#at least I think it hasn’t been posted in hq before

[add1ictwithapen]

this photo finally got uploaded in 4K

[mudpuddle-fr]

Informal part 2 since I checked up on the world map. This started off as addressing the above flights but I figured why not all of them?

Ice:

Ice has parts of their territory melting, particularly the Frigid Floes. This is partially due to conflict with Fire and Lightning.

Arcane:

While Arcane isn’t having many direct issues, the Oculus HQ is located there, so they’re not fully issue-less. (Also, as the Stormcatcher Sanctum is part of the Oculus, the destruction of it is technically of Arcane’s concern even if it’s not in their actual territory).

Also I didn’t think the faster growing of the Crystalspine Reaches was a big problem when I read the lore story but I did just read on the world map that those are all pointing at the observatory so uhhh. Better keep mining those peaks before they grow too much…

Wind:

Wind had a temporary problem with the Twisting Crescendo being windstill but that was resolved by the end of the story so I didn’t mention it. Truly the one flight that is not really having any problems, at least not wind-exclusive ones.

Earth:

Yes, Earthshaker is gone but we vaguely know where he is, so it’s more like how I imagine most dragons interact with their deity? Like yeah the deity is around here somewhere and we know what they’re likely to be doing but we don’t know exactly where they are. Tidelord is just straight up MIA.

The landscape is partially fracturing due to an increase of tectonic activity (as of the Parched Canyonwalks description).

Fire:

“However, this builder’s paradise is marred by inexplicable events and dreadful shapes moving deep in the pervasive mist” - Blacksand Annex description

I don’t know what THAT is but it doesn’t sound good!

Lightning:

Honestly nothing that hasn’t been mentioned in the original post.

Water:

Water is still dealing with the aftermath of that huge storm but they’re dealing with it pretty well!

Light:

Nothing that hasn’t been mentioned in the original post.

Shadow:

Nothing that hasn’t been mentioned in the original post, though it should be noted that unlike Light, Shadow is actively guarding their side of the portal.

Plague:

“Though at this point unproven, there exists a collective worry from other flights that the strains concocted here may start to be, or already are, as powerful as those created by the Plaguebringer herself in the Wyrmwound” - Quarantine Zone #128 description

While this not necessarily an issue right now since it doesn’t seem like Plague plans on weaponizing them at this moment - even The Final Infection was only supposed to be mutually ensured destruction so the Armistice wouldn’t be broken - it does not help the inter-flight distrust.

They’re also still dealing with the lingering nature magic from The First Seed.

Nature:

Nothing that wasn’t mentioned in the original post.

All current issues in Sornieth (as far as I can get from the encyclopedia, and in no particular order)

The Shade is free and active (as of Epilogue: Flight Rising, reinforced in several other stories)

Infighting among the Oculus of the Eleven - inter-flight distrust is seemingly quite high (as of BotE: Ten Eyes)

Large strike/rebellion in the Ashfall Waste (as of BotE: Temper, Temper)

Portal connection between Tangled Wood and Sunbeam Ruins (as of BotE: Kindred Crossing, reinforced in Unveiled)

Suspicious disappearances in Earth Flight excavations (as of BotE: Ancient Fascinations) (I did not have the chance to participate in Dustcarve Dig, but from what I've been able to read on the site itself, these disappearances, while part of the setup, were never resolved)

(Intentional) destruction of the Stormcatch Sanctum (as of BotE: Workplace Hazards)

High tension between the Nature and Plague Flights, due to the breaking of the Armistice by use of The First Seed. Plague ambassador has still not been found, and has taken The Final Infection with her. Implied to be part of a larger conspiracy. (as of BotE: The Seed and The Sickness)

Tidelord is missing, and no divination magic can currently be practiced. (as of BotE: Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow, reinforced in Mixed Elements, Echoes of the Deep, and Unfathomable Oddyssey)

There is a three-headed Emperor (Luminax) in the Sunbeam Ruins. (as of BotE: Raising A Family)

Major change in the energies of Auraboan nests due to the events of The Seed and The Sickness, allowing younger Auraboas to experience linear time, and causing a worrying partial disconnect from the Loop. (as of Ancient Arboriculture Observations and the Auraboa breed article)

[b0n3m33l]

thinking about beyond birthday breaking out of prison (probably by faking his death or something of the sort) and then he shows up at taskforce HQ dressed as L

i dont normally make longish posts but i brain dumped so im putting a cut

this post is very disorganized O_O

why hasn’t B been thrown back in jail?

career criminal ?? hes a wammy kid maybe L keeps him around for the kira case as another brain to use on the contingency he cant leave the HQ building and if he doesn't help he goes back to the supermax (i just want my blorbos to blorb yknow) and i dont think L would intrinsically dislike B, an excuse to keep him close and rehabilitatable might make L feel better about the entire situation with his first two succsessors.

B would be both a major suck ass and a complete nuisance to L, anything to keep his attention and not necessarily because he likes L but because he likes bothering him incessantly. He’s still fascinated with L but working alongside him might make him less fantastical and untouchable as B’s upbringing would have made him out to be and that in it of itself is fascinating. There’s new previously unseen buttons to push. L would likely not engage or engage just enough to get Beyond back to working and give in when the workday is over.

he’d still want to one up L in some way though, maybe not to the extremes he used to but they’d get in spats sometimes trying to untangle the case so they end up cutting the string to pieces.

I think they’d also speak in languages besides english and japanese to talk about anything that could be related back to wammy’s. 

L would also be perturbed by B’s instance on dressing like him but would be satisfied with at least a change in shirt color for practicality in telling them apart.

 Matsuda wouldn't be able to tell the difference between L and B and B would get a kick out of lulling him into the false sense of security before doing something deranged

B: hello matsuda

Matsuda, clocking in: oh hello ryuzaki!

Matsuda: so whats on the agenda for today?

B: :)

Matsuda: ryuzaki? wait a second youre not-

B: gets on all fours and runs full speed at Matsuda

Matsuda: horrified yelling. his fate is sealed.

memory-less Light would be quite disturbed at the fact this serial killer just gets to hang around. I know Light seemed pretty ok with Wedy and Aiber but their crimes are aren’t on the same scale as murdering a whole child and two adults. I debate on whether he’d make a fuss about it but in the end Beyond is better under surveillance there at HQ than in a prison he’s proven to be escape-able.

 B might grow on him a little but there would be some distance put on by Light. Light also gets annoyed with B’s antics to bug L and therefore distracting from the case. They definitely get in a tussle once or twice because of it but Light stops picking physical fights when Beyond threatens to bite him. Which ends up in B provoking Light more as he’s also quite fascinating. 

Kira Light though would probably piece together that he has the shinigami eyes and try to kill him alongside L or snatch this feller up as a pawn for the new world.

I much prefer the latter option because of how evile they'd be together but that is another post.

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Thurs 13 May ‘21

Real info about Niall and Anne Marie’s song! It’s called Our Song, and it’s out next Friday!! Today we got a little snippet of it- with some vocal, finally!- and bunches more pictures of them, including a very cool glamorous vintage-y official promo shot, and Niall said “I’ve always wanted to write with Anne Marie as I love her voice. This was the first song we wrote together, I love it and can’t wait for you to hear it.” Also more pics of him from the studio where he’s been all the time over the last couple months- one with the studio guy’s kid, aw, and another outside with the songwriters and others he’s been working with (after he complained about them posting a pic of all them without him, lol)- tagged #NH3! Niall also congratulated Gym and Coffee CEO Niall Horgan on an entrepreneur award nomination-- “that’s my man!” he said. I think you meant “that’s my NAME”???

My Policeman continued to film outdoors in Brighton, with Harry carrying on and being a total goof- I have every expectation of this movie being pretty weepy but nothing you guys said about the book prepared me for all this lively ham Harry content so that’s exciting, can’t wait for it all to be HQ and giffable! A missed hammy Harry opportunity today too though; looks like he may not be in the Friends reunion special after all. (I KNOW can you believe an item from deuxmoi turned out not to be true??? Reeling over here!) An article today lists what it says is the “full roster” of celeb guest stars for the special, and Harry’s name is not among them (BTS, Lady Gaga, and Justin Beiber are though and it’s ‘unscripted’? literally what the fuck.) I can’t believe Harry didn’t get in there, he should fire Jeff! He hasn’t though, so why the fuck are people saying that? Yall are exhausting, at least make up something funny.

Louis added a second LA show (before the first one even went on general sale- yeah ticket sales are going well I’d say!) and hyped it up via LTHQ, and presales (which started an hour after the announcement) were just as brisk as the rest of the tour sales have been.

[justanotherblonde23]

An Unexpected Surprise - A Marcus Moreno Story

Author’s Note: So with some encouraging from my friends, I decided to post my writing! I know that technically we don’t know anything about Marcus Moreno, but that superhero dad has been taking up space in my mind rent free all week. I tagged people that I know wanted to read this and a few that I thought might enjoy it. Please let me know what you think! -Kat 

Content Warnings: smut, oral (female receiving), P in V

Tags: @autumnleaves1991-blog @dindjarindiaries @frannyzooey @zeldasayer @hdlynnslibrary @jollyrancher87 @bisexual-space-slut @woakiees @scribbledghost @softpedropascal @catfishingmorales

Marcus trudged into the house, it was at least 2 in the morning, and he was absolutely exhausted. He was always exhausted these days; his age was catching up to him. He may be a part of the Heroics, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t getting older. He was balancing heroism, kids, a spouse, and trying to give them some semblance of a normal life. He was ready to retire, be involved in every aspect of the kids’ lives, and see his wife in more than just the middle of the night and before leaving for work. He had given enough of his life to the service of the world; now, it was about time to provide all of himself to his family. Missy, his eldest, was already 11 and getting older every single day. Jules, the baby of the family, was about to turn 5, just about to leave the toddler years behind her. He felt as if he had missed so much of their lives; he didn’t want to miss anymore. 

Most of the house lights had been turned off, signaling that most of the inhabitants were fast asleep. He hoped that at least he could get a kiss or two from the woman he loved. Maybe she would still be awake. He made his way up the stairs, checking the kids’ rooms. He planted soft kisses on their foreheads, smiling at their serene expressions. What beautiful little girls he had, he was the luckiest father in the world. 

He frowned, opening the door to the master bedroom; the soft glow of artificial light bathed the room in a yellow haze. There she was, his love, sitting in the middle of the bed, clearly wide awake, wearing her glasses and frowning at the hologram in front of her. Someone was working even later than Marcus himself. He took in her form; she still hadn’t noticed him quite yet. She was wearing a silky nightie that hit her upper thigh and a matching robe loosely tied around her. His cock stirred in his pants. Even as spent as he was from the day, the view in front of him made him want to take her to bed and fuck her senseless. 

“Dr. Moreno, hard at work, I see,” he teased. 

Her eyes shot up, smirking at him. I’m not quite Dr. Moreno yet, Marcus. You’d have to marry me first,” she teased. 

“We had a ceremony-” he started.

“And someone still hasn’t mailed the marriage certificate, even though it’s been two months. All you gotta do is bring it to the post office, baby. I’d do it myself, but somebody insisted that he’d be the one to do it.” 

Marcus groaned, falling onto the bed beside his wife (that’s what she was to him, even if he didn’t mail the marriage certificate yet). He heard some shuffling and a command for her AI system to file the holograms working on for the night. He’d lived with her for four years now, and he still hadn’t gotten used to all her tech. If he was a hero in name, she was the genius behind every piece of technology in his arsenal, as well as all of the other members of the Heroics. Her superpower was her mind, that gorgeous, intricate, genius mind of hers. Her ability to retain information, learn, critically think, and create was almost impossible to fathom truly. At 33, she had twelve doctorates in various fields, including engineering, physics, nanotechnology, and art history. Her thirst for knowledge and eagerness to invent was unparalleled, even among other enhanced individuals. He would never stop singing her praises; she was a wonder. 

“Marcus, baby, do you wanna shower and go to bed? It’s late.” 

He sighed, starting to relax into the feeling of her fingers carding through his hair. “Baby, if you keep that up, I’m gonna fall asleep right here and now. I took a shower at HQ before I left, so I’m good.” He opened his eyes when her fingers stilled, looking up at the beautiful woman with the soft smile leaning over him. 

“Do you think you can stay up for a little bit longer, honey? I have a surprise for you.” 

He sat up, scooting up against the headboard, kicking off his shoes. He felt wide awake now. His wife wasn’t typically one for surprises on any old day. He wracked his mind, trying to make sure that he hadn’t missed her birthday, their dating anniversary, or any other consequential, momentous occasion. 

“I didn’t forget a special day, did I? Fuck, amor. I’m so sorry if I did. I’ve been spread so damn thin since the wedding; I’ve been running around like a madman.” 

She placed a tiny cream-colored box in his hands, his wife sitting right in front of him, eyes sparkling with excitement. “You didn’t miss anything, Marcus, just open the box. You’ll like it, I promise.” 

He nodded, pulling at the perfect bow holding the box closed, carefully opening the lid. For a minute, he just stared at the contents of the box, his eyes wide with shock. Ever so slowly, he picked up a pair of teeny baby booties, placing them in his large palm. He took the second item out, a pregnancy test that digitally read, PREGNANT. His hands began to shake; tears began to overflow, tracking down his cheeks. He looked up, his gaze locked on the woman in front of him. 

“Sweetheart, are we-? Are you-? We’re- we’re having a baby?” he managed to choke out. 

There was one more item in the box, at the bottom, an ultrasound labeled Baby Moreno. He studied the picture intently, his thumb moving over the little blob on the paper. That was his baby, their baby. They were having a baby. 

“Holy shit,” he murmured, “we’re having a baby!”

A giggle made him raise his eyes once again. “That’s what I said, too. I’m about ten weeks along now. You’re going to be a daddy of three, Marcus Moreno.” 

He scooped up everything in his lap, dumping it on the nightstand. He quickly grabbed his wife, flipping her so that she was under him. He covered her face in kisses, whispering how beautiful she was, how she was so loved, so treasured, so cherished. How their baby was made of nothing but love, how they were precious cargo, and how he would protect both of them every single day of his life. He kissed down her jaw, down her neck, eliciting breathy moans from the woman underneath him. His kisses went lower and lower until he reached her belly, pulling her nightie up around her waist so that he could get to her bare stomach. He planted dozens of kisses all over her belly, in awe of the life growing in there. 

“Hey baby, it’s your daddy,” he cooed softly. “Your mommy and I already love you, little one, and you’ll have two big sisters that I just know will love you too. I can’t wait for you to be here, little baby. I promise I’ll be here for you.” 

He looked adoringly at the mother of his youngest child, grinning as if his world had been made complete, and in all honesty, it had been. This baby, this tiny little one growing inside of the woman that he loved most, filled a hole in his heart that he hadn’t even been aware of. 

He bit down on his lower lip, smirking while ever so slowly pulling off her panties. He would lavish the woman he loved with every ounce of devotion, adoration, and love he had to offer. A breathless Oh please, Marcus was all he needed to motivate him to continue. He opened her legs up, giving him access to her slit, wet and wanting. He groaned, the sight making his mouth water. If he had it his way, Marcus could spend hours between her thighs. Two fingers lightly toyed with her slit, moving up and down, collecting her slick. 

“Look at you, baby, so wet for me, and I’ve barely touched you. If this is what pregnancy does to you, amor, I might have to start keeping better work hours so I can spend my time between your thighs.” 

He could see her hips try to follow his fingers, desperate for more than he was giving her. “Marcus, don’t tease, please,” she whined. He chuckled, easily giving in to her pleas. He couldn’t say no to her, not tonight. 

He buried his head between her legs, tongue coming out to lick a broad strip all the way to the top of her slit, his nose nudging her clit. She tasted like heaven, making him moan into her core, sending pleasurable shivers up her spine. He speared his tongue into her, getting as deep as he could, fucking her pussy with his tongue while her fingers tangled themselves in his curls. He kept exploring her folds with his tongue, hitting all the spots he knew would make her see stars. 

He easily pushed in two fingers, causing her to buck her hips up, matching his pace. He focused his tongue on her clit, alternating between drawing lazy circles and sucking her into his mouth. His fingers hit that sweet spot inside her with every thrust, bringing her closer and closer to her release. Before he knew it, she was cumming around his fingers, squeezing him tight and pulling him deeper. His mouth flooded with the taste that was uniquely hers, prompting him to moan. He could feel himself rock hard in his pants, leaking with his arousal. 

He crawled off the bed, swiftly ridding himself of his clothes, placing his glasses safely on the nightstand. He grabbed her glasses as well, placing them next to his own. She had shrugged off her robe and nightie, languidly watching him, her eyes blown wide with desire. 

“Marcus, I need you inside of me,” she begged. His large cock rested heavy against his stomach, tip red and leaking. The thought of him inside of her was almost too much. She needed him, and she needed him right now. 

He settled over her, catching her lips in a deep, earth-shattering kiss. His tongue explored her mouth, letting her taste herself. Marcus was intoxicating, enthralling, and all she wanted was more. Finally, they broke apart, panting slightly. 

“Dr. Moreno, my lovely wife, mother of my child, let me make love to you. Let me show you how happy you make me, sweetheart. I want to make you touch the sky,” he whispered into her ear. 

She beamed at him, cradling his cheek gently. “Yes, baby, I’m all yours.” He leaned back in, catching her into another searing kiss. He worked his length up and down her slit, coating himself in her slick, bumping her clit a few times in the process. At last, he began to leisurely enter her, inch by inch. They both groaned when he bottomed out, fully seated inside of her. 

“Fuck honey, you’re just so tight, so wet, so warm for me,” he whimpered, moving inside her with slow, deep strokes. He wanted to make this last, to draw out her pleasure. With every thrust, he told her how good she felt, how beautiful she looked underneath him, how her pussy was made for him, how perfect she was. He could’ve gone like that for quite some time, slowly bringing her closer and closer to her high. Only her pleas of more, faster, harder made him speed up. 

He grabbed one of her legs, placing it higher on his hip, allowing him to hit deeper inside her. Her hips moved in unison with his own, meeting each thrust into her. He would never get tired of the pretty sounds she made for him when he was fucking her. Those breathy moans she let out, the babbling it all spurred him on. He could tell she was close. She always got so fucking wet and even tighter right before she came. He dropped a hand between them, rubbing hard, tight circles around her clit. Not even a half dozen thrusts later, and she was wailing in ecstasy, clamping down on him like a vice. He wasn’t far behind, spilling himself deep within her, muttering her name over and over like a prayer. 

He rolled off of her, panting, taking a minute to catch his breath as he gazed at her blissed-out form. Hair a mess, chest heaving, lips swollen from his kisses to Marcus, she was stunning. He couldn’t think of a moment when she was more gorgeous than right then and there. He could look at her forever, just like this. 

Eventually, he got up and grabbed a warm cloth, gently cleaning her off. Turning off the light, he climbed back into bed, pulling her body to his, cradling her close. He let his hand wander, rubbing soothing circles over her belly. 

“You’re gonna look so stunning, honey, all round with our baby. I promise I’ll take such good care of you. I’ll do whatever you need.” 

He could feel his wife sigh, completely relaxed in his arms. He held her close, basking in her warmth and the love between them. He let his mind wander, thinking of the future, thinking of this baby. 

“I’m gonna cut back at work, move more into an advisory role in the Heroics. As your pregnancy progresses, I’ll be able to work from home and take a solid chunk of paternity leave when the baby comes. I’ve given enough of myself to the world. It’s time for me to give everything I can to my family, to you, to the girls, to this baby. I’ll go drop off the marriage certificate tomorrow before I go into HQ to talk about restructuring my job. That way, you’ll officially be Dr. Moreno, even though you’ve already been that to me for a long time.” 

She answered him with a happy sigh and kisses to his hand that entwined with hers. “I’d like that, Marcus. It might be selfish, but I want you here, with us. We love you so much; it’s nice when you’re here. It makes our family complete.” 

They spent a few more minutes talking about the future, drifting off into deep, dreamless sleep. The thought of tomorrow was full of bright promises, just waiting to be embraced. 

[neonponders]

I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself @hoegrove your Bond!au is just too strong.

Based on their post here ~

I hope you like it 🥺 🌹 it’s on ao3, if that’s easier for anyone to read 🌹

• • • • • • •

013.

Fucking 013. Not 00.

Which meant he’d have to wait for whoever got the 00 status he deserved to either die or become incompetent.

“Congratulations, Hargrove. Report to HQ for briefing.”

He’d rather be headed for the private plane that would take him to some tropical location, where capitalist monsters waited for his bullet.

Hargrove stepped out of the elevator onto the spacious floor. He really wished HQ would renovate. The concrete floors, glass walls, and metal beams were urban but not chic.

He found the corresponding desk of his... “partner” of sorts. Every number had a letter. The computer and the muscle. As Hargrove removed his outer garment, though, only the computer desk was present, while the person - 

“Could you not dump your nasty jacket on my work station?”

Hargrove sighed and found the loon - on a bicycle. He frowned. “What the hell are you doing on a bike inside?”

“It helps me think,” Q said, riding slow laps in between the cubicles. Granted, there weren’t many of them, and Hargrove was pretty sure he’d only ever seen Q and maybe three other people on this entire floor, unless there was a crisis.

Maybe that’s why he had yet to be promoted to 00. Too much peace.

“Take your jacket off my seat!”

“Jesus Christ,” Billy cursed. He balled up the ruined jacket and threw at the bastard’s head. To his credit, he didn’t crash into anything. “Clean freak.”

“That’s Q to you,” he barked, dumping the raggedy garment into the nearest bin.

“Sure, Steve,” he purred, knowing his partner loathed the fact that he had figured out his real name. Hargrove wouldn’t work for just anybody, after all. And he was a detective first. Hired gun second.

He didn’t actually need Q. So he told himself. But Steve sure came in handy.

“So help me god, Billy. Did you at least keep my pen intact?”

“Your what?” He landed in Steve’s spinning chair, forcing the guy to lean his bike against his cubicle and stand with his hands on his hips.

“My pen, dip shit. You know, the one that’s basically a Swiss army knife. The one sanctioned by HQ to one Asshole Hargrove - ”

“Oh, that,” he said distantly, gazing out at the city around them. “It broke.”

Not surprised, nor impressed, Steve remarked, “You realize that if some nerd civilian reverse-engineers half the shit you lose, we might be genuinely compromised, right?”

“Then make better stuff.”

“Stop losing it, and you might actually be 00 one day.”

Billy glared with all the menace a man could while having his chair rolled out of the way. Steve shoved him aside with his foot and entered his computer password before navigating to the corresponding case briefs. Billy let his head recline on the seat while Steve went through the list.

“Target?”

“Deceased.”

“Car?”

“Totaled, but returned.”

“Pen: lost in action. Suspect?”

“Null. Excellent in bed, though.”

“You’re a cliche.” Steve glared from behind his glasses.

“Stop giving me cases with attractive people, then,” Billy smirked. “Who’s my next target? Tell me they live somewhere expensive and sunny.”

“Like a desert?”

“No, like Marseilles.”

“Oh, Marseilles is nice,” Steve chirped distractedly. “If you like French people.”

Billy snorted, but it evolved into laughter. “What’s wrong with French people?”

“They’re French.”

“Wow. Picky.”

Steve giggled under his breath and said, “I’m sorry I don’t have a gig for you in France.”

“I’m sure I’ll managed,” Billy sighed. “What do you have?”

“Something more domestic.”

Billy exhaled through his nose, warranting a curious peek from Steve. “Yeah, that’s what I’m stuck with. One zero and domestic jobs.”

“You’ll get there,” Steve reassured. Softly. Which was...odd.

Billy’s head rolled over the back of the chair to stare at him. Steve quickly added, “If you stop breaking the shit I loan you.”

Billy looked toward the ceiling, pressing his lips into an impertinent line...

“Q.”

“Hm?” he asked while typing away.

“There’s a bird in here.”

Steve looked at him. “What?” and followed his gaze up to the metal rafters. A grey bird gazed right back at them. “Oh shit - ”

Billy already had his pistol out. One shot knocked the bird off its perch. It landed with a loud, metallic clatter.

Steve's body doubled over when Billy wrenched his arm in the direction away from the device, and not a second too soon. The force of the explosion knocked them both over one cubicle and roughly onto the concrete floor.

"Q," Billy growled when the guy scrambled to his feet and back to his desk. He reached underneath it, uncovering a baseball bat of all things, and swung right over his hard drive. Metal and plastic debris rained over the floor, and then he ran to the router standing on a low piece of furniture along the wall. He wrenched its cables out and smashed the thing too.

Then he looked up at Agent Hargrove. "We're compromised."

Billy was already moving toward the scattered carcass of the spy bird. They didn't have a lot of time. Already, another explosive rumble sounded beneath their feet, on another floor. Billy quickly found the piece he was looking for, and pocketed it before yanking Steve in the direction of the stairs.

"I need a car."

"You know where the garage is."

"You're coming with me. That thing heard both of our names."

Steve defended, "We both lost our original identities when we signed up for this bullshit."

"We don't know what we're dealing with yet," Billy reasoned. "Until then, you're safest with me."

"Well that's pathetic." His words might've landed better if they didn't rattle out of him while they did their best to sprint down several dozen flights of stairs.

"You're really sassing me right now? What are you gonna do with that bat?"

Steve ignored that to proclaim, "We need to get to my place. I have a backup computer connected to the system."

"And how do we know it's not compromised too?"

"Because it's mine. Not the system's."

Billy could only frown at him ever so briefly, but he pocketed that information away for another time. For now, they descended into the belly of their organization, where the garage of vehicles rested beneath the city. There, another argument awaited him.

"You're not taking the goddamn Camaro."

"I'm taking the goddamn Camaro," Billy retorted, already ripping the keys out of the cabinet Steve unlocked for him.

"It's loud as all hell!"

"So are you. Get in the car."

Another explosion shook the concrete columns of the garage. Steve ducked his head and coughed on the dust while he threw himself into the car a millisecond before Billy left tire tracks on the floor. "What are you doing?"

Steve was pressing buttons on the dash. Somewhere behind them, a mechanical part was moving in the car. "We don't know how many birds infiltrated the building. I'm rotating the license plates - egh!"

He collapsed against his seat when the car angled up to speed onto the city streets. Billy mused, "And what can you do for speed trap cameras?" and held up a middle finger to the camera angled over the four-way intersection.

"Nothing yet. We'll have to trade cars eventually."

"Not soon enough."

"What?" Steve all but screeched, and turned around to see behind them. "At least you're not the only stereotype in this business."

He got the words out a moment before the large, black SUV rammed into the back of the Camaro. "Put your seatbelt on."

"IT IS ON!"

Steve provided his own chorus of swears and exclamations while Billy navigated through the city, tossing his partner left and right in his seat, avoiding another collision with the SUV that would spin them out of control. When Steve began digging through the glove box and lowering his window, Billy bellowed, "What are you doing?"

"A PEN!" he yelled before throwing something behind them. A second later, the SUV's front lifted off the road so the whole thing fell onto its side.

It was Billy's turn to exclaim, "Those things explode?"

"YES THEY EXPLODE!"

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME THEY EXPLODE!"

"WHY DO YOU THINK I TOLD YOU NOT TO TAP THE PEN THREE TIMES?"

"YOU ARE SO GODDAMN LUCKY MY DICK HASN'T BEEN BLOWN OFF."

Steve pointed out the front windshield. "BILLY!"

Another SUV narrowly rammed them from the side, but Billy pulled on the brake and swung the car into a 180. Some civilian took the brunt of that particular attack, but Billy officially needed to get them the hell out of here. Whoever wanted their heads for trophies didn't care about national news.

Which was possibly the most dangerous piece of this mess. Arguably the most powerful component of a country was its press, and these assholes didn't care if they earned the media's or internet's attention.

It was another aspect in itself that Billy had ridden in one too many black SUV's. That would also account for someone's ability to install too many explosive birds in the building.

"Billy?" Steve piped when he drove down the stairs leading to the boardwalk along the river. Billy focused on the new car behind them. He looked across the river at the opposite riverbank, where the walls sloped up. He needed to get over there.

The car rattled as he sped up a flight of stairs to the street once more, but did a hard left onto the bridge that crossed the river.

Down the stairs again, this time slaloming over the ramped wall, keeping an eye on his rearview to see how tunnel-visioned the SUV behaved.

A hand gripped the wide bell of his forearm. "Billy," Steve rasped. There wasn't a stairwell at the end of this riverbank. Just a concrete wall.

Billy went up the ramp, and braked with a hard turn on the steering wheel. The SUV tried to brake in time, but the Camaro clipped the back tire, and it spun right over the side into the river.

Billy k-turned back in the direction of the stairs. He drove seamlessly into the midday, traffic, turning on his windshield wipers against the heavy drizzle. He glanced at Steve, who had not let go of his arm. At a stoplight, Billy's other hand overlapped his, earning a pale, ghostly stare.

"We need to get to the subway. Then your place."

Despite his shock, Steve nodded and said, "Two blocks down."

Billy found the station, lodged their car in a back alley between a Polish restaurant and a laundromat, and circled the car to help Steve out. "I'm fine," he said even as his knees gave out and he hung between his arms on the car door and roof.

"I see that," Billy replied. He nestled in close to wrap an arm around Steve's softer waist. "Put your weight on me."

He did, and Billy kicked the door shut behind them. "Do you have a metro card?"

"Do I have a metro card?" Billy snorted on their way to the entrance.

"You can't jump the turnstiles."

"I'm not leaving a paper trail. I don't know if my cards are compromised too. That bird sat right over your desk, pretty boy. Someone wanted a real close eye on you. Maybe even kill you. We can try and figure out who else was under surveillance later."

They did not earn approving looks from vaulting the turnstiles, but they made it to the train, and then forty minutes or so later, Steve's apartment. By then, his color had returned to his face, and Billy couldn't help but tease, "Do you always bring colleagues home?"

Steve sighed and didn't grace that with a response. He unlocked his door, and Billy perused the living room and its bay window. The place was nice. White walls. Light wooded floors. Colorful dish ware. A bedroom off to the right with an unmade bed, and a dining room to the left with an array of folders and a laptop on it.

Billy placed the broken bird piece beside the laptop. "I don't know how much you can get out of this. But it's a start."

Steve maneuvered around him and sank into the chair. "Help yourself to the kitchen."

Billy did exactly that, and only found a few hints at the neurosis of a tech genius: Steve's pantry was entirely filled with bags of chips and hot sauce. His apartment also wielded the same characteristic Steve used at work: cleanliness. There wasn't so much as a lingering cereal dish in the sink.

Billy went about scrambling some eggs, frying up some bacon, and heating up a box of leftover diner hash browns. He poured a bottle of white and brought the dishes to the table. He set the glass of wine in view of the laptop. "For your nerves. Try to eat something."

"Thanks," Steve murmured. He didn't touch his food, but Billy sat opposite him and plunged his fork into his eggs.

After he cleaned his plate, he started tapping the back of the laptop screen, causing whatever Steve was reading to bounce. As if tossed out of a reverie, Steve inhaled sharply and took his glasses off to scrub his face. Naturally, Billy chuckled and plucked up the glasses to see how the other half lived...

"Steve."

"Hmm?" he mumbled from inside his hands.

"Explain to me why your glasses are asking for 004 authentication?"

His hands lowered so he could see Billy wearing his glasses and the nearly invisible screens layered inside the glass. The muscles of his jaw ticked as he reached across the table. Billy let him remove the glasses, but his stare did not waver until Steve relented, "I'm not 004 anymore."

Billy blinked, hard, as he absorbed that. "When were you an agent?"

Steve pushed his fork around his plate. "Right as you joined."

"Am I really going to have to pull your teeth for this? Because someone must know who you are, or were. Knows enough to keep an eye on you. How many other 00s are retired into office work?"

"My whole team," he heaved. Surrendered. "It all happened too fast. I was elevated to 00 status and just as quickly flunked out of it. Then they gave me you."

Steve exhaled as if there was a whole lot more there. Then he added, "Consider this a mentorship."

Billy huffed and relaxed against his chair. "So my guardian angel is the one keeping me from my promotion."

It took a second, but Steve processed that and lifted his head. "What?"

"You. I don't get to be a 00 until a 00 gives me the okay."

Something shy of a grimace flitted across Steve's features. "Maybe you'd be one, if you learned how to say thank you. You're not god. I've saved your ass at least twice without even being in the same country as you."

"You're a P.T.S.D. case with a laptop. That's all."

"And you're a gun with childhood trauma and abandonment issues. Welcome to the fucking club. We have special glasses."

He stabbed his hash browns and started eating. Billy crossed his arms and brooded in silence.

Abandonment issues, my ass, he mused, but could not help but watch the man opposite him eat. He'd never actually seen Steve eat. He'd certainly always been available whenever Hargrove called, regardless of timezone or courtesy of sleep.

It's hypocritical to call him an angel and treat him as disposable...after you hauled him around like precious luggage.

Billy didn't like that thought one bit.

This job wasn't actually a business. It was a lifestyle. One that didn't grant angels or precious items. And the same voice that called Steve, Angel, kept whispering in Billy's mind.

Compromised.

Something moved in his periphery and he had his gun out before he even thought twice. "What the hell is that?"

Steve, to his credit, hadn't flinched. "The cartoons refer to it as a pussy cat. She wants your bacon."

The fluffy ginger that had jumped onto the table stared Billy down until he relinquished his last piece of bacon. "Why am I not surprised that you have a cat?"

"Considering your reaction, I'd say you were petrified."

"Shut up, Steve."

"No guns on the table."

Billy groaned and set the device on the console table behind him. "Yes, dear."

It was going to be a long case.

[braunbakery]

salvation, maybe (ii)

☞ reiner braun x reader [fem bodied] [chapter word count: 2.5k]

☞ sfw, angst, fluff, post-season 3 [after 4 year time jump], season 4 spoilers

☞ cross-posted on ao3 (very much ahead on ao3, just wanted to bring it to tumblr)

☞ fic plot: you have walked these streets many times before. you have passed this bench many times before. you have seen this man (lost in his thoughts, always drifting, always looking lost) many times before. but this time, this time you take a seat.

prev. next

ii. company

the glass clinks against the bar counter and reiner shifts idly in his seat as the bartender slowly pours him another drink. he watches you bring your glass to your lips in the bar stool next to him, your other hand rested on the counter. the orange lighting of the bar reflects off of the two glasses and, even though the bar is filled with the lazy chatter of other customers, reiner feels like he can hear your every movement.

he doesn't know how a walk through the streets of liberio wound up with him sitting with you at a bar in the middle of the night. he doesn't know how his daily trip to the bench in front of the fountain wound up with him sharing a drink with a stranger when he had been isolating himself since his return from paradis. he doesn't know how the hours passed so quickly, or why you had decided to spend an entire day with him. he can barely remember what you had talked about, faintly recalling sparse conversation about your family, about his family (about gabi and how there was definitely no one in liberio who didn't know her with the way her voice echoed around the alleyways.) he remembers a calm quiet settling between you two, he remembers visiting an empty, overgrown park. most of all, he remembers the feeling of your company.

his chest doesn't feel as hollow, his thoughts don't race as rapidly. and, even though his eye sockets are still full and his muscles are still tense, there is a part of him that is happy to not feel alone. even if just for a day.

and this relief that you offer him eats away at him like a parasite. he locks eyes with you and you offer him a small, kind smile, fully content to sit in the comfortable silence you have both accustomed yourself to. reiner doesn't know why he's letting himself have an escape. he doesn't want to find solace, he doesn't want to feel at peace, he doesn't want the warmth of someone else being with him and not expecting anything of him. he is guilty. in his head, he should always remain guilty, no matter the pain or the agony. no matter how dark the circles under his eyes become, or how tight his jaw clenches.

but, at this moment, he brings himself to ignore his self-condemnation as he watches you raise your glass once more to your lips. he doesn't know if it's just because you are a person, if anyone would have done, if it's because you seem like you would like the company too or if it's something particular about you that makes him want to stay. that makes him feel like it doesn't matter whether or not he deserves to stay. but he can't believe he had gone this entire time without the presence of this other someone with him.

"are you okay?" you ask him, noticing him slowly losing himself in his thoughts. reiner snaps out of his conflicted daze and loosens his tight grip on his glass.

"yeah, thinking about how they're going to beat my ass for not showing up at HQ today," he jokes, offering a cheeky grin. you laugh, pretending not to notice his genuine concern over the issue,"i-"

"reiner," a soft voice interrupts. a woman with dark, raven hair and large deep eyes slowly approaches the two of you on crutches. she dons the same uniform as reiner (the same off-white jacket and red armband, reiner's jacket is currently bundled up on the stool next to him), and reiner feels his grip on his glass tighten again.

"pieck," reiner responds, suddenly aware that his earlier joke is probably the reality. pieck smiles softly at him, and he knows that she holds no contempt for his absence today. but, that doesn't make the bundle of anxiety brewing in his stomach any less.

"where were you today? everyone was wondering where you'd gone off to," pieck slightly leans on her crutches, her head tilting to the side as she questions reiner good-naturedly.

"i..." reiner trails off. he can't find the words. how can he say that, hours ago, he had unconsciously made the decision that spending an entire day mostly in silence with a stanger he had just met seemed like more of a pressing matter than his duties to marley. as he struggles to find the words to express himself, pieck spares you a glance, finally taking note of your presence. she doesn't introduce herself, instead content to offer you another warm smile in greeting.

"maybe you should get home, yeah?" pieck suggests. behind her kind voice and sympathetic eyes, reiner easily recognises the sense of urgency in her words. it's a warning. he should probably get an early night's sleep before his attempts to offer a multitude of excuses when he goes into HQ the next morning. also, knowing pieck is here, it would be safe to assume that porco isn't far off. reiner had already pictured his smug face when he sees him tomorrow, probably feeling like his superiority over reiner had once again been proven. if porco finds him here, in this bar, reiner would never hear the end of it. it would just be another reason for porco to assert the fact that between them, he was the warrior and reiner was the coward. and even though reiner doesn't necessarily disagree (he doesn't really have the energy to think about it anymore), it doesn't mean he's particularly looking forward to it.

"yeah," reiner replies, nodding thankfully at pieck. pieck nods back and raises a hand from her left crutch, waving goodbye before going back to her table. but, she stops in her tracks and turns her head back, "don't worry, by the way. porco hasn't seen you." with that, she turns back and makes her way back to her table. reiner is thankful for her decency.

he scrapes back the bar stool and begins to stand up, getting ready to leave. but, as he reaches for his jacket, his vision blurs. you watch as reiner slightly stumbles forward, grabbing onto the bar stool for support. how many refills has he had?

he seems fine enough to speak normally, but as you watch him rapidly blink his eyes to regain his composure, you stand up, grab his jacket from the seat, and tug at his sleeve as you make your way to the exit of the bar. he seems okay now, walking normally behind you and reaching for his jacket from your grasp. once you finally leave the busy bar, the chilly night air meets your warm faces and the glow of the orange lighting inside reflects off your skin. reiner quickly pulls his jacket on and turns to you. you let go of his shirt sleeve that you didn't realise you were still holding.

"you don't have to leave with me," he says. in truth, he doesn't want to allow himself to be in your company anymore. this was just a break. a day where he could forget everything that he had to do and be, and it took all of his will to reject the consolation your presence offered. the reality was grim and brutal, and even if it was a reality where he was condemned to eternal guilt, it was still reality.

"i don't particularly want to be left alone in a bar," you say, already beginning to slowly make your way down the street. reiner tries to ignore the small relief he feels in knowing that you won't leave yet. that you don't want to leave yet. it was starting to prove tiring having to drag himself back to the guilt he felt lost without.

"do you live far? i can walk you back first," he says, sidling up next to you on the footpath. god, he was pathetic. for someone actively trying to isolate himself, he sure did manage to find every excuse to spend more time with you.

"i live on just the other side of market square," you say, recalling reiner telling you where his family home was, "it's close to yours. i'm walking you back first." in reiner's stumbled state (even though he had all but regained his composure now), you don't feel right making him walk you home and then himself. at least, that's the excuse you were telling yourself. in reality, you don't want to be alone. you're not ready to say goodbye. when reiner hears your adamance, he can't help but smile. he's too tired to argue, instead just humming in confirmation.

"are you going to be in much trouble tomorrow?" you ask. reiner turns his head towards you, and even though he had looked at you many times already, he never seems to get over the initial shock of someone else being there with him.

"it'll be fine," he says (he hopes.) maybe commander magath will just chalk it up to another tired day of being a warrior? maybe zeke had offered magath some sort of excuse in reiner's absence? maybe porco had shut the fuck up and not encouraged retribution for reiner's slight insubordination? reiner knows that you can tell from his clenched fists that he's lying and that he has no idea what's going to happen. but, he's grateful that you don't make an attempt to address this. reiner wonders if you know that he doesn't regret it.

"i'm guessing you have an early morning then?" you say, shoving your hands in the pockets of your jacket as the temperature of the night drops.

"ha," reiner laughs drily, "it's always an early morning." he watches you laugh at his disdain, the corners of his mouth curling upwards, "you as well?"

"yeah. i think i'm delivering papers tomorrow," you respond. you had told reiner that you worked as an assistant for the newspaper. the manager was an old man. he was kind, but you often found yourself doing a bunch of odd jobs that were either his responsibility or the requirement of someone he had yet to hire.

"do you have a permit to leave the internment zone for that?" reiner says without realising. the words are tumbling out of his mouth as soon as he thinks of them, and it scares him. he had spent years in paradis having to carefully think of everything before he said it, and now the words were just escaping his mouth and he had no restraint.

"yeah, just for an hour on the specific delivery days. we only really get delivery requests from the marleyan soldiers living just outside the fence." reiner nods.

"you should deliver a paper to us," reiner feels that he basically blurted that out and tries to save himself, "to HQ i mean."

"i didn't realise the people the paper is usually about took an interest in reading it," you joke. you're already planning your route to the warrior unit HQ, already planning what you're going to say to reiner when you deliver. even though it's just a suggestion on his behalf, you can feel the delight rushing through your body at some sort of insinuation that he wants to see you again. reiner chuckles at your comment, knowing full well that he's probably not going to read that paper and he'll probably just toss it off to zeke (if he doesn't end up spending the whole day being reprimanded for his antics.)

god, he can't stand himself. how can he ask to see you again? what's wrong with him? is he seriously so pathetic that after one day of enjoying someone else's company other than the warrior unit and the candidates (who, even though he appreciates them, are just a constant reminder of his mistakes and shortcomings and everything he fails to be) he can't go on without it? even though you hadn't given a straight answer, he can't ignore the feeling of blood rushing to his cheeks at the thought of seeing you again, no matter how hard he tries to pull himself together and scold himself for being such a half-assed piece of shit.

before he realises, his vision is blurring again and he's stumbling forward. instinctively, you reach out and grab his upper arm. your hand wraps around it, steadying him in place, and you didn't expect him to be so...warm. is that a titan shifter thing?

reiner mumbles a quiet 'thanks' in embarrassment and continues walking on. but, your grip on his arm never loosens and reiner realises (rather embarrassed with the fact that this is something he considers worth realising) that, other than the odd tug to his sleeve to beckon him forward, this is the first time you have actually touched him. his muscles relax under your hand. and it scares him.

reiner slightly pulls away at your grasp, pulling down at the armband on his opposite arm as an excuse to distance himself. he doesn't know why he's doing this (yes i do, he thinks, coward. you don't deserve this.) without thinking, he shrugs off his jacket and places it around your shoulders, his hands slightly brushing against your neck. even though he's warm, goosebumps form under his fleeting touch and you watch as he puts his armband back onto his arm.

"you looked cold," he says curtly, rubbing at the back of his neck and looking away. he realises that, in an attempt to use taking off his coat as an excuse to distance himself from your grip, he managed to just end up being closer to you. you can't help but smile as he tries to avoid your gaze.

a few more minutes pass, and you both find yourself outside reiner's house. reiner turns to you, opening his mouth and about to bid you goodbye, ready to spend the night wondering how he let a simple conversation at a bench this morning get this far.

"reiner," you say, before he can say anything. "i..." as you look at him, you realise how bad you don't want to say goodbye. and maybe it's just the fact that he really doesn't know you that well, or that if you really wanted to, you could very well ignore him for the rest of your life if things went wrong. or maybe it's the fact that you had lied earlier, and you don't actually live on the other side of market square, but the complete opposite direction that you had started walking from the bar, and if you said goodbye now you'd have to walk back all the way by yourself. alone.

alone.

"yeah?" reiner says, hand on the door knob, eager to get inside. he doesn't want to leave. really. it seems like he does, but the longer he stays out here, with you wearing his jacket and struggling to make the words come out of your mouth, the more he has to think about a life he can probably never have. but, what you say next takes him a minute to register, and takes you a minute to realise has actually come out of your mouth.

"can i...can i stay?"

[kurinoot]

[day 2] two tempting bentos | ushijima wakatoshi

-> being the manager of a powerhouse school sure adds pressure, but you’re there to prove to them that you are the right person for the job, especially to a certain well-known ace

pairing: ushijima x reader

themes: fluff, manager!y/n, neither one of them has feelings for each other (yet!), continuation on white day special, slow burn (?)

word count: 2256 words

author’s note: sorry if I had to post this one late, as my dysmenorrhea was keeping me from working well (+ a bit of writer’s block) and I had to had this one proofread lol :( I hope you enjoy this one and drop any comments (and constructive ones) if you have one! also, thank you for a couple members of the hq discord server (I don’t know their un :() who willingly beta-ed (if that’s even a word lmao) this one.

Thankfully, it was already lunch time, as the grumbling of your empty stomach finally prompts you to walk to the school cafeteria. On the way, you unconsciously pat your stomach as you finally feel the reverberations and the consequence of the lack of breakfast for today. As soon as you arrive, you immediately take notice of two familiar figures on a nearby table. One of them is already waving at you like one of those wacky inflatable tubes that you closely associate him with, which brings a growing smile on your face.

“Ah L/N-chan! Wanna come sit with us?” Tendou giddily invites you and ushers you to the vacant space beside him, which you replied with an eager nod, sitting beside him.  With Ushijima sitting in front of both of you, you took notice of him who seems to be occupied with drawing something, which piques your interest.

“I never knew you could draw, Ushijima-san!”, you initiated, surprised.

“Yeah. I drew quite frequently as a child,” he replies with his usual deep voice, looking stoic with eyes and hands still occupied with the drawing. Somewhat mesmerized by the sight and view of the ace drawing, you kept watching as it slowly unraveled before your eyes, seemingly forgetting that you haven’t eaten even a single bite of food throughout the day.

Tendou sardonically interrupts, “Manager-chan, you better eat if you don’t want to keep your stomach from waiting!”, which cuts your train of thought (and apparently your daunting stare at Ushijima’s drawing). He ushers a tray of his remaining food to your direction, to which you thank him for, albeit the embarrassment of not being able to bring your own lunch for the day. You quickly fold your hands and utter an “Itadakimasu!” before you began ravishing the remaining food, much to the pair’s dismay.

“So L/N-chan!”

“Hmm?”, you hum in reply; your mouth still chewing on the food you’re eating.

Tendou then inclines himself onto the table, with his chin resting on the back of his hands and smirking with narrowed eyes at your direction, “Have you made preparations for today’s training?”.

You almost choke on your food, with eyes bulging the moment he reminds you of your managerial duties as Tendou knowingly cackles in response. Ushijima however, despite the playful banter happening in front of him, was still focused on finishing his artwork, much to your chagrin and much to Tendou’s entertainment (despite getting used to it). 

“If you are only playing around as a manager, then you do not deserve to be our manager”

Both you and Tendou stop, with both of your attention drawing to Ushijima, who has now stopped scribbling and is now looking at the both of you, particularly you.

You blankly stare at him in shock, somewhat speechless, “”E-Eh?”.

“You need to stop fooling around and do your duties as our manager.”

Tendou, who seems to feel a little bit of unnecessary tension between you and the captain, can only look consecutively between you and him. He tries his best to somewhat support you by putting both of his hands on your tired shoulders, to no avail. He tries to casually interject, “Wakatoshi-kun! L/N-chan probably just hasn’t rested well today!”

“Besides”, you start, prompting the two boys to look at your direction.

“Everybody makes mistakes, and it’s not like I haven’t done my job properly!”, you end as you seek to prove the ace wrong and to show that you have been doing well as the manager of a powerhouse school for the past two years. With that said, Ushijima scornfully looks at you as he resorts back, choosing not to retort back as to not attract unnecessary attention.

The entirety of the conversation has somehow left an air of slight tension between you two, as a pregnant pause engulfs your table afterwards. What started out as a casual lunch had ended in unnecessary tension and silence. Tendou can only do so much as he tries to break the ice to try and stop the tension from developing into something worse.

“Oi, oi! See you later! Good luck with that, Wakatoshi-kun”, he exclaims, gun pointing at his best friend whose only response was a deep, guttural hum. He then glances at you. Still dazed from the events earlier, you did not get what Tendou meant as he winked at you knowingly before he wiggled himself out of the cafeteria, leaving you alone with Ushijima.

“Look, if you’re not doing well, how are you supposed to do your duties?”, Ushijima reminds you as he starts cleaning up his things to prepare for the next class as well as for the training later on. Speechless and dazed, you can only nod in response as he calmly leaves the table, leaving you alone clenching your fist and thinking.

I’m going to do my job and I’m going to prove him wrong!

After a couple of days did you only realize that it’s already Valentines’ season and you know how much your friends are endlessly talking about making chocolates to give to their crushes as well as the girls in your class. You have been thinking for a while now of what to give the team as a gift just to celebrate the day in your own way as well as show your love to the boys. Then it got your mind reeling of numerous gift ideas.

“Y/N! Lunch is ready!”, you hear your mother call you from downstairs.

That’s it! I’ll prepare bento for them!, you thought out immediately, somehow thanking your mother in silence for giving you an idea in the right moment. You then blast out of your room with excitement, rushing downstairs to eat as well as ask for your mom’s guidance for your Valentines’ gift for the boys.

After a couple of attempts later, you were at least finally able to create a decent onigiri that brought you tears of joy, as you finally feel the worth of God-knows-how-many attempts. Your mother, who has been guiding you, clapped her hands in happiness as she shares the same sentiment.

A few days later, as it approaches Valentines’ Day, you decide to bring them each an onigiri as well as freshly-brewed tea to at least help them rejuvenate after training (and because you believed that it’s best to prove your worth as a manager).

Classes have just ended, so you gently pick up the onigiris that you’ve made as well as a big thermos of warm tea as well as the reusable cups and then make your way to the gym. To no surprise, you see Ushijima, who has already changed into his training uniform, already warming up while waiting for the others. He seems to notice your presence as he hears the shuffling sound of a plastic bag as well as the rattling of the cups. You continuously walk towards the nearby bench where Coach Washijo was already waiting, who then sees the food and drink you’re carrying.

“Ah, I’ve made some food and tea for them after!”, you say the moment you saw the coach’s eyes went to the food and thermos. Washijo only smiles at your outburst, somehow seeing your intent as the manager.

Meanwhile, you unknowingly feel Ushijima’s stare at you as you feel a sharp shiver in your spine and a sudden flutter and racing in your heart beat, which was somehow an entirely new feeling for you. Only then you turned around and saw the ace staring at you, with intentions somehow unclear to you.

I must be palpitating, I think, you thought to yourself, dismissing the fluttering feeling in your heart. You have already made sure that your main priority as the manager is to only do your duties to support the boys and nothing more beyond that. 

You dismiss everything and you just went back to your daily managerial routine, setting aside the food and tea you prepared as well as helping to mop the floor free from sweat and all.

After the training, you immediately bring up the bag of onigiri that you’ve made, which caught the attention of the other members, Goshiki in particular.

“”Woah! L/N-senpai brought us food!”, the budding ace exclaims as he quickly grabs his share of the food from your hands. You then distribute the other onigiris to the others, up until there are two pieces left. A smiling Tendou and a stoic Ushijima then walk towards you, with you already giving them the remaining food, to which they accept.

With that, you then start preparing the cups, pouring each with warm tea and giving it to each of the members. While pouring another one, you hear Tendou and Ushijima talking while they’re munching, somehow leaving you eavesdropping on the two.

“So how does it taste, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou asks his friend as he munches into his own food, to which his stoic friend bluntly replies with “It’s not good”, leaving you disappointed which made Tendou cackle in amusement.

The alarm of your phone rang early in the morning, prompting you to wake up, slightly scrubbing your eyes, and check your phone.

It’s already Valentines’ Day.

You already know that it might initially cause a stir within some of the boys, as Valentines is often seen as gift-giving only for intimate purposes, but you wanted to show how much you love them as your manager as well as be able to show your support for them, and you felt that preparing them bentos would be the best way to showcase it.

You were glad to wake up early, as you were able to prepare each bento just in time for you to prepare yourself for school. You smile in accomplishment as you comb your hair to finish organizing yourself before you go to school.

“Are you sure you can carry them?”, your mother asks with concern, especially after seeing your effort in making a bunch of them.

You sigh in assurance, “Mom, I’m the manager of a powerhouse school. I can do this!”.

After class has ended, you immediately went straight to the gym to prepare for today’s training as well as prepare the bentos for the boys. To your surprise, even the early bird Ushijima was not yet there, which gave you more time to prepare and even rest before they arrived.

A few minutes later, the team has scrambled together into the gym, only to find you napping on the bench. Everyone slowly steps closer to you except Ushijima, who only stood still, hoping to not disturb your nap. Up until the rest of the team noticed what seemed to be bento boxes stacked together did they stop for a while and took interest in it.

Semi somehow gets ahold of one of the boxes, “Eh? They’re bento boxes.”, he hushes. He then examined the one he’s holding when he noticed a sticky note attached on the top. He reads, “Happy Valentines’ Day, Semi-san! With love, L/N-san”.

Initially, the team took it as a sign of confession, as they have knowledge of the special day today. Only did they find something else when Goshiki sees another box with the same sticky note message attached to it, only this time it belonged to him.

“L/N-san’s giving us Valentines’ bento?!”, Goshiki finally realizes, as the other members of the team finally went to check and see theirs. Tendou, in particular, laughs at the thought, not before he finds his designated box with the same sticky note message, immediately taking interest in it. 

Ushijima, who notices the silent onslaught on the bento boxes, finally decides to step forward. Tendou, who has become immersed in his own box, sees his best friend approach and then decides to pick up his box and then gives it to him.

“Here’s yours, Wakatoshi-kun!”, Tendou stirred as he hands out Ushijima’s designated bento box, or boxes rather. Ushijima accepts it, and right off the bat he notices the yellow sticky note attached with his name on it along with a mandatory ‘Happy Valentines Day!’ as well as your name. He gently opens the warm box and goes to see tamagoyaki and sausage octopuses on the side, and much to his internal delight, was a bed of Hayashi rice sitting nicely on the large portion of the box. He then goes to check the other box underneath to see a mix of steamed vegetables and a couple of pieces of sushi beside it.

Everyone was so immersed in their own bento box that they did not notice you waking up from your light slumber, and much to your shock, you wake up to see them already eating with happy smiles on their faces. Only then did they notice you awake when they hear you move from the bench.

“So, do you guys like it?”, you shyly asked whilst rubbing your eyes from your light slumber, only to find the entire team facing you with serious faces after scrubbing. Goshiki, the ever enthusiastic budding ace, praises you, “We love it, L/N-san!”.

You look around to see everyone eating their own lunches, and much to your shock, you actually see Ushijima eating the food and immersing himself in the bento boxes that you made for him. Somehow, Tendou looks at the both of you in amusement, taking note of the prior events. He then internally smirks on the possible development that is happening before his eyes.

Happy ‘Valentines’ Day, indeed, he thinks as he continues munching on his bento.

back to valentines’ masterlist

[akaashisupremacy]

Hanging by a Thread

Summary: Semi has made his feelings clear about you? As you navigate your new relationship, how does love look? 

HQ Masterlist || Multi-fandom Masterlist || Read it on A03

Semi Eita  x reader  

genre: friends to lovers (?), angst to ??, pining, unrequited love (wc: 1.2)

You’re waiting for Semi Eita in a record store. He’s a little late. He should’ve been here five minutes ago.

His figure makes an appearance at the door and then he walks in straight into the arms and lips of another person.

The shock freezes you. He promised you that he would stop playing around to be with you. What the f*ck is this?

You’re about to go march up to him in irritation and anger when you’re shaken awoke.

“We have to go in a bit. We said that we’d meet up with Reon and Goshki in the bar my friend is playing at, remember?” Semi gently whispers.

You rub your eyes and look at him. He’s already half-dressed in his jeans and shirt. You look around to see you’re both in his bedroom, the curtains drawn shut. His hair is still a mess from sleeping beside you earlier this afternoon.

“Oh yeah,”you mumble. So it was all just a dream, huh? There would have been no way it was real if he had been beside you all this time.

You groggily sit to straighten yourself up. He hands you your clothes. You both set off after you’re dressed.

When you reach the bar, Reon waves at the both of you while Goshki motions to come over.

“I’ll just help my friend set up for his set and I’ll join you in a bit.” Semi leans in to put his hand around your waist and plants a kiss on the side of your forehead.

He lets go of you and walks off. As you walk to your friends, Goshki’s eyes widen and Reon nudges him.

“I hate to ask this again, but are you and Semi dating? Finally?!” Reon exclaims with a smirk.

It’s a running gag of sorts among the Shiratorizawa alumni to inquire if you and Semi are going to get together. It started in your senior year in high school and it hasn’t stopped since even when Semi had a whole other person peppering his socials. Considering you saw Reon the most often, he is the most frequent offender of the joke.

You had feelings for Semi since you were in high school but you never said anything because you weren’t sure if he liked you back. After you graduated from college, you continued to show up to his gigs to still be able to see him. In a way you were hoping he'd take more notice of you, even if he looked interested in someone else. But he never did.

Something changed in the last few months. You stopped going to his gigs, determined to move on. Semi comes running to your door on a Tuesday night to try to get you to come back to his life. You try to shut him off but agree to show up to one last gig. At long last he finally owns to you about how he felt about you all along. Neither of you bothered to update your friends about the event so far. Whoops.

“And more importantly, was that a kiss?” asks Goshki excitedly.

You growl.

Goshki grabs a basket of fries.

“Are you hungry? Would you like some fries while you give us a few updates?”

You sit down between them and grabbed a fry.

“Yes, we’re finally dating but that’s not the point.” you dismissively wave, “I had a dream that he made out with someone else while I was waiting for him in a record store, and I know it’s just a dream but I’m so pissed about it.”

Reon can’t help bursting into laughter. Goshki looks mostly confused.

“Sounds like something that would happen before you started dating.” he remarks, still suppressing a few chuckles.

“You’re not helping.” you frown.

———————————————————————————-----

Semi is beyond confused on why you’ve been so cold to him after he woke you up. Did he do something wrong? Were you just sleepy? Everything seemed fine so far. Your new relationship, at least to him, is going great.

He looks over to the booth you and Goshki are in. You look less tense.

He looks to his photo gallery while he waits for his drink. His latest photo of the two of you is a mirror selfie of you straddling his lap with your legs on his sides. Your back is turned towards the mirror and your neck is planted on the crook of his shoulder. Both of you spent the afternoon whispering sweet nothings in bed with the curtains drawn. How could things change so swiftly?

Reon clears his throat as he sits beside Semi at the bar. He must also be getting another round.

"So…new relationship?” Reon quirks an eyebrow.

Semi laughs a bit and his shoulders relax.

“Yeah, it’s been going great. I can really see this going somewhere.” Semi admits, pride shining through.

Reon chuckles and orders a round of beers, “Sounds like it.”

Semi hesitates then leans closer to Reon.

“Hey, they were pissed at me before you came here. Did they say anything about why?” he whispers cautiously.

“Well, I’m not supposed to say anything, but...” Reon says with a twinkle in his eye.

—————————————————————————

“Baby, I promise I wasn’t making out with someone else.” Semi pulls you away from your friends to a corner near the restroom. It’s dark and already a little smelly, but at least it’s sort of private.

“Did Reon spill? That snake! I—“ you twist to Reon’s direction, ready to head back and give him a piece of your mind.

Semi grabs your wrist and clasps your hand between both of his, “Yes, but I begged him to tell me. This isn’t on him.”

“I'm sorry for making out with someone else in your dream,” he adds. Semi values his pride, yet through his experience he knows the quickest way to placate you is through an apology. Instead of calming down, you flush bashfully.

“It sounds silly when you say it outloud!” you sniff. Semi tries his hardest not to smirk.

You gently tug your hand away from his.

“Are you still anxious that I’ll suddenly drop you for someone else?” he abruptly asks.

The expression on your face shifts to unease. He’s touched on a sore spot. Neither of you talk about it much now that you’re dating, but you used to comment about it when he started dating in college. The “s” in Semi stood for serial ghoster.

“Part of me feels this is all too good to be true. I’ve seen so many of your relationships fall off the wagon.” you sigh in defeat, “What if I’m not exciting enough for you? What if we’re not compatible after all?”

Semi is dumbfounded by your lack of faith. His mouth falls? open as his stare drapes over you.

“Are you kidding?! This afternoon was all the excitement I need for a week.” his eyes widen as he exclaims.

His face flushes as he thinks about the heat of your skin against his. You had spent the afternoon holed up in his room flushed against each other.

Semi hadn’t even realized how many fantasies he had buried that were about you. It brought him unspeakable pleasure to finally fulfil those fantasies.

You’ve known Semi long enough to read his expressions and the racey thoughts going through his head.

“I’m going to throw you into horny jail if you don’t stop that.” you crossed your arms.

He grins widely and unapologetically, “Sorry, not sorry.”

The tension finally leaves your face and you smile a bit.

“Look, I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to, ok? I get that you have your doubts and that’s ok. ” He reassures you, drawing you closer with an arm around your waist, “This is my one last chance with you remember?”

You’ve given Semi many chances to be part of your romantic life, but he’s always subtly pushed you away every single time. He’s at the end of the line, on his last shot, and he knows it.

“I can’t guarantee that I won’t screw up, but I sure as hell meant it when I said I won’t let you walk out of my life again.” he grits his teeth and unconsciously clenches his fist. Despite his clear resolve, you notice the trace of fear in his tone.

“I’m so used to having crazy ups and downs with you I guess I’m almost expecting the next dip in our relationship. What if it comes and we don’t make it through?” you whisper, eyes wry with worry.

“We’ll do everything we can to make it work, ok?” he reassures, “I don’t want us to drift apart again, I’ll do what it takes to keep you with me.”

You slowly move closer into a gentle embrace. He wraps his arms around you.

“Besides you've already made it to my Instagram so I guess there’s no backing out now.” he snorts, holding up his phone.

A shot of adrenaline pumps through your veins. You slap his arm. He laughs.  

“Ohmygod, Eita.” You grab his phone to check his latest post. He didn’t post the one with you straddling his waist, did he?

You’re relieved to find that it is a wholesome mirror selfie of the two of you at the mall. You sink in relief.

“Let’s head back to Reon and Goshiki before the others get here.” He grabs your hand and gently leads you back to the booth.

You observe Semi as he tugs your hand. For someone who’s hanging by a thread, he seems so happy and confident.

“I’m sorry I got mad at you for no reason.” you admit.

He shakes his head, “I’m just glad you didn’t dump me when you woke up.”

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

I wrote this as a follow up for a Semi friends to lovers angst. Check that out here. 

Taglist: @itstheee-ha-chan @kaizumi @holaaaf @glxar​

Comment or message to be added to the taglist! :D

[tsuumu]

hq boys: would they go to jail?

headcanons on the haikyuu boys’ encounters with the local authorities... this was meant to be a joke but i put way too much effort into it so now i’m s q u i n t i n g

hinata shoyo: this boy was caught trespassing on somebody’s property after diligently trying to accomplish something as harmless as finding a lost ball or petting a small cat... he’d climbed the fence and spent a maximum of FIVE minutes there, only for the owner to accuse him of breaking and entering without any room to explain himself. imagine: the poor boy being dragged by the ear despite his protesting. he’ll get an earful when he has to ask kageyama to pick him up after the police release him with a stern warning

kageyama tobio: tobio and his tendancies to disguise himself for ridiculous reasons is going to get him in trouble because they’re shitty and VERY suspicious most likely he’ll be one of his investigative escapades with his hat and glasses, only to be stopped and asked what he’s doing. that’ll be real embarrassing for him to explain, though it doesn’t end up getting more serious than that when they realise he’s just a kid

tanaka ryūnosuke: can i say almost? TALKS SO MUCH CRAP, oh my god he won’t ever shut up so one day he’ll bite off more than he can chew. he’d get into a serious looking argument and someone mentions calling the authorities. cue a 180 personality change up where he’s scratching his neck and apologising to everybody that’s stopped to watch. tanaka is no criminal, he just has a short fuse temper and a mouth that likes to RUN faster than his brain can catch up. he’s had a few close calls

nishinoya yuu: he’s DEFINITELY told people he’s been to jail LMAO like it’s something he mentions to girls whilst picking them up thinking that’s somehow attractive, when in reality he’s never even set foot in a police station. he might have once as a child for harmless reasons, but got scared and started crying his eyes out so they had to take him outside. he’s lowkey TERRIFIED of ever crossing paths with the law

tsukkishima kei: he’d never end up in jail or even in a situation that involved the police but he’s definitely not going to answer your call if you’ve ended up there and need a ride home, keep calling and he’ll block you until morning comes

daichi sawamura: post time-skip he’s a literal police officer so that’s out of the question

sugawara koushi: absolutely not. unlike tsukki, he will pick up though. he’d be surprisingly scary when lecturing you all the way back but would ask you if you want to stop and get something to eat, since you’ve had quite the day

yamaguchi tadashi: he wouldn’t. he’s overly cautious about most things and is definitely that friend who tugs on you and asks if it’s really okay to be doing this. par example: wondering into a restricted zone because you’re convinced it’s a short cut. he’d adamant to turn back and if, unfortunately, you did get caught, cue some intense waterworks from this poor boy, begging them not to call his parents. you’d feel pretty bad after that one

bokuto koutarou: i read a post from somewhere else about bokutou not understanding that paying tax as an adult is mandatory and extremely illegal if you don’t and it cracked me up because i can genuinely imagine the bewilderment in his face when he’s told he, a newly turned adult, has to pay the government a certain sum of money

“but it’s my money.”

“yeah, but it’s taxation, you have to pay the government.”

“but the government paid me first.”

once somebody mentions jail, he’s quick to end the argument and just deal with it, much to his dismay

akaashi keiji: he’s the one doing the explaining to bokuto. they’ve had this conversation at least 17 times and show no signs of stopping. akaashi is sensible and seems like the type of guy most his friends reach out to if they’re in tricky situations with the law, he’ll /begrudgingly/ wake up at 2am to come get you

kuroo tetsurou: he likes to do his deviant work when he’s belligerently drunk. like, someone told him shotgunning beers at a public gathering wouldn’t do too much harm. they were severely mistaken. tetsu has absolutely ZERO filter when he’s that intoxicated, picking verbal fights in club bathrooms with anybody over absolutely nothing. though chances are, he’ll end up befriending them and sharing a few more drinks. if not, kenma is there to supervise him. he’ll feel apologetic in the morning

kenma kozume: you have kenma to thank when it comes to preventing things from getting serious. he’s cool-headed and knows how to drag you out of situations. he won’t scold you, he’ll just tell you to stop causing everybody trouble. it’d make you feel bad and you’d probably quit it

oikawa tooru: he’s probably been in a few situations that could’ve lead to getting a permanent criminal record. tooru is convinced he’s never in the wrong for ANYTHING and will not listen to any kind of constructive critism. pretends to be fine when he’s literally screaming inside.

“your car was parked incorrectly.”

“uh, no. i really don’t think so.”

“look at it.”

“i am. i’m looking.”

“it’s covering two parking spaces.”

“that’s simply a matter of opinion.”

asks kindaichi or iwaizumi to help. they straight up refuse, walking away respectively.

ushijima wakatoshi: this man is intent on keeping a clean record in order to reach his goal of playing professional volleyball. states that it also gives him a clear conscience because toshi is for some reason very big on morality. he’ll come get you because -and i quote- ‘it’s my job’ but he’ll try to lay down piece by piece why exactly having run-ins with the police is so crippling to your future. you’re forced to listen for the entire 30 minute trip home

tendou satori: nobody knows where this man is at 3am. he’s just.. somewhere. you’re certain he’s not doing hard crack under some passageway but he’s not at home with his feet up either. he’ll start to mention last night’s escapades and stop himself, mumbling that it was definitely illegal and that he probably shouldn’t tell you. you can’t coax information out of him, though he wishes he could tell you. he just can’t. maybe it’s cult stuff...

miya atsumu: speaking of cars, this man straight up ignored the letter he got from the local authorities telling him his court date for the speeding ticket he recieved a few days ago. thinks it’s utter bs and continues to flutter around it until they knock on his door. atsumu proceeds to ARGUE with them about his speeding ticket until they ask him to come with them.

“yer tellin’ me i have to pay for going a little too fast?”

“sir, you were going fifty-two in a fourty mph area.”

is it his pride? is he just a blithering idiot? he’s one of the only people to probably end up in a holding cell for a short duration of time. none of his friends let him drive anymore.

miya osamu: he likes to use atsumu’s misfortunes to embarrass him. it’s an easy way to one-up himself when things get competitive. at least HE never got caught shirtless and drunk with his friends at the outdoors swimming pool a little past midnight.

atsumu states that it was ONE TIME when he was newly eighteen and to stop bringing it up in every argument. osamu himself doesn’t really bother with recklessness, so you simply won’t catch him in situations like that.

rintaro suna: straight up not having a good time and leaves before anything bad arises. will respectfully hang up on you mid-explaination because he has other things to do than bail you out

sakusa kiyoomi:??????? no

korai hoshiumi: okay, he has to admit that he’s a little curious... like there’s no way he’d want to actually end up in jail but he just wants to know?? like yes, there’s consequences but human existence is temporary.. his friends have to check up on him just to make his enthusiasm hasn’t landed him somewhere troublesome

bonus

yuji terushima: currently in holding for posession of an unknown substance. might be protein powder, might not. he won’t tell anybody.

[terra-fatalis]

Talk about a coincidence!

A possible connection between Aerith and Stamp (as a reference of Zack)

---

BEFORE READING: This post is based on theories more than actual facts, since the true nature of Stamp hasn’t been revealed yet. I’ll provide some elements that could hint its connection with Zack but all this has to be considered as a personal opinion. If this will turn out to be all wrong, I apologize in advance.

(Link for the previous post here)

---

Stamp is a new character introduced in FFVIIR. It is:

“A sweet little canine character beloved by the citizens of Midgar. A regular fixture in cartoons and movies, his face is on every corner of the city either in toy or poster form. Originally used as propaganda material during wartime.”

Most of the fans assume that this dog is a metaphor to represent Zack. The main proof for this theory is the fact that, in Crisis Core, Angeal used to compare Zack to a puppy:

“Are you Zack, the puppy? My son wrote to me once about you, zero attention span, restless as a little puppy.” - [Angeal’s mother to Zack].

This description links up very well with Stamp’s song lyrics (here).  

The biggest mistery around this character is its double design: it is shown to be a beagle during the whole game, but in the end we can see it as a terrier. 

My personal opinion is that this is a metaphor about Cloud’s fake persona. We, players, mostly play as Cloud, so we see the elements of the game through his eyes (and we never see Stamp when we are not Cloud).Cloud thinks to be a former SOLDIER because he’s overlapped his image on Zack’s. 

“Real-Stamp” (Zack) is the terrier, but we see it as a beagle (Cloud) because we see the world through his alter ego. 

At the end of the game, when Zack defeats his destiny, we can see terrier-Stamp because Cloud has no altered personality (or, at least, not yet).

So, my take is that Stamp represents Zack in both forms. 

Of course, I could be totally wrong.

---

I’ll provide some comparisons to support this theory. Around Midgar we can find some posters with Stamp, and most of them can be related to actions that Zack did:

Zack encourages Cloud to work hard to become a SOLDIER.

Zack saves Mako poisoned Cloud, carrying him from Nibelheim -represented by the flames- to Midgar.

Zack took part to a mission in Icicle Inn with the Turks against Avalanche. During the mission they had to go through a cave with falling icicles. There he lost two SOLDIER friends (mabe this will have something to do with the Intergrade?). 

There’s a Stamp magazine on Tseng’s desk. The only other times we’ve ever seen his desk was to show Aerith’s letters (Crisis Core) and the dossier about Nibelheim incident, (Last Order) when the Turks were trying to save Zack from the army.

---

That said, assuming I got this subject at least partly right, let’s talk about the elements that link Aerith to Stamp-Zack.

In Aerith’s childhood room, in Shinra HQ, there’s a book with Stamp and a letter in the background. I tried to translate what’s written on the cover but the picture is very blurred, so there could be mistakes, especially because I don’t speak Japanese (in bold the parts I’m rather sure to be right):

スタンプからの招待状

さえスタンプファンクラブ 「スタンププリーダー」      

Invitation from Stamp 

 Only Stamp fan club “Stamp breeder”

Definitely a strange translation. 

Anyway, the odd fact is that this book appears in Aerith’s room, of all the places of the game, and nowhere else, so I’m wondering if it is maybe meant to metaphorically hint the 89 letters Aerith wrote to Zack.

(Picture taken from Reddit)

---

There’s another detail that could link Stamp-Zack with Aerith: the stars.

In both designs Stamp wears a hat/helmet decorated with stars. Stars have been often used as a military symbol around the world, and so seems to do Shinra.

All characters’ outfits have been redesigned for the Remake. On the shoulders of Aerith’s jacket we can see some decorative stars. And not common stars but military stars, normally used in army uniforms or medals. Quite an uncommon choice for the clothes of a girl strictly related with life, peace and nature (a link to an older design of her jacket without stars, meaning they were introduced purposely for the Remake). 

As a side note, her gray bracelet has the same design of the guard of the Buster sword. 

Talking about stars, also in her canon outfit to see Don Corneo she wears some accessories with star pendants (earrings, necklace, bracelets and sandals). At first it seemed to me a strange choice, as stars in FFVII are commonly related to the promise (and there were no stars in her OG red dress), but in the light of a possible connection with Stamp-Zack it really makes more sense.

---

In short, I’m convinced the devs are hinting once more Aerith’s bond with Zack, even in these subtile details. I was unsure if I had to created this post, given the uncertainaties around the subject. Anyway..

..even if I’m wrong, I have to admit it is a good number of coincidences!

EDIT:

All this recalls me something...

"Aerith’s star and Cloud’s star! They show a great future!” [Cait Sith, Temple of Ancients]

...and now it turns out the stars could be related to Zack? And consequently related to Cloud because of his alter ego? What a coincidence...

[aforrestofstuff]

BROOOOOO THAT NEW CHAPTER

RIGHT, lotta stuff happened. And I have a few guesses as to who that super-Jesus monster is buried next to Saitama and Flash, and yes they’re crack and make no sense but damnit this series is fucking whack anyway who cares. Wanna talk about DK and Genos.

As well all know DK and Genos combined into a megazord to pool their power into murdering Psykos, and while I do think that whole sequence was metal as fuck, it’s really leading up to the grand reveal of what kind of hero Drive Knight really is.

All of our suspicions will either be confirmed or denied following Drive Knight’s commitment to Genos’ wishes. Is he going to prioritize stopping Psykos or saving Genos? Are he and Metal Knight the same in their willingness to let go of others just to get the job done? Am I gonna get to suck him off? Find out next time on Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

Also we got confirmation that the shit in Genos’ chest is, in fact, a nuclear reactor as shown in this panel that was so kindly translated by GoFancyNinjaWorld in this post.

Says some shit like “Nuclear reactor at it’s limit” idk I was too lazy to copy and paste. While that makes a lot of sense because he obviously isn’t battery-powered, it’s a wonder how he hasn’t blown up yet seeing as how often he gets his shit kicked in. I mean, you’d think that’d pose some major safety violations and give any physicist brain hemorrhages but hey, it is what it is.

There’s a superhero I always found very stark similarities in when it comes to Genos, and that’s Firestorm from DC Comics. You know, teenager undergoes some fucked up shit, comes out a warrior for justice, has an old scientist best friend, that kinda thing.

Well, Firestorm is also powered by a nuclear reactor in his chest. And it’s how he dies in multiple storylines. Not saying that’s how Genos is going to go too, but things have lined up just a bit too well. They’re both too reckless, reliant on their raw power, but the difference is Genos’ fate is in someone else’s hands, albeit a very morally dubious robot/cyborg. Again, Genos is probably not going to die because he’s just a bit too important to the story and has a lot of unresolved shit going on, but if he does, it’s going to be because of the ticking time bomb in his chest and not by getting his face broken one too many times.

Now, as for the theories as to what this thing is:

My first thought was it’s monsterized Blast. I understand that this is bogus and probably 100% wrong but hear me out here, who else could it be and why would they have Blast’s cube buried so close to them? All this buildup with Tatsumaki’s backstory and the bitching from DK, and we get this reveal. It has to be him, or at least someone somewhat related to him. It would explain where he’s been all this time, and why he hasn’t been responding to the world-ending threats that have been happening every five minutes since the series started. However, what isn’t lining up for me is how the FUCK Blast could become this. Psykos said she had many experiments before Orochi, but none as great as Orochi himself. Could this be what she was talking about?

Second thought was that it’s God but I think God is like, a sphere or whatever now so that doesn’t really line up. I’m getting a headache Murata please just fucking tweet something I can’t wait another month to see who the dormant goblin underneath the Monster Association HQ is.

Anyways, yeah. That’s my thoughts. I’m now shipping Genos and Drive Knight until further notice. I mean, how could you watch two dudes Voltron each other and not go “wow they’d look really cute holding hands”, because if you didn’t then you’re lying. Thanks for the ask, anon! ❤️❤️

[hiro-gari]

Just saw this post this morning: https://bamsara.tumblr.com/post/648921115261108224/here-i-did-the-shipping-dynamic-thingie-if-you

It got me thinking that the ship dynamics number 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 could be Batarou! Here let me explain what I'm thinking about them..

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

#1 : "Both have equal strength, but one of them is batshit crazy."

Basically Garou and Badd in canon, lol! They're of course equally strong, and Garou is usually the one who goes berserk batshit feral. Back then it was when Garou fighting against the S-Class heroes, nowadays he becomes feral when something bad happened to his beloved delinquent hero.

But that doesn't mean if Badd couldn't be feral, too. In fact, he could be very frightening when he does it. Especially whenever people mocked Garou's past as hero hunter, or worst, saying that Garou didn't deserved a good boyfriend/husband like Badd. It would set Badd on fire, and there will be at least destroyed building at the end of carnage. While Garou on the sideline watching the whole scenes: "Well mark me down as scared and horny." ���🔥

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

#2 : "The chaotic human with no self-preservation whatsoever, and the supernatural creature desperately trying to keep them alive."

Yooo we had already know Badd is ABSOLUTELY have no self-preservation whatsoever, courtesy by Zenko and Garou. Being so selfless and too determinated by his goals, wont back down at all before he finished the business.. 😔

And Garou is the Human Monster, now that they're dating, will protect and keeps Badd alive at all cost! Sometimes he must dragged Badd away forcibly from the battlefield because Badd is just too stubborn 👿

But if you want the more accurate depiction, I actually have written an older headcanon about it last year. It was about Demon Garou and Human Badd, with Demon Garou slowly becomes "Guardian Demon" for Super Clumsy™ Badd, by saving his life instead of eating his soul because he fell in love with the human.

Badd was desperately finding a way to cure Zenko from chronic illness, and he decided to summon a demon to help him saving Zenko in exchange for his soul. The demon, Garou, accepted the contract and ready to reap his soul whenever he wanted after Garou saved Badd's little sister.

But the problem was, Garou didn't expect that Badd is so clumsy and always endangered his own life. Everytime Garou wants to eat Badd’s soul, he always doing something reckless that makes Garou had urge to save his life. He didn’t want to reap Badd’s soul when he’s in such stupid moment like that, he wants the best time possible.

Then slowly, the demon realized that he doesn't even want to eat Badd's soul anymore, instead he wanted to protect him, to cherish and loving him dearly. Thus, he becomes "Guardian Demon".

You can read the full version of it in here, if you're curious: https://kaincuro.tumblr.com/post/615404377513066496/

Which is it also have been made as a lovely story by @lovelybutnot-ablankcanvas with a title “Dangerous Illusion” in here: archiveofourown.org/works/23665795/chapters/56809585

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

#3 : "The super popular celebrity, and the cafe barista that doesn't know (or care) who they are."

Considering in canon, basically Garou being a "celebrity villain" who debuted for his new career as Hero Hunter in Hero Association HQ. And Badd doesn't even know what Garou looks like (he asked himself "Is it Garou??" when he faced some monsters in sushi shop) or even recognized him at the first glance (he thought Garou just a troublesome punk boy or random annoying civillian).

Now imagine them in AU where: Garou is either a supermodel or a famous singer who likes to drop by in a small cozy coffee shop because the barista is so cute, so he tried to come as a regular to flirt with Badd and also drinking his delicious coffee. Garou genuinely likes Badd's own brewed coffee, or any of his creations. If Badd wasn't on his shift at that day, then Garou just "Bye!" while giving middle finger to any of Badd's coworkers that were unfortunately saw this bastard guy appeared on the shop.

And Badd who doesn't care anything about idols after the whole Amai Mask worshipping™ done by Zenko so he never recognize Garou's public persona than the fact Garou is a super annoying Handsome&Hot™ guy. He just want to get his job done and making some money to pay for Zenko's tuition. Whenever Garou comes (or barging through) into the coffee shop, Badd could sense his impending migraine would also coming soon. Always takes time too long on ordering things because Garou just want to talk with this cutie barista, and trying to get his phone number lmao!

Imagine Garou entering Badd's coffee shop, dressing either like suspicious shady guy, lonely punk teen, or nerdy but Cool™ boy. But I love to imagine Garou usually go with Nerdy Look with an adorable beanie hat and reading glasses, totally different with his appearance when he's on job.

Badd secretly loving Garou's presence (minus the bastard attitude), especially when he was calm and immersed on whatever he was doing, like enjoying Badd's coffee, reading books, working on some work-related documents on his laptop, etc. When Garou talking with Badd (no flirting when he's working), Badd always like to listen his voice. The more they know eachother, the more they attracted to eachother. And they ended up having huge crush and mutual pining, before finally dating!

Badd was honestly surprised when he learned about Garou's other persona as celebrity after Zenko told him or showing some magazine article about Garou, lol! Badd getting his mind blown: "I'M DATING A CELEBRITY???"

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

#5 : "The childhood friends, where one of them kills someone to protect the other, and they must take that secret to their grave."

This is like the Childhood Batarou AU but gets a dark twist. Usually we have kid Badd protecting a bullied kid Garou from Tacchan and the mean kids, maybe as far hurting Tacchan in the process at the max but I couldn't see kid Badd killing anyone, since he's too precious.. 😣💦

But if we seriously get on the dark version of it, maybe kid Badd killed kid Garou's abusive dad? Then they buried the body on the backyard, and since they both lived on some desolate village/suburban area, nobody know the event? Then they keep their darkest secret to their grave. Badd didn't regret on dirtied his own hands by blood, as long as he can protect Garou and nobody would hurting him anymore.

Is this too dark? 😅 I'm so sorry, let's just stick to the pure Childhood Friends with Tiny Hero Badd! 👏😤

This is what I have about Childhood Hero Badd AU headcanon: https://hiro-gari.tumblr.com/post/645500921001000960/

Which is it also have been made as a super heartwarming and fluffy story by @hiro-gari with a title “Charmed” in here (plz check it out guys!): archiveofourown.org/works/30301986

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

#6 : "The fugitive witch running from false accusation of crime, and the tired, magic-skeptic scientist now hiding their friend fron the law."

THIS IS EXACTLY THE UNIVERSAL HEADCANON BATAROU WE HAVE IN THE FANDOM, LMAOOO!! 😂😂😂

Fugitive Garou hiding from Hero Association in Badd's house because they believed Garou is a high-class criminal and a monster who must be punished severely, denying the fact that Garou hasn't killed anyone or even hurting innocent civillians. And Badd is one of very few people who trust Garou and Tareo's confession, so Garou ended up trusting him back by GOING INTO HIS HOUSE FOR PROTECTION, lol! 😆

Now Badd has a stray feral, now tamed, puppy wolf in his home. And harbouring the currently fugitive wanted man could endanger his job, his family, and also Garou himself. That's a tiring daily task to keep people from discovering the truth. But Badd be like, "Fuck the consequences, I wont let anyone hurt Garou anymore" 😠

But if we give it a twist to be more about a Magical AU, maybe Garou is a very chaotic but kindhearted wizard who loves to help bullied kids, poor people, and underdog people in his village. But someone who hates him spreading the false rumours about Garou and getting a mass to hunt him down.

It made Garou furious and he unleashed his anger by his powerful magic that caused the people getting hurt, but nobody died. Kinda regretting his action because it means Garou couldn't stay any longer in his birthplace village, he fled to downtown area in the crowded city far away from his home. But not forgetting to give protection charm for every single person in his village for as a farewell gift, and casted a longstanding protection spell around the village area to repel any bad-intentioned people from entering it.

Then after being a fugitive wizard who looks more like a lone hobo wolf, Garou was wandering around the city without any fixed destination. In the moment of loneliness and desperation, he found someone kind enough to help him (it was Badd) by giving warm food (it was Badd's takeaway fastfood dinner he just bought on the way home after work).

Thus without Badd knowing, Garou following him until they reaching Badd's house (Garou casted a spell to make himself invisible). Imagine Badd was alerted in the middle of night when suddenly there's a suspicious sounds from his kitchen, and Tama was meowing like crazy which is never happened unless there's some stranger intruding his house. When he comes downstairs, he found out there's an invisible force TAKING HIS FOOD FROM THE FRIDGE!

Badd was freaking out and grabbing his metal bat to bonk anything behind that invisible force, but failed because he was disarmed by that force. Then Garou revealed himself that he's a fugitive wizard, asking for a help for a temporary hideout. Badd, who never believed in magic (Zenko is), was baffled at Garou's claim until Garou showed himself what he capable of. Which got Badd awestrucked, and maybe charmed by Garou's awesomeness.

Then their daily life is basically similar like what we have as the universal headcanon, just with a sprinkle of magic 🔮✨

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

#7 : "WHATEVER THE FUCK THIS IS, NO BRAIN."

This can be applied to any Batarou headcanon, either canon divergents or AUs! Even also for them in platonic friendship Shitty Teen Squad, yeah especially this! 😆

They're complementing eachother and definitely would share 1 braincell, in which frustated Genos to no end because it seems he's the one who could make the braincell functional enough make them behave well, lol. But despite all of that, Garou and Badd are a pair of loveable dumbasses 😉👍💖

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

You would immediately know which dynamics I hyperfixated on, hehe 😜

Yeah personally when I saw the list, I think the ship dynamics #3 and #6 have the freshly good potential for Batarou AU stories! That's why I made them like that. Plz someone make it into more coherent story I'm incapable to write them decently enough I will pass the baton to you aaaa-- 👀😫💦

Honorable mention for dynamic #2 because it's a personal favorite (Demon Garou is Perfection™ 😈✨), and also that the hc means so much to me.. 😌

That's all I have to say about Batarou ship dynamic based on the post, hopefully it could entertain you today! 😚👌💕

Thanks alot for: @hiro-gari, @the-goddessfighter, @kaincuro, @garous-nipple, @jusqu-une-etudiante, @guby1620, @lovelybutnot-ablankcanvas, and @krystalseijuro, also all of Batarou shippers in the fandom! Thank you for always giving me encouragement to keep making more silly contents of Batarou, I really appreciate you all! 😭🙏💕💞💖💝

Hope you have a great day~ 😎👍🌸🌼🌻🌷💐

-Little1993lamb-

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

~Lilia:

UM I saw the link and went “no way” because I literally saw that post not two days ago and was thinking about how the first and last ones suited these Boys very well.. BUT also I was like yk who would be able to come up with a brilliant scenario for any one of these??? the emoji anon of course... And, here you are, and you have done just that, and I’m SHOOK like AHHH how’d you know I needed this??

For the first one, I hadn’t even considered feral Badd 😳 I agree it’d be very frightening, since he’s a tough guy but still generally a sweetheart, when he snaps he probably s n a p s and no one is safe

Omg, Demon Garou.. 🤤 *head suddenly empty* Nothing more to say there 😂 But I love clumsy sweetheart Badd ghhhhhsk, I read Dangerous Illusions some time ago and absolutely adored it, I hadn’t seen your original post though, thank you so much for sharing it!! 😩👌

BARISTA BADD yaaas 👏 Especially him doing it for Zenko’s tuition awwe 🥺 he’s totally clueless as to who that nerdy bastard is, I love it!

Ooo the fifth one tho... Reminds me of the flashback scene in AoT where they just... stab the human traffickers 😳 Though I could see it actually, especially if Badd felt Garou’s life was genuinely in danger, and the situation called for someone to intervene immediately 😢 Gave me the feels wahhh

Magical wizard Garou?? All of my yes?? *heart eyes mf* I can just imagine Garou’s troublemaking increasing tenfold with the addition of magic he’d be a top tier prankster, Fred and George meet Garou and Badd especially if he can make himself invisible 😂 dude that fridge EMPTY! I LOVE THIS SM 💖

Ah yes, the last one :”) “two halves of a whole idiot” and annoying the shit out of poor Genos 😂 One of my fave tropes for them for sure!!

Thank you sm for doing this anon!! Your raw creativity never ceases to amaze me 💕💗 THIS IS A BLESSING 🥰 I hope you have a wonderful day too!

[waka-chan-out]

hello! i was just wondering how you started out your page, like any tips? I love your work so much 😤✋💕

well, first of all thank you very much! i’m surprised and flattered that you would ask me!

in all honesty, i don’t know how i got here. i feel like i blacked out at 300 followers and now i’m at 1.2k. but i can try to offer some tips! i know i looked at some tip posts when i was first starting and didn’t follow most of them, so i’ll let you know what’s been useful to me. obviously remember this is what worked for me and it may not apply to everybody. i acquired this audience completely by accident, so those that are actively working to build a page might give you different tips.

((keep in mind this all applies to fanfic blogs because that’s all i have experience in.))

things to do:

first of all, and this is pretty obvious: tag everything you think applies. it seems excessive in the moment but it’s the only reason anyone ever saw my stuff lmao. like for any specific character in my posts will have a whole slew of tags (and this is for my nsfw posts) like:

ushijima smut ushijima x reader ushiwaka smut ushiwaka x reader haikyuu smut haikyuu x reader hq smut hq x reader

going along with that, oh my god, come up with a tagging system. even if you don’t think you need to tag something, you probably do. so many headcanons of mine are lost to time simply because i never tagged them and now i have over 600 posts. i’m never finding that shit again. tag it.

make a masterlist. it helps you and your followers stay sane and organized. i made mine because someone requested it, so that was cool. but if you make one early it’ll make your life easier.

find one uniform way to structure your posts. i know everyone feels differently about this, but it really does make life so much easier. i’ve been doing my “post timeskip, obviously, content warnings, etc” thing since my very first post, and it just makes me feel more organized and consistent. everyone’s posts will look different, so just look at what your favorite blogs do and mush all that together. you’ll find what you like eventually.

be clear what kind of audience you want. this can change and evolve, but try to start off with some idea of what you want. don’t want minors on your page? write minors dni EVERYWHERE and keep up with blocking pages. a rules list helps with this, but of course people like to just not check those, so be firm when your rules are bent or broken.

post a variety of content. it’s so much easier to rack up notes on a headcanon or thirst post then it is anything else, especially the type of fics i write where it has a lot of banter and build up before anything else.

it pays off to have a gimmick! i acquired the most followers from my 300 follower event and that’s been so nice.

this isn’t necessarily a “blog” tip, but oh my god, learn how to structure writing. i cannot tell you how off putting it is to try to read fics when paragraph breaks are used awkwardly or there are two people speaking in one paragraph. you don’t have to be a perfect writer to write fanfiction, but please at least learn the rules of writing. if you need help, ask. google things. i’m an english major that wants to write and edit for a living and i still look shit up all the time.

write what you like. you’ll find an audience. you don’t have to cater to anyone else’s tastes or preferences. one of my first few posts was a request, and that was only after i had posted one or two things. people will find you, and it will be people that also like what you like. don’t make yourself uncomfortable just to cater to someone else’s preferences.

be patient. you won’t get followers overnight. some blogs grow quickly and others don’t. that’s just how it is. also don’t be too demanding with your followers. don’t get pouty when people don’t interact, don’t be demanding about requests. just realize that you’re a person and so are they. they aren’t obligated to read just like you aren’t obligated to write. relax and realize it’s just a blog. you’ll be fine.

edit: I ALMOST FORGOT !! be inclusive. holy shit. so many people will read your writing and though you shouldn’t write anything you’re uncomfortable with, it’s so easy to be inclusive. there are tips all over the place, but all you need to do is focus on the personality of the reader rather than their appearance. easy. i’m lucky enough to have a pretty diverse audience and it makes me so happy i could cry. i love knowing that people feel safe and included here.

what i haven’t found necessary:

making a tag list. i only made one recently, and even then i only have nine people on it. it’s not that necessary, unless you have a series that people want to see.

having a theme. seriously, don’t stress. even now i barely have a theme. it’s never been hard on me.

plugging your blog?? i don’t know if people actually do this but i saw a suggestion about it and it confused me to no end. i’ve never found that necessary, though it is nice having mutuals that reblog your stuff. still not totally necessary though. my only mutual was @tanzaniiite for the longest time and that’s literally just because i saw her follow me, saw that she was a writer, stalked her posts, and decided i wanted to follow her back. she was my 34th follower (yes i counted) and she’s still here. very much appreciated.

doing collabs. i didn’t even consider doing one until recently. they’re really not necessary.

self reblogs. another one that i think might help but isn’t necessary. i didn’t start doing these until i had acquired a larger audience. figure out what works for you, but i’ve unfollowed more than one blog just because of the sheer amount of self reblogs they do. i understand that they’re proud of their work and want it out there, but i just think there’s no way reblogging a new post every hour is necessary. obviously if you want to reblog your own content you can. but having a masterlist had made that unnecessary for me. one of my first posts had like 100 notes after it was first posted, and now it’s up to 600 when it hasn’t been on people’s pages in months. people will find your work if they want to find it.

obviously all of this is just my opinion and you should take it with a grain of salt. i started this blog randomly to post one tsukishima fic i had written for someone that i was told was good enough to post. i haven’t changed my writing structure or process since then, and i still have no god damn clue how tumblr works. it’s a lot less intimidating than it seems. i know it’s a different experience for everyone, but it’s an overwhelmingly loving community that is kind to new writers. i was lucky enough to grow fast and receive a lot of kindness, but that’s also because i put a crazy amount of effort into being kind back and posting consistently (and no one needs to be going at the pace i set towards the beginning of this blog. holy shit i was posting like every other day for a while.)

if you do decide to commit to trying to build an audience, let me know and i’d love to follow you! and if you’ll be writing (which i hope so because most of these tips are for fanfic blogs lmao) i’m always here to help with structure, beta reading, editing, etc. that’s literally what i want to do as a career so it’s never a burden on me. either way, good luck! it’s frustrating sometimes but if you have solid ideas and basic writing abilities you’ll be fine!

again, thank you so much and i’m so flattered you asked me 💞 i hope you have a lovely day darling.

[fallingsunflower]

BESTIES I'm so sorry - I hit my post limit waaaay earlier than expected! Some of y'all joined me on my backup account, (which I also hit the limit on lmao), but I'm back now.

I had over 400 asks to go through and I'll give you a warning that not all of them will appear (either because they were old or because they were topics we already answered). But here is a giant list of asks I compiled for you from when I wasn't allowed to post lol they don't really require my response but I found them entertaining to read. Hope you don't mind I've just put them all together in one post. It's also to save me from using up my 250 posts lol

"this is all so embarrassing like my god imagine when the promotion of the movie starts how horrible it will be for other people who made the movie too"

"SELL UR TICKETS TODAY WATCH THE MOVIE ILLEGALLY, next article we’ll be talking about these two assholes filing for bankruptcy. cheap harlots. don’t mess with your meal ticket."

"hate to say it but i defs think they‘ve got a sliver of the gp’s attention for five minutes"

"I am scanning through all these photos looking for just ONE where he looks like he's smiling and enjoying this. It's so crazy."

"I guess those are all the pics we’re getting right now. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish the Italy trip off with one more major Backgrid photo shoot."

"Olivia’s trending on Twitter but not Harry. Like it’s obvious who’s getting the PR gains here!"

"If they dont give us a 6 month or more break after this im gonna need them to pay for my therapy bills from now on bc of this damage no joke let me crawl back into my shit hole now 😑"

"The palce they at is referred to as “tuscanys best-kept secret”. Everyone point and laugh."

"she looks like she’s enjoying all of this. he looks like he wants to push her into the water."

"a few people said he’s keeping his shorts pulled up or covered in all the shots because of the Nike branding which they ask to not get photographed. What a setup."

"Man I knew the second those Tomdaya pics came out of them kissing and how they were trending so fast that HO were going to do something to 'top' them. Its pathetic /// FRRR. she probably hoped for the positive reactions that people gave tom & zendaya but unfortunately, miss girl got the opposite. when will they realize that nobody, but his fans, find them cute lmao can they just stop, it’s so embarrassing 😭😭😭"

"He really out here doing this with someone who almost old enough to be his mother, shiiiiiiiit. Sickening. Sick of these 2 for real now, i was fine with the good old blurry back content and whatnot but this? Crossing a line here nobody wanna see that shit and knowing how people feel goooooood damn."

"I aboslutely despise kendall for obvious reason but this one is actually worse than the hendall one bc you couldnt really see as much as now dis gos tang."

"She’s also wearing the cross necklace again. I feel like if that was so meaningful to her she wouldn’t risk loosing it in the ocean 🙄"

"guys have eyes on tmz. I Do not have tw now. they were so aggressive towards them"

"I'm sorry for Harry because you lost your damn mind bro"

"Now why the hendall pics are better ?? NO SHADE BUTT"

"I’m genuine confused like do they actually want dwd to flop or what? I just threw up in my mouth I sure as hell ain’t gonna watch their sorry ass movie. Is it supposed to flop? I’m so confused!"

"The match was not interesting enough so they cooked up something different especially since people were pointing out how they staged the PDA. And the page 6 article is out already!!!"

"Who the fuck thought this was a good idea"

"Is it just me or does harry's face looks really blank for someone out on a Romantic date with his alleged girlfriend.?"

"if thats it, harry hasn’t no game🤣🤣🤣🤣"

"so this is why the tabloids weren’t talking about the match pics! they didn’t have any value on their own. now with the yacht pics? my oh my they’re gonna get the clicks of their lives. her team was prob like “wait a sec we got something for y’all”"

"If they were models hired to act like a couple they wouldn't get the job......"

"Not them starring right at the camera in some of them help make it less obvious will you"

"HENDALL🤣🤣🤣is that uuuu"

"Harry’s ass crack thought it should make an appearance too."

"What a great day for team PR, happy Monday you guys! Let's pop the champagne 🍾🍾🍾🍾 P. S. They both need acting lessons, tbh"

"It’s quite interesting how everything that’s happened before I’ve seen predicted weeks/and in advance on blogs or fan accounts. Like his life has always been so predictable but damn"

"He was hiding the Nike check. That’s why his swim trucks are rolled up to an absurd degree even for him. He knew he was gonna get photographed."

"What I’m noticing is wether people like them together or not, everyone’s saying they’re aren’t a hot couple…there was more chemistry in the Kendall pics by far"

"i also find it weird that he’s not smiling in any of the pictures and it would be one thing if there were five pics from ten minutes of time but there are like 70 from an obvious extended period of time"

"It's interesting everyone involved is being Team Try Hard. Yet the universe says no. The last set of pics, Tom and Zendaya overshadowed. People even paid more attention to Angelina and the Weekend (even if business possibly). Fast forward to today and all this fakery only for Gwen/Blake to tie the knot. His team needs to get a clue. She needs to go. Harry needs to clean this up fast."

"Ok i looked at one hugging pic and one kidding pic and they could not look more stagged. It looks unatural ,strange and weird from all angles. You can clearly see from their body posture they are posing for a photographer from backgrid."

"Like I said in my ask a couple days ago the day we get kissing pics is the day that I believe this is all a stunt and I was right. They took a page out of hendall 2016 and it’s looks so forced and awkward. Hendall did it better cause at prater they had chemistry. They must be scared this movie is going to tank because they are pushing this way too hard"

"Real, PR, or whatever relationship it is, they’re fucking boring. You are on a yacht in Italy, can’t you have a little bit of fun? I can’t believe how boring they are, I just can’t. Even if it is just PR, can’t you make a fucking dumb joke so you can laugh or something? Do they have anything in common like to talk about or discuss or make fun of? I’d literally killed myself if I looked like that in a relationship. They are not communicating in any photos we’ve got. They are just walking, or sitting. Even when they hold hands or kiss or hug, they never communicate."

"okay but did ya’ll see the pic of her diving in?? i can’t stop laughing 😭😭😭😭"

"they look horrifically awkward i cannot believe what harry is doing"

"“HEY PAPS COME GET A PIC OF US KISSING TO MAKE OUR RELATIONSHIP MORE BELIEVABLE!!!!!”"

"his ass is hanging out and her bra is almost off what in the hell"

"Hqs on a yacht like that? Mhmhmhm hmmmmm / I bloody well hope that’s not the extend of their acting. That’s dire! 🤦‍♀️"

"this is literally the most predictable “couple” to exist. first, people talked about them showing up the game, and they did. second, people were just talking about kissing pics... AND THEY JUST CAME OUT LMAOOOOOO"

"annnnnnnnnnnnnd there it is. YOU KNOW THEY KNEW THERE WAS A CAMERA."

"ok but where’s the pda or did that get made up? cause these have to be the most awkward pics i’ve ever seen which makes me feel better 😂 also i can feel the meme’s coming with the one of her diving off the boat"

"I call it how I see it they are both assholes and full of shit. Like do your fake kiss somewhere else I do not want to see it!"

"Can they at least act like they’re having a good time?"

"hahahaha I can't stop laughing with that photo of O it's literally her knowing she's being photographed and diving into a professional swimmer style😭"

"the pics are so organic that Olivia is looking straight at the pap before kissing Harry."

"he looked a lot happier with kendall in their yacht pics compared to today’s. i know that was PR too, but he was very smiley and seemed talkative. with this girl it’s like the complete opposite lmao."

[braunbakery]

salvation, maybe (viii)

☞ reiner braun x reader [fem bodied] [chapter word count: 2.2k] ☞ spotify

☞ sfw, angst, fluff, post-season 3 [after 4 year time jump], season 4 spoilers

☞ cross-posted on ao3

☞ fic plot: you have walked these streets many times before. you have passed this bench many times before. you have seen this man (lost in his thoughts, always drifting, always looking lost) many times before. but this time, this time you take a seat.

prev. next

viii. rest and release (part 2)

“it doesn’t feel as heavy if we share it.”

reiner thinks about how he wouldn’t mind if you shared everything with him. if he knew everything about you. if he knew why you didn’t like to be alone. if he knew why you couldn’t let yourself rest at night. your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your past, your flaws. he thinks about how he would gladly let you lay everything on him and more, even if he couldn’t do the same to you. he thinks about how he feels safe with you, like there isn’t a constant impending doom taunting him every time he blinks. no, like the impending doom doesn’t matter because at least he can spend a fraction of his moments with you.

he thinks that, maybe, if you share everything with him, maybe one day he can share every part of himself with you. maybe one day the shame will leave as quickly as it comes.

reiner doesn’t realise that he’s put his hand over yours until he feels your soft skin shift under his palms. he doesn’t realise that he’s been keeping your hand held to his chest until you’re sheepishly slipping your hand out from under his.

moments pass as you both timidly stare down at your laps. you’re the one to interrupt the silence.

“hey, don’t they have bakeries outside the internment zone?”

“yeah, why?”

“why didn’t you just go there?” you watch him take a few seconds to register what you’re asking, “it’d be closer to HQ wouldn’t it?”

“i…didn’t think of that,” reiner can feel his palms starting to sweat. he hadn’t even realised that the reason he had made a beeline for liberio was because, deep down, he knew you’d be there. he was so used to sitting on this stupid bench (and pretending he hasn’t been seeing you idly pass him by for the past month, but that’s something he’ll tell you another time).

you grin at his awkwardness.

“liar.”

“oh, really?” he smirks at you and you hum in response. you grab your brown paper bag from the bakery and get up from the bench, stretching your arms out.

reiner observes you in confusion.

“where are you going?” he asks, crumpling up his own empty paper bag in his hand. (the poor warrior candidates, you think to yourself.)

“have to bring you back, don’t i?” you extend your hand towards him, silently hoping that he takes it. you see his eyes flicker momentarily from your face to your expectant fingers.

“i’m not a child, you know,” he coyly remarks, still seated on the bench.

“i never said you were.”

a pause. you’re starting to get flustered with the way reiner’s looking at you and your mind is racing with the possibilities of what he could be thinking about. eventually, he’s carefully grabbing your hand and standing up, and you’re trying to keep your heart from jumping out of your ribcage. you watch as he gradually gets closer and closer to you, reaching the hand that isn’t holding yours towards your face. you look up at him as he attentively trains his gaze just below your eyes, resting his palm on the side of your face and brushing his thumb lightly over the thin skin under your eyes. you think you’re about to melt, about to burst. he meets your shocked gaze and smiles faintly at your speechlessness.

“you need to get some sleep,” he says quietly (like his voice is only for your ears), now resting his thumb gently on your undereye and feeling your lashes flutter against the calloused fingertip. you nervously slap his arm away, staring down at the ground and thinking about how you can practically feel his eyes boring into your head.

“so do you,” you mutter, quickly dragging him by the hand you’re still holding to the internment zone gates before he gets the chance to say something back (and trying to ignore the way you can still feel the light pressure of his palm cupping your cheek).

*~*

on the way to the warrior unit headquarters, it starts spitting rain. it’s not too bad and you don’t really mind it, but you don’t express those thoughts to reiner when he shrugs off his long warrior jacket and spreads it out up over your heads with both of his arms above him, ushering you to stand closer to him. you (gladly) oblige.

when you get to the gate that separates liberio from the rest of marley, you anxiously show the guard your pass that’s not even valid for today and try to avoid his gaze like that will make him skim over that detail. but the guard just gives it a once over and shoves it back to you, looking up to reiner and offering him a respectful smile. reiner nods his head in acknowledgement and walks on.

while you’re busy wondering if reiner’s arms are tired yet from holding his jacket over the both of you and gently pushing you closer to him every so often with his elbow, you don’t notice that you’re standing at the entrance to headquarters. reiner can make out gabi and falco at the balcony, gabi now animatedly pointing down at him, and he’s already bracing himself for the questions. he can practically already hear her voice. reiner turns around with his back to the gate to face you, still trying to cover your head by holding his jacket above the both of you even though it’s stopped raining. he wonders if you can tell that it’s so he can keep dragging you closer to him.

“you okay?” he asks, standing so close that you swear you can feel his breath lightly blow against your eyelids.

“yeah, it was just a little rain,” you respond, trying to hide how you’re a little out of breath from trying to keep at the same pace as reiner.

“…i guess i’ll see you then,” he says, offering you a warm closed-mouth smile. he doesn’t make any attempt to step back from you.

“yeah, see you,” you don’t make any attempt to move either and reiner’s still holding his jacket up. you both laugh quietly when you realise that neither one of you wants to be the one to walk away first, and reiner thinks that he wouldn’t mind having to stand here until night falls and he’ll have to walk you home.

“…tomorrow?” he quietly asks, scanning your face as he waits for your answer in anticipation. and he’s standing so close that you think you could melt into him if you really wanted. he’s unconsciously leaning towards you, like it’ll make you respond quicker, and this time his breath really is fanning your cold, raindrop-stained cheeks. you watch as more drops of water trickle down from his hair and along his temples (his jacket obviously hadn’t offered as much shelter as he’d hoped) and you find yourself leaning in towards him and tilting your head up without really thinking about it.

before you know it, your fingers are meticulously gliding across his jaw and up to his temple. reiner leans into your touch, bowing his head down to overcome the distance between you and slowly lowering his arms from above his head. he watches you with wide eyes as you gently pull him down closer to you and balance yourself on your tiptoes, pressing a chaste and lingering kiss to his temple. you slowly drift your eyes over to his as you pull away, your hand still cupping his cheek, and you’re met with him watchfully gazing at you. you can feel the blood rushing throughout your body when you plant yourself back down properly on your feet and, when you open your mouth to speak, you don’t realise that reiner is staring at your lips.

“yeah, tomorr–” and reiner’s suddenly dropped his jacket onto the wet ground and has his hand at the back of your neck, his fingers threaded through the hair at your nape. his other hand rests on your jaw and he pulls you toward him slowly. when he gently tilts your head up towards him you can make out your face getting closer and closer in the reflection of his eyes (glazed over and dazed).

the tips of your noses graze against each other and you lift your other hand, holding the other side of his face as well. your fingers graze over the stubble lining his jaw and all you can hear are his breaths and your own. he looks down at you, anticipating your next move, and you’re fighting the urge to close your eyes. you want to see him.

reiner leans closer to you until you can feel his nose against your cheek, warm breath spreading over your cool, damp skin. he wants to live in this moment forever. he thinks about how this is enough for him, for the rest of his days. even if his hands are wet and yours are too and you’re both cold to the touch and your clothes are damp and he thinks gabi and falco might still be watching. for him, just being able to feel your breath on his face. for you, just being able to feel his warm hands cupping your cheek and tilting your jaw upwards so gently like you might break. it’s enough to never have to worry about sleep again.

your thumb is softly brushing over his cheek and both of your eyes finally close, as does the distance between you.

when reiner’s lips meet yours, it’s gentle. you can feel his hesitance. he kisses you like you’re delicate, and you’re melting into it when the warmth starts dispersing through your face. reiner moves his lips slowly, carefully, against yours and your stomach is twisting into a knot. you’re happy to stay like this even if the rain returns and this time in buckets.

he slowly pulls away and drops the hand that had been supporting the back of your neck to your cheek. he can feel your heart pounding against his chest, and you can feel his. your eyelashes flutter open against his skin, and he presses his forehead against yours, opening his eyes just to confirm that this is real only to find that you’re already looking.

“it’s okay,” you whisper to him, and the way you’re looking up at him with so much adoration makes him forget that there was ever a point in time when it wasn’t okay. he smiles.

“thanks,” and he brushes his lips against yours again before you decide to pull him in deeper. reiner’s fingers mindlessly trail up towards the hair starting above your ear and he threads his fingers through your wet tied-up hair, both of his palms still holding either side of your face.

your noses knock into each other occasionally and each time, you can feel reiner break into a smile against your lips. you only realise you’re smiling too when your cheeks start to ache. every time your fingers drift across his jaw, or you adjust your hands on his face, he feels like electricity is sparking against his ribcage and threatening to burn straight through him. every time he leans down closer into you and swipes his thumb tenderly across the skin below your eye (you don’t know why he likes doing that so much), you feel like there is an entire ecosystem blooming in your stomach and rising through your torso.

reiner kisses you cautiously (so precise), like if he goes too fast or doesn’t slightly pull away every few seconds just to bump his nose into yours or doesn’t make sure that his lips are always perfectly in sync with yours, the moment will pass him by and you will disappear. you stand there, hands lingering on each other’s faces, basking in the warmth of each other’s breaths, drinking in the moment (the taste, the cool skin, the noses brushing against each other every time either of you pulls away for a breath) and feeling that all that was left was to just be.

reiner pulls away from you, still only leaving the minimum amount of space possible for him to be able to look at you. one of his hands drifts down from the side of your face to the side of your neck and, when he glides his thumb over your bottom lip lightly, your eyes finally open.

“what were you saying?” he asks, smirking as you drop your hands from his face and grab at his shirt, bunching up the fabric in your hands.

“i said…i’ll…” the words are jumbling up in your head the more you look at reiner and you can tell he’s finding it amusing that now it’s you that can barely speak around him and not the other way around because he lets out a teasing chuff.

you push back against his chest in defiance, still clinging onto his shirt, and his smile only grows wider.

“i said i’ll see you tomorrow,” you spit out, trying to bite back the smile threatening to spill out across your face.

“okay,” reiner says, releasing his hands from either side of your face and wrapping them around your own which are still tugging at his uniform. he doesn’t make the move to let go and walk back into HQ (emptyhanded and knowing both porco and the candidates were going to berate him for the rest of the day), and you don’t make the move to slip your hands out from under his and make your way back to liberio.

that is until you both hear gabi hollering ‘PIECK! PIECK! DID YOU SEE THAT?’ from the balcony and smile sheepishly at each other.

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