#✧ ˚ · . ✦ STATION OF AWAKENING. / CHARACTER STUDY.

[heartslight]

i lean full into the abilities and keyblades the games give sora.

attraction flow moves? sora loves to use them whenever possible and his favorites are the pirate ship / splash run / mad tea cups. it takes a lot of his energy to cast mountain coaster, so sora only saves it for very special battles and occasions. if he does end up using mountain coaster, he'll need a few hours before he can cast another one.

his flowmotion? constant use. there is nothing sora loves more to quickly cross distances and jump crazy high with his flowmotion. it does start to wear him out when used too consistently, so sora tries not to lean on it too heavily.

his keyblades? sora stores his keychains in his room in the gummi ship, but he always has at least three on him (per the three equipable keyblades you could have in kh3) plus the ultimate keychain. his current three keyblades are kingdom key, shooting star, and wheel of fate. the ultima keyblade is a last resort, since using that keyblade and its formchange will put sora out of commission for the next few days.

his summons? sora summons his friends whenever he can. he tries not to play favorites but he summons meow wow more often than anyone else. summoning leaves him completely drained of magic but he really doesn't mind, since it's a chance to see old (and new!) friends again!

[hyperactively-me]

regency era!ghost x reader au (part 5)

Simon stands alone in his study, the soft glow of candlelight the only thing keeping him company. The servants of the house are well asleep, the rain and thunder outside providing a soothing lullaby. The flickering light casts long shadows across the room, highlighting his furrowed eyebrows. His mind is consumed with thoughts of the evening he spent with you not long ago at the ball, the memory of your touch lingering in his mind. 

But why?

You both have mutual contempt for one another.

Simon sighs out loud, admitting to himself that he was rude and presumptuous in his every interaction with you leading up to this point. It wasn’t fair to you for him to be so condescending, especially upon your initial introduction. He had overstepped his bounds time and time again, disregarding your autonomy and treating you despicably. The more he thinks about it, the more guilt he feels consuming his soul. It's a behavior unbecoming of a man of his station, let alone a Duke.

He recalls the sensation of holding you in his arms, guiding you through the steps of the dance. Your face appears, beautiful and doe-eyed. The memory of your touch, the way your hand had fit so perfectly in his as you danced together, haunts him. Confusion gnaws at his heart, mingling with a sense of longing that he struggles to understand.

He had never been one to dwell on matters of the heart, always preferring the clarity of duty and discipline. But ever since that night, he finds himself haunted by thoughts of you, unable to shake the memory of your fiery spirit and unwavering resolve. He knew that he should resist the pull of his emotions, that he should keep his distance and maintain the facade of indifference that had served him so well in the past.

Simon paces restlessly across the room, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the moonlight. He can't help but question the nature of his feelings. Why does he feel this undeniable pull towards you, despite the animosity that had characterized your every interaction in the past?

He rakes a hand through his hair, frustration building within him. It's absurd, uncalled for, he tells himself. He has no place in your world, no right to entertain thoughts of romance or longing. He's an ex-soldier turned Duke, duty-bound and disciplined, while you are a lady of society, born and bred. 

And yet, despite the vast divide that separates you and him, Simon can’t help but yearn for something more. He finds himself drawn to your spirit, captivated by your character. He stops by the window and glances outside, watching rivulets of raindrops trickle down the glass. 

He knows that he should put an end to these foolish thoughts, that he should focus on matters of state and leave behind any notion of romantic entanglements. And yet, try as he might, he can't shake the image of you from his mind.

As Simon grapples with his conflicting emotions, restlessness settles over him like a thick fog. He can't just forget the way you had stirred something within him, awakening feelings he had thought dormant. It's a disconcerting realization, one that leaves him feeling vulnerable and exposed in a way he has never experienced before.

What are you doing to him?

With a heavy sigh, Simon sinks into the nearest chair, his thoughts swirling. He knew he had to mend his relationship with you, apologize to you, beg for your forgiveness until he could no longer stand under the weight of his guilt. But how could he even begin to approach you after the way he had treated you all this time? The dance at the ball was not enough to make up the damage he has done. He refuses to let his pride stand in the way of mending this. 

If he truly wants to make amends and seek redemption in your eyes, he must take action, no matter how daunting the prospect may be.

Lost in his thoughts, Simon’s gaze falls upon the box of stationery resting on his desk. With a start, Simon rises from his chair and strides purposefully towards his writing desk. He picks up his quill, the inkwell glistening in the candlelight, and begins to write. 

At first, the right words are difficult to come by. Each stroke of the quill feels heavy with the weight of his remorse, yet he presses on, determined to convey the depths of his regret. Slowly but surely, the words begin to flow, a heartfelt apology taking shape on the paper before him. 

He writes apologies of his wrongdoing, acknowledging the hurt he has caused and expressing his sincere desire to make amends. He doesn’t hold back, baring his very soul in a way he never thought he could. Every word is written with care, every sentence crafted with the hope of earning your forgiveness. 

Content with what he wrote, he seals the letter with wax and his crest. This letter may be a small gesture, but it is a step towards reconciliation. 

With the letter in hand, Simon stands, making his way through the corridors of his grand estate. Finally reaching the foyer, Simon pauses before the heavy oak door, his hand trembling slightly as he clutches the letter tightly. Outside, the rain continues to patter against the window panes. 

Summoning his courage, Simon steps out into the night, the cool raindrops soaking him to the core as he rides his steed to your residence. His heart rattles in his chest as your residence comes into view, undeterred by his goal. 

As he approaches your doorstep, Simon hesitates for moment; but he knows that he cannot turn back now, that he must face this head on. 

With a deep breath, Simon raises his hand and raps upon the door, the sound resonating into the halls of your home. For a moment, there is only silence, broken only by the distant rumble of thunder.

Then, the doors swing open, revealing a servant. 

“It’s urgent,” is all Simon says. 

With a polite nod, the servant gestures for Simon to enter, his expression a mix of curiosity and bewilderment at the Duke's unexpected visit at such an ungodly hour. Simon steps inside, the warmth of the foyer enveloping him like a comforting embrace after the chill of the rain.

As he removes his dripping coat and hands it to the waiting servant, Simon's heart pounds in his chest, his nerves frayed. His jaw set with determination, Simon follows the servant to the drawing room.

“Please, Your Grace, wait here.” 

Simon nods, then takes a seat on the couch. He doesn’t really care that he’s getting it wet; his mind is consumed by thoughts of you. Each passing moment feels like an eternity as he waits for your presence, his heart racing. 

Finally, the door opens, and you step into the room, just dressed in a nightgown and robe. Your eyes widen in surprise at the sight of a soaking wet Duke seated before you. The moment you step into the room, Simon shoots up from his seat, giving you a quick bow. 

“Your Grace,” you say, utterly confused. “Uh, to what do I owe the… pleasure of this unexpected visit? And in the middle of the night?

Simon’s gaze never leaves yours as he approaches you with measured steps. 

“You’re soaking wet,” is all you can manage to say when he is only a few paces away from you. His hair is sticking to his forehead, and you can see his dress shirt plastered to his defined chest underneath his jacket. Your eyes flit back up to his face. 

Simon halts in his approach. “Please, forgive the intrusion at this late hour, but I’ve come to speak with you, if you’ll allow me,” he begins, his voice gentle yet earnest. 

You regard him with suspicion and guarded interest, unsure of what to make of his unexpected visit. With a nod, you invite him to take a seat, your demeanor polite but guarded. Simon accepts your offer, settling himself into the chair opposite yours, the letter still clutched tightly in his hand. 

“I’ve… I’ve come to apologize,” he begins, his words measured and deliberate. “For the unkindness I have shown you, for the harsh words spoken in haste, for my arrogance and presumption. I… I realize now that I was mistaken, that I had no right to treat you with such disrespect and animosity. Please, my lady, please forgive me.” 

He extends the letter to you, the parchment slightly damp from the rain, the wax seal bearing his crest glistening in the soft light of the room. You take the letter cautiously, your fingers brushing against his freezing fingers as you do so.

Slowly, you unfold the letter, the sound of the parchment crackling in the silence of the room. Simon watches you intently, his breath caught in his throat as he waits for your response.

With each word you read, you feel a shift within you—a softening of the walls around your heart, a willingness to believe that Simon is truly apologetic. His words are, from what you can tell, sincere; each sentence bears the weight of his remorse. As you reach the end of the letter, you look up to find Simon watching you with bated breath, his expression a mix of hope and trepidation.

For a long moment, you say nothing, the silence stretching between you like a taut rope. You study him, searching his face for any hint of insincerity, but all you find is remorse shining in his eyes. Despite yourself, a flicker of something akin to hope stirs within you—the smallest glimmer of possibility that perhaps Mister Riley is not the cold-hearted Duke you believe him to be. And then, finally, you speak, your voice soft but steady.

"I accept your apology, Mister Riley,” you say, your words measured. "But, know that forgiveness is not easily earned, nor is trust quickly regained. I will give you a chance to prove yourself, but know that I will not tolerate any further disrespect or mistreatment.”

Simon's eyes widen in disbelief, gratitude shining in their depths. "Thank you," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “I will do everything in my power to make things right, to earn your trust and respect.”

With a nod, you hand the letter back to him. The journey toward forgiveness will not be easy, but for the first time, you allow yourself to believe that it might just be possible. And as Simon rises from his seat, a sense of hope blossoms within you—a hope that, perhaps, despite your history, there may yet be a more peaceful future worth fighting for.

part 4 < what was written in the letter? > part 6

[electronickingdomfox]

"Corona" review

Novel from 1984, by Greg Bear. I had my doubts about this novel during the early chapters, but it grew on me, and by the end I was pretty enthralled. More slow-paced than the usual TOS adventure, it presents truly interesting ideas, and their ethical ramifications. The most scientific concepts may be hard to grasp for the uninitiated like me, but the language is never dry. In fact, many passages dealing with physics come off curiously poetic and beautiful.

It doesn't delve much into characters, save the new introduction (a journalist girl named Mason), and at times McCoy, who is revealed to be a much more tormented man than normally assumed. Though in the case of Mason, she's a mere observer for most of the novel, and doesn't have much to do until the end, when her true role in the story is revealed.

What the narrative does fine, however, is creating an increasingly disquieting mood, once the Enterprise crew comes face to face with the dead-eyed Vulcan researchers of a distant station. In particular, their creepy children. The titular "Corona" is easily one of the most alien (one could say, Lovecraftian) entities that have appeared so far in these books. At first only obliquely referenced, its true nature and purpose are revealed in a gradual, pretty effective way. The reader doesn't really know what's going on, and it's not like anything terrible is happening (there are no murders or monsters around, nobody is injured). Yet I appreciated the feeling of lingering horror behind it.

The technology presented is a bit baffling, and it tends to play loose with canon. For example, we have the Enterprise sustaining warp eleven for seventeen days! Kirk is said to have a brain implant to receive directly certain transmissions (a gadget that was introduced, I think, in the TMP novelization). And the Federation has developed a new device to implant a person's memory in a new body, should the worst happen in the transporter. In all aspects, it's a cloning machine, but is much better received than I'd expect (after all, cloning machines are usually the domain of villains). All these things, as well as the misleading cover, made me think the story was set some time after TMP. However, the stardate firmly places the events during the five-year mission.

Another point of interest, is the introduction of novel ideas in regards to Vulcan culture. In particular, a coming-of-age ritual that awakens dormant conditioning in Vulcan children, to help them become adults. There are also full sentences in Vulcan. I don't know if all this was invented by the author, or taken from some reference material (or even fandom ideas!), but it's certainly the first time I encounter it.

Overall, this was a solid story. I'm surprised the author didn't write any more Star Trek books.

Spoilers under the cut:

A remote scientific station in a nebula has been cut off from communication for ten years (funny how nobody cared to check on the poor losers during all that time). But now, Starfleet has received a distress call sent from the station a decade ago, through conventional radio. The scientists at the station were studying Ybakra radiation, and were all Vulcan: T'Prylla (a distant relative of Spock, and presumably the woman depicted in the cover), her husband Grake, their two children Radak and T'Raus, and two other scientists. Besides them, the other members of the scientific expedition had been put in hybernation chambers, until the radiation in the nebula subsided. The Enterprise is tasked with a rescue mission. Though, after ten years, I don't know why the mission is so urgent: either everyone's fine, or everyone's dead by now.

However, Kirk has his own problems aboard the ship. Starfleet wants him to test a new monitor system, for command and medical decisions, capable of overriding the Captain's orders if it considers them contrary to Federation policies (so imagine how well this sits with Kirk). The monitor computer is imbued with the personalities and memories of several renowned admirals, who supposedly would find together the best course of action. Also, sickbay has been equipped with that new "cloning machine" I mentioned above. On top of that, journalist Rowena Mason will travel in the Enterprise, to cover the results of the new monitor system. She's a true country bumpkin that has never left her home planet, has all sorts of prejudices about non-human races like Vulcans, and feels pretty anxious about being in a starship. Kirk is annoyed by Mason sticking her nose in his business. But wants to keep her around as objective observer, to have some proof to rub in, in case the monitors fail (as he secretly wishes).

Once they arrive at the station, it becomes apparent that something doesn't add up. A redshirt glimpses a young boy, that the tricorder doesn't register at all, and the station seems at first deserted. When they later encounter T'Prylla and the others, they're in good health and polite, but also pretty stonewalling against any rescue attempt. And the children, rather than the adults, seem to be in charge of the compound. McCoy wants to revive the frozen scientists with the new machine in sickbay, but T'Prylla also objects to this. There's a further complication when the medical monitor registers the sleepers as legally dead (nervous system destroyed by radiation), and thus not elligible for resucitation.

Meanwhile, Chekov starts feeling influenced by a conscience inside his head, that forces him to do things against his will. He sends detailed plans of the Enterprise to the station, and later sabotages the shuttlecraft; the only means of transport for the landing party, since Ybakra radiation seems to be messing with transporters.

Tired of the newcomers' interference, Grake decides it's about time to show them their scientific achievements. The Vulcans have developed a transformer to control subatomic particles around the nearby area, which allows them to pop up anywhere in a certain radius. And through this transformer, they can also reproduce the conditions at the universe's birth. So they plan to start their own Big Bang. They show them a miniature demonstration of it. And there's an interesting insight into the characters, when each of them interprets different things in those images. Kirk realizes this is all madness, and blames it on the effects of Ybakra radiation on the scientists. He manages to get Chekov and T'Prylla inside an isolation container, which frees them from the radiation effects. And T'Prylla, again herself, tells them about the alien influence inside their minds. It manifests as a corona around one of the suns in the nebula, and its control is greater in the Vulcan children.

With the shuttlecraft dead, the landing party has to risk using the transporters. Almost everyone comes aboard the Enterprise, but the transporter can't retrieve Spock and Mason, who are sent back to the station. Spock feels Corona is about to control him, so in a last, desperate attempt, he transfers part of his conscience to Mason, though in the process, some of Corona's comes into her too. The journalist must overcome her fear of Vulcans, and use Spock's knowledge to awaken T'Raus, by means of imparting a coming-of-age ritual on her. For his part, Radak has materialized inside the Enterprise, and tries to sabotage the engines. But his mother imparts on him the same ritual. Once "adults" per Vulcan custom, Corona's influence on the children diminishes. But the Big Bang machine is ready, and starts the countdown to restart the universe.

Since Mason has part of Corona's memories inside her, she tries to reason with the entity. Through T'Raus, Corona explains its motives. Its race had existed in the first moments of the universe's birth, when everything was just energy in flux. As the universe cooled down and matter appeared, its whole race died. Only Corona survived in certain radiations, such as those in the present nebula. And all this time, it's been trying to go back to these initial moments of the Big Bang. The universe in its present state, is a dead corpse for Corona, and living beings are like germs.

In the Enterprise, Kirk hesitates about destroying the station while Spock and Mason are still there. But the fabric of reality is already starting to disintegrate at subatomic levels. The monitors consider that Kirk has failed for not destroying the station yet, and they override his command. The ship starts firing, but Corona controls all energy in the area, and deactivates both phasers and torpedoes. This gives Mason a bit more time to convince the entity of the worth of living beings. At last, Corona has a glimpse of her memories. And in the recollections of her planet's clouds, and the feeling of freedom she associated with them, the entity finds a parallel with its own world and memories. Corona decides to give living things a chance, and spares the universe. At least until the final moment when entropy reduces everything to nothing. Then it should be restarted. And it may seem corny to have the poor country girl saving the day against such an entity. But I think it's somehow fitting that precisely the most humble character, communicating with the greatest, is the one who achieves this. Also because, as a writer, her most distinct skill is that of communication.

In the aftermath, Mason has overcome her narrow views of the world. And McCoy finds out that the monitors will now let him revive the sleepers. As a parting gift, Corona tampered with the system to redefine what counts as "legally dead". There's also a funny moment when McCoy contacts one of the personalities inside the monitors: his (now dead) teacher from Academy days, who almost flunked him. And the teacher reprimands him for slacking off, when he learns that McCoy is still just a Lt. Commander. The monitors, however, proved to be faulty, and Starfleet will discontinue their use. But Kirk ponders what would have happened if they hadn't overriden him, and whether he could have fired at the station himself.

Spirk Meter: 2/10*. A couple of brief moments. At one point, Kirk feels he's almost in telepathic communication with Spock, and doing what he just would do. Later, Kirk is certain that Spock is still alive in the station, as he can feel his reassuring presence.

There's a bit of Spones too. This novel makes McCoy and Spock very similar at their most intimate level. We're told that McCoy also suffers because he can't control his emotions, too extreme in his case. And he has adopted brusqueness to disguise them, just as Spock has adopted logic. McCoy seems also pleased whenever Spock agrees with him. And when everything starts coming undone, described as McCoy's most terrifying experience ever, his last thoughts are reserved for Spock, whom he feels sorry about. He recognizes that, behind all their bickering, he hides a deep respect for the Vulcan.

Apart from this, Kirk really wants to fuck the ship. Take this passage into consideration:

"At the touch of his fingers -resting on buttons set into his chair arms-and at the sound of his voice, he could make the Enterprise come alive. Stroking... He put such errant nonsense from his thoughts (and a good thing neither Spock nor McCoy could read minds at a distance)"

Funny that he's specially concerned by Spock and McCoy's reaction to this...

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[fazedlight]

THIS POST IS NO LONGER MAINTAINED

Please refer to my ficlet tag or this work on AO3 for my complete ficlets!

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

FazedLight Ficlets

(Would rather read on ao3? I'm importing them here.) (Looking for something longer? Check out my fic lineup!)

💝 = start with one of these 🍁 = supercorptober

Idiots in Love

Scent - On moving on and unanticipated powers 💝

Tattoos - A story about a funny misunderstanding

Stargazing - A moment on the roof of the Tower 💝

Glance - Kara wants to protect Lena from Nyxly

Enchanted - Lena can't understand magic with science 🍁

Power Girl - Karen Starr pays a visit, and Kara's not ready for the revelations

Flying - Lena doesn't realize she's getting over her fears.

Confusion - William is also an idiot, but in a useful way!

Bouquet - Why didn't Lena jump?

Other fluff

Write - Lena's got an alien detector device. Too bad Kara is solar flared 💝🍁

Hazy - A season 3 reveal, based on Lena's misinterpretation of Reign 🍁

Character Study

Irish - On Lena's connection with her mother

Sunrise - What sunrise means to Kara 💝

Mercy - On a difference between Kara and Kal

Hiding - Musings from Cat Grant

Interlude - Max & Cat at the radio station during Myriad

Identities - A companion ficlet to my Worldkiller Kara AU

Asynchronous - Not sure where to slot this, but I promise it's less angsty than the gif implies!

Hero - On Kara's struggles as she figures out how to have hope.

Awakening - On Kara realizing her sexuality.

Heights - Lena character study, angsty

Reflection - Kara comes out to Nia

Burn - Kara seeing Lex during Crisis

Angst (hopeful or canon-compliant endings only!)

Do-Over - A rewrite of the ending of the 100th episode

Control - Lena activates Myriad 💝🍁

Borrowed Time - Kara's last thoughts in the season 1 finale as she carried Fort Rozz into space

Kaznia - Lena panics that Kara died in the explosion, but Supergirl emerges instead.

Listening - Kara should know better than to eavesdrop. And yet.

Dread - Rewriting Lena's experience with the Phantom in Fear Knot

Gone - Alex tells Kelly the truth about Kara, near 6x01

Other:

Plus One - Kara takes Lena to Barry's wedding

Phonecall - A call between Cat & Andrea near 6x01

Rings - Kelly character study

Oath - Alex character study

[ouralcohol]

Ever Mine

Pairing: fem!reader* x Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd

Summary: lovers, a bunch of memories put together because alcohol had no plot, just fluff and soft things, domestic adorable life [wc: roughly 4k]

Tags: 18+ explicit, lovers, so much fluff, smut (i tried.. My first time…), nudity, vaginal sex, oral sex (both F receiving), slight choking, daddy kink (we all love a daddy kink), all characters are 18+.

Author’s note: This was for the dicked down December that my dear Abby put together and I only hope I do it justice because to get as someone as spectacular as @withahappyrefrain is absolutely astronomical… love ya bud.

The moments that made you fall even more in love with Robert Floyd.

**

The first time he held your hand was the first time you felt the moonlight shine upon your face. There wasn’t a person in sight, but you honestly didn’t care. It was finally happening. It was all finally happening with him. He took you by the hand as you began to stroll down the street filled with little antique shops after dinner. It had been a while in the making, as you had been a friend since middle school. Robert always returned home regardless of where he was stationed. Sometimes he flew in just to spend a few hours with his parents before heading out again. While he left, you stayed put. You went to college in your town and you decided to become a teacher. Only because the kids were so damn adorable and you knew that in your heart you felt like you could make a difference.

And you were.

So while he was there, you were here, achieving your dream just as much as he. During the first few years he came home almost every time. You hung out and caught up with each other. Things slowly started shifting when you graduated from school as you wanted more. You wanted to continue your studies, but now you were in the classroom. The years took a toll as teaching was no easy feat. There was a reason why summers were needed for the well deserved break. Robert had come home one summer and you decided that that was when you were going to tell him everything. You knew you were. Apparently so did he as he laid it all out on the line. You will never forget the words he spoke to you in that quiet, dimly lit restaurant.

“It’s you, sweet girl. It’s always been you.” He simply said while adjusting his glasses and staring at you with hooded eyes. Sweet girl had been a term he had adopted ever since you both had graduated high school. It was something that you never found to mean something more. Until tonight. Had he felt this way all along? The way the curls of his lips turned into a soft smile while he continued to stare at you waiting for some sort of reciprocation.

You had been preparing a small little speech from the time you found out that he was coming to see you. You had been thinking of a few words to share. It wasn’t a coincidence that you never had any guys when Robert wasn’t around. You kept thinking to yourself that someone else was going to come along, but alas, that was not the case. It was not the case at all and you learned this from the first time that Robert left for deployment. The empty and hollow feeling that was left in your heart because your best friend had gone to pursue his dream was unlike any other. Though, you felt a thousand times better when he came back and your heart did little flips while your stomach felt all warm and bubbly.

“Why now? Why wait until now? Because I was going to tell you something…” You teased him while taking a sip of your ice water, eyeing him with a raised eyebrow. There was a quizzical look on his face which only made you let out a soft laugh. “I’ve thought about it for a long time… and there really isn’t a reason why we shouldn’t be together.” There was a serious tone in his voice which only made you close your thighs together as he had awakened something deep within your core. The glimmer in your eyes could be seen from thousands of miles away as you couldn’t help it anymore and confessed your feelings for him, “You’re weird Bob Floyd. I was planning to tell you that I’ve had feelings for you for a while… you’re my best friend and you always come back here, to me.” There was a finality to your tone meaning that you were not going back now.

Robert’s eyes never left yours as you ate your food, and now you were leaving the restaurant as a couple. A new beginning to your life that you never wanted to end. The butterflies in your stomach were out of control as the beating of your heart was slow and steady, just like Bob was. He was steady and his movements were so calculated. The man knew exactly what he was doing to you, but you didn’t care. He was yours. Now and forever. Robert brought your hands clasped together up to his lips as he whispered, “Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.”

**

You will never forget the first time you danced as his wife. The way the lights dimmed only to have the light from the candles that were sitting on the tables filled with guests that were so happy for the both of you. A lot of people saw it coming, you and Bob becoming one together, but you didn’t care. You had gotten to know him as your best friend and the transition to a lover was easier than you had imagined. He was still your best friend, you were just now kissing and doing other ungodly things to him.

When he placed a kiss upon your bare shoulder right before the music started, you couldn’t help but feel as though the world had decided to give you the best gift of all. Your best friend was someone whom you’ve come to rely on as an equal, a lover, a soul mate. Bob begins to sway you in the middle of the dance floor as a sweet and slow melody starts to play. He kisses your bare neck right under your ear before he whispers some sweet nothings, “Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.”

A soft smile that had not left your lips for the whole night was on your face. You couldn’t fathom anyone else, nor did you want to. You couldn’t picture anyone else by your side as you looked at Robert in the face, his beautiful crystal eyes staring right into your soul. Suddenly feeling like nobody was in the room and time seemed to slow down just this once for the both of you. The day the Earth stood still for you and him, as if it were made to just be your world for this little slice of life. There was something in the air that night and you never wanted to be awakened from the dream that was Robert Floyd. He was everything that you wanted in someone to call your partner. He was the person that you knew you could fully trust with everything including mind, body, and soul. You leaned up to plant a soft kiss on his lips while whispering, “Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.” A saying that had carried you both throughout your time apart, now meaning something even more as you danced with your best friend.

**

Being married to him was a dream and more. Robert Floyd knew how to be a damn good husband to you. He knew exactly what to do and what to say to make things better than ever. It had been easy to fall in love with him. You had an inkling that you had always been in love with him since the beginning but never wanted to admit it to yourself. What a fool you were, but how could you not be? Especially when he had opened up to you throughout the years while he barely said a peep to most people. He had opened up his heart without even knowing it, and now you were both here, two years into your marriage and you couldn’t be happier.

It was a good thing that you kept yourself busy with teaching because if you hadn’t, then you would be a sitting duck waiting for your husband to come home. The times he was home though, it was always valuable and you cherished every second of it. He had been able to take some time off during December which allowed you to get the gifts for the children done faster.

Every year you got your students some crayons, a coloring book, a pop it, and a pencil to take with them. It was something that you did as a tradition, you weren’t sure if your students celebrated Christmas or not, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact that you did it because you wanted to. Every year, most years, Bob wasn’t home to help you with your task, but this year was special because he was here with you. So of course, Bob was sitting in the living room with all twenty-two bags in front of him. He was going down the line making sure he had put everything in each bag correctly. It was moments like these that made your heart flutter with love for this man. He just flew almost ten hours, with a connecting flight delay, came home, and got to work on what you had asked him to help with. Robert never ceased to amaze you in every way, and just when you thought you finally had him figured out… nope. The Lieutenant had something up his sleeve that would make your heart swoon in other ways.

He wasn’t a man of many words. Bob Floyd only said what he needed to say when he needed to say it. So, while he was helping you put the bags together in the living room, you were in the kitchen baking some fresh cookies. Tomorrow was your last day before the winter break. A time that would be forever cherished with your lover. You had paid no attention to the time, simply enjoying his company, enjoying playing house with him.

There was a soft Christmas tune playing in the background while you prepared the baking sheets. At that moment, everything was perfect. Your hands picked up the sheet as the door to the oven was opened for you to put the cookies to bake. Once you closed the door securely with the cookies inside, you felt a pair of hands on your waist with a pair of lips to go with them at the base of your neck. “My beautiful wife.” He simply said.

“Yes, Mr. Floyd?” You queried while sighing dreamily and letting your body sink into his. “Have I told you lately just how much I love you?” He asked again in a gentle manner. Your eyes closed at the sound of his velvety voice while your head leaned back. “Once or twice, I’m sure.” You teased him. Bob didn’t miss a beat when it came to physical touch and tonight was no different. He began to slowly move to the rhythm of the song that was playing on this soft winter’s night. “Hmmmm.” A sign of content from you as Bob twirled you so you would face him now.

“You are home for me, sweet girl.” The pilot spoke toward you. The emotion that he was conveying from what he was saying made your heart melt into putty as the warmth in your cheeks was evident. You always knew that Bob was special. However, after you had become a couple things had changed, and he opened up more to you than before. You found himself telling you things that he wouldn’t normally tell others, that’s how comfortable you made him.

Your eyes never strayed from him as you continued to dance in your small kitchen, not even paying attention that time was cruel. Time always flew by when he was home with you. “You know, you’re pretty charming when you want to be, but even then, you don’t really have to try, Robbie.” You shared in a soft whisper with him as he continued to sway you in the middle of the kitchen. “I can’t help it. All I know is that you’re everything right now. You’ve always been everything, sweet girl. Thanks for marrying me. I know this part of the gig isn’t easy…” A soft laugh escaped your lips, “that’s stupid. It isn’t but, someone has to and it might as well be me. You’re worth it all, just promise to always come home to me. Or would you prefer we move closer to Top Gun?” A query that had been simmering in your mind like a faucet dripping, constant, never letting you free from the torment of his job and what it all entailed. “You’d do that for me?” His voice sounded surprised as his eyebrows raised to match his tone. “I’d do anything for you Robert Floyd.” You leaned in for a kiss at the corner of his lips as you whispered, “Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.”

And that was that.

**

Even though you had moved closer to his base, he was still on deployment. Somehow as the years went by, the deployments were longer which made your home feel a bit emptier than usual. The transition to teaching hadn’t been easy as it was just a different place and therefore you had to learn a new curriculum. The people you worked with were not the same as the ones back home, and it took you a while for them to warm up to you, but you liked them.

They took you in when you felt like you had no one. Technology could only go so far and sometimes it was radio silent for a few weeks before you heard a response from your husband. It didn’t matter though, as you knew deep down in your heart that he would always come home to you. Always.

A surprise happened when you came home one day, not knowing that he had been able to come home early. When you walked through the door you found a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table. That could only mean one thing right? That could only mean that your beloved was here in the house, somewhere. Your heart skipped a beat as you scrambled to find him, thinking to look in your bedroom first. Robert Floyd was laying in bed, mouth slightly agape while his eyes were closed, glasses resting at the bottom of the bridge of his nose. A warm feeling crept inside you as you stared at the sleeping man for a second before walking over quietly and taking his glasses off.

You quickly took off your shoes and walked to the other side of the bed to get in. You didn’t bother undressing as Robert would most certainly do that for you when he woke. You were sure of it. The immediate sinking of the bed caused the pilot to turn and instinctively wrap his arm around your waist, as if it were second nature.

The feeling in your heart grew four times the size as your hand slowly caressed his cheek. With the simple touch you felt that everything was perfect right in this moment. Not because you were together, but because the faintest smile could be seen on Bob’s face as your warm hand touched it. What kind of effect did you have on the man that he subconsciously knew how to react to the simplest of touches from you that even in the essence of dreams he was able to feel you? You liked to think that he was dreaming about you, the skin contact awakening something in your belly, waking up from a slumber.

You didn’t realize how long you laid there with your husband, you didn’t care. Time stopped for a second time in your life as you just stared at him and even wondered how he could be so real. How someone like him could love and cherish someone like you. How he was sacrificing so much so you could be safe, how he had given every part of himself to you to keep while he went away. How everything that you both did in your relationship was for each other. How someone so perfect was made just for you.

The grip on your waist tightened only meaning that he was aware you were there. “Hmmm.” A content sigh left his lips. “Good morning, sleep okay?” You asked him softly as your hand went from his cheek toward his neck to rest on his shoulder. “Hmmm.” He said again, eyes closed still. “I didn’t know you were coming home early… very nice surprise.” You said barely above a whisper as you leaned down to kiss his lips softly. A craving you’d had since he left you last time.

You never tired of Bob’s lips. You never tired of Bob anything if you were honest with yourself. “Yeah?” He said with a low chuckle. “Yes… lieutenant.”

That did things to him as he flipped you so you were under him while he brought his arms next to your face to rest on each side. Robert looked you in the eyes as he whispered, “Do you have any idea just exactly,” he said when planting a kiss on your jaw, “how” another kiss, “beautiful” and another, “you are?” A slight giggle left your lips as you said, “I have an idea, but you might have to show me, daddy.” The last word that said with a hint of a whine to let him know just how much you needed him at that moment. There was no stalling this time, not with how long he had been gone and out of your embrace.

One of Bob’s hands began to travel throughout your body, starting with the top of your head to caress your hair, down to your cheek and your neck, toward your shoulder, on the side of your ribcage and under your blouse his fingers crept making your skin burn with every touch he made. A delicious shiver went down your spine as this had been something that you missed doing with him. Your hands trailed down his back to grab the hem of his shirt. A simple movement and it was discarded on the floor. “Sweet girl, I missed you so much,” he said barely above a whisper. His voice dropped an octave lower as you could tell that Bob wasn’t playing around right now. A lot of times he liked to tease you, but right now he wanted to cherish you and let you know exactly just how much he missed you.

“Lieutenant Floyd…” you audibly gasped out loud for him as all the sensations in your body coursed through you. “Yes, sweet girl?” He asked playfully while taking your shirt off. Your legs automatically wrapped around his waist, feeling him harden. You looked into his eyes, a silent plea, but knowing Bob, “Tell me.” He said quietly as he attacked your clavicle which caused you to arch your back in response. His hand wandered under the waistband of your pants and on top of the lace fabric of your panties.

You closed your eyes for a split second relishing on what your husband was doing to you, causing you to squeeze him tighter, a whimper leaving you, “please.” You begged. Bob cupped your cheek as you opened your eyes again to see him staring at you, while his other hand went under the fabric and began to rub that sweet spot. A moan was heard. You took matters into your own hands as you untangled yourself from your husband and took the rest of your clothes off. Another chuckle was heard from your husband as you quickly unbuttoned his pants. He stopped you on what you were doing, “no, sweet girl. It’s about you right now…” you frowned, “but I missed you too.” “Don’t worry, you’ll have time to show me, let me take care of you right now.”

Both of you moved back into position as his hand traveled down to the curves of your breast, squeezing the round bud of your nipple until it hardened causing you to arch your back once more and letting out a gasp. His other hand went back to where it was as he began to work on your clit, knowing exactly how much pressure to put on it. The multiple sensations that your body was feeling caused you to squirm a little in protest, “let go, sweet girl. Let go.” Bob demanded by your ear as you closed your eyes once more to focus on what he was doing to you. Sometimes you forgot just how tensed up you could be, but when he spoke those words to you, you began to relax and enjoy the feeling he was giving you. His lips continued to attack your other breast, giving them both equal attention before moving down your abdomen. Hand tracing circles on your side as he continued to rub your clit at an agonizingly slow pace.

You let out a moan, “Daddy.” You said. Bob grunted as his lips left a trail of his saliva to reach what they were looking for. Now, replacing his hands with his lips, you gasped for air, as one of your hands grabbed a handful of hair. Bob Floyd knew exactly how to work you and you had no complaints about it. He slipped a finger inside of you between your folds while continuing his attack making you rock your hips with his face. A content him left his lips as he sucked and licked at your clit. “Bob… I’m so close…” and you were. Your free hand extended out to grab the sheet as Bob knew what you wanted. His free hand pinched your nipple while he continued to pump two fingers inside of you, quickening up the pace as he knew that you were getting close to your climax.

The rocking of your hips became quicker as he licked as fast as he could causing you to let out a loud moan. You reached your orgasm as your body lost control and shook from the ecstasy that your husband had given you. Your hand gripped his hair as he rode your orgasm out before coming to a full stop and going back up to plant a kiss to your lips so you could taste yourself, “so yummy, my sweet girl.” He told you. You could only smile at him as you flipped him over so now he was under you.

“My turn, lieutenant.” You simply stated before attacking his lips while your hands roamed all over his body and down to the buttons of his pants. You unbuttoned them with ease and helped him out of them and his underwear letting his hardened cock be free from the containment. Your hand immediately wrapped around it as you pumped it a few times, causing him to close his eyes in delight, his mouth slightly agape. A smirk formed on your lips as you soon realized he missed you as much as you missed him. A few more pumps and he was squirming with your touch, but you weren’t going to let him off that easy.

You positioned yourself so the tip was at your entrance, “Lieutenant Floyd.” You said in a sultry voice. “Yes ma’am?” He said with eyes still closed, hands around your hips to serve as a guide if needed. “Let me see you.” You responded. Bob opened his eyes the second that you slowly began to sink down on him, your walls getting used to him before beginning to rock your hips while he bucked his. A low hiss escaped his throat as you arched your head back, enjoying the feel of him inside of you.

The pace was slow, slower than most times as you wanted to cherish this time with him. Your hands rested on his forearms while you continued to rock into him, as he bucked his hips making you moan every time he went as deep as he could go.

“Sweet girl…” he said in a raspy voice.

“Yes, daddy?”

The response that met your ears was a grunt, indicating that the pace needed to be quicker. Without hesitation you began to grind faster as you moaned his name. One of his hands crept up to your neck as he closed his hand around enough to were you could still breathe. The pilot knew how much that turned you on, and the waves of pleasure that were going through your body now were enough for a second wave of an orgasm that started to build once again. Bob bucked his hips quicker. The man sat up as his lips attacked your breasts while letting out a loud grunt and moan as he was also nearing his climax, “sweet girl…” you continued to grind your hips as he sucked on your nipple, making you moan louder, “I’m so close, lieutenant,” you managed to say, as Bob commanded, “let go.” The coil in your belly snapped as he hit the right spot in your clit with each thrust he managed to make, with Bob soon following as his movements became more erratic as you both rode your orgasms together.

Bob fell backwards on the bed, with you following on top of him, not wanting to let go of such closeness just yet.

Robert kissed the top of your head as he whispered, “Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.”

And he truly was ever yours.

a/n: let a girl know what ya thought, reblogs make the world go round!

[cactusspatz]

August recs

Okay, I've got a handful of miscellaneous recs, and then ten recs for Victoria Goddard's Nine Worlds series, which I'm putting under a cut because at least two of you I know are still reading and the recs are full of spoilers for At the Feet of the Sun. Enjoy!

MISC

The Long Way Home by itsnatalie (DCU, gen)

With Jason tentatively back in the Batfamily, things are going pretty well for him--except for the whole thing with Tim. But who gives a shit about Tim Drake? But when Jason and Tim are pulled into a frightening race for their lives inside a labyrinth that's out to kill them, they may have to look past their differences just to stay alive. Maybe along the way, they'll discover they aren't as different as they thought, and family comes in many different forms.

Spectacular in every aspect: the horror, the action, the hurt/comfort, the brotherly devotion underlying their swarm of issues, and the ending. I really can't rec this one highly enough.

Late Night, North Station by raitala (Untamed, Wangxian)

Lan Zhan finds A-Yuan lost in the railway station. He maybe finds more than he bargained for. Some mornings you leave for the office and come back with a son (and possibly a husband too).

Sooooo sweet, with a lovely autistic LWJ POV. The sequel is still a WIP but is great so far.

Beginning at the End by WerewolvesAreReal (Temeraire, Granby/Little)

In many ways it seems that John's life revolves around William Laurence.

Lovely character study trilogy with Granby sorting out his unrequited thing for Laurence and his ongoing thing with Little.

thou, who art victory and law by The_Apocryphal_One (Goblin Emperor, Csethiro/Maia)

He couldn’t help his unintelligence, any more than she could help her father. And he was kind. She should try to remember that. (Or: Csethiro Ceredin goes into her betrothal to Emperor Edrehasivar VII with assumptions, and has every one of them challenged.)

Great Csethiro POV as she works through her pride and preconceptions.

NINE WORLDS

Embers by alfgifu

Kip Mdang returns to Solaara, hardly confident that the Imperial Service will take him back but sure that there is no place for him in the Vangavaye-ve. The City of Cities is still expanding from the backwater village it was before the Fall; the work of reconstruction continues but it is no longer a simple crisis. In the Palace the big political beasts are circling for position under the newly awakened Emperor. Despondent and determined to bury himself in work, Cliopher finds his former patron disapproving and the new Master of Offices openly hostile. But he is still a fifth degree secretary, and some problems are easier to solve when you feel that you have little left to lose… and don't care which enemies you make along the way.

Amazing!!! Basically a novel-length series digging into the difficult period between Kip returning and Kip becoming the Hands of the Emperor, with tons of bureaucracy and corruption and competence porn and of course, his devotion to His Radiancy and building a better government. Also features wonderful OCs, worldbuilding, a really horrifying bit of magic, some unexpected allies, humor, and Kip being just a really lovely (and determined, and traumatized) person.

thank you!!! no walnuts!!! by mage-pie

Pikabe has fucked over his army career (and maybe his whole life) by refusing illegal orders to commit a war crime and kinda sorta leading a mutiny (he was cleared of wrongdoing, but still, mutiny). He’s been shuffled out of the way to some random base where everyone gives him the side-eye (because mutiny) and he’s never going to see anyone from his old unit ever again. (Which doesn’t matter, his former lieutenant’s also-fucked-over life is none of his business, whatever, it’s fine it’s fine.) Then he gets a mysterious package and a mysterious Solaaran visitor who might have an idea about turning things around (a suggestion, even).

Fun possible backstory for Pikabe; part of a series that I haven't read in full yet but it stands alone.

Signals by Penguinity

Kiri cleared her throat, and the secretaries looked up as one. She waved the letters in one hand. “The stack in the second pigeonhole, what sort of letters are these?” “The ones from people who aren’t crackpots, but don’t need help from our office.” Cliopher nodded, satisfied. “Indeed, well-sorted.” Kiri held up a finger to silence him. “And?” There was a brief pause, before Gaudy gave an almost inaudible sigh and answered. “And who are flirting with Lord Mdang.”

SO funny, featuring the junior secretaries and Kip's ace obliviousness.

A Good Man by Quasar

It takes a while, but eventually Masseo discovers why a man with no name got saddled with a family curse.

Brilliant little premise run off that line about how Ludvic violating the Emperor's taboos would curse his whole family.

One Bed Too Many by white_hart

They slept beside each other on the deck of the vaha, and in a nest of cushions in the solarium, but this is the first time there's been a bed. In fact, there are two.

Sweet immediately-post-ATFOTS fic with them negotiating physical intimacy.

Five People Who Were Surprised The Next Time They Met Cliopher by Quasar

Five people who were astonished when they met Cliopher after the events of At The Feet Of The Sun.

What it says on the tin! A fun collection of people, culminating in Pali and Kip figuring out a detente.

Thrive in the Sun by electropeach

A day in the retired life of Cliopher Mdang: the sun, the sea, the wind, his fanoa… and a cousin baking up a storm in his kitchen. (Alternately titled "Enya Hears About Sardeet")

Immensely soft and funny series, with just a dash of feels about Fitzroy's tragic childhood.

The Tanà’s Day Off by rattyjol

Kip takes the day off. Fitzroy fills in.

In which they are so so cute and extremely married.

Homing by oliviacirce

Homing, adj., (1) having a natural ability to find the way home from a long distance away, (2) guiding or directing homeward; v., (1) to aim at something and move quickly and directly toward it

More on the theme of Kip and Fitzroy figuring out their asexual/allosexual relationship, with an assist from the retirement house squad. Lovely and domestic.

Kip Thistlethwaite by alfgifu

His tone was light on the offer itself, despite the sturdiness of his declaration of identity. She could refuse him with no embarrassment to either of them, turning this into a joke that they could laugh over with Basil later in the evening - but - but - those steady brown eyes were serious. “A marriage of convenience?” she said, equally lightly, “how gallant, sirrah.”

I am going absolutely feral waiting for more of this delightful series, in which Kip happens to be visiting Basil when Jullanar is blackmailed, and offers himself as an alternative. The second story deals with the Emperor finding out that his secretary is indeed married to THAT Jullanar.

[venture-through-the-mist]

Petals May Wilt (But We Can’t Let Them Wither)

The New War is over. The System is saved, for now. Yet, a new challenge arises, the issue of ‘the Lotus’. With her mind fragmented from Ballas’s abuse, can she begin to coexist with the other two voices that now begin to drown out her own?

Natah and Margulis have been awakened into a world that is distinctly unfamiliar. They are not who they once were—in more ways than one. But who is the third voice sharing their mind, and why is she so uncomfortably familiar—for one of them, at least?

Chapter 2: Cloying Deception, Immortal Devotion

She had always given her love freely. Yet, the Scholar would soon be punished for her compassion.

TW: There are just a couple warnings that I want to address for this chapter before we get into the story.

Non-graphic mentions of the canon-typical abuse, manipulation, and other nonsense that comes with Ballas’s character.

Somewhat graphic character death (no gore though). In the interest of not giving spoilers, all I’m going to say on that is that the Jade Light really doesn’t seem like a great way to die.

With that out of the way, the fic begins under the cut.

Childhood is a gift. She’d always known that. She would often look back at her own, fondly recalling the warm embraces of her parents, their pride as their daughter rose in her studies, easily surpassing her peers. It was a simpler time, yes, but one that she kept close to her heart. That proved especially useful when her training began, when she crossed that bridge that separated the child from the scholar. From the Archimedean. 

She’d always held more love than she knew what to do with.

She found herself fascinated by the world around her, by the people, by the life. Her peers jeered when they learned of her adoration for Earth’s long-ruined ecosystem. She felt sorry for them, sorry that they couldn’t understand what it was like to have a passion for something more ancient than themselves. She spent her days huddled in the library, nose-deep in ancient texts, fingers carefully turning weathered pages, eyes straining to read the faded ink within. Her mind was always hard at work, as was fitting for her station.

All her love, her devotion, her passion…That was what captured his gaze.

Perhaps she was too naive when it began. Perhaps she didn’t want to see past his honeyed words. She was young, she had never had time for romance before, she had always been too busy with her studies. It was so easy to fall into his web. 

It would have been so easy to keep loving him. And yet, the cracks soon began to show.

She was not a prized Kubrow to be paraded around whenever it pleased him. She had work to do. But renouncing him publicly would mean consequences, ones that, as she saw how her colleagues stressed before each Symposium, she wasn’t sure she wanted to bear. She argued with him in private, but her concerns were always dismissed with a wave of that too-large hand and veiled threats. Even with that, she hoped he would see her side, that the Executor would look past his gilded throne to acknowledge her. 

Even then, she still loved him. Didn’t she?

Then, the lost Zariman Ten-Zero was found. She watched in horror as the emaciated, feral children were escorted roughly off the ship. Her heart shattered as they cried, as they lashed out at the hands that poked and prodded and tried to make sense of how they’d survived. Her childhood memories swam in her mind, the warmth and comfort now tasting bittersweet, tainted by the knowledge that these poor children had their own youths ripped away from them. She returned to her texts that night, glancing at the painting at her desk, its rounded petals—similar in color to the Nyth gems that he sometimes bought for her, usually to make ‘peace’ after an argument—seemingly curled in an embrace. It was then that she knew what must be done.

She loved the Executor, but she cherished them more.

Even when the accident took her sight, she didn’t allow her heart to harden. She only felt sorrow that she wouldn’t be able to see their sweet faces ever again. She never knew what happened to the one that had struck her, but she never again heard his timid voice. Not that first time she forced the Lorists to allow her to visit them, nor during any of the trips afterwards. She suspected her ‘lover’—could she truly keep calling him that?—had something to do with that, though she kept quiet.

The webs of doubt tangled deeper in her mind after that first argument. How dare he call them ‘Devils‘? How could he be so cruel? They were only children. She had already witnessed enough of his false promises, she had already been forced to experiment on these children—her children—not to heal their traumas, but to turn them into weapons, to fight a war that they had no part in creating. Shame on him. Shame on all of them.

The betrayal she felt when he read her sentence nearly shattered her, but she stood strong, her back tense, unwilling to show regret for her sin of compassion.

As the Jade Light burned through her skin, as she felt the searing pain seep into her quickly-weakening bones, as her mind began to drift, the Scholar made her choice.

She would not let him take her love. So, as her hearing began to fade, as her heart began to give out from the emerald energy scorching through her cells, she thought not of her lover, of the Executor who had caused this madness. No, she thought of her children, her sons and daughters. As her muscles finally failed to keep her upright, as she tumbled lifeless to the ground in that cold, heartless room, those watching were greeted by a defiant smile stretched across her soft, Void-scarred face.

The Scholar’s children would soon know the endless extent of her devotion.

Yet, it seems her legacy was just as undying, for the Orokin would once again toy with fate. Of course, tampering with what’s written never works out in the meddler’s favor, does it?

Margulis awakens once more, confusion racing through her mind. Why isn’t she alone? Why can’t she feel the agony that should be overtaking her every thought?

‘What’s going on? Where am I?’

[sapienthouse]

[ID: an unfinished full body drawing of an original character, next to an older, thigh-up drawing of him. in the full body, she stands with a hand on her hip, the other undrawn with an arrow reading "book with finger holding open" to describe what would be there. in the old drawing, he leans on a waist-height surface, her other hand raised flipping off someone unseen. he smiles, looking off to the side, in both.

Appearance: she has peach-tone skin, grey hair with black roots and tips, facial moles, and a bat silhouette across her forehead where eyebrows would be. The hair is styled back-combed, spiky and big, with spiky Lydia-like bangs and a long straight mullet pulled forward over both shoulders. He has gothic eye make-up and smudged black lipstick, wearing a single black coffin earring, nipple piercings, and dimple piercings.

She wears a ripped black mesh shirt under a corset showing ribs, a spine, and pelvic bone about where they would be on his body, and a pleated maroon mini skirt. Under the skirt, he wears a longer mesh skirt and maroon fishnets. Lastly, her shoes are stiletto ankle boots with 2 buckles and laces tied in nooses. end ID]

YIPPEE for OC-tober! This is my favorite OC of mine, Drax (also Laura, Dracula, or full name Draculaura)! This fag was my he/she bigender awakening (he's a little aged, but I still absolutely adore her 🫀🫀)

She was made for a paranormal research team, along with OCs made by a group of friends (inc. @bensiskos and @littlegreenfags), that researched things like ghosts, aliens, bigfoot, and mothman! Together, they try to study these canonical phenomenon and prove their existence to a skeptical public, all while living in a van together so they can travel the continent for said research!

He's like the asshole older brother from a kid's show and a protective older sister at the same time. Never getting enough sleep, she's also more of a nerd than her appearance would let on. When they're stopped in a town, the library is his favorite place to be, doing tons of research in her free time and reading gothic literature and horror pulp fiction. Other things he likes:

parking lots at night

gas stations

5-hour energy

being taller than other people, esp guys that look down on his swagful femme self (can't look down if ur forced to look up)

punk, goth rock, death metal, and any loud music made by nobodies in a garage.

collecting CDs from random underground shows

working audio recording equipment (did tech for high school theatre and is responsible for working the research recording equipment presently)

getting morally grey with it

his friends <3

FEEL FREE to send me asks about about Laura, or any of the OCs i post about this month!!!!! i love him so much. i hope u like him too :-)

[zephyr-paladyn]

Uru Somezuki name meaning analysis and theorizing. AINI spoiler warning below the cut.

Original thread on Twitter here

Let's break down the name 染月 閏 (Somezuki Uru.) Uchikoshi said to leave it to our imagination so... Here's mine?

Uru

uruu - 閏 (extra, intercalation)

In relation to DNA: "An intercalating agent is a substance that inserts itself into the DNA structure of a cell and binds to the DNA. This causes DNA damage."

Applications in DNA studies connects to Horadori Institute and DNA theming.

Can be used as a treatment to attack cancer DNA cells. Jin was suffering from a half-body cancer and Uru was the treatment.

Also refers to leap day, Uru was born on February 29th.

Also means embolism, "sudden blocking of an artery."

Maybe relating to medical problems Jin was going through.

The kanji of Uruu comprises of two characters. Uchikoshi uses this tactic in naming schemes so it's worth analyzing too.

閏 (uru) = 門 (gate) + 王 (king)

King = related to "Almighty," or the desire to be the "leader" of Naix -> a new world in Moksha? Also was the son of So Sejima, a politician; influential figure. Thus a "king" of sorts.

閏 (Uru) = Looks like a "captured king"; was kidnapped and confined in the Horadori basement.

Somezuki

Somezuki - 染月

染 (dyed, stain) + 月 (moon)

-zuki is also present in "Mizuki"? Many theorize there is a connection here

"Dyed" Mizuki? "Tainted" Mizuki? Probably not but it's interesting to think about.

I think "moon" might have more reference to month especially with "Uru" pointing to leap day in February. February is when the game takes place, and his birth month. Potential meanings of February:

如月 kisaragi - Kisaragi Station creepypasta, referenced in Hidden Bats ARG and Sunaiku.

梅見月 umemidzuki - "Plum viewing month," has Mizuki? (Maybe unintentional and also a much less common word for February.)

染 - Some can have different meanings

As "dyed" may relate more to (blood)stained as Uru is Tearer; the killer.

As "pierce" can also refer to the killings.

Also used in multiple kanji words for "infection, contamination" -- his plan for TC-PERGE.

In the kanji that comprises 染 the one that stands out most to me is that it contains kanji for 9, 九 important Uchikoshi number and relevance to Uru's character -- obsession with Zero Escape.

9 is part of his birthday -- basically his entire name points to February 29th.

Ironically, he was killed right before his 9th actual birthday. He would've turned 36, divided by 4 is 9.

Potential meaning of February 29th

Unlucky birthday -> unlucky character, unloved and constantly abused child.

"Because the 29th of February only happens once every four years, many people believe that the day holds significant spiritual power. From a numerological stand point, 29 breaks down to 11 (2+9), which is known in many new age spiritual communities as being a number of awakening and spiritual enlightenment." (Moksha, Nirvana Initiative.)

But that's just a theory. A game theory. Thank you Uchikoshi very cool!

[blackiraven]

This story was written a long time ago and was gathering dust in my archives. So I decided to share this with you😘

The last riddle.

Everything was so quiet. The thick cold walls absorbed all possible sound. Silence and loneliness dug sharp claws and teeth into the soul, and billions of thoughts filled the brain to the brim and literally poured into reality in the form of many drawings on any hard, empty and accessible surfaces. Numbers, formulas, diagrams, maps, plans, questions and just words. If I keep everything in head all the time, then their framework is lost, they get mixed up and stand in front of my eyes all the time. In the meaningless mass of information generated every second, all voices are silenced, silhouettes and faces are drowned. The reaction to all living beings and influencing factors disappears, only the environment can be analyzed. This happens gradually, as if the main functions of the body are switched off one by one, and I fall into a coma, where only I and my mind are. Anything can be fished out of this stream: formulas of eternal life and medicines for all diseases, new chemical elements and laws of physics, drawings of a perpetual motion machine and a source of infinite energy, the truth, due to which absolutely everything exists. I just need to reach out and grab any piece, then another, and another, and another, and eventually collect the whole picture of the universe and get the knowledge I want. I can do it, I'm the only one who can do it. But… they tied my hands tight. Again! They were pumped me up again with cocktails of drugs that there was no living place left on my hands, but only bruises. They were nailed me alive again in a concrete coffin for slow and painful rotting under the influence of chemicals and my own disorderly thoughts. I see, but I can't make it out, there are too many multiplying characters. Symbols flow visibly from the ceiling, quickly replace oxygen atoms, getting into my lungs, and then into poisoned blood, ooze from the food brought and float in a glass of water, get under the skin, demand to study themselves, paint, calculate, embody. I was pressed into a corner like a trapped animal. I can't sleep, eat, drink, breathe. I choke and choke on them. My personal circle of Hell, my nameless grave, and symbols and signs are my corruption.

How long has it been like this? A day, two, or a year? Or maybe just a few seconds after arriving here? What's going on out there? A huge bat once again eats the flesh of the fallen? Sucks their blood with thick fangs, grinds bones with a bottomless mouth and enjoys every cry and plea. His huge belly will never be filled, hunger and thirst will not subside. He will look for new and new victims and torment the old ones, which I am. You can drink all my juices, squeeze out all my blood, knock out my life… my teeth. Continue to carry the punishment through your weapon, Dark Knight. But, I ask everyone and everyone who hears me at the moment, do not let him find him. Don't let him touch my…

Everything was so quiet. The thick cold walls absorbed all possible sound. Until it was cut through by a loud explosion and the subsequent alarm. The whole shroud fell off, the numbers and letters eroded through the cell door that opened by itself. I saw surging crowds of freed and falling from their hands inhumans in white coats. Shots rang out, shouts and laughter rang out. Finally. My new ingenious plan worked, and the bombs installed in the right places worked successfully. It remains to wait quite a bit. The bat won't have time to catch up with me. After a long coma, the long-awaited awakening took place.

After a while, one of those dressed in the snow-white armor of Gotham medicine came running to my cell. In a hurry and constantly looking around, he began to untangle me from the straitjacket. Near his feet lay my cane with a knob in the shape of a question mark, brought like a faithful dog. I knew they wouldn't have time to take it to the station as evidence. When my hands stopped being squeezed by tight straps, I immediately grabbed the special weapon and got up from the floor.

"M-Mr. Nygma… I-I did everything you said. Does our d-deal still stand?" the sent agent stuttered in fright, backing away from me. You can buy any thing in Gotham, life and opinion, the only question is the price.

"The answer suggests itself. But in order not to be suspected of betrayal, we need to stage an attack." having caught my balance, I slowly approach him with a prepared cane.

"What?! No, please!"

"I'll get in touch with you. Later." not wanting to waste any more limited time, I swung and hit my own agent on the head. Blood sprayed, and the body fell in amazement, without even having time to squeal. The blow is not strong, he will survive and be fine, but there may be a scar. It's more plausible this way. Consider this my gratitude for the work done.

With a bloody cane at the ready, I merged with a raging and partially armed crowd rushing to freedom or some other goals. The only picture of violence that I admire every time. How doctors and guards are subjected to bloody and cruel revenge from those whom they once bullied without feeling guilty. How the equipment that brings pain, called "treatment", breaks down. How the lids of all coffins are broken out, from where hatred, anger, malice and rage of those buried early come out. It's hard to restrain yourself at such moments. The mouth automatically begins to shout out the riddles invented during the imprisonment to the first comer. He, of course, is not able to solve them, for which he receives a deafening blow and sheds his blood.

"You can't see me, hear me, smell me, but everyone wants to feel me! Who am I?!"

"How many obstacles will you not erect, you will not kill me! Who am I?!"

"I can be with both the living and the dead man! Who am I?!"

Knowing the structure and location of all big complexes by heart, along a pre-built path, I was able to get to the new exit that appeared with my "small" help in the form of a hole in the main wall. All the patients actively broke out, suppressing the opposition from the hospital security. They always lose, as if such cases had never happened before. While the cops are coming here, I will have time to get to the city through the forest, at the entrance to which a package with ordinary outerwear and shoes was hidden under a marked stone, so as not to attract attention later. Hiding a straitjacket under a long raincoat made of expensive fabric, putting my frozen bare feet in comfortable patent leather shoes, and my hands in leather gloves, and lifting an elegant bowler hat on my combed hair with a comb in my pocket, I rush into the depths of the forest, simultaneously putting on new glasses and wiping the blood from the cane with a clean handkerchief. It's too early for you to see me like this…

The dark coniferous forest was replaced by a dimly lit stone one. So empty and vulnerable, because all the protection is focused on the damn Arkham. Clouds were gradually gathering overhead, blocking the view of the bright moon from the chaos and disorder going on below.

Dead end. An ordinary brick wall with no way. For the others. I take a tiny key out of my secret breast pocket and find the same inconspicuous hole in one fake brick. Click. A solid secret door opened. The stairs behind it led to several more doors, already metal. In order to open them, special alphanumeric and numeric passwords are needed, plus in some cases it is necessary to choose the right door to reach the main lair of Riddler in one piece. So that no one can get to you, hurt you… Instead of the sickening smell and smoke of the streets, I was accompanied by a pale green light and the squeak of push-buttons, and the brick wall itself closed tightly behind me.

All the obstacles that I personally constructed went through without difficulty. It remained to go through the last and easiest – a simple door of typical apartments. Which I did. A light, soothing gloom greeted me and invited me into a room made like a living room. The only faded light of the TV made it possible to see the proper interior and furniture. The screen was full of headlines and reports about the explosions in Arkham and mass escapes of "especially dangerous criminals." As always, the same thing. Exclusive footage with "our beautiful hero and savior, bringing justice." Aren't they tired of broadcasting about it themselves? Right on the threshold, I threw off all my disguise, left my cane and walked with quiet steps into my cozy house. On the table next to the empty sofa lay various parts, tools and something resembling a simple wind-up device. There were also sheets with drawings drawn by hand with felt-tip pens. So childish, but also diligently serious. I take the object in my hands and look at it from all sides, at the same time looking at the colorful drawings. Hmm, almost done, but it looks like you're confused about the last details. I dug out a pencil on the table and corrected the numbering of parts in some places. Now you will definitely finish it. Leaving a small workplace, I go into my personal office, where it is forbidden to enter anyone but me. The first thing I do is turn on the main power, all the monitors hanging on the walls and the main computer, behind which my work proceeds. While the whole office was activated, I decided to check the bedroom. In total darkness, on the edge of the bed, with his legs dangling, a small lump was sleeping soundly, and his hands were holding a thick book about mechanics and engineering, read almost to the middle.

"Leslie… " I whispered to myself with a share of joy and, tiptoeing closer, stroked his head. In response, the sleeping child only softly sniffed. After putting the book away, I take the warm little body in my arms, hug him lightly so as not to wake up, and sit down on the bed. You continue to study even in my absence. You read, invent, design, assemble by yourself. Well done, my boy. I am so pleased to observe this process, but I don't want to demonstrate it. I want to be a strict teacher for you, show little pity, thereby tempering you and preparing you for everything possible. After all, the world is full of cruelty, especially this city. But you're so cute, so funny, energetic, diligent, hardworking, innocent. Like you coming from another world. Gotham doesn't deserve you… Sometimes I want to just drop everything and become a caring parent for you, replace that filthy family, start a new life and dedicate it to you. But, all my thoughts, plans, ideas, I can't bury them, they have to come true! I can't leave everything at once, I can't! Riddler must mentally and physically defeat the bat! Must feel his stupidity, helplessness and worthlessness in front of me! And then crush! And for everyone to see it! See all his shame, his loss! His undisclosed cheating! To be praised, feared, and finally recognized me as the only genius! I cannot retreat! And then… I already have a new meaning. Its you, Leslie… Therefore, it is necessary to protect you. I am very used to you, you have become almost my own son for me, which I never even thought about. I did not consider such events possible. I will train you, educate you, take care of you, even if I find myself locked away again. You love my views and opinions – I will continue to express them. This means that all my efforts are not in vain. If I am destined to lose and be beheaded by the Dark Knight, I will die physically, but my soul will continue to live. It will remain in you, Leslie. It is you who will not let Riddler disappear… The answer to my most important and last riddle in my life - is Leslie. And you won't solve it, Batman! I won't let you…

These few minutes have completely and truly cured me. It became very good and calm. Thirst returned, the desire to eat, rest, my breathing returned to normal. The bruises next to the veins on my hands stopped hurting, and the blood stopped burning the body, having been cleansed of medical poisons. Now I feel life. Thank you, Leslie. Alright, I won't put your sleep at risk anymore. Take a break, at your age it is much more necessary than me. And I will continue the interrupted work. Or I'll start something new! There are so many plans in my head. I carefully put the child on the bed, cover him with a blanket and, taking the first soft toy that comes along, carefully place it in his hands. While the bat is busy, Riddler will have time to set traps for the rodent everywhere. Before leaving the bedroom occupied by the boy with my permission, my eyes caught the drawings hanging on the walls. He loves to draw so much. Most of the drawings depicted my return from Arkham, where a boy joyfully greets me, but none corresponded to a real return. But you'll still be glad, only in the morning. For the sake of this moment, I will wait for the first rays of the sun. To check all your accumulated knowledge, give new tasks, check the completed ones and compare the learning results. I believe in you. I'm proud of you…

[lunagb]

A Plague of Sleet and Rot (ASoIaF x The Walking Dead fanfic)

BOOK 1 EPILOGUE

Masterlist

Summary: Jon Snow awakens on a highway outside Atlanta, Georgia with only faint fleeting memories of his last day on the wall. This totally alien world shocks him to his core but he's given a beacon of guidance through it when he spots a man on a horse approaching him. Together Rick Grimes and Jon Snow will set out, looking for Rick's lost family and Jon's lost land. After all, The Wall needs its Lord Commander.

Chapter Summary: Jon and Dale discuss hope for the future atop a gas station roof at sunrise.

Time Frame: Atlanta Arc - Post Rick’s Coma

Featured Characters: Jon Snow, Dale, An old "friend"

Warnings: gore, vivid description of a dead body

[Art above is a piece by Art.of.Azrael. You can support them here: https://linktr.ee/Art.of.Azrael ]

Any notes are appreciated!

The sky was a fiery orange as Jon sat atop a gas station with a scoped rifle in his lap. The sun hung as a glaring, angry eye on the horizon of a boundless, barren highway. Its fury had begun to rob Jon of a homely, night chill. The night had been a quiet one. Since leaving the CDC they’d seen only a handful of walkers, and once the sun had set they seemed to have vanished entirely. It was all quite mundane. But mundane was good. Mundane was safe.

“Perhaps the dead are tired,” Jon japed to himself.

The group had said nary a word to each other before retreating to their slumber. They were tired, Jon knew; tired and disappointed. Grief for their old world of luxury and safety – so nearly within their grasp again – sent them all to an early bed. It was only once Jon had reminded him, that Rick had assigned a watch for the night. Initially, he had chosen Daryl for the night and Dale for the morning but Jon had volunteered in Daryl’s place. Not out of a lack of faith in Rick’s decision, but out of selfish desire. Watching made Jon feel normal again. Watching the night. Watching the road. Watching the woods. Watching the stars. While it was nothing like the wall, it made Jon feel at home regardless.

It also gave him time to think. Of the present and the future. The group had feasted greedily that night. Jon had said naught about it. The group could use a good meal after such a sadness. But the hard talk would have to come. The talk of rationing. Of limits and rules. Rules, in Jon’s experience, left a sour taste in most’s mouths. But they were important nonetheless. Whether it be among the humid forests of Georgia or the frozen tundra beyond The Wall. Rules forbade chaos. And chaos always killed.

The scraping of steel on stone – or concrete as Jon had heard it described – interrupted Jon’s mulling. Dale dragged a ladder from the RV over to the gas station’s roof. He propped it up so the end sat beside Jon. Jon steadied the ladder as Dale began his climb. He greeted Jon with a smile.

“Hope I didn’t scare yah, you looked deep in thought.”

“No, you didn’t. Was your rest well?”

“I’ve had better.”

Dale sat beside Jon, still smiling. The beard that surrounded his smile – greyed and unkempt – matched Dale’s lengthening, greasy hair. Jon’s own hair had greased swiftly too. The humidity seemed to stick it to his scalp. Unconsciously, Jon touched his shoulder-length hair and his fingers brushed against something crusty. Dried rot was stuck to his cheek.

“That stuff gets everywhere, I swear. Here, use this to wash your face.” Dale handed Jon a plastic bottle of water.

“Thank you.”

Jon twisted off the plastic cap and wet his fingers. As he scrubbed his cheek, Dale got two rectangles out of his pocket.

“Like granola bars?”

“I couldn’t say.”

“You’ve never had one?! Oh ho, we have to change that. Here. This one’s peanut-butter flavour. The best by far.”

Jon studied what he assumed to be food. It was wrapped in a shiny, soft, plastic paper of sorts. He tore it off and inside was a bar of grain with a light-brown hardened paste along the bottom. Somehow, the grain was stuck together. Jon felt it and the bar was sticky to the touch. He gave it a sniff and it smelt of sugar. Shrugging, he took a bite. Truly, this land had wondrous secrets. Jon had never tasted anything so sweet in his life. Dale burst out laughing.

“You’re a pretty eccentric fellow, you know that?”

“Of all the things I’ve been called, eccentric has never been one,” Jon said.

“Oh? And what do people usually call you?”

“Many things. Most often sullen, I suppose.”

Dale chuckled.

“I can see that.”

“I appreciate the, uh, granola bar, but going forward we must start rationing our food. Without a consistent source of food, we’ll eat through our supplies in a matter of days at this rate.”

Dale fidgeted with his granola bar.

“That’s true. Sorry, I should have thought-”

“It’s no treason. You were doing me a kindness. Don’t feel bad. Enjoy your bar.”

“Well, if you insist.”

Dale unwrapped and gobbled up his bar in three quick bites. Jon took a deep drink of his water. Ever since the CDC, a dull ache had persisted in his bones. For whatever reason, the cool water passing down his gullet soothed it for but a moment.

“You know, for someone so young. You’ve got a pretty good head on your shoulders, Jon. Better than a lot of grown men I’ve known… knew.”

“As do you.”

“Well…” Dale cracked his neck. “It used to be better.”

Jon smirked.

“For what your body lacks, your eyes and your heart make up for it.”

“My eyes?”

“You’re a fine watchman.”

Dale shrugged.

“I used to bird watch. If I’m good at anything it’s sitting still and being quiet.”

“In a world such as this, a trait like that is invaluable.”

“If you say so,” Dale chuckled.

Jon considered Dale for a moment. Despite everything, Jon had only ever seen him frown a couple of times.

“Do you have hope, Dale?”

“Well, sure I do. Things may be rough right now but we’ll get back on our feet. Sure, we’ll probably have to scavenge a bit for now. And our supplies might get a little dicey. But it’s just a stepping stone towards civilisation.”

“I’d like to think so too.”

“Then do.”

Jon chuckled.

“You say that as if it is easy.”

“I never said that. Hoping’s hard work. But anything that’s hard is worth doing, I always say. But anyway. Enough rambling. So get some sleep, Jon. I’ll take it from here.”

“I will shortly.” Jon stood. “I need to relieve myself first.”

“Alright, but stay within eyesight of the road. The woods are thick around here. Getting lost is easy as blinking.”

“Will do.”

Jon handed Dale back his scoped rifle, climbed down the ladder and headed for the woods.

***

As Jon pissed against the trunk of a tree, he took in the woods. When he had first been introduced to them back in Atlanta, he had thought of the as Winterfell and the Haunted Forest just without the snow. But now that he had the opportunity to study them more closely he saw just how wrong he had been. The Haunted Forest beyond The Wall was a dark, frozen place. The only semblance of light it allowed was the occasional white rose that grew upon chestnut bushes. Otherwise, it was a void of dark and ice. The forests of Georgia however, were a sea of light. A thin canopy allowed hundreds of orange rays to scatter about the sparse, barren ground. Colour danced everywhere from the lush green shrubs to the tall, thin dark brown trunks of the trees. In the haunted forest despite, the darkness, you could more or less see where you were going as long as you had a torch and as long as it wasn’t snowing. However, in Georgia’s forests, you couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of you even in the middle of a clear summer’s morning.

The trees – thin and numerous – came together to block all sight in every direction. Jon stood but a few paces from the road and already he struggled to see it. But some foolish part of him, the part that was still a boy, yearned to explore. He shouldn’t, he knew. But yet, he ventured inside anyway. He made sure to keep his back to the road at all times so that when he wished to return he could simply turn around and go back. The air was sweet and pungent. A pleasant smell that was somewhat familiar but Jon just couldn’t place it. There was no sound, however. No birds, no rustling of leaves, no calls or cries. Nothing.

Until there was.

A soft, rhythmic, squelching echoed faintly to Jon’s left. Against his better judgement, he turned to follow it, ensuring he kept the road to his left instead of his back. After a few moments of pushing past thin trunks, Jon came across a gruesome sight.

A man lay dead on the forest floor. He was completely without clothes, nor supplies, nor anything except the skin on his back. His chest was a bloody mess. The spay of a shotgun blast had littered his front with tiny holes. His face was an inhuman mash of features. Whoever had slain the poor soul had caved his face with something blunt. However, on his chest, sat something that drew Jon’s attention away from the man and any questions about his final moments. A raven pecked at his chest wounds, tearing off chunks of flesh.

For some strange reason, the sight surprised Jon. Strangely, he had assumed ravens to only exist in Westeros. Up until now, he hadn’t seen one, so he’d never had to consider such an odd question. But now, it seemed a foolish assumption. The raven was odd, though. A scar ran down the length of its body. Any feathers that should have been where the scar was were absent. The scar ran from the top of its thigh, up its side and through where an eye must have once resided. How it could have survived such an injury perplexed Jon. Jon took a step towards it and his foot snapped a twig. In a flash, the raven’s gaze was on Jon. It cocked its head and screeched.

“Snow!”

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.158 thoughts

[Mamaaa! Didn’t Mean to Make Ya Cry!]

As I mentioned last week, Phil is revealed to not in fact have manifested Unfeel yet, as proven by the fact that he can still talk, and yet he seems to have trouble identifying and expressing emotions, likely because he was raised isolated on a space station with only one other person

We were told last week that his mother gave him a collection of movies as “study material,” which I think was intended to be for studying human interaction and feeling rather than literal educational films

I also said last week that Phil’s tragedy was the loss of his mother because he stopped caring enough about her to save her, which still might technically be true, but if the aliens are attracted to neural impulses and Phil stopped being able to feel emotions, it’s most likely that they simply shifted focus to his mother long enough for Phil to escape, effectively making her death a sacrifice as she tried to do in this chapter

I do really appreciate Phil asking Sean what sadness is, as it helps continue to justify his involvement in this arc. Thus far his invisibility has been pretty irrelevant (aside from helping to hint at the aliens being attracted to bioelectricity), but because he’s a character that’s so easily controlled by his own emotions, he’s a great character to have talk with Phil about emotion

Phil could easily have asked Fuuko what sadness is, but Sean is so simple and straightforward that he was able to give a really simple and easy to understand answer as being sad at his dad’s death because he wouldn’t be able to see him anymore. If Fuuko were to answer that question, she might have said something to the effect of blaming herself or living with the memory or something a little harder to convey to Phil and have him relate to

Quick aside, I love that Sean instantly is able to turn Phil invisible. Sean’s immediately ride or die for the baby boy and he’s absolutely right to be

So with the knowledge that these creatures are attracted to emotion and therefore controllable with strong enough emotions, it’s pretty obvious that Phil is going to awaken Unfeel next chapter and that this will be a confounding factor in the battle. However, there’s one key difference between this loop and last loop: Phil now understands what it means to feel

He may not have a particularly robust understanding, but having any understanding now that he didn’t before will completely change how Unfeel works. Again, I have no idea how it will change it, but since it would be really cruel to completely take away his ability to feel after his mother just learned that he’s not an emotionless machine, I get the feeling that he’ll be able to regulate his emotions rather than losing them entirely, like an off-switch

I mentioned earlier that I feel like there’s some major revelation missing for this arc to really grab me, but honestly with how much I love the Negator power system, just seeing how Unfeel evolves in this loop will probably be enough for me to be completely on board

Looking back, I still would have liked a bit more explanation for how Untell actually works, but the focus was definitely more on Unfair, so we’ll let it slide. Unfeel, though, is clearly the focus here, so I can’t imagine Tozuka won’t give us a sufficient exploration of its usage

...OH! Fuuko said she’s worried about Sean getting launched out into space and becoming invisible so no one can find him, especially now that he’s made it so that machines can’t detect him. However, the aliens still can detect his emotions: what if Phil gains the ability to detect emotions like the aliens do? Sean is the one that he’s clearly becoming closest to here, so becoming worried that he won’t see Sean again (knowing that he’ll feel sad over Sean) would be the perfect impetus for Phil to further evolve Unfeel

I think that next week will be the initial awakening, then the week after will be the evolution, and the arc will likely conclude the week after with some kind of problem that can only be solved with the new Unfeel, like how Unfair was needed to hold off Disc long enough to save Nico

Looks like I had a little bit more to say than I expected. Honestly the point of these is to help crystalize the memory of each chapter in my mind and find new details I missed on the first run through, so noticing things like Sean turning Phil invisible or the possibility of Phil saving Sean later means that these reviews are doing their job. Any week I find something on reread that I didn’t the first time is a week that I can consider these reviews a success. See y’all next week!

[ailelie]

Oh, The Magical History of Knox County. You had potential. You did not live up to it.

Premise: A guy with an environmental studies degree gets a job at a radio station not realizing the name (same as the podcast) isn't a joke and magic is real. His predecessor is missing and the only other staff at the station hates him because she loves and misses his predecessor.

This review has some spoilers in it, but, then, I strongly recommend you do not listen to this podcast.

So. I love fish-out-of-water stories, especially when the apparent fish learns to basically fly or otherwise excel in the new environment. This was not that.

Mordecai spends little time being enchanted by magic. He's really just confused. I think he was supposed to have an arc of "we can't get involved b/c we're reporters" to "being a bystander isn't an option" but it is very poorly executed.

Side characters, including Ned who is in every episode, are barely developed at all. They show up only when useful to Mordecai (even if he doesn't know they're useful yet). When a character is killed, it barely registers.

When Mordecai accidentally kills someone to save his own life, there's barely a reaction. He gets angry and blames someone else for not taking better notes when he was the one who chose to act and made promises he couldn't keep.

Actions have no weight. When Mordecai pisses one guy off, it has no impact on the subsequent episodes. Also, when the guy shows up again, they reference their earlier encounter, but the dude still helps him.

The villain is a just a guy who wanted to stop killing things. His magic is fueled by exchanges and no one had issues with him killing plants, small animals, etc so that he could help them out. But he wanted to stop. So, when he realized the town sat on top of a huge cache of magic, he decided to tap into it, not realizing that doing so would awaken that magic in a way and lead to the apocalypse. His every action has been him desperately trying to fix what he broke with no one even offering to help. His one friend accused him instead of asking what was wrong. I mean, the guy did some despicable things--he is a murderer--but he was a guy at the trolley switch. As he saw it it was a few murders or the entire world.

Anyway. As an example of why this podcast bugs me so much. The town has a tree that supposedly binds people together if they write their names onto the tree. And you can do it to someone without their permission. If the names are written, they're together forever.

Mordecai, while trying to find Abraham, the antagonist, writes their names on the tree and the antagonist finds him shortly after. Then the antagonist later apparently dies (except he's faced that exact same situation before and did not die because of prep he'd done and he promised he wasn't going to die this time either. Mordecai has a tape of him dying, but that's just audio and, by this point in the podcast, I'd learn to not fully trust sounds like that).

The tree binding is never mentioned again. It never matters. It never does anything other than give a magical boost to help Abraham find Mordecai one time. It is pointless.

(I wanted Abraham to come back or to be a ghost bound to Mordecai or something. Or even Mordecai feeling compelled to save him from being attacked. Anything.)

The characters are also a bit...dumb. Mordecai and Ned just rush into things and never think about the big picture or even step back just once and take stock. So much tragedy could have been avoided if they had.

It is only 8 episodes.

Yes. They tried to set up a magical setting, missing person plot, and end of the world in only 8 half-hour episodes (well, to be fair, the 7th episode is almost an hour).

Is it a betrayal when we learn who the antagonist is? Not really. It's like his third appearance. And, what about the other antagonists? One disappears and the other shows up briefly in the penultimate episode to answer a question for Mordecai.

Ned (the station attendant) has some history with the beastiary people, not that we ever learn what it is. She also goes from hating Mordecai in ep 1 to considering him a close friend who she can't possibly watch die in ep 7. Did Mordecai and Ned share any moments of relationship growth in the interim episodes? Of course not! She hated him when that was convenient for the story and then liked him when some extra drama was needed.

(Okay, not hated, but resented and disliked. But still).

When does Mordecai decide it is actually bad being only a bystander? When plot convenient. Utterly unsure why he decided that, though.

And what's Mordecai's motivation throughout everything? He wants to know what's going on. That's it. Yeah, yeah, his predecessor, but he's more interested in that as a mystery than anything else.

The only character who genuinely wants something and displays layers is Abraham, which is why I like him so much. I genuinely felt bad for him when he said he wanted to stop killing. And the way he kept trying to justify a murder as a sacrifice because it was very clear he was wracked with guilt and pretending otherwise. He needed it to be just another sacrifice or else he's a murderer.

Multiple people even tell Mordecai that Abraham is not a bad person. He's just someone who is trying to do good, but going about the wrong way.

And we see how Abraham has long been a helpful force in the community. He was just tired of trades and death. His 'tap into the magic' idea worked initially and he didn't go mad with power or anything like that. From start to finish, he is someone who wants to do good, but feels like he has very limited choices (e.g., the trolley switch). And he chooses to flip the switch even though he hates doing so.

(Mordecai, by the way, refuses to dirty his hands even a little. Mordecai's solution to the trolley problem is to jump on the tracks and derail the trolley with his body.)

So we have a compelling and interesting antagonist who is utterly wasted on a bland, rushed, poorly constructed story.

(Note: Abraham is not heroic and definitely committed multiple murders of helpless people. He also tried to stop Mordecai's predecessor (and his own close friend) from investigating, but, by that point, she'd already accused him and so, I think, he saw little use in trying to explain again. So he just wanted her out of the way so that he could do what he thought had to be done. He later blamed Ned for not intervening or distracting the predecessor from her investigations. But I think this is also a manifestation of the guilt weighing on him.)

It is just so annoying to listen to something that you know should have been better.

[visagurukul012]

Best Books By Indian Authors: Book Lovers Must Read In 2023

India has a rich literary tradition, and its authors have been creating incredible works that captivate readers worldwide for centuries. In 2023, Indian authors continue to produce thought-provoking, heartwarming, and insightful books that cater to a diverse range of tastes. Whether you’re a seasoned bookworm or just looking for your next great read, there’s something for everyone among the Best Books By Indian Authors in 2023.

Best Books By Indian Authors: GOAT

“The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga

The White Tiger narrates the story of Balram Halwai, a village boy who aspires to rise above his station in life. Set against the backdrop of class struggles and the Indian caste system, this darkly humorous novel offers a compelling exploration of ambition and social inequality.

“The God Of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy

Winner of the Booker Prize, The God Of Small Things is a beautifully crafted narrative centered around the lives of Estha and Rahel, seven-year-old twins in a Christian family in Kerala. The novel artfully delves into the complexities of their world and the harsh realities they face.

“Gitanjali” by Rabindranath Tagore

Gitanjali played a pivotal role in Rabindranath Tagore receiving the Nobel Prize in 1913. This collection of poems is a sublime representation of Tagore’s spiritual and human awakening experiences, which continue to inspire readers with their timeless wisdom.

“The Guide” by R.K. Narayan

R.K. Narayan’s masterpiece, The Guide, takes us on a journey with Raju, a sweet boy who becomes a tour guide at a railway station in Malgudi. The novel explores the transformative power of unexpected life choices, winning the Sahitya Akademi award and even being adapted into a movie.

“The Palace Of Illusions” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Palace Of Illusions transports readers to the era of the Mahabharata, focusing on the life of Panchali, a princess born from fire and blessed by Lord Krishna. The book weaves a captivating narrative around her perspective, giving fresh life to a timeless epic.

“Train To Pakistan” by Khushwant Singh

Set during the turbulent times of partition, Train To Pakistan is a gripping novel that explores the moral and emotional turmoil faced by its characters. The story revolves around Mano Majra, a village on the India-Pakistan border, and the tragic decisions that shape its destiny.

“The Inheritance Of Loss” by Kiran Desai

Kiran Desai’s novel explores the interconnected lives of four characters in a remote village setting. The narrative vividly demonstrates that no matter where one goes, their cultural heritage is an ever-present force in their lives.

“Malgudi Days” by R.K. Narayan

Malgudi Days has become a household name in Indian literature, inspiring a popular television series. Set in the fictional town of Malgudi, the book delves into the ordinary lives and everyday events of its inhabitants, creating a captivating mosaic of human existence.

“Godan” by Munshi Premchand

Munshi Premchand’s classic, Godan, is a powerful commentary on the social and economic conditions of India during a particular period in history. It uncovers the harsh realities of society, shedding light on the darker aspects of that era.

“A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth

Vikram Seth’s monumental novel, A Suitable Boy, intricately weaves the tales of four families and their entangled love stories. The book takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of life’s ups and downs, offering a complex yet heartwarming narrative.

Make sure check this: Study abroad

Evergreen Classics by Indian Authors

Here’s a selection of timeless classics that continue to resonate with readers:

“The Arthshastra” by Kautilya

“The Home and The World” by Rabindranath Tagore

“Untouchable” by Mulk Raj Anand

“Shakuntala” by Kalidasa

“Gora” by Rabindranath Tagore

“Shiva Trilogy” by Amish Tripathi

“Ethics Of Chanakya” by Chanakya

“Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie

“Gaban” by Munshi Premchand

“Chitralekha” by Bhagwati Charan Verma

Independence Best Books By Indian Authors

Explore books that shed light on India’s journey to independence:

“India’s Struggle For Independence” by Bipin Chandra

“India Divided” by Rajendra Prasad

“The Indian War of Independence 1857” by Veer Savarkar

“Kesari” by Bal Gangadhar Tilak

“India Wins Freedom” by Abdul Kalam Azad

“Why I am an Atheist” by Bhagat Singh

“Who were the Shudras?” by B.R. Ambedkar

“The Discovery of India” by Jawaharlal Nehru

“The Indian Struggle” by Subhash Chandra Bose

“Essays on the Gita” by Sri Aurobindo

Top Hindi Literature Best Books By Indian Authors

For enthusiasts of Hindi literature, consider these top picks:

“Nirmala” by Premchand

“Kamayani” by Jaishankar Prasad

“Maila Aanchal” by Phanishwar Nath Renu

“Rashmirathi” by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

“Gunahon Ka Devta” by Dharamveer Bharti

“Kitne Pakistan” by Kamleshwar

“Rag Darbari” by Shrilal Shukla

“Yama” by Mahadevi Verma

“Chidambara” by Sumitranandan Pant

“Yashodhara” by Maitheli Sharan Gupt

Non-Fiction Best Books By Indian Authors

Delve into thought-provoking non-fiction works by Indian authors:

“Wings Of Fire” by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

“India After Gandhi” by Ramachandra Guha

“The Argumentative Indian” by Amartya Sen

“India Unbound” by Gurcharan Das

“Stay Hungry Stay Foolish” by Rashmi Bansal

“The Room on the Roof” by Ruskin Bond

“Glimpses of World History” by Jawaharlal Nehru

“Everybody Loves a Good Drought” by P. Sainath

“The Story of My Experiments with Truth” by Mahatma Gandhi

“An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India” by Shashi Tharoor

Best Books by Indian Authors in 2023

Stay up-to-date with the latest offerings from Indian authors in 2023:

“The Kargil Story” by Deepak Surana

“The Bandit Queens” by Parini Shroff

“Energize Your Mind” by Gaur Gopal Das

“Nala Damayanti” by Anand Neelakantan

“The Nemesis” by Manoranjan Byapari

“Meru: The Alloy Era” by S.B. Divya

“Victory City” by Salman Rushdie

“The Indian Metropolis” by Varun Gandhi

Conclusion

In conclusion, these timeless classics and contemporary gems by Indian authors offer a diverse range of stories, themes, and perspectives. Whether you’re seeking inspiration, cultural insight, or simply a captivating read, the world of Indian literature has something for everyone. Dive into these books and embark on a literary journey that spans generations and transcends borders. Happy reading! And for any study abroad-related queries, feel free to connect with us, as our team of experts is always ready to assist you.

[ad-hawkeye]

and because i had well over 9k characters in my rambling, here is the part two! the best part, imo.

mc solo adventure time!! i love how often mc just. summons her illustra in alkaid’s modern stories. it’s so delightful to me idk why.

“she looks like my mother, but she’s wearing some kind of uniform and a bizarre hat” FINALLY SOMEONE WHO AGREES WITH ME ON THESE HATS LOOKING STUPID. THANK YOU MC.

hello prefect crimson <3

“i am her daughter, and perhaps this is my destiny too. her voice and power can, and should, be mine” and mc immediately being snapped out of her daze by alkaid’s texts. guide her out of the storm mr. mcgrath!! be her lighthouse!

“my ambition could drive this world into madness, all i have to do is open my mouth…” being interrupted by alkaid’s messages again!

“subordinate of prefect crimson” OH? WHO ARE YOU MAN IN STONE?

“what are you still holding out for? who is it that makes you so weak? is it your little boyfriend” AAAAA “how can a man from a primative race who has never even left this planet, fully understand you? he is nothing but an amusing diversion to someone like you.”

“shut up.” YESSSS MC DEFEND YOUR MAN

her knowing she shouldnt argue back but still being mad enough to do so

tammy’s group having contacted mc’s mother’s radio station… hoh.. “she is aware of my identity, but she has allowed alkaid to get close to me…”

“even if you decide to tell him everything, how will he ever view you the same way again?”

the stone trying to drive a wedge between her and alkaid because he’s the one keeping her mind clear during this confrontation im going to scream.

AWAKENING ALKAAAAAIIDDDDD MY FAVoRITE WHORE WHEHWW!!!!!!!!!!

the statement that “they decided they wouldn’t let that future come true” means i was RIGHT about them wordlessly telling each other that the movie was their future. a mutual understanding. mc never needed to say it out loud to know that alkaid knew, or that they both knew they wanted to prevent it.

the voice acting in this scene. this is the closest we’ll get to an awakening alkaid meltdown and it is DELICIOUS

“answer me… ANSWER ME!”

i want an au where mc is working for the empire in a forced deal, causing mental issues on the ship, just to protect alkaid. while alkaid is working with the supervisors and using morally questionable methods to study those with these mental issues, just to protect mc. delicious.

i love that the bad future in awakening haunts mc just as much as it haunts alkaid.

and i love that this draws from mc’s worries that her status as prefect crimson’s successor and an empire traveler would cause alkaid to turn on her.

this. almost reminds me of how prefect luminary would talk to eden alkaid. the same vibes and same mental influence.

AND HERE COMES ALKAID WITH THE STEEL CHAIR (OR THE PARAGLIDER CRASHING INTO THE FUCKING LIGHTHOUSE)

alkaid struggling to get up after… sobs

“i couldn’t think of any other way to get to you, so i had to use this paraglider.” alkaid looks embarrassed. “i know it’s not really how it should be done. and when it’s over, i’ll go to the police station and pay all of the damages”

YOU NEERDD IM GOING TO SQUISH HIM.

having the option to tell alkaid about the hallucination she had about the possible future. ughhh it makes me insane. AND ALKAID SIMPLY HUGGING HER IN RESPONSE.

AND ALKAID PROMISING HE’LL ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AFTER ALL OF THIS UUGHHHH

finding out that mc’s mother was using her powers for good to help people with suicidal thoughts is making me so emotional. oohhh my gooddd

“she is my dearest friend” is the most sweet way to describe one’s mother

“i want her to know how much i love her, even though i won’t be with her forever… my love will also serve as a lighthouse for her for a long time” IM EMOTIONAL. UGHHHHHHHHHHHH. to love is to become a guiding light. like with alkaid keeping mc sane in the scenes earlier, all kinds of love can guide.

“love is like an everlasting lighthouse, inspiring others to keep on living”…

i find it fascinating how this route has the theme of “wanting to protect someone but also respect their choices and decisions” vs “inspiring those who are suicidal to keep living” and how it wordlessly asks the question… do you intervene if someone is about to sacrifice their life? is that the line drawn where you stop respecting someone’s choices?

tammy knew about mc’s mother and her investigations also found that mc’s mother was sharing a healing melody… not a hurtful one.

man stuck in the rock is still unknown, however.

alkaid telling mc to show cael the ashes of the ruin makes me so . sobs. the trust. him choosing not to tell his mother because it belongs to mc’s mother. his unwavering faith… god.

“shakespeare is insane.” “yeah, it’s a little crazy.”

“my lighthouse, my star, is here” UGHUHUHHHGHHHHHHHHH

“get ready to fly. this time, we’ll follow the rules” ALKAID. YOU. YOU.

nothing makes me more giddy than reading that alkaid picks up mc and jumps into the sea with her

alkaid telling her all of the secret updates far out into ocean on a rock because no one is around to hear them. it reminds me of alkaid’s chrono theater where he would do extreme sports to get away from the people watching him… it seems some habits do not die with age.

alkaid not telling mc he got wounded by his crash into the lighthouse. sobs. and still going on a whole day of beach things regardless of his injuries. “i just wanted you to enjoy yourself. i wanted you to finally relax” :(((((( ALKAIIIID

mc asking alkaid if he truly didn’t suspect anything about her during the day she explored the lighthouse alone. which reminds me of alkaid’s white day route… “don’t you think i’m suspicious”…. and the answer is no. they trust each other. so long as their free will exists, they will always trust each other.

ALKAID MENTIONING THE MOVIE. GODDD.

“i was afraid after seeing that movie that my desire to protect you would triumph over your own will. but, when you decided to come to the lighthouse alone, when you tried to touch the rune, and when you sang.. i had faith in you and your decisions. my goal is to protect you, but i recognize that, if i don’t respect your choices, our relationship means nothing.”

alkaid sweetie you’re rambling!!

“i just hope that from now on, whatever the impacts of your wishes are, you will at least let me face them with you and-“

AND MC CUTS HIM OFF BY KISSING HIM YESSSS STOP HIS OVERTHINKING SWEETIE YOU’RE DOING GREAT!!

also understandable i would also kiss anyone who told me that.

“it’s like the time when a morning star landed at my side and i gazed up at the breathtaking aurora on those snow plains. alkaid, my beloved, is the other half of my soul.”

incoming live blogging of my reread of alkaid's solitary light route for azure island. ough my god. it's so good.

“you enjoy any song i sing” followed by alkaid immediately being like oh shit what if she doesnt believe me and she thinks i’m just--

love the ominous singer third wheeling in this scene. keep it up king.

alkaid giving her his coat. ugh. weak for that trope dont @ me.

him realizing mc is scared of the singing man just bc her hand tensed up.

wordless understanding in looking and nodding at each other. god. shoot me.

hehe the radio show makes its return. mc’s mother how we missed ye…

wordless communication just by touching mc’s palm. her immediately knowing what alkaid was saying with that action. i hate couples i hate couples i hate cou

“alkaid looks at me patiently, making no attempt to press me into giving an answer - whether or not i tell him is entirely up to me” vibrates. vibrates

“can you come to my room…? “…?”

“i dont want to hide anything from alkaid” followed by mc just. explaining everything about her mother. and he just listens. and only caresses the back of her hand when she gets upset speaking.

“don’t be too hard on yourself. it’s not your fault.” that’s rich coming from mr. guilt himself! very sweet though HAHA

also alkaid being so moved by mc’s story that he spends the whole entire night gathering information from books, the police station, and his mother… then writing notes about ALL of it. just so he can try to get to the bottom of the matter.

“if you are unable to read them clearly, please let me know” okay so mr astronomy has bad handwriting? sounds typical for a stem major HAHA

alkaid telling mc what he learned from his mother about how she had been to pettman island before and how she knew about the weird phenomena.

“forget about the lighthouse. there is something more important” jump cut to mc’s room with that 'something more important' being that alkaid needs to rest. this feels exactly like alkaid’s travel event 2 where alkaid says he needs help with something urgent and that 'something urgent' being helping mc get over her art block.

touching his eyelashes is back on the menu boys!!! i love how alkaid is just. used to it by now. how often has mc done this since te2.

brushing a lock of hair behind someone’s ear is another favorite trope of mine. im going to kill alkaid for this (affectionately)

alkaid waking up the moment mc approaches him, obviously about to leave. he had a feeling mc would try to investigate shit on her own.

“between lovers, there should be no secrets” returns from white day! so cute! i also love how these two can just be totally open without any fear of judgement. even if it means telling alkaid upfront that she wants to go alone. instead of immediately getting upset, alkaid just listens to her. and wordlessly understands that he’s at high risk if he were to join.

“keep in touch with me while you’re away. and stay safe. don’t take risks” is the chad’s version of “i love you” dont @ me.

[levicanpunchme]

Levi X Y/N

Genre: Romance/Fluff/Modern AU

Warning: sexual references

Summary: You attend a business party with your boyfriend, Levi in hopes of introducing yourself but things turn hazy when a blonde idiot keeps staring at you. Levi’s burning anguish strikes.

Mine

The large dining hall was illuminated with yellow candles, creating a sophisticated atmosphere for the various honourable guests. The darkness of the hall suffocated you, making you clench onto your purse tighter. These high society parties were not your cup of tea; they made you uncomfortable. If you could, you’d never again breathe next to these oblivious, high nosed women who flaunted their lavished lifestyle which their husbands had earned after dirty business work. What was there to be so proud of-? You wondered. When they spoke to you, you heard the discreet arrogance in their tone and it made you want to scream.

You desperately avoided these events; however, this time, you wanted to formerly introduce yourself-after all your boyfriend was a well established businessman. He was required to attend such parties and ever since he told you about the women throwing themselves at him, you couldn’t help jump into an elegant dress and rush to join his side.

Your lips touching the rim of your glass paused when you caught sight of your raven haired boyfriend in a black suit, wearing a blank expression on his face as a domineering aura surrounded him. This was the first time you had asked to join him in such an event and you were kind-of-glad you did. He looked awfully attractive, his eyes forecasting a shadowy glow in the darkness of the hall. He was the centre of attention; not just because of his godly appearance but also his reputable character.

Levi Ackerman was the sole owner of X company, a name in the higher ups of the world’s largest food industry. His work ethics were widely praised all over the country and every businessman was desperate to earn an opportunity to work with him. His work ethics were a reflection of his character. He had started at the bottom of the chain and earned his way up, struggle after struggle.

You were so proud to call him yours.

“My husband wanted to donate to the local NGO and I was personally against it because we already do so much. We take part in various charitable events after all.” - for publicity, a voice completed in your head. You smiled to yourself at the hypocrisy of the rich brats.

You rolled your eyes, looking back at your boyfriend on the other table and you noticed he was already staring at you. His eyes carefully read your expression. He immediately realised your discomfort and rose from his seat, taking wide strides towards you. Your eyes widened when he grabbed your hand and tugged at you to stand up with him. The five ladies on the table quickly shut up as they softly greeted Levi, their voices growing coy and shy. They sounded so sweet as if they weren’t already married; it made you want to puke.

As Levi clasped his arm around your waist, he silently nodded at the ladies not even sparing them a glance as he walked away with you back to his table. You almost smirked back at the women but restrained yourself, knowing you couldn’t afford to trample over Levi’s reputation by falling into a childish girly scuffle.

“You have to pay me when we get home for saving your ass back there,” he softly whispered against your frame, causing goosebumps to awaken on your skin. You glanced at him and laughed at the dark glaze in his eyes.

“I didn’t need any saving,” you replied back, your challenging gaze daring him to say otherwise. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a soft smile on his lips and then whispered back. “We’ll see about that at home.”

Your stomach flipped.

Levi casually pulled you with him to his table and sat you down next to him. You stared, wide eyed. He was currently sitting around huge business tycoons, discussing future arrangements. You noticed the blonde man sitting opposite to Levi and froze up. He was the man Levi was bidding on for future collaborations as he was the second largest producer in food industry in the world.

“This is my girlfriend, Y/n L/n.” You didn’t realise when he introduced you and quickly sat up, smiling at the men as you greeted them.

“Oh, how wonderful! They say behind every successful man stands a woman,” one of the older men stated and Levi nodded firmly. “Indeed.” And you looked at Levi explicitly.

You felt a wave of emotions course through you and suddenly you wanted to kiss him. Levi was so hardworking. He had struggled for every opportunity in his career and deserved every ounce of the success he currently had. You wanted to throw away everything to make him happy.

“How beautiful,” you gazed away from your boyfriend to the origins of the voice and sat frigid. The blonde, thin-lipped man was staring at you with a strange glint in his eyes, a smirk uplifting his lips as he eyed you up and down.

“Are you currently studying?” the blonde man slurred, his British accent becoming more apparent now. You felt chills run down your spine as you noticed his eyes wander to your cleavage and it made you feel icky. You knew his intentions were dirty but it didn’t matter. You wouldn’t see him ever again after today. You never wanted anyone to stare at you like that. It made your insides crawl. It made you feel insignificant, demoralised and inferior.

You gulped and smiled indifferently. “Journalism,” you answered and looked away quickly. You noticed Levi’s hand clench tightly under the table and panic rippled in your chest. You quickly grabbed his hand, fear racking your head. Levi would singlehandedly destroy anyone who looked at you with nasty intentions and you knew that. You were a witness to it once when you were drunk after a university gathering and a man tried to take you home. Levi had stalked down the street and knocked the man’s front tooth out before safely taking you back to his place.

He was so full of anguish that he almost got the man kicked out of uni. Fortunately, you managed to stop him before things escalated.

“Levi,” you muttered, your mind going blank as you noticed the awakening demon in his eyes; his darkening predatory stare trained at the man, his mouth tightly shut and jaw clenched. You suddenly wanted to evaporate. You tried to appease him as you stroked his large hand, your soft skin gliding against his callous one. He reacted by gripping your hand tightly, holding it. He still didn’t spare you a glance and kept his drilling gaze trained at the man in front.

“Journalism? So you’re one of the smart ones.” His eyes were hazy and tone lousy due to heavy alcohol consumption. His eyes again feasted at your exposed skin and you shrunk into your chair, your heart clashing against your chest. You noticed the dead silence pinning the table as everyone felt the thick tension from Levi’s disgusted stare. Your hold on Levi’s hand grew tighter, forcing him to look at you.

“I’m fine, don’t do anything rash,” you whispered but it seemed like your plea went through him, unheard.

You realised that if the man said anything more, Levi would definitely charge at him. You had to get out of here before it was too late.

“Excuse me, I’m heading to the washroom,” you muttered and gave Levi’s hand another comforting squeeze before standing to leave. You didn’t look back as you hurried to the washrooms. You planned on spending the rest of the night in the lavatory since the party was just awfully disappointing.

You wanted to stand beside Levi but not under the current circumstances. The blonde smug idiot was the most influential in the field and you wanted to do nothing to sabotage your boyfriend’s future goals.

You locked yourself in one of the stalls and sat down annoyedly. It was supposed to be a fun night out with your boyfriend. You didn’t know a rich party full of influential businessmen was just a pathetic havoc wreaking battlefield. You mentally promised to never ask Levi to take you to another event. You annoyedly massaged your forehead in slow circles, hoping to ease the ache.

“Excuse me,” you heard a shrill voice call out as someone knocked from outside. You sat up alarmed.

“Yes?” You replied unsurely.

“I think your boyfriend is outside the washroom waiting for you.” You stood up, your eyes zeroing as you whipped the door open. A brunette haired woman stood before you. “You’re Levi Ackerman’s girlfriend, right? He asked me to check inside for you,” she told you, giggling and then stepped to the sink, resuming back to washing her hands.

You rushed for the door and abruptly pulled it open, stepping outside. As expected, Levi was stationed against the wall, his eyes already tracing yours, needy and impatient. He stepped towards you and pulled you close to him, his fingers grazing your exposed neckline and you heard him breath you in.

“We’re going home,” he whispered into your neck. You nodded hesitantly as he held your hand tightly and marched out to the hall. You almost gasped- as everyone was staring at you both, thick tension brewing in the air. It seemed like you were under spotlight. Levi’s gaze was unaffectedly cold as he stayed upright. Standing beside him was a privilege since Levi had a significant presence to mobilise the crowd to stop and stare.

But this was different. Everyone was whispering and murmuring among themselves as they stared at you horrified. You wondered what had happened for everyone to be so silent and meek around him. Your gaze fearfully swayed to the table where the blonde man had been and you were shell shocked when you noticed a heavy purple bruise under his eye. Your body grew cold as you looked at Levi shocked. He noticed your questioning gaze but only responded by pulling you closer to him.

When you both were out the premises, inside the car park, you pulled at his hold. “Levi, how could you attack a powerful businessman! Have you gone mad?” You gasped, finding it hard to comprehend. He didn’t answer you and kept his moderate pace towards the car.

“Levi, I’m talking to you!” You shrieked, your eyes growing large with anger. He finally halted in his tracks and turned towards you, his eyes burning with seething anger, his fists still clenched, a bluish bruise starting to form on his right fist.

“We need to get out of here before I do something worse,” he spat, his aggressive voice making your throat dry. You felt the frustration building in your chest and your eyes burned with tears.

“You’ve ruined a great opportunity! Do you think he’ll let this go? He won’t-!” You yelled, your head pounding as you felt desperate enough to cry out. “Levi, you’ve worked so hard for this,” you cried, your heart aching.

He was adamant on establishing himself. Never losing sight of his goals, he spent a year working on his startup. He earned investments after tirelessly sacrificing sleep and lunch, date nights and family dinners. You loved him so much, so much that you were always supportive. His absence made you so lonely yet you never complained; there were nights you wanted him to hold you, days you wanted him to listen to your grieving heart, but it was best to not bother him. You internally ached and slowly the ache started to disappear when he came back. After successfully earning a huge investment, everything changed. It was like his pot of love for you flooded and spilled everywhere, unable to be contained. He stopped working excessively. He became so clingy, so needy for your presence, it drove you insane- in a good way.

“Y/n, why’re you crying?” His stern voice caused your body to shrink, goosebumps awakening on your skin. His eyes were so thunderously dark, waves of anger rippling in his frame.

“Because!” You croaked, you sounded awfully hurt. “How could you ruin chances of growing this? After you’ve worked so hard for it!” You shouted, your face angry red with tears spilling out. You were so angry and frustrated that you wanted to physically beat someone.

Levi’s chest was heaving as he stared at you, his face pinning you down, holding you captive. “You care about my fucking business right now?” He sounded hurt as well, his raspy voice so quiet, you could tell he was boiling.

“Yes!” You cried. “You’ve wanted this so bad. After this deal, you would’ve been unbeatable Levi!” You threw your hands in despair, the frown on your face deepening. Levi’s body shook as he stepped closer and before you could register it, he had grabbed your wrist and slammed you to the car, his arms immediately protecting your anterior from pain. A loud clash was heard as he pinned you beneath him, his breathing heavy, his eyes glazed.

“I’ve worked so hard, day after day so you can stand next to me without shame. You deserve someone strong and I was so pathetic back then,” he stated, his eyes trained on yours as he truthfully uttered. Each word pained you more than you could imagine. Your heart began to break, tears rolling down your cheeks like a stream.

“How could I be with you, such a gorgeous, strong woman? I was unworthy and it made my blood boil.” His confession left you utterly speechless. “Hange said I should give you up. It’s an easy way out but the thought of that kept me up at night.” Hange was Levi’s best friend from college and now a dear friend of yours. You were completely unaware of these conversations.

“The fact that Hange even mentioned that made me sick. That night, I decided to be worthy of you. Because you’re mine. I can give up this whole world but never you,” he whispered and his mouth found your neck.

“W-why didn’t you ever tell me?” You contained your moans, crying out in pain and awe as Levi’s teeth dug in your collarbone. His tongue slickly traced the bite mark across the neckline as he tasted you to his fulfilment.

“Because you don’t need to care about it,” he rasped, his heavy pants taking over your head making you twitch and turn in his hold.

“I’ve achieved enough to protect you,” he whispered against your skin and dropped wet kisses down to your cleavage.

“I want to rip his filthy fucking eyes out for looking at you like that, y/n,” he roared, the bitterness returning; his eyes remained on yours, watching you throw your head back as he satiated his hunger. His kisses grew desperate, needy- his hand against your waist tightening as he pulled you into him.

Your body reacted on its own, curling into his hot frame. Everything felt hot: from the heavy breaths exhaled against your neck to the hand gripping your waist. Your face was probably on fire and you felt so dirty for letting him submit to his desires outside in a car-park where anyone could walk in and watch a show. But it also felt so euphoric, to have him desperately feasting on you that you couldn’t reject him.

Jealous Levi made your stomach pool.

“You’re only mine-how dare that fucking crook stare at you like that,” his words were cut off as he painfully dug his teeth into your breast, a gasp escaping from your mouth.

“Levi,” you breathed, your body aching like you had caught a fever. He heard you clear and your airy words turned him on more than ever because he started to push himself into you, kisses trailing into your chest.

You felt him. You almost screamed because he was so brutally turned on, you shook against his frame, your legs falling weak. He supported you as he held you tightly, digging his nose into your hair, inhaling your sweet scent.

You were so heated when you heard footsteps, a heel clicking against a marble floor. Even though, your ears heard the sounds loud and clear, your mind was elsewhere and refused to comprehend or react appropriately by pulling away. You knew you should-this is so embarrassing but you couldn’t get yourself to push Levi away.

You were pulled out of your trance when Levi jerked back, his gaze so pained and hazy. You swear you saw his limbs shake as his chest heaved, his body so rigid, afraid to move or he would fall to the ground. He clenched his fist determinedly and swore under his breath.

“Get in the car-no one sees you like this,” he commanded. You didn’t know what he meant but you obediently ran to the passenger seat and rushed inside, your heart clashing against your chest. In the rear view mirror, you saw yourself and immediately realised what your boyfriend meant. He didn’t want anyone to see you-your hair messy, eyes hooded with intense desperation, your face flushed and breathing heavy; you looked lustrous, so turned on and oozing of desire.

The next second, you heard Levi pull the door and get inside. His forehead was covered in a cast of sweat and his hair was now a mess as if he had run his fingers through the black strands.

“I can’t drive. I literally can’t feel my legs.”

You threw your head back, your frame wreaking with laughter. He glared at you, his eyes still brewing with desire.

“Shut up before I take you here,” he threatened and you quickly shut up. You knew him too well to know that he would actually comply. You gazed at him as he sat inhaling and exhaling, an exercise he sometimes used to recover.

After sitting for ten more painful minutes, he finally drove home and you had never seen him drive so fast. It was going to be a long, long, long night and you were going to enjoy every second of it with Levi.