#or better! there have been times a surge has actually helped in combat!

[fasterdisasters]

no one will ever convince me wild magic sorcerer isn't good just because it's "not optimized" or "actively hostile to the team". i constantly fuck up my own plans by turning into a sheep or setting half the encounter on fire. i once triggered a surge that dropped a fog cloud on me after casting fog cloud somewhere else. i gave everyone around me insta-crit weapons including the guy that immediately downed me on the turn right after mine. almost every time i surge it has a negative effect.

and it's still the most fun i've had playing this game. it's like gambling and the jackpot is the funniest fuck up you've ever seen in your life. i don't care about min-maxing or damage per turn or any of that. can your smite machine paladin turn a room full of zombies and half your party into dogs? i think not.

[hazashiovo]

imagine sparring with Korra and ended up with a heated makeout session

I can see it, like angry sparing which turns into heated kisses😶

Korra x Reader

Warnings: suggestive towards the end, fighting, making out, pouring out your feelings.

Maybe pushing Korra's buttons all day long wasn't such a good idea,and what brings you to this conclusion? Well maybe her pissed off face as she enters the training ring.

But it's not your fault! You were just bored,and what other entertainment was better than annoying the girl you hate? (Are deeply in love with but deny it) Yes,maybe you'd get a kick out of seeing her face red with anger,it's funny really!

Not to her it isn't, ever since this morning you were on to your mission to make her day insufferable,and imagine how happy she was when you proposed sparing with her,oh yes. How happy she was to blow off some steam , caused by no one else but you.

Korra knew, she knew you only wanted to piss her off further,but maybe you should've thought that she's the avatar,able to use all four elements,while you can only bend one element. This is going to be entertaining.

"Gonna keep staring at me like you wanna eat me up or you're gonna actually fight me?" Oh that smirk,that stupid smirk plastered on your face , matching with your raised eyebrow,she just wants to rip it off your face and throw it on the ground and stomp-

"Bring it on." Her stance changes, ready to attack. Fists clenched tightly urging to get you on your ass. She smirks only thinking about it.

You smile , running towards her with hot fiery fists,one punch, she dodges, taking advantage of her exposed position you trip her,a grin taking over your face.

"What's wrong Korra? Can't handle little old me?" You chuckle at her furious expression.

The brunette groans, bending herself of the ground using earth. Silently cursing you for taking her down in the first place. Oh you wanna see what she can do? She'll show you what she's can really do.

Hit with a sudden surge of adrenaline,Korra sends your way multiple earth spikes, almost loosing your balance you bend yourself a fire wave , sending it her way.

Korra scoffs, dodging the wave with an air ball. You roll your eyes, can this girl be any more frustrating? That's one of your best moves!

"That's so weak! Lame." The girl mocks, smirking down at you,a feeling of satisfaction taking over her frustration.

You roll your eyes, she's the lame one ,not you! "You wanna see power privileged girl? I'll show you power."

The avatar watches as fire starts surrounding you, slowly taking the shape of a huge snake.

How the fuck are you able to do that?! Is she capable of doing this to? She must admit ,even if she despises you,it's pretty fucking cool. Maybe one day you could teach her that.

During the time she spaced out staring at your fire creation, your snake lunged at her fast. Surrounding her with hot red fire.

Korra furrows her brows annoyed, resulting to water bending. She could hear you chuckling in the back round as she tries to fight off the huge fire monster.

Once she figured out she has to get away from the beast she uses earth bending, creating a small tunnel to pass your snake.

"You like my power now, Avatar?" Her eyes land on your amused face. With one swift move she runs towards you, using earth bending to give her a boost, and with her iced fists she punches you, in the stomach making you stumble to the ground. Your snake of fire disappearing in the clear air.

So in order for you to lose control of the created beast,you must take physical damage? Noted.

What really didn't help your case was your physical health. Unfortunately for you, you were weaker in hand to hand combat. It's mostly why your fire bending is so much stronger then Korra's.

You start coughing up, holding your stomach in pain. "No fair," you mutter through coughs, Korra towers over you, her anger eyes taking in your fallen form.

"Maybe you shouldn't have been so cocky." Her hands hang loosely on her hips,a victorious glint in her eyes.

Once you finally regain your breath you're able to stand on your feet. Glaring at her trough your furrowed brows.

"You're the one to speak." You scoff, she's the one acting like a bitch...damn your stomach hurts.

"Admit that I'm better than you already! It's the least you can do after I kicked your dumb ass!" You grit your teeth at her totally untrue words.

You take a deep breath in, turning your upper body to attack Korra again, after all you're not one to give up that easy.

One strong kick with your fire laced leg sends Korra flying into a wall. While trying to recover from your strong attack ,you stroll towards her. Your stomach no longer hurting as it did before.

"Look at you," your hands land on each side of her head, caging her in. "The all mighty avatar at my mercy." She can't help but stare,a proud smirk stuck to your face like a medal. How could you of everyone beat her?

The dark haired girl grits her teeth in anger, yet one taught hangs around her mind, why are you so eager to prove her wrong?

"What's it to you? Don't forget I'm stronger than you'll ever be." Now she's the one holding the smirk, Korra tried raising her hands,but you're quick to stick both of them to the wall.

"What's it to me? Everything!" You huff out at her obliviousness. One eyebrow raised,she waits for you to continue your blabbing. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Everything fell to your feet ever since you were a child! And me? I had to work for it. But no matter how long I trained or how strong I became,I was never truly acknowledged,but you? Their precious little avatar?" Korra huffs annoyed, taking a hold of your hands and swiftly switches your positions, making you the trapped one now.

She inches closer to your face,"I had to work for everything! I had to prove that I am the avatar, nothing came to me for free,so stop assuming I'm some stuck up princess!"

Her words make you scoff. What did she ever have to fight for? She could master all the elements as a kid, Korra never had to worry about being enough,you did. People called you weak ,you allways had to prove yourself to the world,that's why you became a pro bender in the arena. This way they could finally see,that you're enough.

"You? Funny you're the one that cries about having to work,but I'm the one who was judged for not being strong enough! You have no idea how hard the weight placed on my shoulders was."

You squirm under her, trying to break free,but Korra doesn't budge. You try kicking her with your leg, yet your efforts are shut down by her knee that's now placed between your legs, holding you down in place.

"Why are you so damn stubborn?" Korra grits her teeth,your faces mere inches apart, the arguing leading nowhere,just back and forth bickering.

"You're so annoying!" You groan out, resisting the urge to head but her. Korra's face looks like she's about to blow up,smoke practically coming out of her ears.

Korra pushes you further into the wall, drawing a gasp out of you. "Can't you shut up already? You're so insufferable!"

You raise a brow,a new idea popping in your mind. "Oh yeah? Why don't you make me? Bet you can't." She watches as your expression fills with mischief,a different look shining in your (e/c) eyes.

Korra stands in front of you, thinking of what to say now,you practically put her in a corner. Ironic since you're the one backed up.

"Nothing to say n-" before you could finish your sentence shock creeps into you, the feeling of her soft lips forcefully attached to yours silence the snarky remark that was about to be said.

She pushes in,hear leg rising up as a warning once you try closing your thighs.

Her hands tighten around your caged wrists, you push your chest in hers making her whine groan in your mouth.

The kiss is hungry and lustful,yet there's no denying that passion burns as hot as your fire.

Starting to feel light headed,you pull your head away from Korra's. Taking rapid breaths to chase away the light headiness.

"I wasn't expecting you to shut me up like that." You tilt your head away from her burning gaze. Cheeks pinkish and warm.

If she's honest, Korra doesn't really know what took over her,but she knew this was something she was hungry for,deep inside. Is this the reason why her glares would be directed to people getting overly friendly with you, lingering touches on your shoulder or waist. But never did she really get to grasp the reason why.

Korra releases your hands, instinctively your hands rub against one another, already feeling the future bruises.

"It worked, didn't it?" Korra raises a brow to match with her smirk.

You roll your eyes, mustering up a snarky answer to get back at her,that thought fades once she closes the distance between the two of you again,this time her hand wrapping on your neck,one finger holding your jaw in place, her other hand wrapped around your waist.

Your lips move in sink,both of you fighting,yet again, for control. Your tongues rubbing against each other while the kiss becomes more lustful and needy.

Your hands find themselves entangled in Korra's hair,then moving lower towards the back of her neck, pulling her in even more than before. Craving her touch.

You moan when her tigh rubs against you middle, of course she knows what she's doing. Korra takes that split of a moment to gain full control, dominating the kiss shared between you two.

Maybe ,just maybe the two of you don't despise each other as much as you claim.

.

.

This was such a fun thing to write! Come at me with more requests of the sort :)

[solar-halos]

december prompt #7: joy

some odesta fluff under the cut! :o)

Finnick’s coming home!

It’s been an eternity (two weeks) since Annie’s seen him. Kinda. She’s seen him a lot on TV, with his Victory Tour being filmed and everything, but she hasn’t seen him. Hasn’t braided his hair or challenged him to a race or talked his ear off or anything.

Annie bounces on the balls of her feet, perking up at the sound of a train approaching. So does the rest of the district—Finnick was quite popular with the youngest victor in Panem history thing going for him—but she’s the only one he smiles at. He surges forward, the crowd parting just for him, and spins her around in a long-awaited hug.

“Hi, darling!” He smiles at her, even though he looks so tired. Maybe she’ll have to put their race to the buoy and back on hold. “I missed you.”

She swoons. She can’t help it. He looked like he was having so much fun up there, in between all the silly dances they have in District 10 and the even sillier food they have in the Capitol, but she likes that she takes up a permanent place in his mind. It makes their love feel a lot more grown up.

The crowd starts to get restless—weirdos—so Finnick grasps onto her hand so they don’t get separated. They eventually make it out, even if Annie has to let go of him to button up her cardigan. She felt like an extremely slimy sardine packed into that too-warm crowd, but now the wind whips against her hair.

“Cold?” he asks her. She nods, shuffling closer to him, so he hooks an arm around her shoulders to combat all the shivering she’s doing. “Better?”

Not really, so they make a pitstop at his house so she can chuck on one of his sweaters. Annie can’t remember the last time District 4 got so cold, but at least now she has an excuse to bundle herself up in all of Finnick’s clothes.

“You’re such a freak,” she informs him, because he walks out of the house in the same outfit he entered in. He must have a lot of faith in those flimsy linen pants. “You should take a blanket or something. I don’t know why it’s been so brutal this week.”

“You’re the freak,” he retorts, but they know they’re both joking, so they grin at each other. “There’s barely even a breeze.”

She snuggles closer to him in retaliation. He gives her a gentle squeeze.

“I saw what it was like for you in the Capitol,” she says. She’s close enough to feel the miniscule shift of his muscles, but he relaxes when she adds, “all the snow. You were practically drowning in it. It probably feels warm here, doesn’t it?”

“Unfortunately,” he replies, voice shifting into something stretchy and high pitched. Capitol. “Hiding my tux with a snow jacket is not very suitable behavior for a gentleman. Besides, I was being rather dramatic anyway. Don’t you think so?”

Annie smiles. “So dramatic,” she agrees, but that’s all she can manage before her Four accent starts peeking through. “I was actually thinking about that—all the icicles up there, I mean. They kinda remind me of toothpicks, so I got a ton of paint and glue and made a winter castle out of it.”

“Annie, that’s fucking awesome.” He looks at her like he’s betrayed she didn’t share this information with him sooner. She giggles at his theatrics. “What else have you been up to while I was away?”

That was gonna take awhile, and they both know it, so they get comfortable. They roll out the picnic blanket, laying out all the snacks they packed, and Finnick rests his head against Annie’s lap. She never knew how much she could miss playing with hair. It’s something that’s as familiar to her as breathing (or swimming really, really fast), but her heart turns to mush anyway.

“I missed you,” she says, because she doesn’t think she got around to telling him that. Her fingers brush over his jaw. His lips quirk up in a smile, reaching up to press a kiss to her fingertips—all ten of them. “They canceled school, you know, ‘cause of the rain. My mom said that was way too dramatic, but—and do not tell her this, or else she’s gonna freak!—I tried to sneak out, but I couldn’t even see anything. Not even my own hands.”

“Think it might storm soon? Like, storm-storm?”

“I hope so!” Storms weren’t so bad, as long as they weren’t accompanied by shipwrecks and damaged houses. “Then I’ll have to sleep over, and my mom can’t even be mad about it!”

Finnick grins, holding her hand to his chest. “Let’s take a moment to wish on it.”

So they do. They close their eyes, listen to the sound of the waves lapping at the shore for a few seconds, and open them back up.

Annie cranes her neck, examining the sky. “Think it worked?”

“Hope so,” Finnick replies. “It should be illegal for us to spend more than two days away from each other. I don’t know how I survived two weeks.”

That makes two of them. Annie was pretty sure they’d find a way to get her to sleep over at his house—or vice versa—no matter what, but a bit of rain would certainly help.

Annie’s so happy when it starts sprinkling that she reaches out to catch some of the raindrops on her fingers, Finnick’s head nearly jostling off of her lap. It picks up a little bit over the next few minutes, but it’s nowhere near as intense as a rainstorm. She can still see Finnick’s smiling face, and she can definitely make out his silhouette, so she grabs onto his hand and squishes her toes into the damp sand.

Finnick pushes his wet hair out of his face, scooping her up in a celebratory hug. “Holy shit, babe! It worked!”

It did. They are very talented wishers, and even more talented dancers. Slippery skin meets slippery skin as they spin and jump around, the indents in the sand making for perfect impromptu puddles. Annie falls over more than once, and so does Finnick, but that’s where most of the fun comes from.

Their sporadic dancing eventually fades into a simple, lazy sidestep. She leans her head against his chest, sighing against his soaking wet shirt. She missed him.

If she had it her way, they would have stayed out there all day. But then Finnick’s hand snags on a tangle of curls at the base of her neck, and she has to admit defeat. They hunt down their runaway picnic blanket, link hands, and book it to his porch.

Now it’s Annie’s turn to brush Finnick’s hair from his eyes. She sheds off her outfit in exchange for another change of dry clothes, but you won’t catch her complaining about it. Finnick’s clothes are nice and warm on her, like one of his trademark hugs.

Now that they’re all cleaned up, that leads them to their first order of business: hot chocolate. She applies a tower of whipped cream over her mug. He dumps in nearly half a can of sprinkles.

And then comes the pillow forts. They ransack his closet for blankets and practically take apart his couch for all the cushions, but it’s essential that they’re as cozy as possible.

Her favorite part is the cuddling. Finnick apologizes for the carpeted floor not being very comfortable, inviting her into his arms instead, and she’s on the brink of assuring him that his floor is very comfortable before she catches on. She blushes against his chest.

His dad eventually coaxes the both of them out with dinner and the promise to not send Annie home unless someone calls for her, but they don’t have to worry about their reunion being cut short at all. It’s still raging outside, and Annie’s parents don’t feel comfortable sending her outside in this sort of weather.

She hugs Finnick close, something nice and fun and fizzy dancing along her skin. She holds the receiver to her ear, listening to her parents lecture her about how she and Finnick are not allowed to share a room, but she’s honestly not really paying attention. She can’t, when Finnick’s smiling against her cheek. She smiles back.

They fall asleep bundled up in each other’s arms, ‘cause her parents never said anything about sharing a pillow fort. Annie is good at a lot of things, and loopholes are at the top of her list. She has to be, with a boyfriend like Finnick Odair.

“Love you,” he informs her, only half-conscious. She presses a sleepy kiss to his shoulder.

Finnick is home, and as long as she’s in his arms, so is she. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

[biblicallyaccuratebeskar]

Metal Home

Read Chapter 6 Here

Also on AO3

Chapter 7/22: ~2K words

Trust

Months pass. He keeps his word and only takes non-Empire jobs. With me handling the ship, just like I predicted, his quota actually increases.

I’d only helped him on a handful of jobs, but I was getting better. With the two of us together we had managed to knock out a few more difficult bounties that had been gathering dust, like Xila. While I didn’t show my face much at Karga’s tavern, I heard from Mando that as a pair we were garnering a bit of a reputation. Karga, apparently, had silently picked up on the pattern of our jobs and was now seeking them out for us.

My parents always praised me on being a fast learner, and being a bounty hunter was no different. It helped that Mando, it turns out, was a fantastic teacher.

After my stolen blaster got busted during a particularly nasty job, he gave me a new one from his weapons closet. Whenever we could, he helped me learn how to shoot it at different angles and during hand to hand combat.

He always out-maneuvered me during our practice sessions, but he would teach me ways to take down larger opponents and use their weight against them. I knew how to fight, but practicing with another person was a different beast. It was invigorating, though, and I loved every minute and every surge of adrenaline.

The first time I pinned him on my own, I cleared a nearby tree of a flock of birds I yelled in triumph so loud. He tried to act aloof about it, but later he handed over a flask of whiskey when he passed by me going up to the cockpit for the night.

The next day he handed me a knife with a blindingly shiny blade. To my shock, he said it was beskar.

“It’ll cut through nearly everything. Every bounty hunter needs a good knife,” he said.

It immediately became my most prized possession.

He taught me about the bounties themselves, too, and I started to learn how to discern each one as a different target and customize our skills for the job.

“Ok, Maka Shreel. Tax evader with a history of armed robberies. Has an affinity for knives. What’s the plan?” he quizzed me for one hunt.

“Well, all of her past robbery offenses have been in enclosed spaces, like alleyways and,” I grimaced, “...latrines. So best bet is to wait until she’s in somewhere more open where she’s less effective with close contact combat. Either shoot from afar or catch off guard from behind.” I looked over at him expectantly.

He nodded. “Good. Good job.” I could here the smile in his voice and felt my cheeks grow hot.

Some days, when I finished maintaining the ship and he was out on a hunt, I would go into the nearest town or village and get supplies, but more importantly, get local food.

I would explore dozens of open markets, for once having spare credits to spend. Haggling with old men at food carts became the highlights of my trips. I’d make it my mission on each new planet to get something I’d never seen before. And of course, I’d always get two servings.

Over time we gradually fall into a pseudo-routine during meal times. I would usually eat outside, away from any chance of seeing his face. It made sense at first when I was still wrapped up in the novelty of such anonymity. But after a while, it became tedious and made less and less sense for me as we became, well, friends. Some of my greatest memories growing up with my family consisted of us sitting around a table and eating. The food I ate was always good, but the company and conversation was always better. I missed it desperately.

One day I was out on one of my shopping trips. The planet we were on was hot and humid, and the wafting smell of food cooking and

bundles of spices permeated the market I was wandering in. I ended up choosing a dish of carved meet smothered in a bright red sauce and on the way out I passed a fruit stand filled with wares that were completely new to my eyes. I chose two fruits that had a vibrant magenta rind, and started my way back to the ship.

Angry looking clouds swirled above while I was distracted by the spread, and a few drops of rain hit my head during my journey. Before I knew it, I was running like my life depended on it as the sky opened up. I had somehow managed to avoid the worst of it when I dove into the hull, the rain so thick I could hardly see past the opening.

There was no way I’d be eating outside.

Mando returned shortly after, droplets falling off his armor. He was empty-handed, but I wasn’t surprised. Some trips weren’t just for bounties, I’d learned. Sometimes he’d get a tip off about someone who knew something about someone. This was such an intel trip. He caught me moving two storage bins to the center of the hull. “What are you doing?” he asked, voice laced with slight amusement.

“I have an idea. You or I could eat in the cockpit, sure. But what if we eat back-to-back?”

He stiffened. I knew he wouldn’t like the idea, but I wanted to try anyway.

“I wouldn’t look, Mando, you have my word.”

He took off his soaking pack and put away his rifle, standing facing the wall for a moment. “Okay,” he said finally, nodding.

Shocked, a smile broke across my face.

“Okay. Okay! Here, I got this at a market. Nearly had to cut in front of an old lady to get the last serving.”

I handed him his portion and sat down, facing the exit of the hull completely away from him. He’d kept it open and I watched the rain form streams over the door, deeply inhaling the petrichor.

There was a soft clunk behind me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a glint of beskar on the floor between us in my peripheral vision.

He wasn’t wearing his helmet. I was sitting right by him and he wasn’t wearing his helmet.

I didn’t know why I was suddenly so nervous, my heart hammering in my chest. Maybe I didn’t want to blow it, or maybe I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was because, for no reason at all, it just felt so intimate.

My stomach growled and I realized I hadn’t begun to eat. I shoveled a bite of the meat in my mouth and was met with immediate regret.

It was incomprehensibly spicy. I coughed and sputtered, fumbling for my water while still facing forward.

“You ok?“ he asked, letting out a soft laugh. The breath hitched in my throat.

“Larkin?” He sounded concerned now. “Yeah, yeah, it’s...it’s really spicy.”

He hummed a response.

A few moments passed. “I’ve never heard your voice without the modulator,” I whispered.

I continued eating, managing to choke down a few more bites without passing out.

“Is it...bad?” He sounded genuine, asking. For a big, bad bounty hunter he sure was funny sometimes.

I let out a laugh. “No! No, of course not, it’s just...new. It’s nice.” We continued eating. I noticed that he never once made any indication of the spice.

“How are you surviving this? I feels like someone set off one of your fancy charge bombs in my mouth,” I panted, taking another swig of water.

He laughed at that. Maker, his laugh sounded good out of his helmet. I liked it in general, actually. It wasn’t a belly laugh, not by any means, but it was strong in its softness, a little raspy. And rare. Beautifully rare.

“My mother cooked like this when I was young.”

I froze. Never once, not since that night on Jakku did he even allude to his family or his background. He’d seemed just about as open as a brick wall with that sort of stuff, so I never pushed. I didn’t even know his real name. There was a line I never crossed with him, never questioning too far so I could forge some sort of friendliness without animosity. And here he was, crossing the line unprompted to meet me on the other side.

“Yeah?” I responded.

“Yes,” he continued. “This is very mild, actually.” There was a hint of playfulness in his voice.

“Mild? You really just said this is mild? Holy Maker, your tastebuds have been numbed.”

I leaned back and gently nudged my back into his as I reached for the fruit.

And man, am I glad I got them on a whim. They were delicious, rich and sweet, juice running down my chin.

“Have you tried this?” I muttered, slurping up extra juice.

“It’s okay.”

He was messing with me now, wasn’t he.

“Yeah, now I’m convinced your taste buds are numb. You’re lying if you say this shit isn’t life changing.”

He laughed again. In that moment I knew making him laugh was going to be my number one priority from then on.

Holy shit. The Mandalorian is my best friend.

——

A few days later we’d done it again and again, eating back to back. Another puzzle piece in our haphazard life on the Crest. It was good, having that little extra bit of camaraderie. I enjoyed his company. He was quiet most of the time, shy actually. The fiercest bounty hunter in the Outer Rim and living with him I could see how much he relied on his armor. It was all weirdly domestic. You know, minus the hunting, shoving bounties into the cryo before dinner part. One day while I was cleaning the hull and made it to the mattress. Running a rag over the storage below it, my hand felt a groove and I pulled. Out pops another mattress, just below the one I’d been sleeping on.

This whole time? There’s no way he didn’t know. He must have been held back because he didn’t want to be near me without his helmet. I could tell he was uncomfortable sleeping in the cockpit. There had to be something I could do. My eyes flicked to a jacket I had that got a hole blasted through the sleeve. I flicked out my knife.

——

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to suggest.”

As much as I enjoyed making Mando laugh, a twisted part of me also deeply enjoyed my direct influence on him letting out deep, heavy sighs.

“What is this about?” he said, gesturing to the newly opened mattress.

I held up the dark piece of fabric I cut and tied it over my eyes. “I can’t see anything right now. And there’s a spare mattress right there, calling your name. You see where I’m going with this?”

“No. I’m not going to sleep down here.”

“Oh c’mon Mando, I can tell your back hurts from those stiff ass chairs up there. And besides, if you stay down here-“

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

I slowly took off the blindfold. Oh.

“I wouldn’t be uncomfortable. Really. I want you to be comfortable. You deserve rest.”

Another sigh. I smiled, knowing he’d given in.

——

That night I laid there on my mattress, vision dark under the blindfold. I could hear him moving around, heard him slowly take off his shoes. His armor. Turn into a man, not a hunter. My heart was beating again.

I felt him lay down in the mattress beside me and words didn’t even form in my mouth. It was like I couldn’t move.

I could tell we were both just laying there, trying not to fracture the fragility of the moment.

“This ok?” I whispered. It was so quiet I didn’t know he heard me. “Yeah.” For the first time ever, I heard fear in his voice, unfiltered by the helmet.

“Okay, good. We’re okay.”

“We’re okay,” he repeated softly.

I think he really meant it.

[vaginalprobioticsreviews]

Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick Reviews: Does It Really Help With Digestion Problems?

Roundhouse Provisions The Morning Kick beverage claims to be the optimal method for starting a day. The dietary formula is specifically formulated with a delectable taste to enhance your overall health and well-being in a convenient manner.

The reviews of Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick are filled with praise for its delightful flavor, making it a delicious and invigorating choice for any time of the day. According to the manufacturers, you will experience a surge of vitality and be prepared to face any challenge!

By carefully distinguishing the actual information from the promotional hype, we have compiled a comprehensive report on Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick. Let us determine whether this supplement is the appropriate method to begin your mornings.

Unique Features of Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick

The development of Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick is innovative and effective. Regarding its construction, the formula combines fibers, greens, probiotics, and the powerful properties of important nutrients such as carbohydrates and proteins.

Moreover, the dietary supplement guarantees efficient absorption of nutrients by your body, resulting in immediate advantages. The greatest absorption technique sets it distinct from other products.

Presenting Roundhouse Provisions: The Identity and Founders

Roundhouse Provisions is a product line produced by CGH Group LLC, which is based in Texas. The creators formulated the nutritional supplement with the intention of enhancing the physical strength and well-being of you and your family. The company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has received an A rating. Additionally, it has been supported by Norris Chuck.

The developers have obtained all the ingredients naturally to ensure the utmost quality, and each batch has undergone multiple safety tests.

Benefits of Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick Reviews

The following text explores the remarkable health advantages of Roundhouse Provisions. Early Morning Boost

The delectable beverage provides the subsequent advantages to one's health when taken regularly:

Reducing body weight

The supplement includes Kale, which enhances weight management by increasing your metabolic rate. Enhancing fat metabolism also contributes to increased energy levels and optimal performance.

Facilitates Digestion

Morning Kick promotes optimal gut health, alleviating bloating and constipation for a well-functioning digestive system. Consequently, your body can more effectively assimilate nutrients and enhance your overall well-being.

Alleviates Stress

The recipe facilitates relaxation and tranquility to mitigate stress. Consequently, you can maintain a state of happiness and concentration.

Enhances the health of your gastrointestinal system

The supplement has a potent combination of probiotics, which facilitates the establishment of a robust microbiome in your gastrointestinal tract and enhances its overall well-being. An optimal gut microbiome can enhance your immune system by promoting the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, so bolstering your ability to combat infections and diseases.

Begin your experience with Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick today!

Is there scientific evidence supporting the composition label of the Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick supplement?

A study undertaken by academics at a prominent health institute examined the health advantages of Chicory inulin, uncovering intriguing results. The research, which included a varied group of 500 individuals, showed a significant decrease of 15% in fasting blood glucose levels following six weeks of consistent use of Chicory inulin. This result holds great importance for persons who have prediabetes, indicating a possible preventive action.

In addition, the study's investigation of the composition of gut microbiota showed a significant 20% rise in the populations of beneficial bifidobacteria among participants who drank Chicory inulin on a regular basis. The rise in question is directly connected to the enhancement of digestive health and the improved absorption of nutrients, highlighting the prebiotic characteristics of Chicory inulin.

The study found that participants with elevated levels of LDL cholesterol at the beginning of the trial experienced a statistically significant decrease of 12% in their LDL cholesterol levels, which is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

The decrease observed suggests that Chicory inulin has the potential to regulate cholesterol levels, which is crucial for preventing cardiovascular illnesses.

In addition, a study was carried out with a varied group of 300 people over a span of 12 weeks. The study found a statistically significant 18% rise in self-reported energy levels among persons who included GABA supplements in their daily routine.

The study also evaluated physiological indicators, revealing a 15% decrease in cortisol levels - a stress hormone linked to tiredness - in the group that received GABA supplementation. This indicates a possible function of GABA in regulating stress and its consequent effect on energy levels.

In addition, the individuals reported a 20% enhancement in the quality of their sleep, suggesting that the calming effects of GABA may have a role in promoting better rest and indirectly impacting their energy levels during the day. The study also noted a 10% rise in antioxidant activity, indicating a possible safeguarding function for GABA in overall well-being.

However, there is no cause for concern regarding the pricing as investing in Morning Kick carries no risk. Your purchase is protected by a 90-day money-back guarantee. Opt for the three-jar package and if you are dissatisfied with the outcomes, you have the option to request a complete reimbursement.

Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick is a digestive supplement produced with natural ingredients that purports to enhance metabolism and facilitate weight loss, as per the Roundhouse Provisions Morning Kick reviews.

[drpg-global-archive]

DRPG - Character Episode - Adell

He is a good young man who places great value on family. He has his own "style" and yields to no one. It is said that he is dating Rozalin.

Level 1/New Summon

[Player]. You will be the one who successfully trains the strongest Overlord who has ever lived. I've heard about you. You can call me Adell. I am a Devil Buster from a town called Holt. When it comes to combat, there is no one better than me. I am very confident in my capabilities. We were always destined to meet one another. Trust me, my fists will be very useful to you in completing your mission.

Ugh, if Rozalin were here, she'd be complaining that I'm overly obsessed with fighting all the time. Ah, this Rozalin. She is my... my...well... Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you!

Level 100

Hey, [Player]. Do you have a special someone? Ah, I guess I asked that a little abruptly. Sorry....My, uh. She's my love-love-love-lover....I guess? I'll never understand what goes on in Rozalin's head.... I hope she is happy. I hope she is doing ok. I hope everything works out for her.

I don't understand why every time I see her I somehow manage to get into an argument with her....I think she actually likes me... but she is always so grumpy. Ah, women, right? Can't live with them, can't live without 'em!

Level 200

You just gave me an idea, [Player]. I want to make Rozalin happy. I've played a ton of love simulation games to improve my understanding of women. I don't usually play video games, but I really want to impress her. I stayed up all night playing! I now understand! The most important thing to remember is "options"! To make an analogy...  1. You're still so beautiful. 2. What good weather we have today! In the past, I always went for option #2. I never realized there was an alternative, an option #1. But, those love simulation games helped me understand. There was another option! And it was extremely powerful.

After this, I went to find Rozalin to try out a little experiment. I tried to choose option #1. And as a result...She blushed and yelled "You're stupid! Stupid!" She then proceeded to slap me. I really don't understand women!! It's such a mystery!!

Level 500

Ah.....  [Player], I'm always complaining to you about Rozalin. But to me, Rozalin is the most important person in the whole universe. The human heart really is weird. I really  can't imagine what life would be like without Rozalin.

In the past, I was afraid of women. Now, women fascinate me. I never even imagined.... Do you know  what I am most afraid of now,  [Player]? It's losing Rozalin. The happier I become now, the more I am afraid of losing her in the future.

In this world,  everything dies. Nothing can escape that fate. But, as long as I remain by her side, I will be there to protect her from harm. So, I hope  I can become stronger. Hey,  [Player]. I hope you can help me achieve that dream. Don't show me any mercy. This is all I ask of you.

Level 1000

Oh? Oh.....! I can feel power surging through my body! I've never felt like this before....This feeling is completely different to what I used to feel when I fought with powerful enemies. It...  feels good, [Player]. I guess I have obtained this power because you've become my friend. I see. So many doors have just opened for me.

Thanks, [Player]! If I hadn't met you, I would never have been able to become this strong. But, our journey does not end here. We must remember to go all out wherever we go!  That's just my style!!

Come on! You have to help me achieve my goal! [Player]! I aim to reach... Lv9999!!!!!!

[ginwalt]

Training Room Tension (Natasha Romanoff x Reader)

Summary: Reader is a cocky new recruit. Black Widow decides to put her in her place.

Warning: the briefest mention of suggestive content near the end.

It was a well known fact amongst your fellow SHIELD recruits that you were undefeated. You bested all of your fellow trainees in everything from combat to reconnaissance practice. Not only did you spend several hours in the training room after everyone had left for the day, you woke up earlier than everyone else as well. Determination and passion filled your every uppercut and kick as you dreamed of the day you would become a SHIELD agent.

Currently, you were in the middle of sparring with Adam Wesley, a sweet young man with a killer punch. Sweat beaded on your forehead as you twisted the mans arm behind his back and kicked him to the mat with your knee. He grunted and rolled onto his bare back, a grin painted on his clean shaven face. You straddled his stomach and pinned his hands to his sides with your feet. Your black sports bra was damp with sweat and locks of hair were sticking to your forehead.

Adam wheezed, "Okay okay I give. Get up please you're going to crush me."

You rolled your eyes with a smug grin, "You're a big guy Adam, crush is a bit much."

The man stood and wiped his face with a sweat towel. He plopped back down on the mat, "It still hurt. I thought you were going to break my wrist," he complained, chucking the towel into the hamper nearby.

"You're such a drama queen," you replied in between gulps of water.

"Says the one who has never been on the receiving end of one of your punches," he replied, sticking out his tongue mockingly.

You returned the gesture and laughed, "And I'm glad for it, I bet I could take out everyone in this gym with a single punch." You tossed your empty water bottle aside and flopped down next to him.

Adam huffed, "Y/N one day that attitude is going to get you killed."

You wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders and kissed his cheek playfully, "One day maybe, but not today." He made a disgusted face and pushed you away before scrubbing at his cheek.

You opened your mouth to tease the man further when a new voice cut you off, "You could beat anyone in this gym, huh?" You looked up to find the Black Widow herself standing before you, arms crossed. "I wouldn't count on that, princess"

Leaning back on your hands you gave her a lopsided grin, "Oh really? Why shouldn't I count on the truth?" You struggled to maintain your confident façade as you stared up at the older woman. You had been infatuated with Natasha ever since you first saw her at SHIELD headquarters. The skilled assassin was nothing short of gorgeous and you often found yourself staring at her when the two of you were in the same room. However, careful training kept your face from blushing as she crouched so that the two of your were face to face.

"You should the audience for your boasting more carefully. It might get you in trouble one of these days," Natasha purred, her shoulder length hair brushing your cheek.

"Is today one of those days?" You shot back, leaning in closer so that your nose was practically touching hers. Despite all your previously mentioned careful training, your eyes found themselves trailing down to her lips. Your heart missed a few dozen beats as the woman let out a raspy chuckle, clearly aware of just how much of your confidence was faked.

"That all depends on whether you want to make good on your claims, princess," Natasha stood to her full height, her gaze never leaving yours.

Adam cleared his throat nervously and looked between the women before him, "Should I go?" he asked, moving to stand to his feet.

"I think that would best," you replied, hopping up from your own lounging position. The man glanced back at you and mouthed a quick 'good luck' before scampering off to the treadmills.

"So, is that a yes?" Natasha questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Absolutely."

--

The two of you circled one another, fists raised defensively. The excited tension in the air crackled between the two of you like Tesla coils as you took in the woman before you. Your heart was about ready to crack from its place in your rib cage. Why had you agreed to do this? Natasha Romanoff was literally nicknamed the Black Widow because of her notoriously lethal fighting style. Still, it was too late to back out now. If you did neither Adam nor the rest of the recruits would let you live it down. You had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Gritting your teeth, you lunged forward with a low aimed punch. Natasha jumped aside faster than you thought humanly possible and kicked your still outstretched arm away. You grunted and stumbled back as your arm flailed awkwardly back to your side. The two of you erupted in a flurry of kicks and jabs and punches. You did your best to stumble out of the way of her efficient blows, suddenly feeling like a defenseless rabbit stuck in a cage with a wolf. Natasha was making quick work of your attacks, deflecting and dodging as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

The assassin aimed a punch for your stomach, however, you leaped back and managed to land a sweeping kick under her feet. Natasha grunted and fell backwards onto the mat. You let your chest fill with pride for a millisecond before lunging on top of the older woman. Your hands gripped her wrists as your knee pressed against her toned stomach.

You grinned and leaned down until your could feel her breath on your face, "See, what did I tell you? The best," you muttered, your eyes locked onto your own piercing gaze.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, her body remaining completely lax under your own. "Princess, a word of advice," the assassin hooked one of her legs into the crook of the knee that was pressed against her abdomen. She when kicked out, yanking your leg loose. You stumbled, your grip on her wrists loosening. She surged upward and flipped the two of you so that you were now pinned under her. "never declare a fight is over until it is actually over," she finished.

You stared up at her, your eyes wide and your chest heaving. Her thighs were now straddling your bare stomach and her hair was falling against your flushed face. "Bu-but..." you trailed off, face now beet red.

Natasha poked her lower lip out in fake sympathy, "Awww poor baby. Not used to losing, are you?" she murmured, tracing a light finger down your cheek and along your jawline. "If it's any consolation, you were better than I thought you would be. In a few years you might even be worth my time."

You struggled to reply as her finger trailed from your jaw down to your neck and onto your chest. She traced patterns along your sports bra as she gazed down at you. Your mouth continued to gape open like a suffocating fish. She smiled and kissed your cheek. "If you're always this cute when you lose I might have to kick your ass more often."

You frowned, "Who said I was done fighting?"

Natasha raised a brow and sat up. "Okay then, throw a punch," she replied mockingly.

You narrowed your eyes and glared up at her for a moment before letting out a huff, "Fine, I give up. You win," you grit out.

Her eyes widened in fake surprise as she cupped her ear and leaned in closer, "Oh, I'm sorry, can you speak up? I didn't quite get that."

You grumbled, "You win, okay? I'm sorry."

She grinned and stood from her place on your stomach. Part of you mourned the loss of the intimate contact. She reached out a hand to help you up, which you gratefully accepted.

Natasha leaned closer so that her lips were practically touching the shell of your ear, "You know if you weren't so adorable I might just leave you here to sulk. But, I quite like you and I would really enjoy it if you went with me to the locker room," Natasha muttered, her breath hot against your cheek. You shuddered and leaped forward to get to the locker room. The assassin let out an amused snort before following closer behind.

The moment the two of you entered the empty locker room, you turned to face the redhead. But, before you could even get a word out she was already shoving you up against a locker. You gasped as her lips collided with your own. The kiss was violent and desperate as you quickly leaned in to reciprocate. Natasha smiled and nipped at your lower lip, her hands gripping your wrists above your head. You gasped and allowed her tongue to slip into your mouth. Sometimes losing was worth it.

[selinakidreams]

hello hello hello ! this is my comfort piece for @doinmybesthere ‘s mental health awareness month collab! and I’d just like to say a huge thank you to emme for creating such a wonderful collab and thank you for letting me be apart of it.

paring: kirishima eijirou (I’m talking 7ft big strongman vibes) x empathic quirk f!reader (established relationship)

word count: 3.7k +

genre: hurt/comfort + fluff

warnings: mentions of anxiety & toxic friendships, instigating with means to harm- please let me know if I missed anything!!

a/n: this I think,, was the best way to approach what has tormented me for years. it was a reoccurring thing for me but I never handled it properly, and just this year, someone important taught me that I deserve more than what I’ve been putting myself through. so here it is! I also think that once my schedule clears up, I’m gonna make a sister piece to this but idk !! let me know if you guys would be interested in that!

++ the absolute biggest thank you to my betas/flow checkers @doinmybesthere @lady-bakuhoe @keishinslove BIG kith

pss. the first person who can guess my love language based off this fic wins a prize

Turning other’s confidence to despair, gloating to fear, persistence to tiredness, motivation into loss- but all you felt was drained. The overuse of your quirk left your head feeling full of cotton; Your chest heaving and vision slightly blurry. 

You arrived late to the fight because what started as a relaxing day off quickly turned into a rush to get to the streets. Thankfully Red Riot had been on the scene, waist-deep and stalling a full-fledged fight between two combat villains until backup came. 

His tired eyes met yours and you flashed him a hopeful smile until witnessing the villain get a short-termed upper hand. They landed a solid punch, which caused you to feel not only the repercussions of the shock-inducing impact but your building guilt of being a distraction.

Years of training reminded you not to let it get to your head, your hero instincts kicking in after emotionally experiencing that strike. Heart pumping with adrenaline, you began to focus your heart and mind, simultaneously tuning into what those around you were feeling, never forgetting to keep your eyes wide and alert. 

Confidence, eagerness, perseverance, exhaustion, determination. 

Taking a breath as you ease into a rhythm, you kept your sights on the two people who were attacking the boulder of a hero and finally, a steady grasp.

Quirk at work, the familiar mental image of loose strings flowing in the wind appeared, and you grabbed a hold of them, symbolizing that you had caught hold of their feelings and wasted no time on bending and contorting to your will. You watched as their actions became slower and less motivated, making it easier for Kirishima to handle. He must have realized what was happening, a new surge of elation pumped through him as he began to knock both of the villains down a peg. 

Seeing him fight had always been such a marvel to watch; it was so easy to be mesmerized by the sheer enthusiasm he had while trying to keep the balance and execute justice. Kirishima Eijirou was a hero in all senses of the word- and not just any hero, your hero- as cheesy as it sounded.

Secured under his weight and possibly unconscious, Red Riot looked around, a bit disheveled, until his gaze found yours. Expecting to be met with the warm sincere smile that always made your heart flutter, your heart sunk when you saw his eyes turn wide and frantic as he called out your hero name. 

On top of feeling a bit dizzy from honing into those particular subjects and manipulating two people at once, a wave of distress washed over you, adding to the unfavorable aftermath of pushing your quirk. 

You were quick to whip around, finding another villain was closing in closer than expected. You dropped all previous controls and focused solely on the person in front of you. 

“You had gotten better since the last time I saw you,” they sneered as they attempted to land a hard-hitting kick to your stomach. 

Missing by a hair, you pushed past the dreariness in your head and went straight into a defensive position.

The close-cut dodge wasn’t the only thing to throw you off; now you had realized why Kirishima looked at you like that; your traumatic past, the one you had divulged to him in the safety of your home, warbling with tears streaking your cheeks, was coming back to roughhouse with the intent of ending in a knockout. 

Fear twisted into gut-wrenching anxiety; the plummeting feeling hit the bottom of your stomach with a harsh thud.

In front of you stood the unmistakable frame of someone you had considered to be one of your closest friends for a time; someone that seemed so natural to be with, someone you divulged secrets and shared smiles with, someone that had made it seem like separation was not an option- now turned villain, sporting a suited evil smirk smeared on their face. 

It was hard not to let the tears collect on your waterline, thinking about the whirlwind of your relationship as your gaze met theirs for the first time in years. Months and months of triggered breakdowns, cold sweats from various nightmares, and countless tears have been shed as time progressed, the sinking feeling of long-lost fear that they had put you through now showing its ugly head; the thought you had convinced yourself for so long- that you ended up not even being worth their time starting to resurface. 

It had been hard to learn the lessons that were dealt and see the mistakes made on both parts- not just yours, to pick up all the shattered expectations of what a true friendship is, but you had. Now you were able to sort through the wrong sorts and had gotten emotionally and mentally stronger because of it; in many ways, the ending of the friendship helped you realize that there were ways you deserved to be treated, and like shit wasn’t one of them.

However, it almost seemed like all the progress you had made swirled down the drain now that they were in front of you. It was like you were experiencing the heartbreak of them ending the friendship all over again.

“Awww! The poor little hero is still heartbroken after I left her?” their tone patronizing as they jutted out their bottom lip to form an exaggerated pout. “Look at you! I can practically see the desperation on your face- desperate for me to come back? You’ve always been so fucking clingy. But you know, the news has you pinned as like... some kind of saint… no, no. You’re nothing but a selfish attention whore playing the good guy... so I just wanted to stop by and remind you of the truth.” they sneered, really aiming to trigger your trauma. 

You had opened up to them about all your fears; from the smallest to the all-consuming ones, so for them to be targeting you like this… they must have thought that you haven’t changed- and you fucking have. You worked damn hard to do so; You’ve grown and have started appreciating yourself more, started loving yourself more, started working on yourself more. The villain was only targeting your past worries, keyword, past.

Regardless, you were already feeling too much as is and the best thing you could do for yourself right now was to control yourself. 

The urge to take it personally was beyond tempting- to make them suffer as they had done to you, to watch them break right in front of you… But there was a specific way to handle this situation, one you’ve envisioned more than enough, the perfect high route. 

Quickly looking back to see how Kirishima was fairing, you were met with the rock hero in the process of cuffing the other two offenders, allowing you to feel a rush of relief. You turned around and mentally centered yourself. The convict seemed to put together what you were about to do, so without hesitation, they began charging only a second too late.

Taking a breath, the perfect feeling to muddle their prideful feeling down surged through you as you carefully knotted their violent stings together.

It was the feeling you faced when all was said and done after, the outcome you faced after you had gone through confronting all of the trauma that was built up by this person. 

All you felt was emptiness. 

When it hit them, you saw it in their eyes as they stopped in their tracks. No smugness, no pride, no cowardness. Nothing to egg them on and yet nothing to make them feel terrible. Blank. 

Before confusion slithered its way to their consciousness, you took the opportunity and roundhoused them- your efficient ankle sweep knocking their head to the floor, deeming them unconscious.

Crouching to the floor next to their body, you made sure they were breathing before cuffing them and standing back up, turning around you double-check on the scene behind you.

The police furthest from you were tucking the Red Riot’s villains in their cars while the others jogging towards you kept their eyes on the limp body behind you, Kirishima in tow. He looked incredibly tired but couldn’t seem to keep the smile off his face. He felt proud.

A weak smile graces your lips as you try to take a step, only to see your vision blur.

Great. 

The last thing you saw was the panicked look in his eyes as his pace quickened to a run in attempts to catch you. You faded out to the sound of an urgent call of your actual name before your body hit the ground with a thud. 

The next few hours came in slow-paced blinks. 

The first time you opened your eyes post-fight, your body felt heavy… but you were moving. It didn’t take long to realize that you were being carried by the muscular arms that you wake up to every morning. Slowly peeling your eyes open, the sight of his signature spikey red hair reminded you that what had just happened. Your boyfriend, the one who was on the scene with you, had witnessed you overcome one of the people that truly had left damage on you. He wasn’t looking at you, but staring straight ahead; by the way, his fingers curled around your bicep and thighs, it had been tough for him to watch everything that had gone down. 

You tried to call out his name, but it sounded stifled, sounding more like a broken whisper than anything. After another try, he seemed to have heard you, his ears perking up even though all the commotion- or maybe it was just ironic timing. When his red eyes caught the beaming smile you attempted to comfort him with, he tried to mimic it, only you could make out the way his bottom lip quiver. Your eyelids became unbearably heavy and for the second time, unconsciousness took its hold over you.

Blink.

The next time your eyes peeled open, you were being inspected by the all-to-familiar medical team. The inside of the ambulance was much brighter than it was outside, fluorescent lighting causing you to squint. Unnamable hands were touching your head and pulse points. When they noticed your eyes open, they tried to keep you awake as long as possible, the first step was sitting you up on the gurney. The first person you made eye contact with was your designated nurse- the one with the most comforting presence, was that part of her quirk? 

With a kind smile and knowing eyes, she jerked her head in the direction of the person she knew was first to come to mind. Following the movement, your gaze landed on Kirishima, who was standing off to the side and chewing on his nail, arms crossed against his chest. 

Had he already got checked out? Was he okay? 

When he noticed you were staring, he mustered up a small smile and in return, you slightly lifted both your hands to do a loose wave in attempts to warm up his smile. It worked.

“Okay c’mon, you know how these checkups go- you can go be with your boyfriend once we know you’re okay.” your nurse teased, knowing full well that a serious approach wasn’t going to work with you being this drowsy. 

You merely nodded in response, head and eyelids still heavy.

 The rest of the examination went by speedily, you being awake making everything go ten times smoother. After everything was checked and you were clear to go home, the nurses moved to talk to Kirishima as you moved to the edge of the ambulance, waiting for them to finish. 

“I’m so lucky that you’re not only my hero but also a registered caregiver. Well actually… both are pretty super...” You mumbled, trailing off with a lazy smile, lids finally starting to accept the losing battle of staying open. 

“Nooo, you’re lucky that it’s the overuse of your quirk that’s keeping you out of the hospital and not fatal injuries. It’s not manly to push yourself too hard.” he quipped back in a light playful tone; He didn’t miss how hard you were fighting to stay awake. “Baby, can you make it to the car or do you want me to carry you?” 

It was moments like this where you appreciated how comfortable Kirishima made you feel in your relationship; feeling no shame when you revert to a clingy pile of mush. Reaching out, you let your eyes close as you mimic grabby hands to your enormous boyfriend. 

You hear him sigh as he kneels in front of you, opening your eyes in time to catch his broad back muscles shifting, “c’mon love, you need to help me with this bit.”

You clumsily climb on his back and loosely wrap your arms around his neck, standing up with ease. He quickly adjusts you against him to get a better hold on your thighs. Once he begins walking, you let yourself subside back into unconsciousness.

Blink.

You were jolted awake when you felt yourself falling, only for your behind to hit a familiar cushiony surface. Oh right, the car. Before you could fade out once again, you heard Kirishima say something about going to grab the paperwork so the both of you can file your reports later when you wake up. The last thought you were able to think was something along the lines of how incredibly lucky you were to have someone love you so deeply.

Blink.

Waking up to the view of the city lights twinkling below your balcony and the energy of a healthy 8 hours of sleep, you stretch the rest of the drowsiness out of your body till you feel ready to accept the hefty amount of paperwork that’s waiting for you in the other room. 

The only light that illuminated your bedroom was the reflection of the living room lights on the hallway floors. Before getting up, you spared a glance at your nightstand, seeing a glass of water with a note underneath, as predicted; this happened more often than not after a battle. You reach out and take the glass in hand and take a steady sip before letting in more and more water, then reading the messy little note:

 in the livingroom <3 

You smiled at the little doodle he drew- two characters that seem a lot like the two of you, kissing, with a sparkly heart over their heads.

The need to recreate this drawing was growing at an incredible speed.

With newfound determination, you push yourself up from the bed and shuffle to the living room, squinting when the light becomes a little too harsh against your eyes.

Eyes fully closed when you get to the center of the living room, purposely facing the wrong way and trying to suppress a giggle, you try to use the most monotone voice you could muster.

“Kiri - where are you I can’t see.” 

“Your eyes are closed- babe, open your eyes.” 

“No it’s too bright but I saw this cute drawing on the nightstand done by this really talented artist and I must recreate it please recreate it with me.”

You heard a bit of shuffling before his voice came close to your left side.

“Was it a pretty manly drawing?” 

“I would like to think so.”

He was much closer at this point, shifted to somewhere close in front of you right before warm lips were on yours; as quick as the peck came, it was gone in a flash followed by the sound of him plopping down on the couch.

“Wait Eijirou-” you start to pout as you turn in the direction where the couch is, eyes now fully open and set on Kirishima until the shock of pain shot through your nerve endings. 

“Ah, shit! Fuck!…” you wince, lifting your leg to hug your newly stubbed toe.

Kirishima is back by your side in an instant, really trying to suppress his laugh but doing a terrible job.

“You’re such a jerk for laughing,” you pout, giving your best attempt of a proper shove… and he didn’t even budge. 

There was a moment of complete silence then the booming of your boyfriend’s boisterous laughs bouncing off the walls. Rolling your eyes, you limped over to the spot on the couch where he was previously sitting, and as the cushion beside you dips, you sigh. 

The sight in front of you was a disheveled mess. Scribbled on papers were thrown about- most were filled out but there were a few that were blank, pens and highlighters could be spotted under and over random reports.

“I did most of the reports… but I didn’t know if you wanted to fill out yours… because of who you were fighting.” he slowly stated, as if he were walking on eggshells. You could tell that he was holding back from hitting the main issue. 

Was this something you were ready to unbiasedly talk about? Kirishima knew most of the details, but he also realized that you probably wanted to talk about it more now that you’ve not only seen them after all this time but had to fight them. 

With another sigh, you let your head fall into your palms- your elbows digging into your thighs- and you roughly rub your eyes before coming up for a new breath of air. 

“My heart was pounding…” you started, attempting to prepare for the unwanted wave of grief, but as you trailed off, oddly enough, it never came. 

When reflecting on the fight, you remembered the range of emotions you felt, but now… you just felt… empty- which was ironic. No sadness, longing, anxiety… if anything, with your caring redhead staring at you with the roundest eyes, you felt at ease. 

“But honestly? I don’t really feel much right now. Like I can say that when looking back, I think I handled myself in the best way possible- they don’t deserve to have that satisfaction of creating a rise out of me, and quite frankly… I’m tired, Ei. I’m so tired of letting them have that hold on me. I don’t deserve that kind of pain. As much as I am a hero, I need to think about myself as a person and there’s only so much I can endure. My mental and emotional health comes first.” 

After saying all of that, there was a slight hint of relief that flooded your system; you already began to feel lighter.

“I’m so proud of you. I know that must have been really hard to face but you did it, and you were so good about it,” he whispered as he reached out for your thigh. 

Accepting his comfort, you sucked in another breath and smiled up at him. He held and returned your smile for a couple of seconds before slightly leaning in, his eyes flickering from your eyes to your lips. 

“Would it be alright if I.. kiss you?” it was such a heart-warming gesture, how he was making sure you weren’t pushing yourself. 

“More than alright,” you whisper, barely getting out the last word because of how quickly the gap between you two closed. The kiss was comfort in the rawest form; his pace was slow, his large hand cupping your jaw as his tongue invaded your mouth. You were following his pace, your eyes coming to a close, melting into a relaxed state for what seemed like the first time today. 

Keeping the kiss light, he pulled away shortly, but not before placing a lingering peck on your lips, then one on your forehead and whispering, “I made you a snack. You’re probably hungry right now so I prepared you a little something filling. And while you eat, I’m gonna run a bath with some Epsom salt and lavender oil, does that sound good?” 

Overwhelming gratitude washed over you. Words couldn’t possibly measure even the bare minimum of the love you have for Kirishima Eijirou, and yet you managed to string a soft, “You are the most wonderful person in the world, and I… Eijirou I love you so much.” 

His eyes became a little teary as he looked down at you, a wobbly smile in place before whispering a returning “I love you,” before heading into the bathroom to run the water in your massive tub. 

As the thundering sound of the water filling the tub echo through your apartment, you get up and rummage the fridge to find a plate of adorably cut red apples with a glob of peanut butter off to the side. 

“Baby do you want tea?” You call out just loud enough, “I’m gonna brew that green tea with the toasted rice!” 

He came into the kitchen looking big and confused, “what did you say, baby?”

“Green tea?”

“Oh yes, please,” he said, leaning in and planting a kiss to your temple before turning back to the bathroom. 

“Kiri? Can you put on the house shows on the tv? I forgot what channel they were on.”

You didn’t need to turn around to hear tv turn on; a shout of thanks was called out before you took a bite of your snack.

It felt all very domestic, something you never thought could happen to you. Your childhood was a montage of quirk abuse, being emotionally used, following the same types of toxic people, and never learning your lesson. It all flipped somewhere in your twenties- you began to realize the pattern after being shown the kindness the world could offer. No longer world you put up with bullshit like that. You knew better now and Eijirou always reminded you of that. 

You were halfway through one of your favorite flipping shows when Kirishima came in shirtless, letting you know the bath was ready, “Okay my love, it’s ready. Take your time, I‘ll be in the tub.”

You stripped on your way to the bathroom, leaving all your clothes on the bench in the bedroom before padding into the warm-tiled bathroom.

The view you stepped in on was delicious; your huge boyfriend taking up most of the tub, his head tilted back against the wall, eyes closed.

“Gee red, you’re so sexy.” you aimed to tease, but your words came out a bit strained. He chuckles before turning to face you and groaning your name, “hurry up and come in here.”

And it’s then when you’re submerged in all the heat and laying against your boyfriend’s warmth, do you remember that life is what you make it to be. Never accept anything less than the love and care you deserve.

Blink.

[smellsfaintlyofvanilla]

SPOILERS! SORRY i wanna request another annie x reader, this includes spoilers like season 4 episode 8, and when annie comes out of her crystal in the manga so feel free to ignore! basically, reader was in sasha’s place and ended up dying when gabi shot her. after annie comes out of her crystal, the scouts explain to her what happened to reader. when annie and the scouts see gabi again, annie has a breakdown and screams at gabi how much reader meant to her? <3 tysm!!

You guys are sending me on an Annie brainrot, I’m not even kidding...

Also, the part where Annie comes out of the crystal hasn’t been animated yet (I already knew it happened cause of spoilers don’t worry), so I kinda just looked it up really quickly, so it might not be super accurate but ya know.

ALSO I LISTENED TO “I love you” BY BILLIE EILISH WHILE WRITING THIS AND IT HONESTLY ADDS TO THE MOOD SO MUCH BUT IT’S MAKING ME SAD

Tragedies of War

(Annie Leonhart x Reader)

AU: Canon (Somewhat non-compliant)

Warnings: Slight violence, season 4 spoilers

Category: Angst

Summary: After coming out of the crystal, Annie searches for her s/o, and when she receives news of your passing, she searches for the one who ended their life in order to get closure.

Words: 5.0K

The sun shined harshly onto the parched dirt below your feet, and a swift pivot of your foot kicked a small cloud of dust into the space that surrounded your legs. You had dodged Annie’s punch flawlessly, and you held your hands up to your head defensively, just as she had taught you.

For a moment, a smile graced her lips. She was proud of how quickly you were catching up to her technique. She had taken up the task of teaching you basic martial arts and hand-to-hand combat after you expressed your dismay at being so inept at it.

Her fists raised to her face once again, signifying her readiness to continue.

You slowly approached her, preparing to land a strong hit, and hoping to get the upper hand against the experienced blonde girl.

Once you were in range, she swung her right fist swiftly towards your face, but a quick shift of your head to the right managed to have her arm swing right into the air above your shoulder. You acted quickly, not giving her the chance to recoil her arm or regain her stance, and delivered a harsh uppercut to the underside of her jaw with your idle right hand.

She stumbled backwards in a mixture of shock and slight pain. She had to admit, the late night training the two of you had been partaking in for the past few weeks was starting to pay off. Your uppercut was stronger than it had ever been, and a dull aching pain spread rapidly through her whole jaw, rocking her usually tense form ever so slightly. She brought her left hand up to rub her jaw, trying to sooth the pain as she winced.

“Impressive.” She muttered through her clenched teeth. Outwardly, she seemed annoyed, but inside, she was pleased at your performance. “You’re improving Y/n. Sooner or later, I might have to start to actually try against you.”

You chuckled nervously, reminded of how many levels above you Annie was. Still, a spur of confidence surged through you at the successful hit, and you raised your hands once again. You let out a satisfied huff.

“Well then, let’s see it!” You smiled confidently, high off of the delusion that you could possibly beat Annie’s master level combat skills.

You charged at her more recklessly this time, and reused your previous uppercut in attempt to catch her off guard once again. In response, she arched her back, tilting her head away from your fist effortlessly. Before you even had the time to acknowledge that you had missed, her left hand struck your stomach fiercely, and as you buckled over in pain, she placed her hands on the back of your head, and drove your face to her kneecap unrestrained.

You sunk down into a heap onto the dirt, clutching at your stomach in pain. You coughed dryly, trying to regain the breath that had just been knocked out of your chest oh so mercifully.

“O-Owww... That was... A little rough, Annie...” You choked out between pants.

“Well, you seemed confident. I needed to knock you down a peg.” She stared at you, unamused.

She waited a moment for you to stand up so the two of you could resume training, but you stayed hunched over on the dirt as crimson started to drip slowly from your nose. The small whimper of pain that left your lips ignited a twinge of sympathy in the girl, and she knelt down next to you to grab your hands and cautiously lift you up.

Her attention shifted to the blood that leaked from your nose, and she averted her eyes. It was training, you were bound to get hurt no matter what, but that didn’t stop her from feeling guilty over your minor injury.

She walked over to the small pile of towels she had set aside, originally there in case one or both of you got too sweaty and needed a break. She picked up one from the top of the pile and brought it to your nose to try and prevent the blood from leaving stains on your clothes. After all, you only had so many shirts, and they were seldom washed to remove stains.

“Maybe I was a little rough there... sorry...” She murmured, embarrassed at how soft the whole situation was making her feel.

An adorable giggle left your lips, and Annie looked at you in confusion. What is she laughing about? What’s so funny?

Her look of confusion didn’t help you keep your composure, as you started full blown laughing.

“Y/n??” Annie asked, accidentally bringing the towel away from your face. “What it is??”

Your laughter died down, and after letting out one final chuckle, you spoke up. “You’re just really cute, especially when you’re worried.”

She blushed at that, still not used to the verbal affection that you were so fond of giving her.

Flustered, she tilted her head down to rest her head longingly on your shoulder. You grinned once again as you felt a gentle smile curve upwards on her lips.

“Take it back...” Her voice faltered. She was deeply conflicted between accepting the compliment or insisting that she wasn’t cute.

You only chuckled once again. Her inability to think of anything to do in response to affection was even cuter.

You grabbed her wrist, and brought it up to your face. You started gently and endearingly ghosting kisses along her skin, starting at the wrist and moving wordlessly up her arm. You stopped for a moment though, just to hug her arm into your chest lovingly.

“I love you Annie...”

“...”

“I love you too...”

*CRASH*

Cold. That’s all it felt like. Cold.

Something was... wrong... very wrong... but she couldn’t place her finger on what.

Her eyes peeled open slowly, and the first coherent thought she would have after four years started to form in her mind.

Oh... I’m on the floor...

She sat up slowly, her tense joints and muscles refusing to give her an easy time of it. Once she stood up on her unsteady, almost shaky legs, she stretched, surveying the room around her.

Small fragments of icy crystalline shards lay scattered at her feet. It took one bewildered look behind her for her scatterbrained mind to form together an understanding of what was going on.

I... I’m free from the crystal...? Why?

She glanced around, confused and desperate for any indication of why she was free. There were no MPs in the room, nor any scouts or Marleyan soldiers. Clearly, no one was intentionally trying to set her free.

After assessing the situation to ease her mind a little, she shuffled backwards and slid down the wall, taking a deep, full breath for the first time in years. The air felt great, she had to admit, and being able to move once again was certainly freeing. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head in her arms tranquilly. She loved feeling free once again, but she felt her heart tug, as it was yearning for something... or someone.

Her head perked up abruptly, a memory flashing through her brain. She was training with you... her girlfriend.

It had been four years since she’d seen you... she wondered what you would look like now. Had you been having fun with everyone? Did you find out the truth and escape the walls?

An anxious thought ruthlessly tore it’s way through Annie’s brain. Did something happen to you? Did you take your final breaths cold and alone while she slept like a baby in the stupid crystal? Were you devoured by a titan that her own nation sent to kill you? Did you... die hating her?

She stood up abruptly, swinging her leg back and kicking a shard of crystal across the room and letting out a huff through her clenched. Surely not. She’s an extremely strong soldier. I know her better than anyone else would. Nothing could have happened to her...

But, still, a seed of worry had already planted itself in her stomach. Still, she just had to see you again. Not only did she need to make sure that you were unharmed by this senselessness, but just to see you once more. She couldn’t care less what become of her, especially now that she had escaped. She wanted to treasure one more conversation with her lover, and to hold you and whisper sweet nothings to you. God, she was missing those little things so bad right now.

Her mind shifted to the first step towards seeing you- getting out of this shitty dungeon. The wooden door was unlocked and unguarded, at least from this side. She took quiet, strategic steps towards the door, and creaked open the door gently, as to not alert anyone outside of her presence.

A lone guard stood with their back turned to the door. One look at the short and wavy cream colored locks and she was easily identified as Hitch, her old MP roommate.

She made a quick dash, stopping behind the unaware girl and placing one hand over her mouth to prevent her from making any noise, and the other arm was wrapped tightly over Hitch’s neck. She felt the girl tense up considerably out fear in her grasp.

“Take me to the Scouts.”

---

Within the day, she had arrived at the current residence of Scouts. She had convinced some of the higher up MPs to let her see them, with much pleading of course, and on the promise that she would do absolutely no harm, and she would be under MP supervision the whole time.

She walked along the worn dirt path quickly, an MP standing to either side of her, holding both of her arms as to prevent any chance of Annie attacking. She stepped right in front of the door, and her heart filled with both excitement and anxiousness as she thought about her lover, who was most likely waiting on the other side.

An MP dully knocked on the door, and a disgruntled Levi answered.

“Military Police? What are you doing here?” He asked, unamused at the sudden presence of guests.

Peering over his shoulder from inside, Armin’s eyes widened as he recognized the anxious girl in the doorway. “Annie? What are you doing here? Why are you out of your crystal??” He started to jog to the front door, standing next to a confused Levi.

“You know her?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, from our cadet years. She didn’t join the Scouts though.” His gaze shifted from Levi’s eyes to the floor, an unreadable expression painting his face. “She’s also a Marleyan Warrior.”

Annie’s eyes widened at the mention of the Warrior Program. Of course they found out...

Levi turned around to head back inside, deciding this was none of his business. “Take care of it Armin.” He let out a small chuckle before continuing. “I thought we were getting arrested again.”

Armin’s eyes followed Levi as he walked away, but he turned back to face the MPs and Annie once again. She admired him for a moment. He seemed more mature now, but at the same time, it seemed some of the childish wonder had left his eyes in place of a more hopeless, dead look in his eyes. Such was to be expected of a soldier long at war.

“What are you doing here?” Arming questioned, staring at Annie.

“I... uh...” It wasn’t until now that she considered that admitting the only reason she was here was her lovesickness would be a little embarrassing, but she had to explain. Still, she altered her motives just a little bit so she wouldn’t seem so hopelessly devoted to you. “I broke out of the crystal... somehow... and I just wanted to visit you all one more time.” Even if she wasn’t directly speaking about you, admitting that she missed any of the people from her cadet days made her fluster up a little bit.

Armin stepped out of the way, beckoning her and the MPs to come inside. She stepped inside curiously, gazing at the inside of the building. It doesn’t seem half bad in here...

The MPs followed her cautiously, and still held both of her arms securely behind her back. Armin saw this, and motioned with his hand for them to let go, before speaking calmly.

“She’s not a threat, you can release her.”

The MPs loosened their grip on Annie, allowing her arms to fall comfortably at their sides. The two officers stepped back and against the wall, deciding to stay there to observe the situation.

Annie took the time to gaze around at the soldiers surrounding her. People looked on at her with many emotions. Some were indifferent, since they didn’t know her, but many were weary of her Warrior status, and a select few stared at her with pity-filled expressions. She continued to look to see if she recognized anyone in the crowd. Most faces were unfamiliar, but certain people stood out to her from her memories. Mikasa, Eren, Connie, Jean, Sasha... she glanced around, searching for the faces of her old comrades, but more so, she was looking for you.

“Everyone has changed a lot, haven’t they?” Armin sighed, looking at the ground with a look of sad nostalgia.

After a few more seconds of searching, she failed to find your beautiful e/c eyes anywhere in the room, and the seed of worry in the pit of her stomach began to grow, her palms growing clammy with anxiety.

“Where is Y/n?” She spat out abruptly, worry evident in her voice. She couldn’t bear any small talk at this point, she just desperately wanted to see where you were.

Her eyes widened as she looked back to Armin. His mournful expression by itself answered her question clearly, but she refused to pay any attention to it.

She gazed around at the others in the room desperately. Everyone from the 104th Cadet Corps (in other words, everyone that knew about the Annie’s relationship with the h/c haired girl) had the same expression.

Their faces were all laced with the same emotion.

Pity.

The kind of pity that you see when a neighbor has to tell the little kid down the street that the family puppy got hit by a car, or the kind of pity that you have when somebody gets their life’s work stolen from them, or, in this case, the kind of pity where you are forced to tell a distraught individual that their lover died at war. That kind of pity.

She didn’t want to believe it. No, she couldn’t believe it.

She couldn’t be bothered to close her slacked jaw, or to hide the distress on her face as she waits for the possibility that she was reading the room wrong.

Armin looked to his side, averting his eyes. He truly couldn’t find it in his heart to answer the question.

It wasn’t until the distinct clacking of boots on the hardwood floor started to approach her that she snapped out of her trance.

The person approached Annie slowly, but calmly, and Annie took a moment to scan her face. The stranger was decorated with a Scout badge on her shoulder, and a shiny medal hung from their neck. They had auburn/brown hair that was tucked into a loose ponytail behind their head, and an eyepatch covering their left eye.

The person had a sorrowful look as they grabbed Annie’s limp hand and encased it in their own.

“I am Hange Zoe, commander of the Scouts.” They said courteously. They bowed her head in mourning and respect as she continued on. “It’s my displeasure to have to inform you of this, but during a semi-recent mission to the city of Liberio, Y/n was shot and killed by a Marleyan.”

All of the sudden, everything stopped.

No sound, no motion, no nothing. It had just... frozen.

She had a feeling that the person in front of her was still talking, based on the fact that their lips were still moving, but she couldn’t hear them. She couldn’t hear anything. All that enveloped her ears was ringing. Painful, painful ringing.

She had stopped shaking, and she was certain her hand had gone cold in the other person’s grasp.

She didn’t understand it at all.

“How...” A barely audible whisper ghosted from her lips, and Hange’s word stopped in their throat. “How did this happen?” She grit her teeth and spoke out shaky words of disbelief. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks. “How did someone like her... die...?” The last word of her sentence was so light in volume, yet so heavy in emotion. It’s almost as if the blonde girl couldn’t even comprehend the word itself.

“It was a warrior candidate.” Someone spoke from the other side of the room, and both Annie and Hange turned to look. The speaker leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, a scowl adorning his features.

“Floch, now isn’t the time-” Hange quietly tried to coax the man into shutting up and letting Annie grieve, but he continued to speak.

“That little bitch- she climbed aboard the ship using stolen ODM gear, took a gun, and shot into the crowd of soldiers blindly. Hit Y/n in the chest, she dropped to the ground in seconds.” He continued to explain so nonchalantly, as if the death of a comrade was just another casualty in his eyes. His calmness made Annie want to knock him out cold, but she wanted him to finish. She desperately needed to know.

“We beat the shit out of her for a minute- her and some other little blonde kid. They’re in holding cells downstairs as we speak.” Annie’s eyes widened as she thought about her girlfriend’s killer residing in the same exact building as her. Dark thoughts of violence flashed through her mind as she imagined all the things she would do to the murderer if she just got a chance. All she needed was a few minutes.

“I wasn’t with her when she died, but Mikasa, Armin, and Connie were. I think her last words were directed to you, but I don’t remember what she said.” He folded his arms and looked away, a subtle indication that he had finished speaking.

The room was still with tense, stagnant air. No one moved, nor spoke. Annie tried desperately to gather her thoughts, to try and think rationally about all of this- but she couldn’t. Rage and sorrow flooded her mind, and any other thoughts were just a blur. She was going to go confront this person. No, she swore, she was going to kill her.

Taking advantage of the stagnant environment (and the MPs questionable devotion to their guard duties) Annie made a mad dash towards the hallway.

The tears were rolling down her cheeks unrestrained now, and she made no effort to wipe them away. Normally, she would never let anyone see her this emotional. Well, no one other than you, of course.

She ran to the end of the hallway, and found the staircase that led to where the supposed murderer was- the basement. She swore she could hear chaos filled yells from behind her, but she couldn’t pick out if they were directed to her or this “Floch” guy, and frankly, she didn’t care.

She rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping because of how hurried she was, and reached the only jail cell that remained locked.

Gazing through the bars, she was met with two figures, both sitting slumped on the beds. One had short blonde hair, with a lost and confused look in his eyes, while the other had the same auburn hair as Hange, alongside chestnut colored eyes that were swelled over in rage. They looked battered and filthy, but that was to be expected of any prisoner of the Scout Regiment.

Still, their faces ignited a twinge of sympathy in Annie’s bruised heart. They were the faces of children. Lost, confused- they hadn’t began to even sort the world out. They still had lives to live, so much opportunity ahead of them. Opportunity that was not to be found in the Warrior Program.

Regardless, nothing could stop her from getting to that child on the other side of the bars. The anger in her eyes would easily single her out as the guilty party. No one with kind eyes, like the blonde boy’s, could have done this.

The children gazed upon her, mostly with confusion, but also a mix of fear and apprehension. Despite her relatively small size, she could look pretty damn intimidating when she was pissed.

A swift, but strong kick hit the ancient rusty lock, and it snapped open easily. The forced of the kick cause the door to swing wide open, and no longer did anything separate her from the monster that just crumbled her world from all around her.

Dangerously slow steps approached the girl as she gazed on with both fear and aggressive apprehension. The blonde boy could do nothing but watch bewilderedly.

“You...” A low whisper escaped Annie’s throat, like the shriek of a ghost trying to breach the worlds between the living and the dead.

She stopped walking when she reached the bed, and she gazed at the floor silently. She wondered if this was the sympathy that lay locked in her heart. She couldn’t say she didn’t understand the girl, after all, Annie was a warrior candidate once too. She knew what it was like, the desperation to get picked and become an honorary Marleyan, and to not disappoint your family- she got it. It led you to do a lot of things, and she couldn’t help but feel bad for anyone caught up in the twisted program, especially since she was only a child, twelve at most.

The flicker of empathy that burned quietly in her chest was quickly snuffed out, however, as images of your bleeding form crying out for her, alone and in pain, floated in her mind tauntingly.

She grabbed her right arm with her other hand, and let out hushed breath, before leaning her head back and bursting into hysterical, almost maniacal, laughter.

None of this was fair at all. Why did she lose you? Why did you have to die? Why you? Why? Why why why why why why-

“WHY?!” She suddenly screamed, tugging on the front of the girl’s shirt and throwing her across the room carelessly, adrenaline flowing through her and giving her all the strength she needed.

The girl collided with the wall with a thud, and fell into a heap on the floor with a yelp. But, Annie wasn’t done. She marched over and picked up the girl by the collar and slowly raised her off of the ground. She held her against the wall with fury in her eyes, and the girl winced in pain as her feet lifted from the floor and kicked helplessly into the air.

“WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO IT?!” Annie screamed, her eyes wide with trauma and lips frozen in a broken frown. “WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HER, DAMMIT?! DID YOU EVER THINK BEFORE YOU CHOSE TO KILL SOMEONE?! WHAT THEY MIGHT MEAN TO SOMEONE?!”

Annie vigorously shook the terrified girl, trying desperately to get some sort of point across. Any point was lost in the translation of anger and grief, however. But for now, scaring the shit out of this girl would have to do.

“Dammit...” The tears that had been held back for so long started to flow once again. All she saw was you... your smile, your laugh, everything about you was just so perfect. She yearned to see you just one more time, and to have one final conversation with you.

“Dammit! Don’t you understand?! I was going to spend the rest of my fucking life with that girl! We were gonna get married and settle down and live a normal fucking life! That’s all I ever wanted! I was supposed to be there for her through everything, and you let her die cold and alone because of what?! What did you gain out of this?! Do you feel proud?! Satisfied?! Do you enjoy the blood on your hands?!”

Her hands stilled around the stiff fabric of the shirt that she still clenched in her hands. The girl had giving up on clawing Annie’s grip from her- Annie wouldn’t let go.

A final, lowly chuckle left her lips, her hands slowly relaxed, and the girl slowly slid down the wall, and her feet connected with the ground at last, but the girl didn’t run away. She could, if she truly wanted to, but she stayed there in the blonde girl’s grip. Perhaps guilt, or perhaps fear. Annie couldn’t tell, of course. Her vision was too blurry from tears to make out facial expressions.

Sobs started to wrack Annie’s body as she struggled to keep her composure, and one of her hands left the worn shirt to instead go up to her mouth, covering her mouth as she started to breakdown further into grief.

“I... I loved her...” She chocked out quietly. “I loved her so much... and now... I’ll never get to... see her again.” Her other hand finally let go of the cloth, and she leaned that arm against the wall for support as she leaned her trembling body onto it, her forehead meeting the cold stone.

The final realization of her lover’s death hit her like a brick as her sobs wrecked helplessly through her body, and she shut her eyes in mourning, or perhaps to pretend that nothing had even changed at all...

“I... I miss her...”

She stood there for a moment, and although she could feel the gazes of the two children on her, she didn’t care. She stood there in silence, crying silently in vain for her lover to return to her.

After what felt like hours, a gentle hand placed itself upon Annie’s shoulder. She turned around hesitantly, and was met with Armin’s saddened gaze.

“Annie, I...” He averted his eyes and gazed at the two children still inside the cell, as well as Mikasa, Connie, and Jean, who all appeared silently in front of the open prison door. “I think it’s time to go.”

---

“Her last words?” Connie questioned sorrowfully.

“Yes.” Annie leaned her back against the stone grave and gazed into the moon as it began to rise elegantly over the horizon. “What did she say?”

“Well...” His eyes darkened as he slowly started to recount the events that unfolded that day.

“When she was first shot... and I ran to her side to try and talk to her, and see how bad it was. She said your name, Annie. I thought it was a little strange at first, until she cupped my cheek and smiled at me. She lost a lot of blood, and fast, so I figure that she may have been hallucinating, and thought I was you for some reason.” He chuckled painfully at that, conflicted on whether to be sorrowful or nostalgic about that moment.

“I was screaming at her to hold on until we arrived at the island, but there was just too much bleeding. There was nothing that we could do. But, she told me something else right before she died...”

-

“Hey, Annie... Don’t be sad, okay? I promise you... w-we... will meet again sometime. Maybe another life, or in heaven... I don’t really care. I don’t really want you to forget me, but... let me go. You have your own life to live, even if mine ends... here. This is a senseless war anyways. But... if even just my sacrifice... can slowly bring... c-closure to all this fighting... than it’ll have been worth it, I promise you. So, in that regard, I don’t regret anything. Just... stay strong for me, Annie... I l-love you...”

-

Connie finished speaking, and turned his back away from Annie respectfully as the tears started to fall yet again.

“Try not to get too cold out here...” He stated bluntly before leaving.

After a few minutes, and she was sure he and anyone else was gone, she slowly shifted to lay right underneath the tombstone. The moon now shone brightly upon her, and reflected beautifully against the grave stone. She didn’t figure that this was how she would be spending her night with you, but she felt a least a little solace in being alone with you again, under the vast, unaware stars that freckled the night’s sky above.

Her mind having finally been cleared, she came up with a conclusion that she was honestly ashamed for not reaching earlier.

This was a senseless war. A war where everyone is a victim. It wasn’t Annie’s fault, nor was it yours, or Eren’s, or even Gabi’s- as she had soon learned was the girl’s name. All this fighting amounted to nothing but bloodshed and loss.

She peered around her surroundings, and pondered if every solemn gravestone belonged to someone who was loved in the same way that she loved you. She stopped to wonder, as well, about all the Scouts she had murdered during that time as the female titan. She thought back to Marco, as well. All of it was pointless. Every single person meant something to someone, and she was so cruel for ripping that away. This stupid war- she should say- is cruel for ripping it away.

War never felt so cruel until it affected her like this.

It was like your final conversation that she could ever have with you, one that she would have from beyond your grave. A conversation of ideas, and of hope for a future without bloodshed.

Truly, the reality of it started to set it. Even without you, she would do all she could to stop the bloodshed. It meant sacrifices. Sacrifices, most notably, like you. She would’ve given anything for you to be at her side- to end this conflict with her, but she sighed as she figured that it just wasn’t meant to be that way. Your death wasn’t in vain, though, as it helped her understand.

With or without you, she would fight to end this war, no matter the costs.

WHY IS THIS SO LONG HOLY-

i did this instead of maintaining a consistent posting schedule...

Still, I hope you don’t mind how unusually long and detailed this is, I may have gotten a little hooked on the prompt.

Hope you enjoyed it, after all that effort lmaooo

[hellowkatey]

I refuse to believe the droid that blew up under tech's ass didn't cause more damage

3.9k words ~ depictions of violence ~ ao3 ~ a little whump for your troubles

"They're using live rounds!" Hunter hisses, and Tech's blood runs cold. Live rounds? The Kaminoans have never resorted to training with live rounds within the simulation chamber. Even at a low power, live rounds have 62% chance of causing extensive damage to the room's durasteel construction, as opposed to the 21% chance with stuns. That does not even account for the monetary loss if a soldier were to lose their life or require medical attention. All in all, it's a horribly irresponsible training tactic. Something has changed. But why? Tech does not have an answer for that.

He looks at Hunter and Echo crouched behind the barrier next to him. "Get Wrecker," Hunter commands, the flurry of bright red blaster shots zooming overhead. "We'll cover you."

Tech offers a single nod in confirmation and eyes the distance to his fallen brother. With cover from both Hunter and Echo, and if he approaches from the opposite side of his barrier, he should have a relatively high chance of success. Assuming he can keep his head down, of course.

Tech makes his way to the barrier closer to Wrecker without issue.

"Wrecker, are you alright?" He asks, his anxiety quelling at the sight of his brother crawling toward him. The shot did not seem to fully penetrate his armor, which is good news. Tech runs out to meet him, grabbing Wrecker by the shoulder to help him get out of the line of fire.

Just in time it seems. One of the trigger-happy droids notices their movement and leaves a trail of carbon scoring in their wake.

Tech and Wrecker collapse against a barrier just as Hunter, Echo, and Crosshair fall back from their previous positions. He can see them approximately eight meters away. Too far to hear any orders without Hunter alerting the droids to their potential plan.

Suddenly their barrier is getting pounded by blasters. The training droids have discovered their hiding place and are firing without mercy. Smoke from the live rounds curl from the other side of the barrier, fogging up Tech's goggles and filling the air with the horrendous scent of burnt plastoid.

Or perhaps that is the smell of Wrecker's melted chest plate. Difficult to tell. Tech is quickly inching toward overstimulation from the deafening shots, heavy footsteps, and smell of smoke assaulting his senses..

He peers around the corner of their hiding space to get an idea of how close the droids are when a shot slams against the corner— far too close to comfort. He recoils just in time, but the heat of the shot still warms the skin between his helmet and blacks. There seems to be no clear break as the line of their attackers moves forward. He and Wrecker are stuck unless the others can help.

A whistle cuts through the sounds of battle. Tech and Wrecker look at their sergeant who waits for their attention before going through a serious of hand signals.

Split up. Cover. Draw fire. Distract and manual take down. Reprogram. Tech nods along, recognizing this particular sequence.

"Oh!" Wrecker exclaims, collapsing dramatically from his crouched position. "I hate hand signals."

"Perhaps if you memorized them," Tech offers, though he knows there is no chance in hell that will ever happen.

"Why don't you memorize them?"

"I have." Tech is more surprised that Wrecker assumed he hadn't. "What we did on Felucia."

Wrecker is on his feet in an instant. "Why didn't you just say that?" He throws a thumbs up to Hunter and the others— the only hand signal they can ever trust Wrecker to remember— and crouches his way to the outskirts of the chamber.

Tech watches as Hunter and Crosshair lay down cover fire, splitting up to spread the attention of the droids. And Echo assumes his ARC trooper role of running head-on into the action. As the droids shoot at his quick run, Wrecker runs up from behind, tackling one of the training droids to the ground with a satisfied laugh.

Also in typical ARC trooper fashion, Echo jumps onto the back of the other droid as though it's an angry rancor he's attempting to ride. And the droid bucks as any rancor would-- until Echo slams his scomp link into its neck, deactivating it all together.

Now it's reprogramming time. Tech runs to meet them, catching Wrecker's eager arm as it moves to punch the fallen droid again.

"Reprogramming this thing will be pointless if you crush it."

Wrecker seems disappointed, but he resists the urge to wreck. "You better be right about this."

Tech ignores the doubt and gets to work in the droid's circuit board. He works as quickly as possible, acutely aware that Hunter and Crosshair are undoubtedly being swarmed by this point.

"Hurry up," Wrecker warns. It is a statement more of worry for their brothers than a critique of Tech's programming speed. With a quick glance at his vambrace monitor, he slams the circuit board shut.

"Done. Let him go."

Wrecker and Echo back off just as the other droids launch a new attack at the site of their droid field surgery. They run for cover. Tech, on the other hand, situates himself on the shoulders of his new pet droid.

If Echo is the rancor rider, then he is the rancor tamer in this analogy.

The droid stands at its full height, nearly throwing Tech off on the way up, but he manages to press his thighs against its head to balance his weight. Shots from the other droids are whizzing past him in growing frequency. He is an easy target at this height and visibility. He needs to work quickly.

Taking control of the droid's weapons, he fires the live rounds back at the combatant droids. While their training blasters were useless against the thick durasteel plated training droids— as they were meant to be in a simulation— the live rounds actually do sufficient damage. He breezes past Echo and Wrecker's battle stations. Instructs his droid to punch the other droids that managed to get past his initial rain of fire. And as he weakens their defenses his brothers move in with vibroblades, perfectly placed stun shots, and raw strength.

A little bit of pride swells in his chest. The tides appear to be turning in their favor. If they can keep up this pace, their outcome will be favorable.

With his vantage point, Tech spots a droid sneaking up on Wrecker, who is otherwise occupied by beating another droid into submission.

"Wrecker, look alive," he warns. Wrecker lets out a sound of confusion before whirring around to find his next victim. It only takes an impressive suplex and Echo jabbing the droid in the neck for the danger to be adverted. But a new danger has begun to emerge.

Warning signs start flashing across Tech's vambrace screen. His rewriting job had to be hasty, which means he did not get the chance to secure every single circuit. His rush may prove to be their downfall as the connection flickers in and out. The droid sways beneath him and he fights to remain on its shoulders.

"I can't sustain the connection," he says through grit teeth. But with two more enemies stalking toward him he has no choice but to hope he can hold on through the end. His droid manages a weak strike against one of the attacking bots, and a few point blank shots in the face of the other. The connection suddenly re-establishes with full strength, and he grins with glee.

But his success is only temporary. His ride jolts backward as a droid from the upper tier manages to shoot right though its chest— right into the main circuitboard, Tech realizes with dismay. He can't do anything but watch as the droid gets hit a few more times and explodes beneath him. The surge of the blast sends Tech flying backward with much more force than would have been a problem had he simply fallen off the droid. His body hits the ground back-first, ripping the air from his lungs. And then he bounces. When he hits it again, the back of his head slams into the durasteel floor and his vision swims with black dots. Tech tries to blink through the cloudiness of his vision, barely aware of somebody yelling his name through the ringing in his ears.

Everything suddenly hurts. The back of his legs are hot and the smell of burnt plastoid is even more putrid than earlier. Considering how long the droid had been engaging in active battle, and the numerous shots straight to the power source... the heat of combustion had to have been fairly significant. Perhaps even sufficient enough to melt his armor, he realizes with a deep groan.

"Tech!" his name reaches him this time. A little clearer. Definitely Wrecker. He tries to lift his head but only succeeds in lobbing it to the side. But it's enough to see Wrecker crouched a few meters away. "Hold tight, buddy."

Tech can see the consistent shower of blaster shots still thick in the air. It is a full-on battlefield tucked within the confines of Kamino's training facility.

"I'm..." he starts to say, attempting to assure Wrecker that he's okay, but even the act of raising his arm and head is enough to send a jolt of pain down his back and limbs. His vision blurs again and he suddenly is whipped by exhaustion. His adrenaline has finally dropped off and it is pulling him down with it. Tech collapses back on to the ground, letting out a shaky sigh. "...not going anywhere."

He wants to help. But he runs the numbers in his head even as the aura of a migraine starts to dance before his eyes. With the number of droids and taking into account their individual firepower abilities paired with handicaps that come from limited programming and movement, Tech calculates that they have a 46% chance of success without his help.

They've won on lesser odds.

And when he takes into consideration the alternate scenario of him pushing through his current injuries and attempting to aid them in completing the simulation, their chance of success actually reduces to 41%. He knows his presence would distract the rest of his squad, or introduce a number of uncertain variables he is too tired to take into account at the moment.

Well, the math does not lie, he thinks, and lets his eyes flutter shut.

Wrecker watches Tech's body go limp and he seriously considers running at that last droid and tearing its head clean off with his bare hands. His youngest brother mutters something he can't really hear— whatever it is, his voice is pinched with pain. Not a good sign.

This needs to end now.

As though Crosshair was reading his mind, the sniper appears out of nowhere with his rifle at the ready. (Sometimes Wrecker wonders if he really can read minds. It wouldn't surprise him.)

"Wrecker, knife!" he yells. He has no idea what Cross is gonna do, but he unsheathes his knife and throws it in the air with a backspin. Crosshair shoots and strikes his knife mid-air, sending it blade first straight between the eyes of the last droid.

"Wow," he says in amazement.

There's a moment of quiet after the droid falls. Wrecker stands at his full height, still in awe that Cross managed to actually get that shot! He knows his brother's aim is impressive but wow— sometimes it's just next level.

Wrecker suddenly remembers Tech still lying next to the burnt leftovers of his pet droid. He and Echo rush to his side. Though Tech has pushed himself to a sitting position, Wrecker has enough experience with explosives and getting too close to them to notice how his brother refuses to let the back of his legs touch anything. On top of if, he saw the way his head bounced against the floor. Wrecker's no medic, but he knows a solid hit to the noggin when he sees one. Tech's usually sharp eyes are unfocused. The smears of carbon scoring across the lenses aren't helping, so he tries to wipe it away with his gloves. He only succeeds in making the smearing worse, but what worries him more is that his younger brother didn't react like he usually does when anyone tries to touch his goggles. Usually he jerks away, insists he can fix them himself. But now he's just... staring at nothing. It sends a spike of worry through Wrecker's large body.

As they attempt to pull him to his feet, he glances down at the state of Tech's armor. A shutter runs up his spine.

It's not good. He can't tell if the red that is dripping down Tech's boots and onto the floor is from his melted armor or blood... neither is a good sigh. And as soon as he and Echo get Tech to his feet, he immediately starts swaying to the side. Wrecker catches him under the arms, hearing a low hiss of pain and wondering if he should let him lie back again.

"Tech, are you okay?" Hunter asks as he and Crosshair make it to their position.

Tech's reply is very not-Tech like. A low groan. Not a single word. But he shifts his weight to his feet and gently pulls out of Wrecker's grasp to stand on his own.

"Techy you don't have to--"

"We're being watched," Crosshair interrupts. Wrecker looks up and realizes that Tarkin guy and Lama Su are still watching from the viewing gallery.

A part of him is glad they can't see the death stare on his face for shooting live rounds— live rounds!— at them.

Another part of him wants to give them a piece of his mind.

But as they disappear from sight, it becomes very obvious that Tech was only standing for their benefit. This time, his knees buckle and he falls forward. Hunter and Crosshair both lunge to catch him.

"He's out," Hunter says as they gently lower him to the ground. Now the overhead lights shine down on Tech's back and all of them freeze.

"Shit," Crosshair curses. The explosion melted his armor for sure. But what concerns them all is the mess of raw skin and melted blacks behind his knees and at his ankles. "Where the hell is medical?"

For some reason, when Tech awoke he expected to be staring at the ceiling of a med tent. It is a natural association to make in his newly conscious state. He suffered an injury due to an explosion, which is usually a scenario that is only possible in an active battlefield situation.

Hence, why seeing the sterile white ceiling of the Kamino ceiling sent him into a momentary panic. Did they cart me straight back to Kamino from the battlefield? Am I that injured? Does this mean I am being decommissioned?

He begins to try and sit up, but strong hands press down on his chest. It takes a few rounds of blinking to clear the tears that have welled up in his eyes. Echo and Crosshair stand on either side of his bed. Still in their armor. Both wide-eyed and looking quite exhausted as they attempt to calm him.

"Breathe, Tech," Echo says, demonstrating by drawing in his own large breath and slowly releasing it through his pursed lips. Tech imitates him until the tightness in his chest subsides. And he remembers.

A simulation. We were doing a training exercise. I was sitting atop the shoulders of a droid and... the droid combusted.

Right. Suddenly the numbness in his legs and the dull bite of a waning migraine make sense.

"Did we win at least?" Tech asks, looking between Crosshair and Echo.

"You don't remember?" The sniper asks carefully.

Tech remembers falling. A white hot pain. And then a lot of yelling and a lot of darkness.

"My current memory of the end of the exercise seems to be a bit... murky."

Echo and Crosshair exchange glances.

"We destroyed all the droids," Echo says finally.

"Wrecker was pleased about that part," the sniper mutters.

"So we won then. That's good." Both of them are silent for a long moment. Long enough that Tech replays their conversation up to that point wondering if he said something incorrect. From his point of view, there has been nothing that would offend either of them. So why they are acting so strange is beyond his understanding, unless they are withholding other context from while he was unconscious. "...isn't it?"

Finally Crosshair clears his throat. "None of us would consider you getting blown up a mission success, Tech."

"Well, technically, I didn't blow up, the droid—"

"Technically, nothing," Crosshair snaps at him. Echo glares at the sniper but doesn't exactly try to correct his outburst. "Either way, you got hurt."

Oh. So they are worried about his condition. For the first time since he's woken up, Tech cranes his head to look down at himself. He's in a thin, medical gown. No wonder he was feeling a bit of a draft. His bare legs are completely wrapped in thick bacta strips. That explains the numbness as well.

"How... bad?"

"Not as bad as it looks," Echo admits. "Mostly second-degree burns on your legs with a few small spots of third degree burns. No concussion and no grafts needed. Doc said after this round of bacta they'll rewrap and we can take you back to the barracks. It'll just feel like you have a bad sunburn for a few days."

That's good news at least. He does feel much better. Not in terrible pain like before, though Tech suspects the IV in his arm might have something to do with that.

"You passed out after the simulation," Crosshair says with a haunted stare.

"From the pain, I assume?"

"Also from the adrenaline dump." Echo shrugs. "We all came out of that with shaky legs."

"Speak for yourself," Crosshair mutters but Echo ignores him.

"None of us expected to fight for our lives today."

All of them can agree on that. Speaking of fighting for their lives, Tech realizes it's just the three of them. He looks to the beds at his left and right and find that they're empty. The memory of watching Wrecker's body crumble after getting shot flashes through Tech's mind and he tries to sit up again. This time Crosshair presses his hand against his back and helps him up.

"Where's Wrecker and Hunter? Are they alright?"

"Wrecker also had a burn on his chest, but they discharged him already. Hunter is with him," Echo smiles. "I think Wrecker said something about being hungry."

"Well, we didn't get much of a meal before this," Crosshair says bitterly.

Tech finally relaxes back into the pillow. His brothers are all safe, he's going to be discharged soon, and they completed their training exercise. It's a much better outcome than he expected from waking up in the med wing.

After his bacta is changed, Echo helps him into a fresh pair of blacks while Crosshair grabs his armor. The shirt is no problem, but the tight-fitting pants prove to be a more difficult feat.

"Maybe we can go get you a looser pair," Echo suggests as Tech has to literally bite down on his own lip to distract himself from the discomfort. Even with the barrier of bandages, the thick material feels scratchy against his sensitive skin. So bad that shivers run up his spine and he begins to feel a little nauseous.

"No," Tech pushes Echo's hand away. Honestly, the very thought of the pants having to peel back down his leg is worse than the idea of keeping them on. "I'll adjust." Echo seems hesitant but he doesn't fight him further. Tech gets his armor on-- sans the pieces that were melted in the explosion, of course. Those will require a trip to the armory to replace. (But he is not exactly jumping at the idea of restraining his swollen legs right now, anyway.)

"Ready?" Crosshair asks, though his facial expression looks as though he won't believe a word that comes out of Tech's mouth no matter what.

"Indeed."

They walk slowly back to the barracks, taking the long route to pick up Hunter and Wrecker from the caf. For the first few corridors, the scratchy feeling is agonizing. He has to walk with stiff legs to avoid bending his knees too much. It earns him his fair share of strange looks from the regs that pass, though they usually look at him like he was some sort of abomination, so it doesn't bother him. (Tech hypothesizes it has something to do with his goggles and how they stick out of his helmet. Makes him look quite different from even his own squad.)

But as they reach the caf, the stinging has begun to fade. His body is adjusting, as he predicted. The pain receptors in his legs are finally recognizing that it isn't a stimulus worth the trouble to continue griping about. He manages to bend his knees just enough that his stiffness isn't so obvious, more of a limp.

Wrecker's joyful tone rings out as soon as they grow near to the cafeteria. The largest of their brothers appears around the corner, his face brightening as he breaks into a run. "Tech!" Echo and Crosshair are quick to jump in and stop him from body slamming Tech.

"Easy, Wrecker, you know better than any of us how it feels to get blown up," Crosshair says before stepping aside for Wrecker to pull Tech into a bear hug. He sees Cross glance at Echo and then smirk. "Well, maybe that's not true. Echo here might have us all beat."

The former ARC trooper rolls his eyes. "Very funny."

Wrecker releases Tech. Somehow without aggravating his burns too badly. He is glad he opted to wear his helmet instead of carrying it. The mask hides his wince as pain shoots up his legs when Wrecker drops him back on the floor.  "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"As am I," he replies sheepishly. They start to make their way back toward their barracks. "Though I hardly blew up, it was merely a droid overheating."

"Did it have smoke and fire?" Wrecker asks.

"Minimal, but yes."

"Did it make a boom sound?"

"Well I'm not sure I would classify--"

"And did you get thrown really hard and burn your butt off?"

Tech sighs. "Perhaps."

Wrecker shrugs with a smug grin, looking around at the others. "You may be the expert on most things, Tech, but I know explosions. And that sounds a lot like an explosion to me."

Crosshair chuckles, his face in its usual sneer as he pats Tech's shoulder pauldron.

"It's alright," Echo whispers to him as Wrecker starts a loud tangent about getting shot at. "Means you get to be a part of the Got Blown Up Club. Meetings are bimonthly."

Not exactly a club Tech expected to be joining at a battle simulation. But then again, when do things ever go right for their squad in normal circumstances? He is curious to see what justification they had for such an irresponsible stunt. Tech has a sinking feeling Tarkin and Echo's claim that he hates clones has something to do with it.

[fanfic-cave]

Migraine

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 1.8k

Pairing: Hunter x GN!Reader

Warnings: War Flashbacks/implied PTSD, angst & guilt, people be crushing on eachother, is this fluff? perhaps...

Summary: You start with a normal day with TBB, when a migraine comes on and you relive your worst traumas. How do you cope, especially when it happens on the havoc marauder?

I came up with this idea when I was having a migraine the other day, and I kinda infused it with an OC I had thought up. I decided to leave it GN for the readers, but technically its a part of their story, if that makes sense. (I actually think the story is kinda cool so I might write up chapters we'll see...)

Leave feedback if you'd like! :)

Today started as a normal day for you. You made a trip to go visit the most interesting group around, The Bad Batch. They seemed to appreciate your company, and you enjoyed theirs. Often they expected you to come over and socialize for a good chunk of the day. You remember what a stark contrast this was from when you first met, each of them suspicious of you (well, except for Omega), and you skeptical of them. Once you asked for their help making a trip to Dantooine, you protected each other in battle, and the walls started coming down. Now you had each other's backs, you’d all proven it countless times.

Except you’re still lying to them. The unwelcome thought intruded your mind. You still haven’t told them why you’re really avoiding the empire.

*Y/N, did you hear what I said?* Tech spoke in Ryl. Once he heard you knew several languages from all over the galaxy, he enjoyed taking the opportunity to speak a different language with you.

You shook your head. “Sorry Tech, lost in thought, what did you say?” You had replied in common instead. He looked slightly disappointed at your doing so. “I asked you if you’d seen the improvements I made to your vibroblades yet.” You looked down and saw he had definitely made some adjustments. “Oh, no I haven’t. I need to try practicing with them.”

“You’d have better luck with a blaster.” Crosshairs voice came from down the hall. He shouldered past you, bumping into you intentionally. You laughed at his comment, massaging your forehead as an attempt to combat an oncoming headache. “Hah, do I need to remind you what happened when you let your snarky attitude get the better of you while I had my blades?” You managed to see him shake his head in response, the lights in the room suddenly started to bother you.

His voice became faint, you heard “Lucky … only close … shoot you.” His voice was coming in and out, and a harsh pounding pain began at the top of your skull. You gripped your head and tried laughing at Cross’s comment, you’re sure it was probably his usual attitude. You thought you heard Hunters voice coming down the hall, but you couldn’t make out words. You saw through squinted eyes Tech was analyzing your behavior, and his lips began to move.

Finally you had to squeeze your eyes shut, and voice as loudly as you could “Gotta go.” The lights seemed too bright, and your headache revealed itself as a full-blown migraine. The bright lights seemed to cut into you, making the pounding in your head stronger. You felt like a big fist was punching you from inside, trying to break your skull open. You stumbled down the halls and managed to find the bathroom, rushing in and shutting the door.

The pounding subsided slightly, now that light was absent. You groaned and settled yourself on the floor. Unwelcome thoughts began to flash through your head. Separatist forces engaging you and the battalion. BANG. Tanks firing. BANG. Dead clone troopers lying on the ground, their voice screaming. BANG. Your own body lying on the ground unable to move. BANG. Tears streamed down your face, both from the pain and the horrible memories.

A soft knock at the door pulled you back into the moment, and you realized you had been banging your head on the wall. “Y/N?” You heard Hunters voice on the other side.

“I’m fine.” You said weakly. “Headache. Give me a minute.” You heard voices on the other side of the door, and footsteps shuffling. The head pounding in your skull still continued, but the flashes were gone.

“Close your eyes.” Hunter spoke quietly now. You covered your eyes, not having the energy to argue with him right now.

You heard the door open and he walked it, quickly closing the door. “What’s going on?” He knelt onto the floor next to you. You could make out his figure, and see a concerned look etched into his face now that your eyes adjusted to the dark. “Migraine. I’d like to be…” Alone. You tried to say it, but you couldn’t. You’d never had someone around when the pain was this bad, and part of you wanted him to stay with you the whole time. You gripped your head with both hands as a swell of pain surged through again.

Hunter gave you a moment to finish your sentence, once he realized you wouldn’t he sighed. “Let me at least put you somewhere more comfortable.” He spoke in a whisper, trying not to agitate you too much. He waited for a response. “Can you move?” You tried standing, pain swelled, and you settled back down. You knew it would only get worse when the door opened and the light would come through. You tried shaking your head. “I’m gonna carry you, okay?” He waited for an objection. “The light…” you breathed out. “Don’t worry, I'll handle it.” You heard him shuffle around, cloth moving, and then he gently wrapped a towel around your head. Your eyes were now effectively covered.

You felt one arm wrap around your back, his hand gripping your side, the other arm began securing you under your legs. In one fluid movement, Hunter lifted you up and your body was leaning against his. You pressed your towel-covered face into the crook of his shoulder, preparing to block out the light. You felt him take a sharp breath in as you pressed your face tightly against him. The door swung open, and you were relieved that you could see no brightness. The pain continued its pounding, but it began to dull. You felt comfortable and secure in his arms, and you realized nobody has ever taken care of you quite like this. You were suddenly grateful you had the towel on (which you realized had quite an unpleasant smell too), because it hid the blush that filled your cheeks.

Hunter's body swayed a little and you heard his feet move. Do I even weigh anything to him? You wondered, since he carried you so easily. Another door opened, and then shut. He took a few more steps, then you felt him adjusting your weight, beginning to set you down. He settled you onto a comfortable cot, a soft blanket underneath you. He gently rested your head down on the pillow, and removed your towel. The room was dark, darker than in the bathroom. You looked around and realized you were in Hunter's room. It was small, but it had enough room to fit you on the cot and him standing at the foot of the bed.

You both looked at each other for a moment, the pain lessening a little. “That towel smells.” You whispered. Hunter shrugged. You wrinkled your nose at him and then went to massage your forehead. You turned onto your left side so you could face him better, and fully relaxed into the bed. Although there was a slight stink, the bed smelled like him too. You pulled the blanket up a little to hide your face, and to take in the scent more. It served as a good distraction.

“Stay as long as you need to,” he said quietly. You heard him begin to shuffle out of the room. “Wait-” you reached out, not close enough to grab him, but the gesture caused him to freeze. You felt a slight surge of embarrassment, but ignored it. “Stay a bit. Please. I think it helps.” You saw his chest move up, like he was holding his breath. You wished you could see his face, to try and pick apart what he might be thinking right now. You continued massaging your head, moving to your temples now. You closed your eyes and tried relaxing, not wanting to pressure him by staring. You didn’t hear his movement, but the bed shifted, and you felt fingers move in between yours, and they began taking over the circular motions. You looked up and saw Hunter sat on the bed, a few inches in front of your body. You hoped he couldn’t see the color in your face change as he gently took over massaging your temple.

Although you were a little flustered by him doing this, you felt your heart flutter and your body relax to his touch. The pain was a soft thud now, and you could more easily ignore it. Your eyes had wandered away for a minute, but you searched for him again. You saw that he was watching you closely, and you thought he looked concerned, although his face seemed to betray no expression. The massaging turned into a head rub that went in circular motions all around and through your hair. It felt amazing and you sighed, resting your head more onto the pillow.

You watched Hunter for another minute. He never made eye contact with you, but you knew he was watching you, just as you were watching him. After a few more moments passed, you reached up to grab Hunters hand to stop his motions. He looked into your eyes questioningly. “Thank you, Hunter.” You smiled softly, and began to sit up on the bed. He hesitated, and then his hand retreated back. “Sure, we take care of each other here.”

What does this mean? You thought, as you both looked into each other's eyes. You had wondered at one point if there was something more to Hunter, or something more between the two of you. You both seemed to get along well, and you couldn’t deny there were moments you had. Tending to wounds, protecting each other in a fight, you wondered… Could there be something more here?

It doesn’t matter. I don’t deserve it. I don’t even deserve their trust.

You looked away from him and began to stand. “I should be getting back.”

“Already?” He seemed surprised. “Everyone will be back soon.” You remained silent. “I know Omega would like to see you.” You felt a sting in your chest as he mentioned her. Omega was your first friend in the group. Her innocent kindness towards you had been the beginnings of your relationship with everyone. You had a soft spot for her, just like everyone else seemed to. You managed to look back at him and smile softly “You’ll have to tell her hi for me.” You allowed yourself another moment to look at him. He broke eye contact fairly quickly and said “Alright then, fine.” You sighed and recognized that he was disappointed in your decision.

Could this be more?

The sting in your chest seemed to tug at you with this thought. “I’ll see you around Hunter.” You turned away and started to leave.

Maybe.

[inksandpensblog]

Sticktober 15: Teamwork

Orange didn’t really have the time to think about it until later, but once he had a moment to look back, he thought it was kind of amazing how well he and Alan had fought together against the virus.

…okay, so neither of them had actually been very effective against it, either alone or together, but still. That could be chalked up more to the virus itself than from any sort of subpar performance on the part of the drawing duo. Especially considering Orange and Alan had never teamed in any kind of fight before. But they’d worked with and around each other so fluidly, catching on to each other’s ideas like they’d been doing this for years.

At the thought, Orange realized that technically they had been working together for years. But it had never been in a combat capacity before. Only animation projects and the occasional game.

While Orange was absolutely not looking forward to another situation like the virus (or its…launcher) happening, he realized he liked the idea of fighting side-by-side with his animator again.

--

When Chosen realized that someone had joined him in opposition of the Dark Lord, his first thought had been one of relief.

His next had been recognition. Then surprise.

Any other thoughts and accompanying emotions had been steadfastly shoved down and smothered, because he didn’t have time to sort those out while the fight was going on.

All the same, he couldn’t help being impressed with how noogai managed to keep up. Impressed, and a little unnerved.

(He found he was grateful, which unnerved him even more.)

He left the animator to his own devices. Noogai showed no inclination that he’d be turning the cursor against Chosen, so he didn’t bother giving it any more attention than a general awareness of its movement.

They even managed to effectively tag-team their attacks.

.

And then there had been pain.

.

He lost himself for a moment, stiff with agony as he struggled not to curl his body around the invisible wound, hands clutching spastically at his core where the blades had pierced him.

(Where the virus construct had crushed him in its jaws earlier that same day. Nearly bitten him in half.)

He lost himself for a moment, but that moment was enough.

Almost enough.

Chosen was jolted out of shock by the rapidly approaching Dark Lord far too late, only when the other stick was practically on him already.

He hadn’t recovered yet.

He had no control over himself.

.

It was the first time in living memory that he could recall flinching. That he brought his arms up and cowered behind the meager shield they offered against his modded enemy. That he cringed away instead of bearing up and holding out.

That he failed to conceal such a blatant display of fear.

.

It was as he processed this, that he realized the attack hadn’t reached him.

.

Gritting his teeth through the lingering pain, he broke the water’s surface in time to see the cursor outplay the lord again.

The cursor. The animator.

Who had intercepted the Dark Lord's attack, meant for him.

Had…protected him.

.

If Chosen had been in better condition, he wouldn’t have let his astonishment slow him down.

As it was, he paused, and when the lord attacked the cursor, he realized he felt concerned.

He launched himself back into battle.

--

If anyone were to ask him, Dark would probably say that he stopped feeling any emotions altogether by the time he realized he’d have to equip his remote bands if he were to have even a chance of defeating The Chosen One carrying out his viral invasion plans.

It wouldn’t exactly be true, but it’s what he would say.

As circumstances stood, though, there was no one to ask Dark. Possibly, there was no Dark to be asked.

So, Dark wouldn’t be telling anyone about the surge of disbelief he experienced upon realizing who had inserted himself into his and The Chosen One's fight. He wouldn’t be telling anyone about the spark of fear that kindled, a more complicated fear than the instinctual need to survive; the fear of realizing he couldn’t predict what would happen next. He wouldn’t be telling anyone about the ache in his hardening heart when he first drove his projected katars through Chosen’s middle. He wouldn’t be telling anyone that he had to reassure himself that this was The Chosen One's fault, that his former hero idol friend had brought this upon himself.

(He wouldn’t be telling anyone about how, despite their severed bond, when he realized the cursor had shielded his target, he felt a slight twinge of offence on Chosen’s behalf. Did their creator not think his most powerful creation could take care of himself?)

He wouldn’t be telling anyone about the envy that built up inside him like sleet in a gutter, when he had to come to terms with the reality that the destructive powerhouse he’d been created to bring an end to was apparently more worthy of receiving help than he had ever been.

[dailycharacteroption]

Bully (Animal Companion Archetype)

 Animals, much like people, have personalities, and while instinct plays a part in behavior, their behavior and personality are as informed by their lives as any sapient being.

With that in mind, some animals are complete assholes.

Whether they were born larger than their litter-mates, hogging resources, or just extremely used to getting their way by brutalizing and tormenting other life forms, some animals are just mean in disposition.

Some may have been poorly treated before, lashing out at those weaker than themselves as a form of release, while others have no such excuse.

Inevitably, such bratty, distant, and/or violent creatures sometimes find themselves becoming the companion creatures of various characters. Evil or combat-focused characters might cultivate this behavior to better utilize in the role the animal fulfills, while others might lament the companion they were saddled with, or seek to coax them away from such behavior.

Either way, these companions can be a real handful, and it takes a firm hand that will not kowtow to their behavior to handle one of these creatures.

 These companions are notorious for pushing their foes around, knocking them back or over, as well as outright trampling them, and can be easily taught to do these things on command.

Such activities give them a surge of confidence, striking more aggressively moments later.

A simple archetype that rewards an animal companion for attacking aggressively with combat maneuvers to keep foes off-balance and vulnerable. Naturally this works best with larger and stronger companions capable of succeeding regularly with such maneuvers and able to deal greater damage. With this archetype, your companion is definitely focused primarily on combat, so keep that in mind.

 These companions are most likely to be standard animal companions, as I think most players have trouble imagining a plant or vermin companion having a notable personality, but keep in mind this is a fantasy game, and behavior is always more nuanced than our preconceptions.

In any case, having a companion like this means that this relationship inevitably has elements of authority and command in order to keep the poorly-behaved companion in line. Whether the companion actually respects their master, however, is another story.

  Far older than most, the strange elder druid Vo’Le is a yaddithian, a stranded traveler across time and space. Though he is kind and wise, he has a knack for picking companions with sour dispositions, a trait he assures others makes them better bodyguards.

 Meliphix, a student of Vo’Le, needs help, as her cantankerous giant frilled lizard companion is not acting like himself. In truth, the reptile is being preyed upon by a Colour-Out-Of-Space, which has been targeting the animal as it is too young to drain other prey safely.

 Brutalized by an insane criminal mastermind, the dog now known as Strike (short for Lucky Strike) was deemed a lost cause, but not for Vo’Le, who communed with beast and befriended him, and gifted the grumpy animal to a hunter friend of his.

[glapplebloom]

IDW’s Biggest Issue with the Sonic Franchise.

For context, Dr. Starline has just infected Eggman’s Network, giving him access to every machine Robotnik has. Surge and Kitsunami have plans to clear the board once Starline’s guard is down. And Sonic, Tails and Belle are heading towards the central point of all these machines coming together. We begin with them wanting to convince Belle to go away, but she insists on staying because she wants to see this through to the end. Starline seems very confident, but then Eggman arrives in one of the few machines not under Starline’s control: the Egg Emperor from Sonic Heroes. And he’s angry.

When Belle sees Metal Sonic, she wants to help him. Another review found this weak since Metal Sonic is a killing machine and Belle is making him 100%. But considering the situation and Sonic and Tails likely going to be in more action, having a bodyguard who won’t likely attack her is probably the best idea. And she’s lucky she did because Sonic and Tails are forcefully split up by Surge and Kitsunami. Surge tackling Sonic at high speed and Kitsunami looking like he’s a Manga Villain. 

Surge goes on a rant because it's Sonic’s fault she’s like this. If only Sonic took out Starline or Eggman none of this would have happened. Sonic tries to get her to lighten up but stays a step ahead of her in combat. Surge may be well practiced in simulations, but Sonic’s been doing this for over 30 years so he has the experience advantage. Back with Starline Vs Eggman, Starline decides to fight giant robot with giant robot. And while she got Metal online, Metal is still Metal. But because she’s the only thing keeping him from serving Starline (and seeing her as an Eggbot), he needs her as well to find Eggman.

Tails is winning Kitsunami over with kindness as it seems Talk-No-Jutsu is working. After all, Kitsunami probably never received any sort of praise since his conception so hearing praise is making him think differently. It seems like Tails would be convincing Kitsunami to join the good guys side until he mentions stopping whoever is fighting Sonic. And since he is EXTREMELY loyal to Surge, he goes full Tsunami mode and goes on the attack. Back with Sonic, he asks if Surge is having fun. And like Kitsunami, this triggers her.

This is when Sonic talks about his motto: he lives for the moment and wants others to have the freedom of choice. And while Eggman and Starline are examples of such a thought is bad, Knuckles, Shadow, Chaos, the list goes on and on with so many examples of giving people the chance to change and them changing for the better. Sadly, Surge took that change for the better and cemented her thought: if she volunteered for this procedure, she had nothing for her. And if she was kidnapped, nobody is looking for her. So burn everything to the ground. 

Sonic is against that, because while he gives people the freedom to make choices, he’ll prevent others who try to take said freedom from others. Which means no matter what Eggman, Starline, or any villain who wants to continue being a villain does, Sonic will be there to stop them. Back with Starline Vs Eggman, while Robotnik proved to be the better mech pilot, Starline decides to pull a Sonic Heroes and go for a team attack. The Team Attack destroys the Egg Emperor and Starline stands victorious…

IS WHAT YOU THINK I’D SAY, WITCH! Eggman planned ahead this time. He knew Starline was so caught up in Nostalgia he would waste his precious Gauntlet’s power on an attack, leaving him open. Starline tries to hypnotize Eggman, but he comes prepared with Anti-Hypnotic Goggles. Starline is surprised that he actually listened to him. And then Eggman does a Hulk and calls him a puny scientist. So while another review highlighted this is Starline’s flaw of only seeing the actions and not knowing the person, but how did Eggman do this?

By looking at the Metal Virus, he was the least prepared for it. Seeing that caused Starline to double think on his views on Robotnik. So why did he do better here? Simple: Starline is not Sonic. Starline is predictable. So blinded by nostalgia and his own visions that he doesn’t see the full picture. Starline is playing Chess while Eggman is playing Risk. Planning for Sonic is a completely different beast than planning for an opponent that gives you so much information to use against them.

Speaking of against them, Belle arrives to say goodbye forever to Robotnik. The Eggman is impressed that she was able to fix Metal and offers her a spot in his empire. She refuses so Robotnik leaves. It's that specific moment that makes it feel like my interpretation of Eggman. But Starline is there and is not looking too good. Belle tries to warn him but he’s crushed by debris. While most people think he’s alive, the look on Belle’s face makes me think he’s going to be dead. And according to Ian Flynn, he will be unless he gets a huge demand to return.

Tails beats Kitsunami by waiting long enough for his water to be depleted and Sonic beats Surge. He tried to save her from a Disney Style death but she refuses, dropping down a seemingly bottomless pit. Unlike Starline, we all know Surge survived this. But with all the good guys back together and Eggman back in control, Robotnik decides to not waste this opportunity and attacks everyone with all the badniks around. Overall, a very fun issue and definitely worthy of a 50th Issue.

Sonic’s morals get shown in full view, Tails shows how clever he is. Kitsunami and Surge shows how interesting of a character they are. Starline had the best finale to his story. Belle lives (hopefully long enough to be in future stories) and we get possibly the best Eggman on paper. I may have issues with their Pony stuff, but their Sonic comics are definitely top of the line.

[sadviper]

Woo Do Hwan: Interview with Kankoku TV Drama vol. 97 (Aug 2020)

Once again, much thanks to @staidwaters​ for graciously reviewing and correcting!!! This was a really hefty interview, hope you enjoy~

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

Woo Do Hwan

Sword, bow, and horseback riding for the first time

A “Monstrous Newcomer” in a career-making, historical drama debut

In 2016, in the movie “Master”, Woo Do Hwan played the role of Lee Byung Hyun’s subordinate. Even though he appeared onscreen for just three minutes, he left a strong impression, attracting attention. Since then, he starred in “Save Me” (2017 OCN), taking on the nickname of “Monstrous Newcomer” and setting out on a brilliant career path. The next step he takes will be his first historical drama “My Country” (2019 JTBC).

Tackling a historical drama is an ideal chance for young and promising actors to grow; they have a rare chance to study in depth with multiple superb veteran actors over the long filming period. Woo Do Hwan did not miss this opportunity. His new work “The King: Eternal Monarch” (2020 SBS) leverages 120% of what he learned from “My Country”, and his popularity is surging.

Struck by a midwinter waterfall, the most dreadful and frigid opportunity to showcase yourself

--What kind of work is ”My Country”?

WDH: Each of the characters clash with the others for the sake of their personal convictions. This drama depicts their love and friendships. The country they are each reaching for … in a way, you could say they seek the same goal. Everyone wants a country in which they can live happily, but each person has a different path to that goal. This work skillfully depicts the conflicts that arise in the midst of this.

--Please introduce the role that you play.

WDH: Nam Seon-ho is an illegitimate child born to a family of nobles (yanban), and he has suffered greatly because of his birth. The poor guy is only able to relax his guard and laugh when he is with Seo Hwi (played by Yang Se Jong) and his younger sister Yeon (played by Jo Yi Hyun). However, even under such circumstances, he holds onto his ambitions. He doesn’t want other people to experience the same kind of pain that he has endured, so he strives to become the right-hand man of Yi Seong-gye (played by Kim Young-cheol), the future founder and king of the Joseon Dynasty. However, it doesn’t go as expected and I end up in opposition to Hwi, my dearest friend.

--What things did you pay attention to when creating the role?

WDH: Since it’s a period drama, it was difficult to get used to the way of speaking and tone of voice. It took me a while to get the hang of it. Now  I have the opposite problem, I’m doing my best to shake off the historical tone (laughs).

--The gorgeous hairstyles and clothing were a sight to behold.

WDH: Honestly, at first I thought “Long hair probably won’t suit me…” (laugh). So early on, I participated in many concept meetings and tried out different hairstyles. Even with long hair, there are many different hairstyles that can be made, such as wearing with armor or tying it up. I collaborated with the director to choose the most suitable style according to the situation in the drama. I was able to try on as many outfits as hairstyles, but I really enjoyed being  able to wear the special costumes such as the armor and the inspector’s garments; things we normally don’t get the chance to wear.

--How did you practice horseback riding, swordsmanship, and archery?

WDH: Before filming started, I studied martial arts for about two months. Filming lasted nine months, so in total I was focused on this work for a whole year. While filming action, it’s important to skillfully capture the scene, but the most essential thing is to not to get hurt. For that reason, the cinematographer, my co-stars, and I always had to be in perfect sync. It took time to match movements for the sword fights.

--You became the topic of much discussion when you revealed your magnificent physique in a waterfall during the opening of the drama. What are your secrets for managing your fitness?

WDH: I train on a regular basis. If I only started working out when I knew there were going to be scenes with skin showing, it’d be stressful trying to build up my body in a short period of time for shooting. After all, I don’t know when or where I will have to strip down for a scene! (laugh) Usually I play a lot of soccer, and I’ll go to the gym to train if I have time. If I take care of myself properly as a habit, then I don’t need to worry if my body looks good or if I should put in more effort during acting; I can just concentrate on my performance.

--Was the director’s reaction a good one?

WDH: He was extremely happy, hahaha. They keep trying to make me take my clothes off, so I was like, “Come on, give me a break!” The road to the filming location for the waterfall scene was rugged and steep and it was incredibly cold; it was the most difficult scene. Se-jong even said “I never want to go into water that cold again”.

--A lot of viewers said that “Nam Seon-ho is the most pitiful man in the world.” How do you personally feel?

WDH: I wanted to present Seon-ho as a tragic figure, so I was glad that the audience saw him the same way; it encouraged me to put in even more effort and I worked hard to build up his character. Seon-ho constantly stands on the boundary between life and death, living a life where he might die at any moment. He never manages to accomplish any of his dreams, and it is only at the very end that he realizes what is most precious to him. However, even though Seon-ho is a tragic character, if we just focused on the sadness the drama would be hard to watch and it wouldn’t be interesting at all. Therefore I wanted to show many things with him, such as him being a powerful figure, and the loneliness his power hides.

He was able to finish the drama because he was with Se-jong, his co-star of the same age.

--At what points did you sympathize with Seon-ho?

WDH: There is always a conflict in Seon-ho’s life in that he always has to sacrifice something in order to get something he wants. Seon-ho’s situation is an extreme case, of course, but I think that in our lives there are many moments like his, even if they are small and trivial. Moments when we desire what we can’t have, or throw away things we shouldn’t throw away. There are also moments when we all have to give something up for the sake of a goal that we are reaching for.  In the midst of that, I worried about the things that I should protect, so I deeply sympathized with Seon-ho, whose ideals and emotions were in conflict with each other.

--Your portrayal of the character’s emotions was well-received. When was Seon-ho the most emotional?

WDH: It would be when he heard that Seo Hwi was alive. I had a deep rapport with Se-jong in all my scenes with him. From a certain point onwards, the events in the drama truly felt real, and I fell more and more in love with Se-jong (laugh). I deeply empathized with Seon-ho’s emotions, which made me want to perform even more intensely in this work.

--Concerning expressing emotions, are you the type to do a lot of preparation beforehand? Or are you the type to perform what you feel on the spot?

WDH: I think I am half-and-half. Beforehand, I’ll think, “So we’re filming this kind of scene today”,  why is this happening, and what was the situation before this scene? However, it’s difficult to continuously hold onto emotions because there are rehearsals and blocking out our positions with the director. So I will concentrate on creating the emotion in the moment when acting.

--And what about your mutually dependent relationship with Yang Se-jong, who played the role of Seo Hwi?

WDH: I believe it would have been very difficult if Se-jong hadn’t been there. I relied on him a lot. The make-up room was set up in a large van onsite, and while our hair was being done, we would go over our lines. If one person said their lines, then the other person would just naturally respond with their own lines. We are the same age, not just in the drama but also in real life, so in both the Goryeo and modern eras, we were always communicating well, back and forth.

Se-jong always helped me, and even though we were together on location for very long periods of time, not once did we fight or have a conflict of opinion. We spent our time together as good friends, always being considerate of each other.

--There were many scenes of Seon-ho and Hwi’s friendship that brought out tears, but was there a particular scene where you especially felt the friendship between the two?

WDH: All those scenes where we rescued each other. Especially that scene in the latter half, where Hwi took Seon-ho out of Yi Bang-won’s (played by Jang Hyuk) house; that was memorable. Then in the first half, during the massacre of the Liaodong Punitive Expedition advance party, there’s a scene where we cross swords in the midst of combat and I recognize my dear friend Hwi. That scene was very good and had a big impact.

--What is your impression of Seolhyun (AOA) as Han Hee-jae?

WDH: Seolhyun was truly a “celebrity” to me (laugh). She is one of Korea’s top idols; I’ve seen her movies. When I heard that she would be co-starring with me, I was very much looking forward to it. Once we were actually performing together, I was amazed that her acting was even better than I expected. Seolhyun was the youngest on location, but she had a very mature attitude during filming. In front of a large crowd of her seniors, she played a bold and strong woman. I was impressed.

--The antagonism between Seon-ho and his father was one of the highlights of the drama. How was it like to co-star with Ahn Nae-sang, who played the role of your father?

WDH: Ahn Nae-sang sunbae was like a real father, a very interesting person. Although he’d say “Seon-ho is an impertinent son” (laugh), he worked well with me, and did a lot for me. During breaks, he tells jokes and lightens the atmosphere on set, but once filming starts, his gaze radically changes and he becomes a terrifying father. He’s not someone who hands out advice left and right to juniors, rather, he is a person who reacts kindly and looks after us. 

Extremely jealous of Se-jong’s Japanese fanmeet

--What are your thoughts on successfully wrapping up your first historical drama?

WDH: I wore hanbok, long wigs, and armor--I got to experience all of these things for the first time. I’ve also never done things like swordsmanship, archery, or horseback riding, so each one of those was a new challenge. Because I have never lived in that time period, I worried about how I should portray it. Despite that, I enjoyed everything. The remote locations that I visited were very beautiful, and during breaks it was a wonderful experience to enjoy the scenery and watch the seasons change instead of sitting in the dressing room. I’ve heard from my seniors that once you’ve done one historical drama, you’ll want to do another, and now I know what that feeling is like for myself.

--What was the most memorable location?

WDH: In the opening scenes, I often went to the countryside, but first I filmed the waterfall scene and the cliff scene. That cliff scene was absolutely terrifying. I scaled the cliff and did the action scene, but I thought...I might actually die if I fall (strained laugh).

--Watching the behind-the-scenes footage, you seem the quiet type but at the Japanese fanmeeting, I feel that you were skilled at speaking onstage. What is your actual personality?

WDH: Do I look like someone who doesn’t say much? I’m definitely not the talkative type, though. Hahaha. I talk a lot when I’m with Se-jong, but the interesting thing is, how much Se-jong and I will say changes depending on the day. On some days Se-jong speaks more than I do, and on other days I won’t shut up (laugh).

--Since filming continued for about a year, was it difficult to break free from the role of Seon-ho?

WDH: Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought about Seon-ho without today’s interview. However, Seon-ho’s sword is in my living room, so whenever I see it, I’m going to remember (laugh). But because I can’t use historical speech in the drama that I’m currently filming, I try to forget as much as possible.

--Currently you’re in the middle of filming the drama “The King”, right?

WDH: In “The King”, one person plays two different roles. The show depicts parallel worlds. In one world, Lee Min-ho sunbae plays the emperor and my character, Jo Yeong, has been by the emperor’s side since childhood and is the captain of the Royal Guard. In the other world, I am Jo Eun-seop, a social service worker whose personality is the complete opposite to Yeong’s. I’m having a lot of fun filming this, so please look forward to it.

--What does “my country” mean to you?

WDH: I believe it’s the people around me. I have family, I have friends, and I also have colleagues. A life where I can live happily with all of them, that is my dream country, I guess. No one goes on without desire, so I want to live together while caring for each other.

--You’ve been called the “Monstrous Newcomer”. With this kind of recognition, do you feel pressured?

WDH: I’m always under pressure. However, I tell myself I can’t lose to it, I have to work harder to overcome it.

--Finally, a message to your Japanese fans.

WDH: 2020 was the year I definitely wanted to meet all my Japanese fans, but filming for “The King” started earlier than expected and hasn’t finished yet. I was incredibly jealous when I heard that Se-jong held a Japanese fan meeting at the end of 2019. When “The King” finishes, I would like to meet you all. Until then, please take care of yourself and be happy. I will do my best to finish my work and greet you in good form. If you haven’t seen “My Country” yet, I definitely invite you to watch it.  I also hope you look forward to “The King”.

You can direct fan mail to:

KEYEAST / 30, 11-Gil, Hakdong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06042 Korea

[themrsackerman]

A Little Fall of Rain

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Reader

Warning: Angst, violence, blood, death

You love him. It was all you needed to know.

It didn’t matter that he doesn’t feel the same way or that he ignores your gestures to show him how much you care. You were just grateful that he doesn’t bluntly shuts you down. Levi always thought it was just a silly childish infatuation, that you would soon grow out of it like most of his cadets ever did. You thought so too at first. But the more time you spend around him, the more reasons you find to fall inevitably deeper in love with the man.

Outside the stoic demeanor of the man hailed the Humanity’s Strongest soldier, he was actually a caring person. He has his own way of showing it. Its not entirely obvious most of the time, but if you look closely, if you get past the brash scolding and intimidating gazes, you will see how much he actually does care. Specially those under his squad.

You worked your ass off to improve in order to get in his squad. Driven by your admiration for the corporal and with Hange and Mike’s help, you were quick to master the combat and titan slaying. You gained rank over time and was soon able to fight along side Levi.

The captain himself would be lying if he say you did not impress him, because you do. You started out from this weak, clumsy recruit to someone Erwin handpicked to watch Levi’s back in most missions.By now, you had been with him to countless missions and one of the handful he trusts with his life.

You swallow hard and took one last look around you before the walls’ gate finally opens. Memorizing the faces of your companions and giving stiff nods of encouragement to those who meet your gaze. Expeditions always had your stomach turning no matter how many times you have gone out. Each time, fewer familiar face return; each time you lose someone you have come to know and love. 

You idly wonder when will this nightmare end, if this will ever end. You thought of the journey ahead and wonder if you’ll be able to come back to this confinement you call home. Commander Erwin stressed how important and dangerous this mission will be and you feel that in your bones now seeing the usual stoic face of your corporal so intense. Levi meets your gaze and he jerks his head to the side, signaling you to take you place beside him in the formation as the gates open fully. The grip you had on the lead rope tightens, turning your knuckles white as you urge your horse to move forward.

You have one mission. This is what you’ve trained for and this is the only way you can express your unconditional love for him. Protect him, at all cost.

It all went downhill so fast..

All around you, your comrades fell. Your ears were ringing, muffling the sounds of battle cries, anguished screaming and the world crumbling around you. Hot thick blood runs past your eye from a cut on your forehead which you wiped haphazardly as you push yourself off of the ground. You pushed a big breath into your lungs in effort to calm your racing heart, looking around wildly trying to locate the only person you could fathom to think of right now. 

“Captain Levi.” you mutter breathlessly, your stumbling turning into sprints to run after the man slaying titans left and right. The beast had titans swarm Levi and adrenaline rushes through you.You winced in pain, feeling parts of you that is surely either bruised or wounded. But you continue forward, grabbing a horse and racing forward to take your place behind your corporal.

“Watch out!!” you yell out of sheer panic, your own body moving to its own accord as you aim your odm gear on the nearest titan, abandoning your horse in order to get to Levi as fast as you could. Amidst the horde of titans commanded by the Beast titan, you lurch forward to slice of the grasping hand of titan threatening to capture the captain.

Levi couldn’t help but turn to look at the shrill of your voice, alerting him of the imminent danger he wasn’t able to foresee. It all happened so fast. One minute you were yards away from him, the next you were saving him from being grabbed and crushed by the titan chasing after him. Levi scowls, he’s being too careless, too blinded by his rage.

“Go Captain!" you assure him and gestured for him to keep going. Levi gave you a quick grateful nod and surges forward. You tried your best to keep up with him, eyes darting all around to make sure Levi makes it to the Beast titan and finally take down the bastard. You see and hear your comrades fall all around you, tears of rage and sorrow fills your eyes as you continue to forward.

Got to focus.

Got to watch his back.

Keep him safe no matter what.

Protect him at all cost.

At all cost.

Trailing him and taking down each titan he missed, you realize his gear is running out of gas. “Captain!” you yell, trying to get his attention. “Stop! You’re running out of gas!” You grunt as you try to keep up with him so that you’ll be able to catch him once he does run empty. Levi was too engrossed by rage, chasing after the beast that wiped out his fellow soldiers. “I promised him!” Levi screams, jaw clenching tight as he continues forward.

You see the last of the steam come out of his gear as Levi killed the last titan and your eyes widened. He’ll fall into the titan’s hands in front of him if you don’t do anything. So you put everything you have and thankfully reached Levi in just a nick of time. You wrap your arms around his torso and shielded him with your body as you both fall to the ground having no titan or trees around for your odm gear to latch on.

“NO!” Levi yells as he rolls to the ground after you caught him, glaring at the titan carrying the beast titan further away. The ground shakes underneath him as his fist slams down out of frustration. Levi’s eyes widened as he hears you coughing, realizing your presence. 

“Y/n?” he mutters, turning around only to find you lying on the ground.

“No, Y/n.” Levi shakes his head, rushing to your side. “It’s okay.” you say weakly, making an effort to smile up at him. Levi’s blood ran cold. This smile was different. It was unlike the warm ones you usually gave him. Your lips tremble as your breathing becomes shallow. And then you felt it. Warmth, spreading right below your ribcage.  

Blood trickles down from right below your left rib, soaking your uniform. Both you and Levi looked at your wound and saw the huge gash start to drench the lower half of your body with your own blood. You frowned as you placed a hand over the gash, feeling disappointed and ashamed. “I’m sorry, Captain.” you say, voice dropping to a whisper as you feel your strength slip.

“Shit.” Levi mutters breathlessly as he lifts your body from the ground. “Cadet, look at me.” he commands, holding you against his body as he inspects your wound closely.

Is this how I go out? Am I dying? You thought as you look up the blue sky above you. You grin, comforting yourself, I kept him safe, at least. And I get to die in his arms.

“Y/n!” Levi calls, giving your cheek gentle shakes until your eyes met his. Your eyes and mind were drifting off. All you know at the moment is that Levi is holding you in his arms and his beautiful face just inches away from yours. A bittersweet smile stretches your lips. You’ve always wanted this. And even if you only get to have it with the last few remaining breaths you have, you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

You winced when you feel him press his hand against the wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. “Fuck, hold on.” he mutters, ripping his cloak off of his shoulders and pressing it over your wound. Levi then curses to himself as he checks your gear and realized you no longer have gas too.  He looks around wildly, where are his comrades? Have they all fallen too?

Levi inhales deeply and held you in a better position. “You’re going to be fine.” he says, but more to himself than to you. “Y/L/N, hey, look at me. You’ll be okay. Just hold on, Hange’s right on our tail they should be here soon.”

You watch his green cloak turn to an odd shade as your blood seeps through it. You sigh and smiled up at him, patting his trembling hand that he holds over your wound. You’ve worked in the infirmary long enough to know that this isn’t the type of wound you can just patch up. And as much as you’d refuse to believe, you doubt anyone else is coming to your rescue right now. You gave him an apologetic smile. “It’s okay, Captain. Don’t worry.” you say weakly and Levi felt his heart clench.

No, please. Not her too. He thinks idly, guilt and regret coursing thick in his veins. “It will be. Just hold on, I’ll look for-” he started to move but you grip his wrist with all the strength you have left and shake your head. “Just,” you swallow hard and search his bluish gray orbs, pleading “Can you just p-please, stay? With me? Until I-” you start to stammer, tears starting fill your eyes. “You and I both know I can't walk this out, Captain.” you say, smiling sadly.

Levi freezes as reality hits him. His usual stoic expression melting as he holds your face, nodding. “I won’t leave you.” he assures you and he felt his heart break at the way this mere statement lit up your entire face. Your smile is still as warm and beautiful even at the circumstance you’re currently in. The fact that this might be the last time he sees this makes his stomach turn. He tucks the loose strands of your hair behind your ear, murmuring “I promise.” His voice cracking in the slightest.

“Thank you, Captain. And I’m sorry I failed you.” your brows furrow. Levi shakes his head vehemently, a dry laugh escaping his lips. “No way in hell, Y/n. You saved me countless times. I’m still standing because of you.” His brows furrow as he feels your breath get more shallow and saw the blood that had pooled beneath you.

“If there’s anyone here who failed, it was me. I failed to protect you.” Levi leans down and planted a chaste kiss on your forehead. “I’m sorry.” he whispers.

Your eyes drift close, you feel so tired. “I’d do it all over again for you.“ you say, voice barely above a whisper. You looked up at him and finally, you confessed.

“I love you, Captain Levi.”

Levi felt the air got knocked out off of him, realizing that deep down, in some sort of way, he does love you too. Maybe not in the same way as you do, but enough to feel his usually unfeeling heart tear in his chest. He loves you and he’s going to lose you. Just like he lost his Mom, Farlan and Isabella.

Levi sighs, forcing out a small smile as he held your face. He then leans in and gave you a kiss. Are you just dreaming this? You blinked and placed a hand against his cheek. It feels so real. You smile against his lips and tried to kiss him back. Levi’s face crumple in sorrow but he kept kissing you, tasting your salty tears. Or maybe they were his, tears of regret he swore he will never feel again but he does now.

As Levi pulls away, he wipes your tear-stained cheeks then kisses your nose and your forehead. “I know you do. And there is no one else who could have loved me the way that you did.” he says, leaning his forehead against yours. You smile and gave in, letting your eyes fall close again. Your body no longer feel heavy. You felt afloat. Like you’re in a dream. You feel his soft breaths tickle your cheek and his familiar scent brought you peace.

If this is a dream, yeah, you wouldn’t mind not waking up.

“If there is a life after this one, I'll make sure to find you. And find some sort of way to make it up to you.” he says sincerely, wiping the tears that escaped your closed eyes.

“I’d like that.” you whisper. Levi waits for you to open your eyes again, holding his own breath as he listens to yours.

But he didn’t get to see those e/c orbs again.

Levi watches your smile fade as he feels your hand falls limp against his hold. His heart shatters to pieces feeling that you’re truly no longer there anymore. Levi touches your face one last time, and sent you off with a last kiss on the forehead. Promising himself to make sure your sacrifice was not for naught as he reclaims his sword from the ground.