in slow motion, your eyes darted between watching the tow truck park and your car in the garage.

Should you take charge? Would that be appropriate because this was Anankin’s associate and Anakin was Ben’s roommate? Would Ben be offended if you took point? He is old-fashioned but does that mean he’s the macho type…the kind of guy whose all “let the men handle this darling…”.....that would be a letdown…..right?

Glancing at you briefly, Ben nonchalantly leaned in and whispered, “Would you like to handle this or may I?”

Most macho men would just jump in and start barking orders, taking charge like some “he-man” but just like that Ben had asked you what you preferred of him like he heard your internal dilemma … and it boosted the already high score that he held with you.

Because he asked, you were okay with him jumping in; you did call him for assistance after all.

“Considering it’s Anakin’s garage we’re going to and you called for the truck, it would make sense for you to take point.”

He smiled.”...That and I know the driver…” Winking, he gave your forehead a kiss, his trademark move thus far. Turning to the driver who was jumping out of the truck, he gave a wave. “Jessie! How are yeh?” He exclaimed as he started walking over to the gentlemen in greasy overalls. He had a wide smile and a buzzed haircut, his chestnut hair barely covering a tattoo of wheel cog on the side of his head.

- - - - - - - - -

Anakin’s garage wasn’t that far from your shop, just a couple of streets over. On a warm day like today, all the bay doors were open, allowing the sunlight to pour into even the tiniest crevices.

Sounds of a summer day in the city, birds chirping, the rustling of a light breeze, conversational chatter from the people passing by on foot, the humm of car engines, all mixed with the sounds of the shop; Anakin’s stereo, machinery, and the sound of Ben’s delicious British accent.

Anakin was exactly what you expected him to be. He was tall with hazel eyes and thick wavy hair that was on the longer side, not quite the neat and conservative look Ben wore. Leaning his hip against the counter, he held an olive green office phone to his ear. Grease and dirt were somehow visible on his black t-shirt and dark-wash jeans.

He was in a room off to the garage that appeared to be an office, as the only things around him were two old desks, a bunch of filing cabinets, a computer, and some chairs. Large windows offered a view into the bays where the cars were serviced, which is how he noticed you and Ben.

“Yeah, they just walked in now.” He said with a sly smile into the phone. “I gotta go, I’ll call you later babe. Love you.”

Hanging up the receiver, he bounced off the wall, and practically sprang forward toward you and Ben, like a puppy excited to find his master had returned.

Despite Ben’s wide smile and head nod, you noticed that he had wrapped his around the small of your back and that his hand was resting on your hip, almost as if claiming his territory ... .or protecting you from some unknown threat.

“EMMA!” Anakin exclaimed. “I’ve heard so much about you! Ben hasn’t shut up about you since your date Wed. night!”

Glancing at Ben, whose grip had tightened around you the closer his roommate got, was a shade lighter than his hair color. But you found Anakin’s antics good-natured.

“It’s great to finally meet you!” Anakin practically grabbed you out of Ben’s grip and lifted you off your feet into a bear hug.

A few things struck you all at the same time. Firstly, Anakin’s skin temperature was as hot as Ben’s, which was odd to begin with. You could chalk it up to Ben just running hot but two people, un-biologically related both having that same quirk ... .no…that was weird ... .Secondly, Anakin’s bear hug nearly crushed you, it was as if he had the strength of Hercules. Thirdly, his physique was ripped with model good looks ... ..the chiseled body, strong jaw, tall, broad-shouldered, and a face that would make any girl swoon…again…like Ben….

How is it that they all have these qualities?…..it was that little voice in the back of your head that wouldn’t quit nagging you about the weird things that Ben did or how fast you were falling for him…

It didn’t go over your head though that Anakin mentioned that Ben couldn’t stop talking about you.

Coughing, you tried to speak despite being crushed. “It’s….g..great to meet….yo….you too…Ana…”

From behind you, Ben coughed. “I think you’ve made your point Anakin. You're happy to meet her, put her down before she suffocates.”

Placing you on your feet, you felt the air surge into your lungs again. Ben was by your side again when you caught your bearings.

Shrugging his shoulders playfully, Ananakin gave you a crooked smile. “...Sorry….”

“It’s okay, I am equally as excited to meet you as well. Ben has told me so many great things about you and the rest of your household. You guys are like brothers.”

A puppy was what you quickly began to associate Anakin with. His large eyes and overly expressive features were entertaining and adorable.

A bashful smile overcame the mechanic. “Aw well, he speaks highly of me ... .in front of company it seems like...well….You should see him when I don’t follow orders….”

“Anakin!” Ben hissed through gritted teeth. The sharp command made the two of you jump to attention.

Catching himself, he coughed; clearing his throat. Doing that thing where he visibly relaxes, he dropped his shoulders and loosened his grip on you.

“The car, Anakin….have you had a chance to look at it?”

The tension in the room dropped by a thousand.

Letting out a breath, Anakin tilted his head back toward the nearest bay. “Yeah, it got here about 10 mins ago…Just finished before you got here.”

Walking towards your car, which now had its hood popped with a light hanging under the hood.

“According to the computer reading…” Anakin leaned in…” and my own diagnostic testing…” He bumped your shoulder playfully. “It seems to be the starter, it looks like it is blown. On top of that some general maintenance stuff… needs some new spark plugs and your fluids need to be topped off…How often do you get this car maintenance?”

Your stomach felt like it dropped out from inside of you and hit the floor. “When I can afford it or if it is necessary.” You murmured.

“Yeah, it shows.” Anakin chuckled.

“Anakin.” Ben glared at him.

“Sorry...I just get passionate about cars…” the roommate apologized.

“ ‘s okay….How much is all this going to cost.”

Anakin’s lips tightened. “With parts and labor….around a thousand bucks….”

You unintentionally sucked in a breath and you felt your heart stop beating. There was no way with everything you had going on and how the store was barely hanging on you would be able to afford this.

Unbeknownst to you, the two men exchanged a look and nodded.

“But since your family, it’s all good.”

Ben’s eyes clamped shut and his jaw squared as your eyes darted between the two.

“No, no I couldn’t…..I don’t take charity…and I’m not family.”

“Well not yet, but you are dating family, and in this pack family doesn’t pay for car maintenance.”

“Pack?” You questioned at the same time Ben said, “We aren’t officially dating yet, but thanks for beating me to the punch Anakin,” though his tone was still strong and warning.

Ignoring your question about his usage of the term “pack,” Anakin chose to respond to Ben’s comment. “Well whatever you two want to call it, you’re associated with one another, and your family Ben, so all of his privileges extend to you, Emma.” His tone was exasperated as he shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands in the air.

You shook your head back and forth.“Still ... .I can’t accept that, it’s not fair to you ... .you deserve to get paid for your work, same as if I was any other client… and I wasn’t looking for handouts when I called, I was looking for consistency and accountability.”

“How about a compromise,” Ben interjected. “A no-interest payment plan that Emma can make at her leisure. That way…” He turned to look at you, “Emma doesn’t feel like we are doing her a favor, and,” he turned to Anakin, “Anakin gets paid for his work and gets to keep his “helping out family policy” and everyone wins.”

His eyes darted back and forth between you two.

“Deal!” You exclaimed so fast you startled them.

Taking a sigh of defeat, Anakin bobbed his head. “I guess it’s fair ... .alright….fine…but you have to take a loaner car at no cost.”

You chuckled, “That's definitely a deal then because I don’t think I could afford it even if I wanted to at this point...”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The paperwork had been drawn up, a rental car had been chosen and Anakin was currently on the computer ordering the parts for your car.

You and Ben were walking towards the back of the lot, to where Anakin kept the few loaners he had. You had gone with the small silver Toyota…nothing special but it would be more than what you needed.

The silence between you and Ben had been somewhat awkward, after Anakin’s antics. You knew he meant well, but you weren’t sure of how Ben felt.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he pursed his lips. “I apologize about Anakin…He means well but he can't be a lot to handle.”

“That’s okay, I found him rather charming…And I appreciate all of his help…I wouldn’t be able to do this with anyone else…which reminds me…Thank you for your help and for stepping in and helping me compromise with Anakin…I would have been really upset if I couldn’t pay in some way…I don’t like handouts or people feeling like I’m a charity case…”

You started to blush in frustration…You tended to get passionate when explaining your independence Ever since your parents died, you did your best to maintain fierce independence, you were no one's little orphan who needed help and had to be felt sorry for.

Ben chuckled.

“I understand completely…and if I’m being honest…I admire your strength and your ability to care for yourself, to take control when you have to….it is….” His eyes darted between you and the ground as he shuffled his feet awkwardly, “...truthfully, it's a turn on…”

Smiling broadly, you grabbed his hand. “Thank you, I appreciate the honesty…and I like that it turns you on that I’m not some helpless fairy princess who waits around for others to come and save them…most men can’t handle strong women…”

Linking fingers with you, he gave your hand a small squeeze. “I’m not like most men…”

Stepping in closer, you kissed him on the cheek. Ben was completely surprised by the action but he handled it well.

“I know we were originally supposed to be on a date right now…but…would you like to come over tomorrow night? I know we have been seeing each other a lot this week…but if we’re spilling secrets today….I really like you, I enjoy your company…like a lot… and I’m interested in moving things in a serious direction…. if you are…How does dinner at my place and maybe a movie interest you?”

Ben’s ocean-colored eyes practically glowed. “Causal enough for a third date but definitely moving things forward…” He chuckled. “I would very much like that, but only if I can bring dessert.” He winked.

“Perfect.” You winked back.

“Good…Because I am interested in moving things forward with you, I’m glad Anakin did not scare you off, I was planning on asking you to officially start dating if we had originally gone out today…”

You did everything you could not to squeal with excitement and giggle at the old-fashioned terminology…then again, saying boyfriend and girlfriend at your age did feel a little immature. Was there anything more mature to call it? Something you contemplate later.

“Not even close, you’ll have to do a lot more than that to get rid of me, mister…Nothing would make me happier than to be attached to you…”

“Nor as happy as I would be to attach myself to you….You are an amazing woman, Emma.” His British accent made you feel like you were in one of those romantic movies you desperately loved.

Leaning closer to him you whispered, “I love the way my name sounds when you say it.”

With his free hand, he cupped your cheek. “Then I hope I get to say it every day to you.”

Molten hot lava seemed to coarse through your lower belly as gently pulled in your first kiss. Your free hand gripped his shoulder as you sighed into the kiss. His beard ticked your lips and cheek as you felt his tongue dart against your lips. You could tell he didn’t have much practice, but he certainly wasn’t disappointed….besides…you looked forward to teaching an old dog new tricks.

@sillynilly27 @nanagoswife @transcending-time @thewhitedannimal @kirstenvldfan21 @the-clones-and-me @hugmekenobi @naughtyry @nicole-lightfoot @janebby

#Obi-Wan Kenobi #obi wan kenobi #obi wan #obi #obi-wan #obi-wan kenobi fanfic #Obi-wan Kenobi X Reader #obi wan star wars #obi wan x reader #obi-wan x reader #obi-wan kenobi imagine #obi-wan kenobi x you #Ben Kenobi

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kandyrezi · 11 months

Text

Kurotsuno + Sullivan + Kcalb [thesis + general observation]

I know there have been a lot of speculations before about how the three of them could possibly be related to one another, but I was thinking about this while washing the dishes and it wouldn’t leave my head until I gave it my own two cents & wrote this all down. I’ll probably come back to this post in… five or six years when we finally get a TGG prequel/any Obsolete Dream chapters past the 9th, so I can check case by case how spot-on this was or how many mistakes I made.

This is mostly just for fun, so read this with an open mind, and pardon me for any potential inaccuracies - if that’s the case, then I implore people to point them out so I can… try and fix any inconsistencies there might be.

This is partially a theory post, partially a headcanon post, because there are just too many big gaps in the events to make one, straight, linear timeline to tie everything - from cryptic hints to subtle signs - together from beginning to the end, so a lot of it is really just my charitable speculation.

(rest of it is under the cut, 'cus this is quite long, trust me~)

So, Sullivan has some obvious relation to Kcalb, as they do share noticeable physical similarities (eyes/black sclera + horns), though it is unclear if Kcalb is a blood-related parent to Sullivan (because then, y’know, who is the other parent?), if they are very distant blood-relatives, or if Sullivan is just one of his creations - much like how Ivlis created Vendetto/Poemi from his flames - though I’m not certain how far his capabilities in terms of creation go, because of this line Kcalb says at some point in The Gray Garden.

‘Repair’ is kind of a subsection of ‘creation’. Either way, Kcalb clearly has more than enough loyal subordinates, so how did Sullivan even come to be?

"His upbringing was way too complicated." is one of the sentences used in this specific art to describe Sullivan, so that's enough of a hint already that he isn’t that 'ordinary' in the slightest.

If he was created by Kcalb or born from someone else, the devil would, either way, have required the involvement of another individual (’Raven’? AKA The mysterious figure speaking to him on the train in the ‘bonus room’ video? The red-eyed figure “Fate” who appears in Etihw’s memories of the past in the ‘Normal End’?) in order to do so in the first place. If we assume Kcalb even knew of his existence or was with him at any point, then Kcalb would have used Sullivan for his own gain; a kind of a host or placeholder body if his powers were to be diminished or taken from him, his fundamental connection to Sullivan would allow him to ‘borrow’ his powers back, or someone to lead the war if he would be gone.

Whether or not Sullivan actually possesses the same abilities as Kcalb is unclear, though similarly to Kurotsuno, he is seen with the exact same asymmetrical symbols (the same ones visible when Kcalb renders Ivlis powerless) in some artworks.

Addressing one of the many elephants in the room first and foremost; I don’t believe Elena is Sullivan’s mother or has anything to do with him at all, for that matter, considering she is Zigzag’s sister and doesn’t really seem like a special being - meaning she doesn’t stand out from any of the other demons from the Pitch Black World/Ne-No-Kuni in her art LOGs. She hasn’t been hinted in any way to have possible connections to the Gray World either. The physical similarities (blond hair, black/green retina) are likely just re-used design choices. A very ironic statement considering I used this exact argument with the aforementioned Kcalb/Sullivan’s relation to one another, but their relationship actually has more than just one subtle similarity connecting to one another.

The reason Sullivan might look sickly in a lot of his artwork is because he doesn’t handle these devil-given powers well mentally or physically, since they were thrust onto him forcibly and he has been described as ‘weak’ by many of the characters.

He might be Kcalb's descendant, but he clearly isn't as powerful as the devil is, with his poor physical health and all. Whatever Kcalb’s plans with him might’ve be, it ended up fruitless (for now). Kcalb was quite terrible during the war era, so he probably didn’t treat Sullivan very well. At some point, Sullivan might have been whisked away by someone (possibly ‘Raven’ from the ‘bonus room’ video), or he himself escaped the Gray World to go and live in Neo-No-Kuni.

He’s seen wearing a gyakuan and has been classmates with Gyakuten since their school years, so his departure/upbringing already happened over there when he was quite young. [1]

In the distant future, he meets his wife to-be at some point and they get married, but she dies due to unknown causes [2] when Olivia is at a young age, so Sullivan is left to raise her by himself.

I am, personally, a big fan of the “Olie is Kurotsuno’s mother” theory for many reasons which are stated below. They do indeed have some notable similarities, which have already been brought up before by some other people, such as:

• Similar hair + eye color

• Similar sounding names (+ Olie's last name used to be Kurokuro)

• Olie has been seen interacting with Reina, meaning she’s in the Obsolete Dream universe

• Kurotsuno’s mother was stated to be dead, and Olie correspondingly has strong ties with death/mourning

• Olivia is clearly stated to be human (or at least, partially [3]), so she would need a human parent, and Olie looks quite human enough

• Olie used to be listed in the ‘dead’ category in the funamusea(.)com/characters/ page, not with the youkai (Reina & Jianshi) she has been seen with thus far, despite the fact Olihana is also based off of a youkai. Before DSP changed the layout of the character page on the official website, Olie was actually placed within the ‘undead’ category, which supported the theory of her being dead--

[Image retrieved from the internet archives!]

--but now she’s been put into the ‘youkai’ category (which is visible on the new design of the website), so I don’t know if it’s a retconned idea DSP previously had, or if it’s to hide Olie’s true identity for now, but we also don’t have a lot of information about the youkai characters to begin with, where they reside, where does the youkai world connect with Neo-No-Kuni, or what their role is in the overarching story.

[1] if Sullivan has been in Neo-no-Kuni since his school years, then there is a distinct probability Kcalb has never even met Sullivan face-to-face, and Sullivan may have been raised by someone else from birth/creation.

[2] alternate possibility is, she might not have died and is currently residing in the youkai realm as Olihana?

[3] Olivia might not even be fully human, considering her father is a demon, so there’s that chance she might be a cambion (half-human/demon hybrid, which originates from as far back as 19th century European mythology).

There is very little known about who Olie is, but she is an interesting character and there seems to be more to her than meets the eye, judging from some of the deleted official artwork of her. I want to look at them a little bit further, see if there’s anything interesting to be found.

Oh, hey, would you look at that! Olivia & Olie together in the same pic! The kanji above them is just their names. (Kurotsuno, Kurokawa, and Olie’s old surname - Kurokuro)

Translation: “The grief of the deceased does not reach.”

Is the “deceased” in question alluding to herself, or someone else?

The most interesting picture of her so far, if not the most cryptic and somewhat confusing. It’s worth at least mentioning them; do these objects in the image hint at her character, or backstory - or are they just meant to be decorative? It has a clock stopped at 3:00, a painting, unknown letters scattered about, and a gramophone with many different items (flowers, masks, a radio) inside of it.

The closest visually similar flowers like the ones in the art I was able to find is the Morning Glory.

It has a lot of different allegorical meanings, depending on its color. A blue Morning Glory, in particular, usually alludes to feelings of trust and/or respect - which might be a connection she shares with her other self, Olihana.

Buried in the flowers are two masks. One is the Hannya mask ( 般若 ) which is usually worn by Olihana in artworks, a mask representing a female character drawn to madness by jealousy/resentment. The other one closely resembles either the Wakaonna mask or Ko-omote mask ( 能面小面 ), which is mostly worn by young girls, and meant to convey the idea of innocent beauty. The latter mask could in theory belong to Olie.

Any connection I could find with the painting in the background is the fact it is a little reminiscent of Mori Ippô’s 1871 painting, “White Fox”. It might just be there in DSP’s art for aesthetic purposes though, so I’ll leave it at that.

And now, onto the timeline.

((A lot of text below is heavily headcanon/speculation based, while trying to stay true to currently known canon information as much as possible.))

Olivia and Sullivan have a big fight at some point, which ends with Sullivan losing his temper and possibly locking up Olivia into her room. She would have either snuck out, or Hanten would have shown up at Rapunzel’s Olivia’s window and helped her out of there. This is Sullivan and Olivia’s last meeting for a very long time.

When she meets up with Hanten and tells her what had happened, the latter would definitely know of the ‘reason’ behind her ‘rebellious streak’ - as the many characters in OD point out is prevalent in her behavior.

Hanten even makes a remark about Sullivan in chapter 4.

The implication seems almost emphasized here; the second panel is zoomed in closely to Hanten, and she's posing somewhat of a rhetorical question with the "Right, Kurotsuno?" as if the latter would know about this first hand. Kurotsuno is seen being physically violent with Sullivan or verbally degrading him in nearly all of their artworks together, yet not once have we seen him losing his temper with her for her behavior, so he might feel some guilt over his past actions and keeps his temper under control, as sort of a vow because he knows what happened last time he didn’t listen to her.

Olivia might have chosen to run away from home altogether, and Hanten might or might not have gone with her, but I won’t mention her too much in this post for the time being.

Either someone takes her back to the Gray World, or she goes there on her own.

She meets Kcalb at some point and the two of them develop something of a friendly bond. Kcalb likely didn’t know about Oliva being Sullivan’s daughter since she’s a human and looks quite a bit like her mother, bearing almost no similarities to her father.

At some point, a bigger war breaks out and Kcalb has to leave, so he doesn’t see Olivia for quite some time.

It’s during this time when ‘Raven’/’Train Guy’/’Fate’ from Etihw’s memories swoops in and finds Kcalb to tell him about Olivia’s relation to Sullivan, making the devil to a complete 180 and come to the conclusion of using her for his own gain to turn the tides of ongoing war in his favor.

Both Kurotsuno and Kcalb have a connection to the moon [1], so it’s during the full moon when he goes back to Olivia after a long time of not seeing her, she’s likely excited to meet him again, except Kcalb will only use her for his own benefit, with Olivia possessing Sullivan’s blood, and to that extend, also Kcalb’s.

Etihw drained Kcalb of his powers, but he can use Olivia to activate them, but since Olivia’s powers are essentially useless/non-existent as a human, Kcalb turns her into a demon, which was (as canon seems to allude to this) a very painful, agonizing process.

Hanten might have found Olivia and gone into a state of grief to find and think her to be dead, only for the latter to finally wake up. When she does, all of her memories are gone and she doesn’t remember any of her time spent in the Gray World, or whom Kcalb even is, or why is she laying in a barren wasteland.

Except for the argument and how he locked her up – then it’s everything else in between is a blackout in her memory – up until the point when the agonizing pain Kcalb put her through begins to take form.

Because of their outward physical similarities, she concludes it was Sullivan who had hurt her in such a painful way.

Oliva decides her name is no longer ‘Olivia’ but Kurotsuno, which is a name she chose to give herself, because of the asymmetrical, mismatched horn on her right side of the head. She wants to cut ties with the past and what had happened, hence the new name.

It’s likely Hanten did not go through the same transformation Oliva did at that exact time, and became a lookalike with Anten at a later point, hence this image here.

Hanten’s arm is cut off and it’s transforming into the black one she has currently, instead of the normal, beige colored one with red nails she did before. Also, not to mention, the horns are also becoming different - as such; both Kuro & Hanten’s transformation took place at different times and different places, Hanten’s not until much later on.

Haten & Olivia both had their memories erased, hence why Hanten has no bitter memories of their time, whereas Olivia (now Kurotsuno) does, considering Hanten doesn’t take Kurotsuno’s hatred of Sullivan seriously and refers to it as “rebellious phase” much like the other characters, such as Maekami. Otherwise she would actually know the real reason why Kurotsuno is in her demon-equivalent of a ‘rebel phase’ and moody all the time?

Sullivan probably went looking for Olivia at some point during when all that took place but couldn’t locate her since he had no idea where to look, that’s why there’s a note in Mogeko Castle and his reasons for being there in the first place.

[1] Olivia’s transformation might have happened during the full moon. That’s why Met says this, because that’s when her memories of that time become more vivid.

Kcalb has a conversation about the distant past with Yosafire when they’re looking at the moon, in one of the bonus room videos. Here’s a transcript of it:

Kcalb: “There are some people I’d like to meet again. The first would be difficult to meet now. As would the second. The third... I’ve never met face-to-face.”

Yosafire: “Why not?”

Kcalb: “I’m simply not worthy of meeting them.”

Yes, he could be talking about his former-now-dead subordinates, but surely he’s met all of them face-to-face. Surely. An alternate interpretation of this speech is the possibility of the first mentioned person being Sullivan, and the second one being Kurotsuno/Olivia. I don’t really know whom the third person might be. Place your bets in my askbox now! The winner gets… nothing, except crippling, soul-crushing depression, sorry.

Also, you kinda need eagle eyes for this, but look at Sullivan holding that black/white diamond handkerchief in chapter 7.

Coincidence? I think N—

...actually, who knows. might just be a coincidence after all this thorough analysis after all.

Okay, now, THERE IS A LOOOTTTT MORE which I did not deep-dive into, such as Kcalb’s conversation with the unknown ‘Raven’ on the train, the ‘???’ bonus room video dialogue, “THE PAST” official artwork with the smiling guy with the knife and the bleeding-from-mouth Olivia, the flashback images that Ivlis shows to Yosafire, etc etc. Because this post is quite long already, I think I’m alright to leave it as it is.

Haha, If you made it this far…. wowie thanks for reading my new and improved thesis! <3

(I also named this ‘daddy issues the theory babey’ as a word document on my computer... u _ u

#funamusea #obsolete dream #okegom #mogeko #kurotsuno #sullivan (mogeko)#deep-sea prisoner #dsp #personal #(to be completely honest if i analyzed the train dialogue kcalb has with 'raven' about 'crow')#(then - no joke - it might actually cancel out the possibility of kcalb having ever met sullivan)#(but this is really just. one of many variations their past might have looked like)#(it's so long i did not want to add more to it)#(but will happily discuss it further. any alt. scenarios i mean)

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