#i cannot linger on this too long rn but. wow they were not kidding when they said partitio literally gave ori the will to live huh

[hiraganasakura]

Ok so I was rewatching one of the Octopath 2 trailers (I was considering buying it again on Steam and the trailer just kinda started playing and I was like "Cool" lol) and a detail stuck out to me that I would only notice in hindsight:

Ori telling Partitio, "I wish I had a lifetime to report on your shenanigans!"

Now when I heard this in the trailer and game the first times around I thought literally nothing of it

But now that I've beat Octopath 2 I'm just here like. Oh. She says she *wishes* she had a lifetime bcus she's planning on dying soon at that point. Oh

[gisachi]

#42 for the shinran kissing prompts maybe? (thank you for the nice tags on my art btw 😉💜)

Thanks for this request! 💞 Ahh, what can I say, your doodles are so funny and so lovely to look at!! I’ve never had the proper chance to thank you for your tags on my posts too so I’ll take this opportunity. It makes me really happy that you like what I write ;;_;; So I remembered reading one of your tags saying that you like Domestic!ShinRan so I’mma give that to you rn. I really hope you like this! 🤗

42. Distracting kisses from someone that are meant to stop the other person from finishing their work, and give them kisses instead. (1,551 words)

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9:00 PM.

It’s automatic, whenever the grandfather clock strikes 9:00 PM. Seconds after the last chime of the bell, he’ll hear the library door open, footsteps lightly approach him, then hundreds of pecks will wordlessly land on his cheek in the midst of his paperwork, disrupting the mind palace he’s put up for hours.

It did surprise him the first time, giving his wife a weirded out ‘What’s with you?’ look, but it doesn’t take a while for Pavlov to prove his theory to him when for the next four or five times, he begins to grow accustomed to this flow of events. He doesn’t even have to look at the clock; he just knows that once the library door clicks, it’s 9 o’clock, and he’s bound to ready his cheeks for the array of kisses that’ll shortly follow.

Though his mind has already been conditioned to this, Shinichi’s yet to admit that that is the most favorite thing he wants from his wife to do. After all, anyone who knows him knows that he must not be disturbed in the middle of his deductions. Well, they can, but at the expense of being ignored, or avoided, or humiliated for feeling like they’re talking to a brick wall.

Thus it has been a universal rule that a working Shinichi is an absolutely-cannot-be-disturbed Shinichi. And his wife knows this for sure.

Yet why? For what purpose is she doing this, persistently giving him something he never asked for? Something she isn’t even sure he wants, or needs?

Tonight is rather a busy night for him. He doesn’t usually bring home extra paperwork from the Department, but this present case - a child kidnapping case - calls for urgency. Since 5 PM, he hasn’t left the Kudo library and has even missed dinner. But hunger is nothing compared to the need for the case to be resolved as soon as possible. Time is the enemy. So for almost three hours, he reads, he closes his eyes, he writes, he thinks. On repeat.

“Yes, Megure-keibu. Yes. Among the suspects only the child’s aunt living in Minato ward can possibly do this. Said she’s never been in touch with the kid for years and- Yes. And yet she knows her routine after school. She’s been spying on her. Right. Please send the Team right away to her house. Be on guard. It’s possible there’s someone with her with a weapon. Mm. Let me know once the suspect is restrained.”

He paces back and forth the library, grave and relentless worry evident in his face. He waits, and waits, and waits. Forty minutes of frantic silence and tension, hunger and thirst unnoticed. For forty minutes his world zeroes in on just him and this case, not in the least mindful of his environment, of any sound other than his nervous heart and seeing nothing other than the flash of memories from back when he - and she - was young.

Finally, the awaited call arrives.

“Shinichi-kun, the culprit has been apprehended. Good job. We’ll hear more details on this tomorrow. You may now retire for the night.”

Thank goodness.

Slumping into his chair, he heaves a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Megure-keibu.”

He checks his phone clock. 8:58 PM. Wow, it took almost four hours. He doesn’t even realize. Oh, the effect of child kidnapping cases on him.

He stays in his chair, unmoving. That’s when it hits. The fatigue. The hunger. Minor unfinished paperwork still lays on his desk but he figures he needs a little breather.

For once he actually seeks for rest.

Ran.

8:59 PM.

How convenient. Now he just has to wait for one more minute. Then the grandfather clock will chime and the door will click and this time, he’s ready to welcome whatever intrusion there’ll be, as long as it’s from her.

Ran.

He closes his eyes, chuckles breathily. Hah.

For the first time, is he really actively waiting for her to come?

He waits, and waits, and waits.

Any time now.

Aaaany time.

9:01 PM.

9:10 PM. 9:15 PM.

9:20 PM.

Maybe it’s the tiredness acting up, and he’s not supposed to be cranky because he has just solved a kidnapping case, but right now, he cannot stop his brows from furrowing and his lips from curving upside down.

Where the hell is she?

Releasing an impatient groan, he decides to just continue with the minor paperwork. Maybe she’s already asleep; doesn’t wait for him anymore since he sure is taking his time with this. He mechanically grabs his pen, flips some pages over, and stares blankly at words.

Man... he’s pretty bummed.

“Done with the case?”

He jerks from his seat, heart leaping a little. Trying to keep a straight expression, he slowly turns to the door, and there she is. The woman he’s secretly waiting for.

Ran.

Shinichi watches her walk his direction before finally realizing how much he’s been staring, and then returns his attention to his paperwork.

“...Late.” He mumbles, so low she barely hears it.

She stops, quirks an eyebrow. “Oh. Were you waiting for me?”

“Wh— N-no. Not at all.”

How childish he might’ve sounded just now.

Trying to push past her teasing stare, he pretends to go over the piles of paper in front of him one by one.

But Ran knows her husband too well. She approaches his desk, and, after a faint giggle, gives a light peck on his visibly flustered cheeks.

“I tucked Sakura and Shinji to bed,” she says, giving an answer to his unspoken question. “Took me quite a while this time.”

He tilts his head, half-facing her. “And? Are they asleep now?”

“Yes.”

“Mm.”

She leans in for another peck and Shinichi instinctively offers his cheek, closing his eyes. Feeling her subtle smile against his skin, he cannot help but smile, too, as she gives him three more. Ran stands straight and sighs.

“You skipped dinner, Shinichi. I’ll heat up your food, okay?” She steps away, only to be abruptly stopped by a stubborn tug of his hand on her wrist.

“Ran, that’s...not enough.”

Swiveling his chair to face her, he opens his arms, catching Ran dumbfounded from where she stands. Then, without any word, she retraces her steps, slowly, until she’s standing between his legs, and his arms wrap around her waist.

“I was.”

“Was what?”

“Waiting.”

Cheeks dusting with red, Shinichi holds her gaze as she stares him down his seat; her eyes wide at the unexpected declaration before narrowing into slits.

“Mmm, really? M’not bothering you with your work?” She nudges her head to his desk.

“Nope.”

“But that’s not what I was getting before.”

“Hmm?”

“You've never reciprocated my kisses then,” she puffs her cheeks.

“Well…”

"You didn’t even notice I checked up on you before 9 o’clock. You were too engrossed with the case, spanning the room back and forth like a madman.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, so I figured it’s probably better not to disturb you until you’re done with it...don’t wanna risk being yelled at.”

“I’m not-“

“Oh, Shinichi. I understand, you don’t want any disturbance when solving cases, not even from your wife—“

He cuts her off with a kiss on the lips, dissolving Ran’s further complaints in his mouth.

“That’s not true,” he declares, then kisses her again, chastely. “Keep on doing that, okay? ‘Disturbing’ me or whatever...Even if I look serious,” another kiss. “Or annoyed.” Kiss. “Or cannot be bothered.” Long kiss. “Just...don’t stop doing that.”

He pauses for a good minute, admiring how she looks with her brows still wrinkled but face and ears now more crimson than his.

Ah. Yes— Now it’s clear.

What a shame for not having realized this sooner.

Breaking off his loving gaze, Ran pinches his cheeks, pulling them like dough. “Who says anything about stopping? Who’s gonna tuck you to bed when that happens?”

“Oh okay,” he chuckles, “so you’re really doing this whole thing to annoy me, huh?”

“Of course. Is there any other reason?”

He kisses her again, smiles fondly against her lips. “Because you love me?”

She returns the kiss, reciprocates the smile he doesn’t even bother hiding. “Now you’re being cocky.”

Hands intertwined, foreheads together, eyes closed, soft giggles lingering, husband and wife drown in each other’s comfort, forgetting about the time and hunger and everything else, his long day ending with her, at last. No one can take away this moment from them this time. Not even the minor unfinished paperwork.

Yes. This woman. His wife. Ran.

The only distraction he’ll ever want, and ever need.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what the case was all about?” He speaks softly, a little above a whisper.

“What is it?”

“Child kidnapping case.”

“Oh no,” Ran separates from him, expression visibly concerned, “and you’ve solved it?”

“Yes. The TMPD already apprehended the culprit.”

“That’s a relief,” she returns her forehead to his. “Though Shinichi, honestly I’ve never seen you so invested in a case before.”

“Yeah. It hits close to home.”

“What do you mean?”

Silence, then he takes a deep breath.

“Did you know that you were almost kidnapped when we were in Kindergarten?”

“I was almost...what?!”

“Let’s save that bedtime story for later. Dinner first?”

.

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[woundcollector]

{ okay, fr fr…..i do kinda mourn our just as valid and just as beautiful asexual arya stark. that worked for and made sense to me, it worked for the books and it worked for the show and the actress playing her. that is not to say that all asexuals shy away from all sex every time, but as a general rule that’s who arya was! not super interested, not drawn to sexual things. mostly just curious as to why men were obsessed with it, honestly. 

show!arya is also valid for just….wanting to know and understand sex. she’s been surrounded by it and references to it since childhood and it seems to make people happy (especially when it’s between people who have affection of some sort for each other) and sometimes even bring them closer. so why not try it out with someone she trusts and who probably genuinely cares about her before they all presumably march to their deaths? i get it. it can also make sense. i’m not really going to label her a sexpot or a sudden user of men for this, though that could be a conversation for another time. 

(on the other hand, the glorious part about arya and gendry’s scenes is......gendry is just SO INTO IT. into HER. thank you thank you joe dempsie for every singe smirk and and blink and totally dumbstruck look gendry had in response to arya. that man, from the first second he saw his old friend........ ok, you CANNOT tell me that when gendry saw her, you bet he definitely remembered arya as the magnetic and fiery little girl he’d had so much concern for, but seeing her as the equivalent of a full grown, attractive woman absolutely made him wonder what it would be like to get her in bed. it’s squirmy to think about, yeah. sexist, totally. but it’s also clear throughout that gendry is just as drawn to her as a friend and human being as he is sexually attracted to her. every interaction is full of him smiling and in awe of her like “wow.....i’m fucked up one side and down the other.”)

last thing is the concept of rushing. ...yeah, they did find one other again literally yesterday. BUT its a fact of life that sometimes people have sex with someone they met hours earlier - and sometimes they bang after months or years together. their situation is a strange one to be sure, and anyone at winterfell who was taking the battle seriously was trying to fit as many good things and companionship as they could handle into one night. i think we all would too if we were faced with death on our doorstep in a matter of hours. “but why not with her family????” you say. i’m gonna step into arya’s brain as much as possible rn, like the good roleplayer i’ve tried to be. YES, she loves her family. YES she’s longed for them like missing limbs. yes, jon used to be her absolute best friend in the world. but you know what she’s thinking jon wants to do right now? bang his hot and dubiously loyal targaryen girlfriend. she’s thinking sansa wants to be by herself and do her own thing, not spend time with her assassin sister. (also no one missed that tearful sansa/theon reunion when it happened.) bran is her brother and she’d do anything for him, but sitting with a dead-eyed kid who only has morbid things to say at the moment isn’t doing it for her. a stone ned won’t talk to or comfort her, so that’s right out. sandor and beric prove to be sour and unpleasantly chipper company, respectively. do you know who’s left that actually has seen and accepted arya for who she is, looks out for her, appreciates her company, and is equally realistic about what’s happening? gendry. and he proves to be the right choice because WHO ELSE THOUGHT TO GET ALL CLEAN AND DRESS UP NICELY TO GIVE HER EXACTLY THE SORT OF PRESENT SHE LIKES BEST? gendry. (i think he even tried to dress up highborn-like because he knew he’d have to say something about being robert’s bastard, which cracks me up much more than it should. and who knows, maybe he thought she’d prefer someone who looked highborn now. gendry’s mind is a mystery once in a while.) he was there for her, proved to be quite thoughtful, and satisfied her lingering curiosity before the end of the world. 

AND THEY WERE TWO CONSENTING PEOPLE OF AGE WHO KNEW EACH OTHER’S INSECURITIES AND TOOK CARE OF EACH OTHER ANYWAY. 

this wasn’t r*pe. FOR ONCE. this wasn’t coercion or blackmail or pressure. this was sober and aware sex between two people who knew each other and were willing to be vulnerable and intimate when it was most needed.

so.....here you have my treatise on why i’m okay with this more than not. i could write more about dynamics and long term effects and just the characters in general but i’ll stop here for now because ain’t nobody wanna read a novella on two characters hooking up once. }