#yes it's just a silly poll yes it's not that deep but are we having fun?

[claire-starsword]

I gotta say, it's a bit sad that as soon as these poll tournament trends started people decided they had to be based on user submission instead of just, what they know and like. Not only do we get basically the same series/submissions over and over, but also so much drama can happen because the mod doesn't know a series that was submitted, and didn't notice misinformation being submission, or stepped on the toes of drama in that fandom because they didn't know something was a sensitive topic, or the poll blows up in a big fandom and they don't enjoy the attention, etc etc.

Like, I feel it's a classic case of people beeding things to be big to be valued. Do you really need your little funny poll to be accessible to tumblr's general tastes? Are you ready to deal with a big public? Or did you just think it would be a waste of time to do something smaller? This isn't a business, there's nothing shameful about doing a small fun thing with just your followers or the things you know and like.

[wordsbyrian]

Short: The Call - USWNT x Reader

Summary: Y/N gets the WWC call up facetime from Vlatko while being weird and it devolves from there.

A/n: One of my silly ideas finally completed. That's 3.75 of 7 fics from this poll completed/posted.

One of the biggest moments of your life and you go and fuck it up by being, well yourself.

It's not like you didn't know to be expecting the call. It's just that you weren't expecting it to be a facetime in the middle of the day on your day off.

Which explains your state of… disarray, so to speak, when you fumble to answer the phone, not looking at the caller ID.

“Hello,” you grunt, placing your phone back on your desk at an angle so you can continue your process.

“Hey, Y/N,” the familiar voice of Andonovski rings out in the room. You can hear him pause and take a deep breath before he speaks again, “What in the world is on your head?”

You all but freeze when you hear him and his question makes you slowly raise your hands and remove the over large mask you're wearing.

When you do, you’re unsurprised to see Vlatko staring at you waiting for an answer.

“It’s a Sontaran head, sir,” you say nervously.

“A Sontaran head?”

“It’s a character from one of my favorite shows,” you explain, “there’s a convention coming up and… that’s not important. Is there a reason you're Facetiming me?”

“Well, I wanted to see the look on your face,” he says.

You’re still holding on to the Sontaran head, clutching it to your chest as you begin to realize what this call could possibly be about.

“I just needed to let you know that you’ve been selected for the World Cup roster.”

You’re sure the look on your face resembles that of a fish, mouth wide and gaping while your eyes stare unblinkingly as you try to process the information you’ve just been given.

You’re going to the World Cup.

You.

The World Cup.

You’re so shocked that you have to double check that he really meant to call you.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Vlatko says, “Unless you would rather not come along.”

You answer very quickly, a sharp no shooting it’s way out of your mouth.

“No,” you repeat, “I definitely want to come, thank you.”

“Alright then we’ll see you at camp in a few weeks.”

“I’ll be there.”

Vlatko congratulates you once again before saying goodbye and ending the call, leaving you sitting there holding your Sontaran head with only 2 thoughts on your mind.

The first being that you need to call your older sister and tell her.

And the second is that you really hope the facetime wasn’t being recorded by the social media team for one of their weird projects. It seems like the type of thing they would do and if your teammates saw this you would never hear the end of this.

You weren’t so lucky.

Because just over a week later, you’ve been forced into a meeting room with the rest of the girls to watch videos that you now know are of everyone getting called up.

Kristie, Lindsey and surprisingly Kelley cry and Trin looked like she had been in the middle of a run. But there’s nothing as odd as you answering the phone with a glorified potato head on.

And well the teasing has already started.

“So, Y/N,” Kelley sys, sliding up next to you, “When do you plan on having us take you to our leader?”

Before you even really get a chance to respond, Sonnet appears on your other side pulling you into a headlock.

“Before you answer that we need to know the secret to defeating you,” Emily asks.

Rolling your eyes, you pull the older woman’s hands off you while answering, “I could tell you but you would just use that information to bully me.”

“What?! I have never bullied you a day in either of our lives.”

“Well there was that time you convinced her that the bus had left her behind and let her run all the way to the training field,” Kelley says.

“Or the time that you let me believe that,” Sonny cuts you off.

“Ok so maybe I have in the past been a little mean to you,” Emily groans. “But! But, I do actually want to know more about it. You said it’s from your favorite show, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t know about your favorite show?” “Friends don’t need to know everything about each other,” you tell her walking away.

2 weeks later, the day before you’re set to fly out to New Zealand for the World Cup, your nap is interrupted by someone pounding on your room door.

Opening it up, you’re surprised to see Emily and Kelley standing there, a laptop in hand looking distraught.

Before you even have a chance to ask them what's up, Kelley all but shouts in your face.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Uh, what?”

“Why didn’t you tell us that your nerd show makes you fall in love with the characters only to make them leave in the most heartbreaking ways,” Sonny asks, shoving the laptop into your chest. “Everytime you start to like a character, they get rid of them!”

Still shocked, you can barely stutter out a response.

“I genuinely have no clue what you guys are talking about.”

“It’s not right,” Kelley is shouting again,. “Rose, lost in another universe. Martha, just up and left because she couldn’t take almost dying every day. And the Doctor had to wipe Donna’s mind to save her life! It’s not right and it's not fair.”

It finally clicks.

“Oh man, you guys are in deep huh?”

“And we have so many questions.”

“Come on in, nerds.”

[cinnbar-bun]

Popularity- Cross Guild's Day Off 2 (Cross Guild x Reader)

Summary: In which you work with the three Cross Guild officers and Buggy attempts to prove his popularity through a poll. Of course, it's never as simple as it really should be in Cross Guild.

Rating: SFW/Crack

Word Count: ~3k

Notes: No relationships are defined, so feel free to headcanon whatever you want. I know it says x Reader up there and I wrote it in mind that it's a weird ass polycule but I made sure to leave it ambiguous for your reading pleasure. Made in mind with part 1, but can be read as standalone. Features cameos from Alvida, Galdino, and Daz Bones.

A/n: I love these three goofballs so like feel free to request stuff with them or what scenarios you'd like to see them in please???

Read Part 1 here! Read this chapter on my AO3 here!

“It’s really not fair! It’s not fair at all!” Buggy screamed. Mihawk, Crocodile, and you sighed at whatever it was that seemed to be, well, bugging Buggy. 

“Will you stop your complaining? Some of us are actually trying to do work here,” Crocodile growled while his fingers continued clicking away on the calculator. “(Y/n), go and hand me the reports for-,” 

“Right here, Sir,” you said as you handed him the stack of papers he wanted. Crocodile smirked proudly while his eyes narrowed at Buggy. 

“See, why can’t you be like (Y/n)? They know how to get work done.” 

“Wha-! I get work done! Plenty of work!” 

“Juggling isn’t work.” 

“Is too!” Buggy stomped his foot. 

“Hardly,” Mihawk chimes in. 

“Grrr… you two are just jealous of me! Jealous of how I’m the Star Clown and you two will just be boring, old men!” 

Mihawk and Crocodile glanced at each other knowingly and rolled their eyes. 

“You’re still bothered by the fact you were not important enough to have any good cards in the deck, aren't you?” Mihawk states bluntly, not bothering to be gentle with Buggy’s fragile ego. 

“SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!!” Buggy shouted, gaining the attention from his subordinates outside the office. 

“Aw… someone’s upset,” Crocodile teased. You huffed at the two stoic ex-warlords and tried to soothe Buggy. 

“Buggy, it’s alright. They’re just silly cards. Look around you, you have so many employees happy to work for you because they really admire you as captain,” you say genuinely while patting his head. Buggy sniffles and nods. 

“You’re right, (Y/n), you’re right,” Buggy agrees. He wipes his eyes and nose with his hand before he bounces back to life, clenching his fists. “That’s very true! All these people love me and would die for me! So those card makers don’t know anything! I’m the most popular one here!” 

“Wait, what…” you wince, while Crocodile and Mihawk groan. 

“Thanks, (Y/n), now he’s gonna do something stupid again,” Crocodile sighed. 

“Buggy, all I’m saying is-” you try to fix your error, but Buggy shakes his head. 

“Nope! You just gave me an amazing idea!” 

“Here we go again,” Mihawk mumbles. 

“W-what’s the idea?” You ask Buggy. 

“Obviously, to really settle the matter, we need to hold a popularity contest!” Buggy proclaims. 

“We really don’t have to. No one cares about this except you,” Crocodile says blandly while he opens the folder you gave him. 

“Haha! You’re just saying that because you know deep down that I will win when it comes to Cross Guild!” Buggy eggs Crocodile on. “They love me here!” 

“I really don’t care-” 

“So, to finally gather once and for all who the most popular is-” 

“God damn it.” 

“I’m going to poll the others!” Buggy announces, grabbing a random clipboard from your desk. 

“Isn’t that rather biased?” Mihawk asked. 

“Biased? What are you talking about?” Buggy raises his brow. “You think Imma lie about this?” 

“Yes,” all of you respond. Buggy lets out an offended gasp and frowns. 

“Well then, what do you suggest, smart guy?” Buggy yells at Mihawk. 

“Having only you go around and then return with results will obviously not be the most accurate. We need to send a third party that won’t lie,” Mihawk explains. 

The three men turn to look at you. 

“Why do I have to do it?” You fold your arms. “I have work to do!” 

“I’ll pay you extra for this week in order to have Buggy shut up,” Crocodile states. 

“Do you think I can be swayed so easily with money?” 

“Yes,” the three men respond. You swipe the clipboard from Buggy. 

“Damn right I am,” you state as you pick up your favorite pen from your desk. 

“Now then, since you’re going to be polling, I expect truthful and honest answers,” Mihawk demands. “No one can lie or cheat this.” 

“Before we do this, none of you are allowed to know who voted for who,” you add. “I’m not having you fire or hunt down some poor employee because they voted for Mihawk or something.” “Well that won’t happen,” Buggy comments. “No one is gonna vote for Mihawk to begin with.” 

Now it’s Mihawk’s turn to be offended. “What do you mean by that, Buggy? Do I need to silence you for good?” 

“Eek! All I’m saying is, you hardly ever step out of the office or interact with anyone!” 

Mihawk stays silent then mumbles, “I interact with others…” 

“Oh really? Name one person you’ve interacted with,” Crocodile demands. 

“You can’t do that, either,” Mihawk counters. 

“That’s just because I don’t give a shit about these people’s names. I still talk to them, though,” Crocodile corrects. 

“Fine, (Y/n)!” Mihawk huffs. 

“They don’t count.” 

“Why don’t they?” Mihawk crosses his arms. 

“Because we all see them every day in this office,” Crocodile chides Mihawk. “Name someone.” 

“Okay, I guess I cannot name anyone,” Mihawk relents. “Not that it matters in the slightest, by the way. This is a silly and pointless little game.” 

“See? No one is gonna vote for you!” Buggy laughs. 

“I guess I should kill you now, Buggy,” Mihawk says as he draws Yoru. 

“Gaaaahhh! No! Please don’t!” Buggy cries, latching onto you for safety. 

“Buggy, please let go,” you sigh. The clown does so shakily and you begin to write on the paper in your clipboard. “Okay… Buggy, Crocodile, Mihawk. There we go. I’ll go around and ask, then. See you guys later.” 

“Before you go,” Crocodile begins. You turn to hear him out while he has a big shit-eating grin on his face. “If you’re going to talk to Mr. 3… knock before you enter.” 

Your eyes practically bulge out of their sockets from what this could mean as you nod and exit the office. 

“Why the hell did you say that?” Buggy questions. Crocodile chuckles, taking a puff from his cigar as he shakes his head. 

“Oh, they’ll see soon enough.” 

-

“Favorite head of Cross Guild?” An employee scratches his head. His coworker beside him does the same. 

“Wait, uh, they’re not gonna kill us for answering this, are they?” The other one asks. 

“Crap, you’re right. Is this some way to weed us out or something?” 

You shake your head. “No, no, not at all! This is just a… uh… thing they’re testing for some new merchandise,” you lie. 

“Ah,” the two men nod along. “That makes so much sense.” 

“Buggy,” the first man states. 

“Mmm… yeah, Buggy,” the second adds. “He never harps on us like Sir Crocodile.” 

You thank them for the response and tally it to the votes. 

“I guess Buggy was right,” you mumble to yourself, seeing as he currently had seven votes out of the seven people you asked. “Maybe we could send these results in to those cardmakers and get a cut of the merchandising.” 

Just as you’re about to walk away, Alvida strolls into the room. 

“Oh, Alvida! Good morning,” you smile at her. “Can I have a moment of your time?” “(Y/n), dear,” Alvida runs a hand through her hair. “What do you need from the most beautiful woman of the sea?” 

“Well, the higher-ups wanted to run a poll,” you show her the paper. “Please vote for your favorite head of Cross Guild.” 

She studies the paper for a moment and purses her lips. “Hmm… you know what, I vote for you.” 

“What?” 

“What? Just put a tally for you,” Alvida suggests nonchalantly. 

“But, um, I’m not a head of Cross Guild,” you argue. 

“So? You practically are their fourth one. I’m sure they won’t mind. And if they do, they can take it up with me,” Alvida brushes your concerns aside and takes the pen from you. She writes your name down and adds a tally. 

“Can I ask why you want to add me?” 

“Simple, dear.” Alvida chuckles. “You’re not like those brutes upstairs. You get worked to the bone by them yet still retain your own sense of self. Do you know what that is?” 

“No, I don’t think I know what that is-” 

“Passion!” Alvida throws her arms in the air. “You are passionate, clean, stylish, and most of all, you are quiet! If anyone is worthy of my vote and attention- it is you!” 

“Wow, thank you,” you comment, impressed that Alvida actually gave you a nice compliment. 

“Yes, yes, well, what do you think about becoming my assistant instead of working for them?” Alvida winks. 

“Ah sorry, I’m pretty happy where I am right now,” you quickly shut down. Alvida clicks her tongue. 

“Hm… perhaps you’d prefer to be my partner instead? You would be a good match by my side.” 

“Would you look at the time!” You awkwardly laugh. “Bye, Alvida!” 

“Bye, darling. Don’t worry though, we’ll pick this conversation up another time~,” she waves. You sigh in relief as you walk away that she didn’t mace you immediately. Still, there’s work to be done. 

You walk into the staff lounge and greet the other members there, who cheerfully greet you back. 

“Sorry to bother you guys, but if you could just fill out this poll, that would be great. And don’t worry, no one will know of the results, so please be as honest as you can!” 

The clipboard gets passed along by the staff members, who quickly add a tally mark to the poll. In less than a minute, all twenty people in the lounge have responded. 

“Wow, thank you guys. You guys are quick,” you joke, taking back the clipboard. 

“The choice was obvious,” one of the employees answers, and the others nod. You wonder who they voted for when you look at the paper, only to see your name has now over twenty marks attached to it. Your eyes widen and you politely thank the others as you step out of the room. 

It was one thing when Alvida did as she pleased, but now the others were voting for you in droves. You took a deep breath. Crocodile, Mihawk, and Buggy surely wouldn’t kill you for this, would they? After all, Alvida herself said they could bring it up with her. Yeah, that was okay. This was just a silly joke anyways. 

You continue to collect polls, feeling touched yet also nervous when you found that every employee had checked you off as their favorite. It got so bad that you had to use a second page to collect all the tallies that the employees were adding to your name. 

As the number of employees left to ask dwindled, you remembered to get Daz Bones and Galdino’s polls. You figured the choice would be clear for them- Crocodile. After all, they were very loyal to him and even continued their work relationship into Cross Guild. It would also allow for Crocodile to at least get some vote from his current tally at zero. 

You had scoured for them all around the base, but didn’t find any sign of their presence. Just as you were about to give up, you found Daz Bones peacefully sitting, probably waiting for his next assignment. 

“Daz! Can I-” 

“(Y/n), I have no interest,” he cut you off. 

“It’s for Crocodile,” you add, knowing he wouldn’t participate otherwise. Daz nods and then urges you to step closer. You show him the clipboard and he raises a brow. 

“Crocodile really cares about this sort of thing?” 

“It’s mostly because of Buggy,” you explain, and Daz nods, connecting the dots. He quickly tallies a mark to Crocodile’s name. “Thank you, Daz!” 

“You’re welcome,” he gruffly responds. 

“Oh, and do you know where Galdino is?” 

“Why should I know? Perhaps he’s in his room,” Daz shrugs. You should’ve guessed that but wave goodbye and walk to Galdino’s room. You’re about to knock when you remember Crocodile’s ominous warning echoing in your head again. 

“Knock before you enter…” 

You were going to do that anyways, but the weird way Crocodile said it made you grimace. You nervously rapped your knuckles against Galdino’s door. You heard a huff and a lot of grumbling as Galdino swung open the door. 

“What do you w-,” he angrily yells until he gasps when he sees it’s you. “(Y/n)! Ah! Uh! Please excuse me!” 

You briefly notice a large wax statue on the table before Galdino slams the door on your face. You jump when you hear Galdino freaking out and throwing things around his studio. Something metal is grating against the floor as you hear Galdino struggle to move the obviously heavy object. 

“G-Galdino? Is this a bad time?” You call out. 

“No, no, no! It’s fine! Perfectly fine! Hahaha there’s nothing weird going on here!” Galdino answers from inside his room as something crashes to the floor and Galdino swears. 

It’s silent for a moment until Galdino opens the door, leaning against the frame and trying to give you a charming smile while some wax is now splattered against his pants and shirt. 

“So, (Y/n), what brings you to my studio?” He asks while forcing his voice to sound lower, pushing up his glasses. 

“Ah, the heads wanted to take a little poll. Mind answering?” 

“Anything for- I mean-,” Galdino coughs and lowers his voice again. “Anything for you, (Y/n).” 

He takes the clipboard from you and begins to notice the options, quickly marking a tally next to your name. 

“There you go- wait a minute!” He looks horrified as realization sets in that there’s only one tally next to Crocodile- most likely Daz, he thinks. Crocodile would absolutely know right away that Galdino didn’t choose him, and the thought makes Galdino nearly pass out. “I-I need to change my vote!” 

“Sure,” you give the clipboard back to him and Galdino scribbles over the one he gave you to mark one next to Crocodile. 

“Kh... but we’re supposed to be honest…” Galdino mutters. He glances at you, and seeing you patiently waiting and smiling at him makes his heart tighten. 

Gah! Who am I supposed to choose?! My muse or my boss?!

“Are you alright, Galdino?” You asked, making Galdino struggle to form words. Instead, he scribbled over the mark he put next to Crocodile and re-marked a tally next to your name. 

He hands the clipboard back to you and you smile and wave to him. “Thank you, Galdino!” 

“Y-you’re very welcome!” Galdino shouts, unable to control his voice properly around you. You turn around and head back to the office while Galdino lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

He was most likely going to die after this, but seeing your smile was all worth it. He could die happy, even knowing that Crocodile would probably drain him of life later. 

You, however, didn’t notice the longing look Galdino gave you as you open the door to the office. 

“Well, I got all the votes!” 

“Well, who won?” Buggy immediately jumps forward and steals the clipboard from you. He notices that Crocodile and Mihawk hardly have any, with only Crocodile have a mark. “See I wo…” 

His face darkened as he noticed he had only seven votes. 

“What’s the matter, Buggy?” Crocodile smirked. “Can’t handle the fact you lost?” 

“I… wha…” Buggy grips the clipboard roughly, nearly snapping it in half. “How the hell did (Y/n) get all the votes!?” 

Crocodile and Mihawk are caught off guard. 

“Wait, what? (Y/n) won?” Crocodile repeated. 

“I thought I told you to be fair and not cheat!” Mihawk accused you, his golden hawk eyes glaring into yours. 

“I-it wasn’t my fault! Alvida was the one who put my name on the list!” You try to defend yourself. 

“Give me that-” Crocodile snaps as he swipes the poll from Buggy’s hand. Crocodile grunts as he notices page after page marked with tallies from the employees choosing you. He sees Mihawk has none, but that his name has one mark (Daz, of course), and one crossed off (that bastard, Galdino-). Given Crocodile’s attentiveness, he does recognize that yours and Alvida’s handwriting is different, so your story is credible. He huffs and tosses the clipboard, making Mihawk lean over curiously. 

“Not even one vote…” he murmurs. 

Buggy, meanwhile, is distraught, crying on the floor and banging it repeatedly. 

“It’s not fair! Not fair at all! I hate this! I’m the star!” Buggy wails out loud. 

At first, Crocodile did this as a joke to satiate Buggy, but even his own ego is hurt by this new poll. 

“I take it back, you’re getting docked again,” Crocodile threatens, pointing his cigar at you. 

“What?! But I spent all day getting this with the promise of money!” 

“I changed my mind! I wanted a good poll, not whatever the hell this was!” Crocodile yells back. 

“Recount! Recount this!” Buggy shouts. 

“I refuse to lose this competition. Give me an hour, I will win this,” Mihawk says, pushing himself off his couch as he walks out the door to do who knows what. 

The ensuing commotion causes some of the Cross Guild members to peek through the door and watch Buggy screaming in agony at losing while you’re sobbing at the fact you’re losing money due to this dumb poll. 

Alvida rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. 

“Would you guys cut this noise out? It’s driving me mad!” 

“Alvida! This is all your fault!” Buggy yells at Alvida in tears. “I was supposed to win, not (Y/n)!” 

Alvida frowns at Buggy and twirls her mace in her hands. “Are you questioning my decisions?” 

Buggy gulps as he sees the mace casting a shadow over him. 

“N-no, not at all!” He quickly corrects himself, praying Alvida will not maim him to death. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

[apomaro-mellow]

Eddie accidentally makes a wish that turns his guitar into a human. Poll at the bottom to make it more fun~

A strange night for Eddie was just about to turn stranger. He and the rest of Hellfire had finished a session, but the night had still been young. So they’d whipped out the oujia board, attempted a few summonings and curses. All things that made them feel silly and stupid but at least was in the realm of their interests. 

Then Eddie opened the door to his bedroom and was met with a very attractive, very naked young man.

Even in Eddie's wildest dreams, he never imagined walking into his room and seeing a naked dude. Typically his fantasies included the premise of getting them there.

"Hey, uh, you uh, got a name? Or an ID card?"

“You’re home!”, the ID-less man wrapped his arms around Eddie in a hug he had not been expecting.

Eddie gave him a couple pats on the shoulder. “I am. This is indeed my home. May I ask why are you here and uh, where are your uh-” Eddie cleared his throat and pushed the man away while keeping his eyes only on his face. “Clothes! Where are your clothes?”

The stranger shrugged and Eddie felt like he was losing his mind.

“Okay, you got a name?”

“You usually call me Sweetheart”, the man smiled.

Eddie’s head was swirling. He’d had a couple of one night stands, but he’d never brought a guy back to the trailer. Did he somehow let it slip one night where he lives? Did the guy track him down? It must’ve been a hell of a lay because Eddie can’t remember a thing.

“I’ve...I gotta be honest man, I don’t remember you.”

The heartbroken expression made Eddie want to take it back; pretend he knew this dude and maybe convince him to something more than a romp in the bed because holy shit this guy was gorgeous. Way out of Eddie’s league normally.

“You sing to me all the time”, the stranger said. “And when you put your hands on me...” He started to caress his own torso, seemingly lost in a daydream and Eddie wished he was right there with him. He was so distracted, he almost didn’t hear his phone ring.

“I’ll be right back”, he said, leaving the man alone in his room to answer the house phone. “Yeah?”

“Dude, we’re in deep shit”, Crash’s voice came from the other side. “Remember those wishing stones we played with?”

“Was that before the eight ball fortune telling, or after we cursed the basketball team?”

“Eddie! Those were my mom’s! And she found out we were messing around and if you took one, you gotta bring it back!”

Eddie patted himself and found that he did indeed have one of the wishing stones. A temptingly, smooth and beautiful blue. “Found it. I can bring it back tomorrow. I got kinda uuhhh situation...”

“She’s really pissed. Said the world can’t handle the wishes of the likes of us. Whatever that means.”

Eddie looked to the rock, then to his room, where Stranger was still visible in the doorway, watching him.

“I’ll call you back.” He hung up without waiting for an answer from Crash, then walked over to the new arrival. “I call you Sweetheart?”

He nodded.

“And I sing to you?”

Another nod.

“And I’ve...touched you?”, Eddie was still keeping his eyes neck up.

“Yes. Do you remember me now?”

“Just...remind me where we first met”, Eddie said.

“It was at Mickey’s Guitar Shop, a town over. You saw me and said-”

“Oh baby, she’s the one”, they said in unison.

“I saw you on and off, you’d come in to look at me while you saved up. And then one day you came in and bought me. I still remember our first time”, he sighed.

Eddie could only hold it together so much and began wildly pacing about the trailer. “I made a-this rock-this rock is a wishing rock-stone, whatever, and now-” He stopped and looked at the stranger. No, not a stranger. Sweetheart. His Sweetheart, who he’d been lovingly playing and treated like a princess and the most valuable thing in this place, was standing before him.

“You wished for me?”, Sweetheart beamed.

“Uh, yeah, I guess I did.”

“You already had me, you know.”

Sweetheart gave a smile that could only be called flirtatious and Eddie was just a man. Put him in front of a handsome guy and he could only be strong for so long. Put him in front of a handsome, naked guy, who was quite literally the man of his dreams and Eddie’s knees were weak.

Part 2

[imminentinertia]

Favourite Kiss Game

I was tagged by @elimstillnotgarak 💖

Rules: create a poll with five of your all time favorite onscreen kisses, setting any standard for qualification you choose. Then tag more friends to join in!

It's a pretty men please sort of day so the category is:

Scenes that made me near-scream (and possibly clutch a cushion a bit too hard so some of the filling was shedded) when the pretty guys kissed

Propaganda under the readmore:

The drunken delight kiss: Jaeyoung and Sangwoo in Semantic Error

Thank you for delivering, drunk Sangwoo. Semantic Error is one of my all time favourite shows - cinematography, script, pacing, everything ffs - and they even got kissing right.

The beautifully heated beach kiss involving several fingers: Tongrak and Mahasamut in Love Sea

That was fucking hot. All the kissing scenes in Love sea are fucking hot. You show them how it's done, Fort and Peat (and Mame and the directors of Mame's shows, because stiff sad kissing is one hundred percent the fault of producers and directors, it's a directorial choice).

(This spot in the poll could have been the reunion kiss in Pornographer: Playback, by the way, but do you have any idea how difficult it is to search for a gif with those words? Anyway, same level of screaming)

The threesome that sadly didn't happen: Boeing, Sand and Ray in Only Friends

The poly kissing scene in Deep Night is lovely, but it made me coo, not scream. This made me scream (the word "yes!", to be specific, quickly followed by "no!" when they didn't go through with it). It was glorious while it lasted. Good god what a magnificent bastard Boeing is, Ray is mad as hell and Sand would just like to know what's going on (and possibly fuck kiss Boeing some more).

The only underwater kiss I approve of: Isak Valtersen and Even Bech Nesheim in SKAM

I don't like underwater kisses. I've kissed underwater myself and it was awful, and that was actually in nice proper seawater and not half water, half chlorine like most pools are. However, Isak and Even's kiss is so beautifully filmed that I can't help but love it, and the entire scene with them breaking into the indoor pool and bickering until they push/pull each other into the water, eventually getting caught by a small child, is genius.

The somewhat dubious consent: Gao Shi De and Zhou Shu Yi in We Best Love - Fighting Mr. 2nd

Fuck me UP. Shi De tossing Shu Yi's bag aside and Shu Yi onto the divan. Shi De's hands holding Shu Yi so carefully up and especially roaming Shu Yi's face. This is hands down the best on-screen kiss in the history of on-screen kisses to me, and number 2 on the list doesn't even come close. Sam Lin does an amazing job here - Yu too, by all means, but it's Sam Lin's masterpiece of acting.

Also please note that Sam is lying fully down on Yu. I often get annoyed with scenes where there's half a metre between the actors' torsos when one is supposed to be sort of lying on the other. Get close.

Bonus: the scene ends with a cut to Gao Shi De's underwater scream and that's something that beats all silly chlorinated underwater kisses (except one) to me.

@modestytreehouse, @fille-lioncelle, @yujeong, @nofeartina, @peacestew - if you'd like to do this and haven't already?

[ageless-aislynn]

Click pictures to make bigger 😎

1. Classic pinstripe suit, bald with sunglasses - The look of a dapper businessman who also slaughters evil in his spare time.

2. All black suit, no tie, bald with sunglasses - The Angel of Death has no tie. The Angel of Death NEEDS no tie.

3. White dress shirt with tie, black dress pants and glasses - Could it be... Clark Kent? No, friends, it is just Frank West, photojournalist.

4. Pink dress shirt with tie, white dress pants and hat - There might be a zombie apocalypse but that's no excuse to stop working on your golf swing while looking like a fine gentleman at the same time.

5. Classic little black dress with deep v-neck and white shirt - It's classic for a reason. Also, please note the sensible shoes, suitable for stomping zombies and running for your life.

6. No shirt, dual ammo bandoliers, camo pants, bald with sunglasses - Rambo? Never heard of him. I bet he's a fine fellow, though. Frank probably wouldn't mind having him at his back while they're handling this pesky zombie horde problem.

7. Orange prison jumpsuit - The biggest crime of all is not being able to profess his love for Leah. 💘

8. No shirt, boxers, and police hat - For your next party, call 1-888-HOT-OFFICER-WEST for all of your exotic dancer needs! 😇

9. Yellow suit and hockey mask - No, the giant gun isn't compensating for anything. I'm not sure why you'd even ask that...? 🤔😜 An appropriately chaotic look for a chaotic time.

10. Wrestler trunks - Brand loyalty. Frank has it. Also, cake? Frank has that, too. 😇 I ❤️ one (1) photojournalist who was built to be a brawler. 😍😍😍

Brad looks like he spends a LOT of time questioning Frank's common sense fashion sense, doesn't he? 😂😂😂

Yes, friends, I've decided to tackle one of THE most time-consuming video game achievements out there: Dead Rising's 7 Day Survivor. It requires 14 uninterrupted hours to complete. You cannot save. You cannot quit and come back later to pick up where you left off. Frank's health constantly depletes so you have to scavenge for food (which does NOT respawn) or he can starve to death every 20 minutes. The survivors have turned on you and will kill you on sight. The psychopaths are no longer in their usual spawn locations. The zombies will munch you relentlessly. You die, your run is done. Your power goes off, your PC/console crashes, you fall asleep, you get distracted, you're done.

So why do I want to do it? 🤔

Because it's the only achievement I don't have (technically, there's also 5 Day Survivor in there as well, but if you get 7 Day, you'll have gotten 5 Day along the way). Because I love this game so much. It brings me so much silly joy. Because I want to see if my strategy will work.

Because I want to know that I can.

So! Help me pick from some of my favorite looks for Frank. We want to look strong, ready to kick zombie butt and to survive for a week under very hostile conditions in the Willamette Mall.

I'm currently writing up my strategy, including food locations, survivor and psychopath spawn times, and an optimal path to take through the mall with the best places (aka that have doors you can shut) for Frank to stay safe with his stashes of food. Then I'm going to print it because I'm just That Way™️and want a physical copy to refer to once I start this. I'm not chancing minimizing the game to open a file or to watch a tutorial video. Georgette and I are FOCUSED on success!

Me and Georgette, our hands joined in a solemn pact to keep Frank alive for 14 hours. (O hai, Eobard, wish us luck, hm, buddy? 😉)

14 hours, girl, we can do it! I've got the support of my family, just got to let them know when I start. I can pause the game to eat and things like that but I don't want to leave it paused any longer than necessary. The in-game clock stops at the same time so you're just adding more overall hours by pausing.

Wish me luck, friends! I'm not sure what day I'll be doing this but it'll be soon! 🤞😣🤞

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group K Round 1: #K2 vs #K7

#K2: A show where any universe/plot is possible

The series is based on a manhua where the main characters are drawn as stick figures, so they can be placed in any situation, essentially making different AUs canon while any genre is possible. Some of these stories have overarching plots (they’re sort of like actors), some are more slice-of-life, and some have more hard-hitting moments of angst or occasionally cute, romantic stories between the leads: the mild-mannered Beryl (Green) and the easily-embarrassed Sapphire (Blue).

In this show where each episode is set in a different world, how would they encounter each other time and again?

#K7: A story of children who want to be acknowledged

Painted in red, the word "VON" is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left frantically searching for ways to crack down the perpetrators. The public are clueless—until, six months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify themselves only as "Sphinx" directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all.

Titles, propagandas, trailers, and poll under the cut!

#K2: Beryl and Sapphire (Xiaolü He Xiaolan)

Propaganda:

It’s genuinely just such a cool concept! Getting to see these characters in practically any story/setting while still featuring the (usually same) main characters means you still get attached to the main cast, but you really get a diverse range of plots and ideas.

You may find yourself getting super attached to one (as I did for the Robo-Beryl arc, because I liked the character of Robo-Beryl but I also found Sapphire’s shyness/crushing adorable), and many of even the shortest ones are really interesting.

The OP even features them as actors and the title cards are film clapboards, which is such a cool way to tie in the main set-up!

Plus, because the manhua features them as stick figures, Ocarina (the original creator of Beryl and Sapphire) has way more room to explore deep ideas or just silly jokes; the flexibility of stick figures means we get lots of deep, philosophical writing/dialogue, and the donghua adapts that quite well.

Beryl is fun and Sapphire is super cute, and I love seeing how they interact in different universes/stories (and yes, they are very shippable!). Their default design is technically male, but sometimes they’re female too.

Some of the storylines are also super creative and really really do just punch you in the gut with feels. I don’t think I’ll ever forget some of the more tragic arcs…

Yet at the end of the day, Beryl and Sapphire is a really cute donghua, with a lot of feel-good stories to it! It even finally came back after like 4 years with season 2, which focuses on one of the over-arching arcs (the Demon King Beryl one), and we’re still getting discussions of deeper ideas alongside comedy, and Beryl and Sapphire are as cute as ever!

The new art style is quite pretty and hey, if you’re a fan of the playful, teasing (yet still can be rather emotionally reserved) type and the easily blushy type, Beryl and Sapphire may just be for you! 😉

Trigger Warnings: None.

#K7: Terror in Resonance (Zankyou no Terror)

Propaganda:

The big thing to this show is that the directors are Shinichirō Watanabe and Yoko Kanno, aka the team behind Cowboy Bebop. But in all seriousness, the show still haunts me and the music can still bring tears to my eyes. The art is incredible, and the characters are tragic. The story is partially about hope and largely about kids wanting their pain to be acknowledged.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Suicide

If you’re reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

[thedemisapphic]

I just read the entirety of The Silly Room in 3 days and I have been CHANGED. Honesty one of the best fanfics I have ever read. Just wanted to tell you that your work is amazing ❤️❤️ (and I will be reading the rest of your works once I recover from this one)

I’m so glad!!! :D I spent a long time on it and it makes me really happy to see others enjoying it to! I’ve never worked on a project for so long before, and I think my favorite part was seeing comments and such like yours telling me it is loved. I can see numbers and stats and such, but seeing a genuine comment kind of reminds me that yes, all of those numbers are real people that enjoy something that I created. I get happy stims when I see it :)))

There’s another fanfic I’m working on right now, which is kind of basically TSR? But if Raph was the one to get stuck in the prison dimension, basically doubling his trauma and giving Leo a LOT of guilt trauma. I’m having fun with all the what ifs. One singular change had such a butterfly effect with a lot of different changes! It’s interesting to write and if you liked TSR you’ll like this one too :) it’s definitely different, shorter, but I think it’s still good.

I haven’t announced it on Tumblr yet, but you just gave me a good opportunity to do so! If you liked the fanfic, you’ll probs like this announcement.

The 1 year anniversary of TSR is coming up pretty soon, so I’m writing a bonus chapter that takes place a few years in the future! It’s something I wanted to do around this point anyway, just to show how everyone’s doing after some more deep recovery and healing. The last chapter I have rn is a nice send off, but I’ve always kind of wanted to give Raph a more concrete “everything worked out” type ending. The last ending was more acceptance of his situation, and a celebration of everyone making it this far. Acting as a sort of promise to let go, move on, and never let Krang be the reason they crumble.

This new chapter I want to write is more “we actually did it. Not just a promise, but it happened” and they all deserve that kind of true ending.

That’s all I’ll say for now, but I’m letting folks on Instagram have a chance to impact some smaller details of the chapter, so you can participate. Maybe later today I’ll make some polls on here so the tumblr folks can participate too :)

[lyraeon]

Today's random thought poll:

by satisfying here I'm referring to like, the sensation and/or noise when you yourself experience it first and foremost, though if you have an absolute fave you just consider yours lackluster for or something then ye answer that. just go with your heart.

(and yes, I know, we have all heard all the reasons it may or may not be harmful when done habitually. Please just let us have a silly poll about something fun without turning it into a drama zone about that or chiropractors or anything else. we just like the crackle.)

(also I'm putting trigger warning: condylacousticophobia on here as a courtesy but that seems like a mouthful so if there's a different word let me know?? idk I know people with it so I'm just trying to help blacklists)

[thateclecticbitch]

I have the same feelings for neurospicy/neurosparkly as I have for tone tags: Having to do required reading for a disorder I've had diagnosed for quite a while, for a subset of the community I'm not even in, is rather annoying. Because tone tags are demeaning and make things harder to communicate, and these two new terms still sound like slurs. And with the way the poll is set up, with no explanation to what they mean, the kneejerk reaction will be 'oh, that's the most demeaning thing I've ever seen'.

The subset of the community that wants to use them can do it. But the same group of people expect everyone in the community to not only suddenly be aware of it, but also actively use it. Which is a no on both parts, thank you very kindly.

Hey Anon.

I made the reblog because I was seeing lot of big feelings and I wanted to try to mitigate that because I'm frankly tired of the excessive negative social media feedback loop. I get the kneejerk reaction, I really do. But at the end of the day, when something on the interwebs is triggering the kinds of reaction I'm seeing in the notes of that poll, it's (general you) your responsibility to step back, take a deep breath, and honestly ask yourself if the severity of your reaction is proportional to the severity of the situation. I'm seeing a lot of reactions which are not proportional to the situation, no doubt because social media is designed to make you angry, and stay angry. All. The. Time. It's all Lizard Brain and insidious social media algorithm stuff I don't have spoons to get into, and it's why I quit most social medias.

Segways!

I peronally havent seen "neurospicy" or "neurosparkly" be forced onto anyone. Tone tags, yes, but a silly slang term? No. Thats just my own personal experience though, and I dont know yours or anyone elses. I do agree that this kind of thing is a bit cringe and annoying, and it can be frustrating when its impossible to accomodate every single conflicting need. But who the hell am I, former teen who was cringe and having fun on the interwebs, to judge teens for being cringe and having fun on the interwebs? Or to judge an autistic for a poorly planned post? I think about this a lot when I see people say stuff like "we need to bring back bullying."

[ye4gerismarchives]

the bachelorette: after the final rose

an: the bachelorette is finally over. writing this was…wow. interacting with my followers was so fun😭 i hope to do so again in the future. do enjoy this and take a look at the poll at the end. my requests will be opening up again! feel free to drop something :)

tags: black, fem reader

taglist: @taybird

The day after your wedding, you and Jean found yourselves in Bora Bora. Once you landed, you and Jean settled down for a moment. Your ideal plan was to unpack, get something to eat at the hotel you were in and probably go to sleep. Jean had different plans in mind. As you unpacked your suitcase, he kept massaging your shoulders. His hands moved down your arms and you didn't protest. Y'all, I don't write smut. Give me a few years and I'll write everything that when down.

Despite getting married on television and the whole world knowing, you and Jean never saw yourself as a married couple. It was more like dating to you guys. There were times he's walked out on you because you were too "emotional" and you've walked out on him because he was too "sensitive". But you always found your way back to each other.

During the week of your first "wedding" anniversary, Jean flew you out to Corfu, Greece. The first six days, he recreated your first "honeymoon" night and on the seventh day, he got on one knee again and asked you to be his wife- for real this time. You immediately said yes and threw yourself at him, toppling him over. You both landed on the restaurant floor but that didn't stop you from kissing him.

Wedding planning didn't take as long and it wasn't as hectic as it was the last time. You and Jean had decided to elope. You decided not to tell anyone, except Mikasa, that the wedding was real this time. Everyone you knew had been under the impression that you were spouses.

The day you went to court, Mikasa had been your only witness. You liked the idea of eloping. It was more intimate. No camera, no scripts. Just you and Jean.

Buying what you call a 'mansion' was not on your bingo card. Before you officially made Jean your husband, you had lived in a penthouse that Levi owned. You thought it was perfect- there was enough space for you and Jean. However, it was time to put your big boy pants on.

The outside of your home looks scary. No, it was a pretty house but this was a HUGE mansion. The inside of your home was very homey, however. There were office spaces for you and Jean- which he loved because he was getting back into law again (he had to quit his job because fans and Yeagerists, Eren's "fandom", had found his place of work and harassed him in some sort of way. Jean works with an elite private firm now), a game room, an inside gym, and a sitting room. Your backyard had a pool, a cabana, a garden, and outside guest quarters.

To be perfectly honest, you both found yourself in your offices. You started your own successful wedding planning business and Jean had his cases. Sometimes you felt like a big home was a waste of time. It's not like you had people to live in it for you.

"Jean, we need to talk."

Jean had just come home from work. It was one in the morning. You were standing in front of him in one of your many bathrobes. Jean walks up to you and plants a kiss on your forehead. "What's up, babe? No hi or anything?"

"I'm afraid that you're not taking care of yourself well enough," you start. "What do you mean, baby?" Jean asks mindlessly as he removes his coat. "Oh, would you stop with the baby thing? I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"

Jean looks at you like you hit his mother or something. "I don't think a serious conversation includes you raising your voice at me," he answers. "Excuse me? Your thick head doesn't like to listen to anyone, so we got to yell things into it," you retort. Jean ignores you and makes his way to the kitchen. You're eyes widen- he's never walked away from you before. "Excuse me!” you call after him.

There is no response from Jean, who pulls a white wine from the fridge. "You're not drinking that. Not until you hear me out," you try again. "Well, you could have told me instead of chewing me out about calling you 'baby', y/n," Jean responds. He turns away from you again and starts looking through the cabinets for a wine glass. You take this as an opportunity to take the wine off the island counter and pour it out. Jean's head snaps back once he hears liquids going down the drain. "What the hell is your problem? I can't drink now?!" he snaps.

"I'm worried about you, idiot. You come home late, I never hear you eating, you don't take your double showers and you're always exhausted. You don't think your job is hurting you? I don't even see you anymore. Your job is hurting us!" you cry.

Jean shakes his head and mutters some nonsense under his breath before placing the wine glass he picked on the island counter. He shakes his head as he leaves.

"Are you gonna be like this when the baby is here?" You call out.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you going to be working long hours and act like a jerk when I'm farther along? What about when the baby gets here? At this point, the baby doesn't even have a father."

Jean walks over to you with confusion in his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm pregnant, Jean," you say with a small chuckle. I've wanted to tell you this whole time but you've been busy and I just got fed up tonight because I miss you."

Jean doesn't say a word. Instead, he undoes your robe and places a hand on your stomach. "We're having a baby? Are you serious? Us? How..."

You could only smile wider. Seeing Jean in awe about your very small bump was an entertaining sight.

"I'll...I'll talk to my b-boss. In fact, I-I'll q-quit my job...yeah! I'll q-quit!" he finally lets out.

"Oh no, don't do that. Just get your hours fixed and if they don't allow that, we'll find a different place, yeah?"

"S-sure," Jean stutters. "Are you hungry? Would you like me to order something? Do you want socks? What do you want?"

"I think I want you to take a bath and for you to sleep, mister," you answer. Jean still in a trance, obeys.

"I can't believe we had two. I was under the impression there was only one."

"At least they'll keep the big room you painted busy."

Jean had one of your newborns sprawled on his bare chest. You cradled the other one in your arms. A little boy and girl. Your daughter, Maia, already had Jean wrapped around her finger. Your son, Marquis, was a little independent, despite being a few days old.

"I can't believe we made them," Jean says. After your emergency C-section, Jean was back into that trance he was in when you first told him you were pregnant. "We should have one more. We have pretty babies."

"Shut up, Jean."

You never thought you'd allow a camera in your sight again. Obviously, there was the paparazzi that hounded you and your children down on the regular. But a camera allowed by you in your home? Never. Until today.

It's been seven years since you met the love of your life. You're thirty now and Jean is thirty-two. The two little menaces in your home are three. Maia and Marquis were just like their father- silly and full of life unless otherwise. But at least they look like you (except the pieces of ash brown in their hair that they picked up from Jean). You were pregnant with another. You hoped that your child would bring you peace but even if they were as colorful as your two, it wouldn't matter to you.

You sat in the family room with Jean and your twins as the camera team prepared their cameras and other equipment. Jean was trying his best to keep your children in one place, as you adjust your hair.

"Ms. y/n, are you ready?" Your interviewer asks. You nod and Jean gives you a nervous look. "Hey, kids...why don't you go into the sitting room. We'll come get you later, yeah?" you say softly. Your twins start to whine but they also start their walk to the sitting room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kirstein, I'll count you off now," your cameraman says. You both nod, waiting for the interviewer to start asking you questions.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kirstein, I'll count you off now," your cameraman says. You both nod, waiting for the interviewer to start asking you questions.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kirstein, it's such an honor to meet you both. Seven years together...amazing. You've been together for almost a decade now," your interviewer starts.

"It's been interesting but it's been nice getting to know my girlfriend of seven years now," Jean says jokingly. "Oh stop it," you reply teasingly.

"How have you changed since the Bachelorette?"

You take a deep breath and Jean looks down awkwardly. "Well, we've been cautious. Obviously, with our privacy but also with the people we allow in our circle," you answer. "We've been in contact with a few contestants and it's been on and off. We've learned that trust is key...not only in marriage but who we bring into it," Jean says.

"If you don't mind me asking, who is in your life right now? Have you been in contact with your father? What about Levi?"

Jean clinches his fist and you take it in your hand, letting him know you were still here with him. "Well, Bertholdt and Reiner are still one of our biggest friends," you answer. Reiner and Bertholdt had a baby recently, a little girl named Gabi, but you decided not to announce that to protect their privacy. "Mikasa and I are still friends and we're still trying to get used to Eren being in her-our lives." Mikasa and Eren met up again and Mikasa was still head over heels for him. You were uncomfortable (because of his silence when his fans harassed your husband) at first but he was good to her. "The twins absolutely adore Levi and Erwin. They're their grandpas," you finish. You still hadn't answered the question about Jean's father.

"And your father? Mr. Kirstein?"

"My father is not in my life. Please stop asking."

The interviewer purses their lips, now feeling embarrassed. “I apologize, Mr. Kirstein. I’ll ask the next question: what are some obstacles you’ve faced in your relationship?”

“Well, we thought we had communication down. But we didn’t…at least not completely. But we managed,” you say.

“I think our children are proof of it,” Jean suddenly includes.

You glare at him and slap his hand, non verbally telling him to shut up. He only gives you a cheeky smile.

The rest of the questions were about hardships, what turned you both on, and your hopes for the future.

When the interviewer finally announced that the last question was coming up, you couldn’t have been happier.

“What are three things you appreciate about each other?”

You look at Jean and then back at the interviewer. “Er-well…I-“

“I appreciate how serious you get,” Jean interrupts, “ how kind you are and how dedicated you are- especially to your children and your career. I wouldn’t want anyone else but you.”

“Jean-“ your voice cracked. It always seemed like you had power over your husband and he was just your dog but he still knew how to overpower you with his words. “I don’t know what to say…you’re so dedicated to our family. Watching you play with our kids, feed them, and put them to sleep- you just prove that you're the perfect man for this job. I see how you treat your mom and I don’t worry about our children and me being mistreated. And you’re so strong. You lost the person who should have been there for you and your mom but you still worked hard and you found some peace. I love you, Jean Kirstein.

Jean takes your hand and kisses it. “I love you too, y/n l/n.”

The End.

once again, thank you for reading the bachelorette! do me a favor and rate this series! it would be very much appreciated :) see y’all soon

[tsukikento]

Empathetic Ch. 7

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

Summary: After your mom, the number 1 hero in America, gets offered a teaching position at U.A., you two pack up your things and head to Musutafu, Japan to start a new life. Pressure for you in America was at an all-time high, and now you're in Japan, where almost no one knows you, or your family's past.

This tale starts on your first day of class where your new teacher decides the best way for you to fit in is to fight against the strongest person in your class: Bakugou Katsuki.

Warnings/Genre: This piece will feature some angst and reference to an abusive parent, if you are ever worried about other tw’s feel free to send me an ask and I will let you know. There will also be fluff, slight angst, pining, and slowburn.

A/N: This is also posted on ao3 under @allie_win. I’m transferring it over here, pls let me know if you like it! I love your comments! Just a note that any italics means thoughts.

(series masterlist)

~~

The next day everything started off fairly smoothly which was a great change to the chaotic afternoon yesterday. You started the day off waking up at sunrise and going on your typical run before going to shower and getting ready for the day. It was relieving that you were able to spend this time with yourself, only crossing paths with a few of your classmates.

That day, you happened to walk with Iida to class because you left early and he caught up to you due to his speed.

The polite boy stopped to walk with you and complimented you on your performance yesterday, making a comment about how he wished to see you in action and possibly even battle against you. At that, you sheepishly laughed and told him you specifically stayed away from him because of his advantage over you.

When you arrived at the classroom, Iida excused himself and began working on some classwork while you found yourself doodling on a sticky note. The drawing was similar to the one you were sketching last night, except instead of Nyikang in the gorgeous costume, it was you.

Ever since last night, you’ve been thinking about your actual hero costume in comparison to Nyikang’s. Throughout this process, you continuously tried to justify changing your hero costume. Additionally, it made you debate the healthiness of being afraid to change your costume and disappoint your family.

Once again, you bit your lip, your habit getting worse over these last few days, and continued to work on the sketch. It was nowhere near perfect, but that just encouraged you to keep working.

When class started, you crumpled up the sticky note you had been drawing on and started focusing on the discussion about yesterday’s game.

As the average day continued to drag on, a few other teachers came into the classroom to teach their respective subjects.

All of them mentioned yesterday.

All of them congratulated your team.

All of them made eye contact with you as if silently calling you out.

Now, Aizawa was standing in front of the class, telling you all to go to lunch.

By this time, you were quite hungry, and so, you walked up to Ashido’s desk as a few people got up and began exiting. “Hurry up! Let’s get Hagakure and go, I’m so hungry!” You complained, rubbing your stomach to emphasize your want or delicious food.

“Actually,” Mina smiled widely and sneakily pointed to Hagakure walking with Ojirou out of the classroom. “They made a lunch date yesterday during the game.” She whispered to you, so no one else could hear.

“So it’s just us?” You asked as Ashido grabbed her phone out of her bag and stood up.

“Actually,” Ashido started, once again grinning. Before she could finish her statement, Kirishima came up from behind and wrapped his arm around the pink girl’s shoulders.

“She’s eating with us,” Kirishima finished, gesturing with his thumb to Kaminari, Sero, and Bakugou. “You are welcome to join though.”

In all honesty, although you were tired from the previous day, you would love to sit with them. They were all so kind and humorous and made you feel so accepted. It would be the best way to relax.

Well, that would be true if Bakugou wasn’t included in that group.

Not that Bakugou was annoying you or making you miserable. He was just unpredictable and made your heart pound in your chest. You wanted a day with no stress, and Bakugou was a source of stress for you without him even knowing it.

“Sure,” You replied, knowing it would be rude to say no.

It’s only 45 minutes. What could go wrong?

~~

Not even 10 minutes later, you were a blushing mess.

After sitting down with your plate of scrumptious food, Kaminari and Sero began bombarding you question after question.

“Is it true that American quirks are weaker than Japanese ones?” Kaminari asked, before you had a chance to start eating.

“No, that’s a dumb rumor.” You rolled your eyes and looked at your blond friend, “Duh.” You grabbed a french fry and popped it into your mouth in an attempt to soothe your grumbling stomach.

Before you even swallowed that bit of food, Sero inquired, “Do you think your mom could beat Endeavor in a fight?”

You took a moment to think over the question before replying, “Yes, his quirk is at a disadvantage against her’s.” You grabbed another french fry and eyed the tempting sandwich that was next to your fries.

“Why do Americans eat so much?” Kaminari asked.

You looked up to look Kaminari in the eyes. Was that a personal comment? His eyes seemed innocent and unaware. Nah, there’s no way. “Capitalism? I don’t know,” You replied before taking a swig of your water. At this point, you were already over these questions and your empty stomach was not helping to calm your annoyance.

“What’s ka-pi-tah-whatever?” Kirishima added.

You hadn’t realized you said ‘capitalism’ in English. Your face went red in embarrassment and you completely forgot about your stomach, “I don't know the word in Japanese, sorry!”

Everyone chuckled in response, making your face turn just a bit pinker.

However, that wasn’t even your ‘blushing mess’ moment.

“Speaking of America,” Ashido began after the laughter died down, “you said you saw us in the sports festival. Is Japanese heroism popular there?”

“Um, a little bit,” You replied, biting your lip in thought. “Some people are really into it, and others just watch it to see the cool tricks. The U.A. sports festival happens at basically the opposite time of year in comparison to American hero competitions. So, a lot of people like to watch because they miss the hero competition.”

“If you watch us, then are there favorites? Like, I saw an article in the magazine that was about up-and-coming student heroes and was basically a rank for some really popular students,” Kaminari said.

You had just taken a bite of your sandwich and were trying to swallow quickly, but before you could reply, Sero shoved his friend teasingly.

“That’s a Japanese magazine, idiot! Why would Americans rank Japanese students?”

“I was just asking!” Kaminari defended.

“Well, it was a dumb question!” Sero replied.

“You’re a dumb question!”

“Shut up, dumba--”

“We do rank some hero students,” You interrupted Sero before anything more idiotic cold happen.

“Really?” Sero and Kaminari both replied, the brunette looking surprised and the blond looking excited at the prospect.

“Uh, yeah…” You replied, wondering if telling them that was worse than just keeping silent and letting them bicker.

“Are we ranked?” Kaminari asked.

You bit your lip and debated how to respond. “Kind of?” Everyone looked to you and waited for your explanation. You attempted to swallow the lump in your throat before talking, “There are different categories for the rankings, but they are childish. Like, they would be titled: ‘Top Ten Cutest Japanese Hero Students’. It’s all done by teen magazines so they aren’t realistic for how heroes are actually ranked.”

“Well?” Sero replied.

“Well, what?” You asked.

“They want to know if they are ranked in the top 10,” Ashido whispered to you.

“Oh, no, they aren’t,” you said.

Ashido laughed loudly as Kaminari and Sero expressed their sadness by fake crying loudly in the middle of the cafeteria.

Bakugou kicked them under the chair and they promptly shut up.

In all honesty, you weren’t keen on talking about this pole. Your friend from school had forced you to vote and you chose Bakugou on a whim. Additionally, you had trouble keeping your mouth shut when you were nervous. You took in a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare yourself for your habit of blabbering on.

“Don’t feel bad, first years never make it,” You comforted them as they quietly weep on each other.

“Really?” They both asked in unison again.

“Well, yeah,” You paused for a moment, debating whether or not to say this next part, “Except Todoroki. He got 1st place last year.” This fact could either be your blabbering habit or just the perfect thing to say to keep the conversation interesting.

Everyone, including Bakugou, shot up at that.

“What?!”

You scratched the back of your head sheepishly as the five people in front of you stared as if silently asking you to explain yourself.

Maybe I should have kept that to myself, you thought as your classmates continued to stare.

“It’s not like it matters, the poll is silly and not even accurate, the guys that won weren’t even who I--nevermind.” You quickly ate a few more fries to stop yourself from talking as the people around you contemplated the information they were given.

That was a close one…

“Todoroki always wins with girls, it's not fair,” Kaminari sighed.

“Well, can you blame him? Todoroki is cute,” Ashido replied.

Kirishima, now with red cheeks that matched his hair, interjected in the conversation, “You think he’s cute?”

“Um,” Ashido mumbled as she looked towards the ceiling; her face somehow got even pinker, “Conventionally he is cute.”

“I think you guys are forgetting something,” Bakugou grumbled, grabbing everyone’s attention. He had his eyes closed and his feet propped up onto the table, similar to how he acted during class.

“What?” Kaminari inquired.

Bakugou pushed himself up and opened his eyes to look straight at you. He had a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes that you didn’t quite understand. Your heart beat faster as you wondered if he realized your mistake. “She said it's not accurate. That implies that--”

“Y/L/N-kun likes someone!” Ashido interrupted.

Shit.

Your face became much redder than before and the heat from your embarrassment radiated in the room. Suddenly, your armpits were sweaty and you genuinely debated running out of the room.

It’s not like you had a crush at this point, but Bakugou definitely made you queasy in a way that resembles a crush.

Everyone stared at you with curious faces, as if you would blurt out who it was you liked, but there was no way that would happen.

“That’s ridiculous!” You replied. You bit your lip before speaking carefully, “I just said it wasn’t accurate because it's little girls voting and is nowhere near a well thought out ranking.”

“Did you vote?” Kirishima asked.

Just fucking stop talking you idiot, you begged yourself. Don’t make yourself look like even more of an idiot.

“Um, my friend made me,” You mumbled as you looked down at your food, avoiding the eyes of your friends.

Kaminari grinned and got closer to you. “Who did you vote for?”

You chuckled bashfully and looked quickly over to Bakugou, who was the person you had voted for. He was once again lazily sitting with his feet up on the cafeteria table. His arms were crossed and his eyes were like slits as he stared at you.

You looked away from Bakugou as abruptly as you had looked at him, flustering even more.

Does he care about whether or not I like someone?

You bit your lip and looked down at your food once again. You debated whether or not you should take out your earbuds. First, you would have to figure out how to take them out without anyone noticing. Next, you would be immediately flooded with the thoughts of the whole cafeteria. It would take a moment to hone in on Bakugou and you weren’t sure how strong your quirk was after yesterday.

It wasn’t worth it, especially because the answer might be bad.

You bit your bottom lip and encouraged yourself to finally respond, “That’s none of your business.”

“What?” Kaminari exclaimed. “Can’t you just tell us if it was one of us?”

There is no way that is happening. “It wasn’t,” You lied through your teeth.

“You know what?” Sero interjected, “I bet she voted for Todoroki.”

“Oh yeah!” Kaminari replied. “That’s why she won’t tell us! She doesn’t wanna seem like an idiot because she called the poll dumb.”

Although they were ultimately just teasing you, their words irked you slightly because of the sentiment. You knew that they really hoped it was one of them, that was clear. As up-and-coming young heroes, the job is often more important than your social life, and that definitely impacts your love life too. You tend to only hang out with other heroes because that is just who you are around.

Regardless of the teasing and disappointed looks that Sero and Kaminari shared, this reality was much better than the one where Bakugou learned that you actually voted for him. And so, you kept quiet as Mina jumped to your defense, claiming that it makes sense I would vote for Shouto considering how cool and handsome he was at the festival. That then led Kirishima to say that he was also equally cool and more manly than Todoroki at the sports festival.

All the while, you finally stuffed your face with your lunch, completely unaware of the red eyes glaring at you.

~~

After lunch, the conversation about America and hero rankings died down, everyone now focusing on Ectoplasm and his lecture on calculating high-value exponents without a calculator.

From there, Present Mic came in to lecture on English. He passed out a new vocabulary sheet, which didn’t really mean anything to you because of your fluency in English. Although this period of the class ran fairly smoothly, Present Mic did occasionally start a conversation with you in English to show off his skills.

By the end of class, you finished the English homework assignment within only a few minutes and Present Mic left with a more than awkward joke.

Quickly, you packed up your things and met Ashido and Hagakure to walk back to class. During this time, the three of you chatted about Hagakure’s lunch date.

“I swear he likes you, you should just confess already,” Ashido whispered so no one else could overhear.

“Shut up!” Hagakure playfully pushed her friend away which barely moved Mina.

The three of you continued to chat away, you not talking nearly as much as the other two. However, the walk home was still fun. When you got home, you all placed your jackets on your respective coat racks and took off your shoes. Hagakure and Ashido went to grab a snack while you excused yourself with the excuse of needing to do homework.

Honestly, you were ahead on your homework and could definitely spend some time relaxing with the girls. However, all day, you had been thinking about your hero costume and craved drawing up a design for a new costume. Furthermore, the stress of lunch made you want to destress by fantasizing about the perfect hero costume.

Relieved, you entered your room, took off your school uniform, and changed into your hero uniform. You then spent the next few minutes analyzing and critiquing everything you hated about it. On a piece of paper, you jotted down all your ideas to change the hero costume.

After what seemed like half an hour, you sat down at your desk and began sketching out a similar sketch to the one you made in class. The costume featured loose pants that tightened at your shins only to be wrapped in armor. Your top had armor wrapped around your waist as well but left your chest loose to help with mobility. Additionally, on top of your shoulder were two curved spikes, mainly just for fashion.

It seemed like so long ago since you started drawing this costume. You had gone through multiple papers, with two of them being filled completely with notes on what you wanted to be featured in this new costume.

You bit your lips in concentration, finding all the flaws you could in your less than pretty drawing. You were not the best artist and it didn’t help that you were struggling to contemplate all the changes you wanted.

Maybe I’m going to need more help with this costume than I think.

Defeated, you opened your computer and searched for local costume designers. You found a few options and were getting more into your research on the person you would most likely be paying hundreds of dollars to before you heard a small gurgling sound.

It was your stomach.

You looked at the clock on your computer and saw that it was half-past eight.

“Holy shit,” You whispered in shock as you thought back to the literal hours you spent on fixing your costume. You had barely achieved anything on top of that. Nevertheless, you closed your laptop and changed into a different outfit before making your way downstairs to hopefully find some food.

As you came downstairs and walked into the kitchen, you noted that Kirishima, Mina, and Bakugou were all sitting in the living room. Kirishima and Mina were both watching a movie on someone’s laptop while Bakugou more or less just stared at his phone the whole time.

It looked like they were on a date and dragged Bakugou along because they didn’t want to admit it was a date. As you walked past them and stared at the scene, you paid no attention to what was in front of you and ended up walking right into the dining table.

“Fuck!” You groaned as you grabbed your side to try and soothe the aching pain.

The sounds of the movie stopped and you looked up to see all three people looking at you.

“Are you okay?” Mina asked as she stood up. “Let me grab you an ice pack.”

“Nah, I’m good,” You responded. “I just wasn’t paying attention.” You chuckled to try and lighten the mood.

Tentatively, Ashido sat back down in her seat. “Where have you been all day, anyway?” She asked after it seemed like you recovered enough.

“Oh, I just got distracted upstairs. I didn’t realize how late it was, so I was gonna grab some food,” You replied.

“There’s no dinner left,” Kirishima sheepishly explained as you made your way to the kitchen.

“And we are kind of low on food,” Mina added while you looked through the fridge and cabinets.

You hummed in response and rummaged through every cabinet. After taking a look around, you realized all the food you all had would result in you having to cook. You bit your lip, fully aware that you were too lazy to cook anything.

Maybe I should go get some food. There is a convenient store right next to the campus.

You walked to the coat rack and grabbed your coat off the hanger. “I’m gonna go to the convenience store to get some food, just some instant noodles or something,” You explained to the three other people downstairs.

“What?” Mina interrupted as you opened the door. “This late? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

You bent down to slip on your shoes before standing up again. You shrugged to the two people actually paying attention to you. “I’m hungry and don’t wanna cook.”

“Bakugou can cook!” Mina exclaimed while putting her hand on his shoulder

“Shut up,” He grumbled while shrugging her hand off him. “I don’t want to cook.”

“Well, hey!” Kirishima exclaimed as he jumped over the back of the couch to meet up with you. “I can’t let a young lady walk around at night without a manly guy to protect her.” He grinned at you and slid on his coat and shoes.

Honestly, it felt great that someone would be coming with you because you would be walking around an area you weren’t quite familiar with yet.

Suddenly, Bakugou stood up and made his way to you.

“You coming, bro?” Kirishima asked. “Damn, must be j--”

“Shut up,” Bakugou barked, “If you’re going then so am I.”  Silently, Bakugou put on his sweater and shoes while Kirishima chuckled and patted his friend on the back.

“Wait!” Ashido exclaimed. “I don’t wanna be left out,” She said as she walked around the couch to meet you at the door. “We don’t have any movie snacks anyways.” She quickly slipped on her shoes and cheetah print coat. She grinned happily at Kirishima who matched her cheery face with his own.

Even though you were now a group of four, Bakugou did not bring you much comfort and seeing the lovey-dovey Ashido and Kirishima blushing at each other made you feel like a third wheel.

“Let’s hurry. I’m tired,” Bakugou groaned as he put his phone away and opened the door.

“Of course you’re tired, you are usually in bed by now,” Kirishima laughed as you followed behind Bakugou.

Mina exited after you. “Bakugou,” She began, “I don’t know how you fall asleep so early and then also wake up so late, almost at noon.”

That brief conversation sparked an interest in you. Not only had you seen Bakugou up late just a couple days ago, but he also thought about how precious that alone time was for him. If not only for a moment, Bakugou looked towards you before looking forward again.

If you weren’t looking at him, you would not have noticed. However, you were lucky enough to be looking at him and smart enough to know that he was also thinking about that night.

“That’s none of your business,” Bakugou finally replied, his voice eerily quiet yet agitated, as Kirishima closed the door.

Kirishima just laughed as a result and Ashido shrugged at you. You shrugged back, nonetheless curious about Bakugou’s sleep schedule.

Silently, you followed the other four throughout campus. As you walked, a pattern formed where Kirishima and Ashido were walking upfront with you and Bakugou trailing behind. The silence between you and Bakugou was rather awkward and you spent most of your time observing the couple in front of you.

You knew they weren’t dating, but a stranger may just think they were in a relationship. The only thing that someone would notice that could make an argument for them not being a couple was the nervousness, blushing, and lack of PDA. Nonetheless, they still had their hands all over each other and were flirting nonstop.

“It’s gross isn’t it?”

You looked to your left at the sound of Bakugou speaking to you. “Uhh,” You looked away from the fierce red eyes to look at the couple again. Ashido had just teasingly shoved Kirishima while laughing incredibly loud at one of his jokes. “I guess so. I don’t really mind.”

Bakugou scoffed. “You probably don’t mind because you just met them.”

You gave Bakugou a puzzled face, silently asking him to elaborate.

“They’ve known each other since middle school and have been acting like this since the end of our first year,” Bakugou responded. Although you didn’t purposefully try to analyze Bakugou’s voice, you noted his rough, coarse, and tired voice.

I bet he has no clue how attractive he is. Big muscles, deep voice, and messy hair that falls in front of his tired, piercing, red eyes.

You bit your lip and forced yourself to focus back on the conversation. “Ah,” You replied. “It’s just like that sometimes, “You shrugged your shoulders as you spoke, “Hagakure and Ojiro are the same way.”

The conversation died for a moment as you finally made your way off campus and started the trek to the store nearby.

“Who?!” Bakugou finally barked as if he actually took the time to try and remember who they were.

You rolled your eyes and laughed, remembering when Kirishima had to call everyone by a certain nickname. “I think you know them by the invisible girl and tail guy.”

“Ugh, those two?” Bakugou groaned. “They’ve been like that since day one. So bland and boring.”

“Bland and boring?” You repeated, scoffing at the wording. “What does that even mean?”

“They should just date if they want to, it doesn’t matter,” Bakugou groaned.

“Why doesn’t it matter?” You questioned him.

Bakugou looked at you before looking back ahead. After a moment, he mumbled, “Nevermind.”

Apparently, that was his cue to end the conversation, and you decided not to try and push your luck at the moment.

However, that gave yourself some time back to your own thoughts, specifically your thoughts regarding your hero costume. You had made a mental list of all the costume designers you found and liked. The list included their names, average pricing, and specialties. If you were to hire someone to help you with your costume design, you were most definitely going to be thorough in picking someone you could work well with.

Soon enough, your group arrived at the convenience store and brought you out of your deep thoughts. You quickly made your way inside to grab snacks and food. You looked through the large selection of meals and instant noodles, not quite sure what to pick. Asian convenience stores were much more diverse and impressive compared to American stores. Because of this, you didn’t quite know what to pick. Comparatively, Ashido and Kirishima flew through the isles, grabbing a plethora of foods without even having to cautiously look at the label.

This was one of the few times you felt silly. You did not speak perfect Japanese, and you had to meticulously read everything on the box to make sure you knew what you were eating. You felt bad that you might hold up the group and you were tempted to just grab something and suffer the possible consequences.

“Here.”

You looked up to see Bakugou handing you a large package of noodles. You curiously took the box and started reading it.

“Don’t bother. It has more veggies than other ramen and is the right amount of spice for food this late,” Bakugou mumbled as he grabbed himself a box too. However, his box had more red on it and you assumed it was spicier.

“Thanks,” You quietly replied. It was nice of Bakugou to grab food for you, preemptively knowing exactly what you were looking for. You brushed the thought away, telling yourself it was more likely that he was doing this because he wanted to be home as soon as possible.

Bakugou nonchalantly hummed in response before looking around the store, his head peeking just over the shelves. “We need some other stuff too.”

Or maybe not. Maybe Bakugou was once again making you a meal, ensuring that you were eating well.

No, don’t read too much into this. Bakugou isn’t a relationship person and you aren’t in the best place to be in a relationship.

Silently, you followed Bakugou around the store as he grabbed a package of strawberries, which he practically threw at you, and some pre-baked tofu. He also grabbed a small package of seaweed and two drinks.

You continued to follow Bakugou around the store and up to the counter. He dropped everything on the counter and you also placed your package of noodles and strawberries on the counter. The older lady working at the counter smiled politely as she scanned everything placed on the counter.

Although you were rather clueless about why Bakugou was being kind and once again making sure you ate well, you were able to recover once you saw Bakugou grab out his wallet.

“No, no, no,” You interrupted and pulled out your own wallet, and the cash you had.

Bakugou looked at you as if you were crazy and you used that moment to push enough money forward to pay for the meal.

The cashier chuckled sweetly and accepted your cash. Bakugou groaned and leaned back on his foot, upset that you were paying.

It’s for the best, you thought as the cashier leaned forward to place the change in your hand.

“You two are such a cute couple,” She whispered to only you as she placed your change into your hand.

Just as quickly as she spoke, she pushed herself back to being upright and began bagging the food.

While completely red, you looked to Bakugou to see if he heard her comment. “What?” He groaned as he glared at you.

“Nothing,” You mumbled back and looked down to place the money back into your wallet.

Bakugou grabbed the bag of food from the woman and you bowed to say thank you, before following behind Bakugou to exit the building.

Outside, Kirishima and Ashido waited for you two with a bag of their own snacks and smiles on their faces.

“Y/L/N-kun,” Ashido yelled as she ran up to you, pulling you out of your trance. Ashido grabbed your arm and whispered to you, “Come walk with me!”

[funkymbtifiction]

It’s me again and … well as a 6, do you have any advice to be less fearful and be independent?

I just realized it a while ago (well, it’s 3 days actually) that I messed up many potential friendships because of fears. But I’ve been covering it up until now.

3 days ago I had another row with my group. I’ve seen it that I’ve been latching myself onto everyone in the group like a very stubborn grime on a window. While I don’t realize it right there, when I get back home it suddenly dawned on me that actually I’m very, very fearful.

I latch onto people all the time and it doesn’t help that I can’t keep my feelings and thought to myself. It means I constantly bringing negativity to people I latched on. They said that if they could manage their own problem without telling anyone why you can’t? I realize that the reason why I latch onto people is fear. I fear if I let go I’d have to be alone in the world. I fear if I don’t talk to them I’ll be carted out. But I also fear that if I get too close I’ll be manipulated (though unknowingly I emotionally manipulated people so naturally as my ESTP mate and my family point out) and that if … if I ever admit I have been fearing it all I’ll be nothing and I’ll have to face it all. It pains me so much to admit that I fear so many things.

Right now, I have been away from them but soon I need to go back, since we study in the same department. The thing is I can’t tell at all, objectively, that they’ll be able to accept me at all. And worse, if they’ll not parade me as a practical joke. My instinct tells me that they’ll not do any of it but I just can’t get rid of the ‘why would they want someone so inferior and childish that he can’t even manage his own problem’ it’s even worse because in one project I’m their leader. It feels as if I’m not qualified to do any of it.

I know I need to acknowledge my fear and face it. But it also means that it might be the end of our relationship. I fear it, but I know that I need to. I feel like we are not going to walk the same path and sooner or later we’ll need to go separate way. I don’t even know at all now why I need to do it. For goals? For people? For this group? I’m getting dizzy just by thinking about it. I want to be a better person but I don’t want to conform to those people. It feels as if I can’t get out of my own head, I can’t stop thinking in circle. Between getting better and that I doubt they’d see as an equal at all.

I know it sounds silly but what should I do? I’m at a lost.

The first step is in wanting to change, and the second is learning to recognize the lies you tell yourself about not being able to do things on your own. From there, you move toward slight independence—which is to say, doing things for and by yourself and resisting the urge to ask for help. Because you don’t need it. The truth is, you are 100% capable of surviving without your friends, whether you believe it or not. You possess the inner resources to live life, to make your own decisions, and to do things on your own, without needing support. Your fear is lying to you and telling you that you cannot do this. Recognize it as a lie, and slowly put yourself out there a little more. Make a decision without polling people or asking what they think, and when you start to second-guess it, tell yourself no, I decided, and stand by it.

Secondly, recognize your tendency to absorb comments people have made about you and over-dramatize them and make you into an awful person. I suspect this is an interplay between 6 and 9, because 6 is always afraid their friends are mad at them, and 9 absorbs whatever others say about it, creating an uneasy anxiety about what an unlikable person you are. It’s true that yes, a young 6 constantly clinging to people (think Peter Pettigrew) can be annoying to other types – BUT… your life is far from over, if you return to school determined to make your way and not cling, you can still salvage your friendships if they are good ones. If they are not good ones, find new friends.

If you force yourself out of your comfort zone, and start replacing the lies with confidence-boosting talk (instead of “I can’t do this,” it’s “I can do this; I’m smart and competent and can make this decision on my own”), you will start to see small progress that over time, can help you grow as a 6. But it’s also important to learn how the 6s avoid facing their fears, one of which is projection – self-doubt leading you to make that a threat coming from somebody else. In other words, “I’m afraid I’m a burden to people” has become “They all think that I’m an annoying pain.” Is that what they said, or are you assigning that hostility to them? That’s what 6s must watch out for – assigning their own anxious conclusions to other people and then reacting to them as if it’s true (sometimes causing people to get annoyed in the process, because no, that’s not what I think of you).

I’m not speaking from a higher plane here. I go through this a lot, especially when I reflect on my younger years and my eagerness to be liked. I too have a social 6ish desire to complain about my problems – I will talk about someone to my parents or a close friend rather than to them, to avoid conflict. But this last few months, I have “lost” friends. What I have learned is… I did not need them. One of them, I used to consult heavily when determining Enneagram types. Having them not be around anymore has forced me to sit in a place of comfort with myself and learn to trust my own conclusions, whether they are right or wrong. And so far, they have often been “right” or at least, allowed me to settle into a place of certainty in my mind that is good enough. Distancing myself from influences has allowed me to see that I could often be led astray by other people’s arguments and advice. It’s given me the time to do inner work, to move through things at my own pace, and to be less distracted and return to that center sense of “self.” Right now, I’m doing this with small things (such as this blog, and simply learning to do what I want, type what I want, and not check with trusted people to see if they agree with my conclusions) but I will learn to shift into doing it with bigger ones.

I know that it can be scary not to have friends. I went through long periods in my childhood where, because I lived so rurally, I had no friends. But friends are not always kind to you, they are not always good influences, and sometimes you need to be alone for a little while to find a sense of yourself, and learn that you can do these things on your own. If you decide that your friends are toxic and drift away from them, you should do so knowing that you will be okay. You may even find out that it was the best possible thing for you to do – because on the other side of their absence, you may find out you did not like them that much, they were just there as a crutch, or that your life is way better off without their criticisms and judgments.

Sometimes, though, being alone also asks you to confront your own flaws – this is good. For example, you mentioned that complaining has hurt your other relationships. Well, that’s a concern and something that you have power over – complaining can become a bad habit, and 6s tend to focus on negativity… but what if you chose to focus on the good, and intentionally each time you wanted to complain, found something nice to say instead? You also need to think about the source of those complaints. Are you creating problems, or are you reacting to problems? Are you a “whiny tears” kind of person (469 tritype) that finds things to be angsty about? I found that a lot of my complaining went away when I distanced myself from people and kept them at a casual level of interaction. Too much familiarity breeds contempt.

Lastly, you can decide who you want to be, and make strides toward that. Your future is in your hands. So tell your fear to move over, because you’re about to take the wheel of life. Then find your courage – find something to trust in that is also inside you, take a deep breath, and start making the little changes that add up to the big things.

- ENFP Mod

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 124 Poll Results

The chapter 124 poll closed with 2,065 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

This month’s poll team: @erensjaegerbombs @momtaku, _Puppet_ ,  @shifter-lines and @ladymoe6​

  RATE THE CHAPTER 1,926 Responses

Fours and fives still dominate but there’s no denying that this chapter lacked the hype we’ve seen recently. “Thaw” had the lowest number of 5’s this year, performing similarly to the Zeke-centric flashback chapter in 114, “Sole Salvation”. (There’s a pun to made here about us “warming up to Thaw” but sadly I am not smart enough to make it.)

The Chapter of Necessary Filler & the Obligatory Cliffhanger

I love that Isayama isn't rushing everything and is actually focusing on little details and small interactions between characters. He really isn't glorifying an "apocalyptical scenario" just for the sake of destruction in itself or shock value.

This chapter felt like a nostalgia trip, but I wasn't in for the ride.

This chapter was a breath of fresh air ngl. These past chapters were mostly full of either a flashback, monologue or just having two characters talking in a realm where nothing happens and time is frozen, but, at last, the plot is moving foward in the real world too. Not only it contained long gone titan action, but also great character development/moments as well. I missed this.

The leaks didn't give this chapter justice

A weaker chapter overall, I hope all this buildup will be well spent in the next chapter.

I actually loved everything about this chapter, I can't believe Isayama finally gave me a reason to kind of like Gabi. I'm sure she'll do something to immediately change that…

Isayama-sensei is the best, each chapter is a 10/10 for me. I do agree that this chapter is not as great as as the last 5, but it's still great. This year is impossible to choose the Top 5 Best Chapters of SNK

It was good, but I was hoping for a crazier year closure.

  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?

1,995 Responses

There were many great moments in this chapter, but Annie’s highly anticipated return to the active plot takes up the largest amount of votes! Other notable moments were: Shadis taking command, Armin realizing Annie’s crystal must have unhardened, the 104th discussing Eren, and Jean’s salty reaction to Floch’s continued survival.

A N N I E is BAAAAAAACK!!!

as someone too invested in the gabi-nicolo-braus plot thread by i love sasha i am absolutely Fed with that excellent "get out of the forest" talk. thank u for the good food nicolo

It's great to see the other 104th members discuss about Eren's actions. At least we got a glimpse on what they think about Eren's plan.

For once I'm gonna forgive Isayama for putting off Levi and Hange. I FEEL BLESSED TO HAVE ANNIE BACK ON MY BIRTH MONTH!!! BEST PRESENT EVER

I like the parallels to Trost, especially the part with the thunder spears sort of mirroring the thing with the guns and the elevator from S1

  WHO WAS THIS CHAPTERS MVP? 1,988 Responses

Despite the influx of negative commentary, 38.2% of respondents agree that Gabi’s persistence to save Falco and reconciliation with Kaya earned her the MVP title this month. The strongest contenders were Shadis and Jean.

Annie saved this chapter from the Gabi / Kaya focus

Connie- the underrated suffer boi

Gabi best girl!

I am proud of Jean for taking charge, he acted like a real commander.

Reiner Best character 😔👌

SHADIS IS THE MVP AND I LOVE HIM

  WHICH CHARACTER WERE YOU MOST DISAPPOINTED WITH? 1,998 Responses

“None of the above” was a popular suggestion (25.2%) but Connie edged that choice out by a percentage point (26.3%) . At least you guys listen when the evening news says that stealing children is bad.

Silly of you to ask us which character we're most disappointed with. We're always disappointed with Floch in every panel he shows up in

it's good to have a connie development, but I was a little sad about his attitude

I'm not so much disappointed with Connie in this moment as I am with the direction his character arc has gone lately in general. I miss when he was fun instead of angry all the time.

I think everyone is acting super irrational. Eren is going to destroy the world but all the SC are "accepting" of it. I think deep down they are all horrified and in a completely insane mental state causing irrational decisions and thoughts such as Jean being okay with genocide.

I understand that Connie is desperate to find a comfort after all the ppl he lost, but I'm still extremely disappointed in him for wanting to murder a child. Not just Connie tho, the same goes for Jean and Armin. Armin didn't say "Let's not kill a freaking child" he just objected because he didn't want to provoke Reiner and Pieck.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF REINER’S ROLE THIS CHAPTER? 1,889 Responses

Reiner takes a back seat this chapter, and just barely over half of the fandom believe he deserves that nap after all he’s been through.  Another quarter, at 25.8% are wishing he could just die at this point, for better or worse.

"Enough already. Just sleep." - Reiner to Eren in 117

Can Reiner pick an opinion and stick with it for .2 seconds. he's like hardcore ready to kick ass and then immediately turns around and is ready to die again

Game over man

He's cute. End of the story.

I think it was bizarre that Gabi just let him fall asleep and left him in an enemy territory where he could be captured or eaten by a mindless titan

I understand him being tired an all, but sleeping in the middle of a warzone and at the start of the apocalypse???

Helos needs his rest and good dreams of Bert

I think it is set up for his future death : saving Falco by being eaten by Connie's mom (he was there with Connie in Ragako village)

Madlad goes to sleep instead of dying

Man literally too tired to die

There were certainly worse ways than "passed out from exhaustion" that he could've been written out of the chapter. At least we know his current status this way, unlike a certain duo...

He need some milk

Reiner votes for “Can’t he just die already?”

  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE EREN PARALLEL IN GABI AT THE MIRROR? 1,869 Responses

Gabi’s design is based on Eren, and she’s had similarities and parallels to him in the past, what does the parallel in this chapter mean stacked on top of all of that?  About 70% say it’s to further emphasize how similar she is to him at her core.  12.7% don’t think it was an intentional parallel to that Eren scene, 7.7% say she’s going to receive his titan, and a solid 1% wrote in the eloquent thesis of “Fuck Gabi.”

A bit too on the nose

Both have the common factor of determination and the desire to fight to save someone else. "Fight, fight" = "Like I'd give up" In Eren's case, his scene in the mirror is portrayed in a darker, more aggressive environment, he must fight to save his loved ones, but for this goal he must destroy everything. On the other hand, Gabi shows a more heroic/pure attitude, the light is predominant, and his words refer to the desire to fight to save Falco without taking this violence path unlike Ere

Eren cant copyright this hairstyle

How dare she stand where he stood.

I didn't like any parallels that include Gabi. Not this one, and most certainly not the one with Sasha.

It definitely foreshadows something, but I don't think it's that she'll inherit his titan. I think she's going to be the one to end this madness and break the cycle. Unlike Eren, who fights for freedom both for himself and his loved ones, Gabi will fight for peace and equality: a different kind of freedom.

It symbolizes Gabi's character arc starting to go in the opposite direction of Eren, rather than showing them being similar.

It symbolizes Gabi's change in motivation to do anything to save her friends. Just as Eren's motivation in the mirror scene really marked the moment he turned genocidal to protect his friends.

  DO YOU AGREE WITH JEAN’S CONCLUSION THAT EREN IS DOING WHAT HE’S DOING TO PROTECT THOSE HE LOVES? 1,950 Responses

Jean believes he’s figured out why Eren’s doing what he’s doing, does the fandom agree?  The large majority think that’s at least a part of it, as 40.8% think it’s solely that goal in mind, and another 53.5% believe it stemmed from that desire but has evolved and become more complex.  3.3% of fans don’t believe that’s where his motivation stems from at all.

But if that's his goal it still doesn't explain chapter 112

EREN is doing it to protect his friends. YMIR wants vengeance and bloodshed.

I agree, because I really don’t know what else could have been done. The Eldians were hated all over the world and Talk-No-Justu is a folly.

I don't know what to think. At first, Jean seems to be in denial (like most of the 104th), but perhaps it's his way of realizing things. No, Eren must love them a lot, there's absolutely no way that his genocide is unjustified. Right...? Wait…

I think he's being pragmatic and analytical. Like a real leader. Something I expected from Armin. However Armin has strokes of genius during critical times so I'm expecting something.

In a breaking bad way, yes

Yes, although I believe Eren's old and complex relationship with the idea of freedom also plays a big part in this situation.

No, because he isn't doing anything about the mindless titans and treated his friends like trash. I didn't see any kind of concern while they were in danger. I think he's more eager to set his ideals into action.

  WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO WHAT TO DO WITH FALCO? 1,958 Responses

Another serumbowl type discussion arises, yay!!...?  The vast majority, at a combined 81.4% don’t want to feed Falco to anyone, and just want to wrap him up and not start any more conflict.  11.6% think he should be fed to a known titan such as Pixis, and only 4.3% side with Connie’s reaction of feeding him to his own Mama Springer.

Falco is too important. He and Connie will probably have an arc.

Feed him to Floch, jaw titan always dies stupidly and Floch never dies so it should cancel out

Feed him to Levi that way we get jaw Levi and his hand back.

Feed Zeke to Connie's mom instead and take Falco somewhere safe

I don’t have anything against Falco personally, but it makes since to feed him to someone else

I like Falco, but Connie has lost far more than anyone outside the Walls. If feeding Falco to Connie's mom gives Connie some semblance of peace, so be it

NILE !

In a perfect world Connie can have the satisfaction of feeding ZEKE to his mother. Kinda proud that I predicted the “Connie tried to revive his mom” plot point but I think the fact that it’s falco means that Connie fails

There's no right answer here, but I can't imagine any mother would be able to live with the fact that she ate someone else's child in order to live again, so that's probably the worst option.

Well, logically speaking, Falco should probably be fed to Pixis. But my heart calls out for me to wrap him in a blanket.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF CONNIE SEEMINGLY SNAPPING ON THE OTHERS AND INSISTING FALCO BE FED TO HIS MOTHER? 1,947 Responses

Understanding prevaled with close to 80% of the fandom selecting “I don’t agree with his actions but I wholeheartedly sympathize with his reasoning”. Only 13% indicated that they were disappointed with him.

Falco's a kid, man! You don't cross that line!

Connie, if your mom needs a kidney transplant, you don't just shank another person to steal their kidneys. Just saying.

Connie has been pushed to his limit. He needs a nap and a minute to cry.

Although Connie is not thinking clearly, I'm glad they're not blindly hating on him like some have been doing for Eren.

Connie's break is truly amazing to me. The guy was always so good and chill and dedicated before these hard times. To see him at his breaking point, horrified by everything that is happening and overwhelmed by the situation, and thus reverting into single-minded dedication to one fundamental goal - saving his mother. It's tragic to see him like this and it's probably not the best "logical" action, but it makes complete sense that he'd do this. He's sick of this clusterfuck. He has a ticket to save his mom and he's gonna take it. Poor Falco though, of course.

I didn't see it coming, but it's not like it's unthinkable. When the world collapses we often want to run back to our mama.

I disagreed with him, but I thinks his feelings are understandable and, also, I liked a lot that he pointed out 104's hypocrisy. The serum drama is coming back to bite their asses.

I understand he wants to see his mom again but does he really want to give her the cruel fate of becoming a titan shifter?

I understand his reasoning, but this is literally the WORST possible time to cause an internal crisis

I'm sad for him & deeply uncomfortable by it.

I’m mad at Connie only because he straight up abandoned his duty to pacify the Titan situation.  He left Jean, Mikasa, and Armin to take care of it without him. Lucky Shadis was there to help.

  REGARDLESS OF YOUR VIEWS ON CONNIE’S ACTIONS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HIM FINALLY GETTING SOME TIME IN THE SPOTLIGHT? 1,946 Responses

More than half the fandom was happy to see him speak his mind and get some character development (53.3%). 16% were absolutely thrilled. Those who don’t care, and those whose disappointment over how he returned soured the moment came in at 10%... I’m willing to bet at least one of those votes is because he doesn’t have a new hair style.

Going to the dark side doesn't suit the former sunshine called Connie.

My man has been in the story since the beginning. He is well overdue for an arc.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

But why FALCO? He's the ONLY character outside the Walls I actually LIKE!

Finally we get to see him say something about his mother. Yeah, maybe he's not one of the most important charcters overall, but what he lived through when he saw his mom on that roof finally deserves some thoughts and emotions. Connie was on the margin of the story for way too long, and I'm happy we get to see him talk about how he feels.

Glad he’s doing stuff but he’s 100% going to die

I haven't really liked his development. He's, altho understandably, just an angry dude that can't help himself from getting overcome by his emotions. Not a good look.

I really liked his whole "Eren's crossed the line", now he's making the same mistake. A bitter irony, but does Isayama have time for that?

I'm really disappointed in Connie's "friends" for basically telling him to "chill out, you can't save your mother because we need to make our enemies happy". Hell no to that, I completely sympathize with Connie far more than his "friends" especially since Armin is being the world's biggest hypocrite

It's good because it now opens up the possibility of Connie finally getting his revenge on Zeke

My Boi Connie deserves his own plot-line, so I'm really excited

  TITAN ACTION! BUT OF THE PURE AND AVERAGE VARIETY INSTEAD OF COLOSSALS, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT AS THE FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER? 1,936 Responses

A chapter in the endgame that’s almost reminiscent of the defense of Trost with respect to mindless titan action and defending a base.  Despite many other happenings such as the rumbling going on currently, 46% were totally fine with the focus on mindless titan action and thought it was written well, whereas 35.6% enjoyed it, but wished there was a bit more beyond checking that box.  10.8% wanted a larger focus on the titans in the rumbling, and 5.5% would have preferred a focus shift away from Shiganshina entirely.

I love the fact that shows how prepared and easy fighting mindless titans is for them now. When the titans attacked Trost they were hopeless and Jean was the one frozen in fear. Now we get to see him clear up the titans with ease.

I think showing smaller happenings before the big reveal of Eren's titan and the effects of the rumbling are important buildup.

I would have rather focused on what's happening to Pieck and the others near the wall.

I didn't feel that was the focus, but either way, I liked it.

I wish more would’ve happened outside of it BUT it’s important to show them being dealt with otherwise readers would be like “wait, what about all those people who turned into titans?” So not the best, but necessary.

I'm not crazy about fighting scenes, I prefer the ones where they discuss stuff, but these were really emotional with Shadis and Pixis and everything. Like, it wasn't even so much about fighting itself, for me at least, but about Shadis uniting people again and Armin setting Pixis free finally.

I wish the chapter had explored the idea of Titans appearing now that the Military has begun using weapons which are more effective against humans than Titans. I had thought that the reappearance of Titans would do much more damage since the Military is no longer equipped to handle such threats.

Reminds me of the Trost arc and I love it, but it will probably end up being the last time we see pure titans as this much of a threat.

I love the Season 1-esque fan service. How this series has evolved.

I just wished they didn't have to kill their comrades...C'mon this poll question is so heartless wth?

  AFTER EREN GAINED THE FOUNDER, WHY WHERE THE MINDLESS TITANS STILL ATTACKING THE SOLDIERS? 1,944 Responses

Nearly half of the fandom are giving Eren the benefit of the doubt that he simply cannot control the titans, rather than not caring about them or using them. Although many believe that he’s too focused on other things to concern himself with them, and many others feel certain that mindless titans attacking the soldiers is part of his greater plan.

3 times it was mentioned that Eren/Zeke can't control the Titans, I think someone else is controlling them. Possibly Ymir, maybe we'll see Eren getting betrayed.

Eren can't control the mindless Titans because they're Zeke's Titans

It's highly likely the Founding Titan's power and control over Pure Titans has a collective effect of sorts. That is, it can turn Pure Titans back into humans, but if it did, it would happen to ALL Pure Titans, not just a specific group of them. It's possible that is how the Fritz royalty used the Pure Titans while maintaining the Eldian population during ancient times. Here, if Eren were to use that aspect of the Founding Titan's power, both the Military Branch Officer Titans AND the Wall Titans would be turned back into humans. Right now, Eren is bent on using the Wall Titans to flatten the World, so he most likely does not want to use the power of the Founding Titan to turn all the Pure Titans in Shingashina + Connie's mom into humans; otherwise, the Wall Titans would turn into humans again too, and that would ruin his rumbling plan.

Regarding Eren and the mindless titans, control issues aside, I just don't think he cares.

  WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE TITAN KILL THIS CHAPTER? 1,968 Responses

In a chapter full of titan action, several titan kills stood out as both awesome and tear jerking.  Just over half of respondents, at 51.6%, most remember Armin taking out Pixis after thanking him for his service to the cause.  In a very narrow battle for second place, Keith Shadis sowing the recruits how it’s done won out over Gabi taking a cue from Sasha and saving Kaya.

All of them were pretty darn cool

Gabi's and Mikasa's tie for me

Hard to choose, they're all good

I didn't find any of them memorable if I May be honest

Can I choose all? Because I am.

It's a tie between Shadis arriving to save the recruits, Gabi saving Kayo from the Nile Titan, and Armin killing the Pixis Titan. If I was forced to pick, I'd say Armin's scene because of his sorrowful dialogue upon seeing Pixis as a Pure Titan and the flashback to one of Pixis's earliest highlights when he believed in Armin and Eren shortly after they first met.

Literally all of them what kind of sadistic question is this how could I possibly choose

Loved all the kills!!!

ALL OF THE ABOVE

  THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBATE AS THIS CHAPTER WAS COMING OUT ABOUT GABI, AT THIS POINT DO YOU LIKE HER AS A CHARACTER IN THE STORY? 1,985 Responses

Nearly two-thirds of of the fandom currently enjoy Gabi’s overall character, despite what their first impressions may have been (65.1%) . Though there are still many who have yet to warm up to her, if they ever do (34.9%).

Gabi is beginning to grow on me enough I feel neutral about her.

Gabi is a LITTLE more favorable to me, but I still hate her and I wish she never existed. She can never earn forgiveness for Sasha.

gabi is good you guys are just mean

  WHICH THOUGHT BEST MATCHED HOW YOU CURRENTLY FEEL ABOUT GABI? 1,977 Responses

One of the most controversial characters in the story is of course Gabi Braun, but what do fans truly think of her?  Almost half, at 45.9% don’t profess love for her character from the mountains, but understand why she’s important to the story.  In contrast, 19.6% firmly believe the story would be better off if she never existed, and 17.6% want to see even more of her in the upcoming chapters.  16.9% just think she’s been in the spotlight a little bit too much.

Fuck Gabi, Eren will always be better, not this carbon copy Mary Sue

gabi fucking GANG

Such a great chapter! I’m glad that the Gabi hate is stopping now.

Don't know why are people surprised about Gabi. Her closure with the Braus family is something I figured was gonna happen eventually. Guess Isayama wanted to get that out of the way early.

Of course my opinion of Gabi is unchanged. I still hate her no matter how much "development" she gets.

Gabi is a super uninteresting character to me

i really liked gabi’s character development in this chapter, especially since i was previously a gabi hater.

She is the new MC now. Upgrade.

I see why Gabi exists but she’s just such a forced character. The parallel between her and Sasha was so forced and just felt wrong. Don’t care about her killing Sasha her character is just a forced rehash of eren.

I'm disappointed in her as she is becoming more likeable

Gabi's character development finally completed in a brilliant way

Like Eren, she's fighting for people she cares about, even if she's wrong/vicious with her methods.

I’m tired of Gabi

Really wish we wouldn't have Gabi shoved down our throats, she's not a good character, let alone person

I'm really proud of Gabi and how far she's come from her original POV. I'm really hoping that this influences Eren and I really hope Falco and Gabi get to reunite.

yams wants us to like her more

She has the same motivations as Eren once had, to save the world, basically.

I will admit Gabi has gone through a lot of development. But that doesn't mean I have to like her. I still hate her, and I will NEVER EVER forgive her for what she did to Sasha.

Gabi's haters being mad is so funny. My girl truly shined this chapter, I love her even more.

Gabi.... I feel like I would absolutely hate being around her irl but I guess I do appreciate her as a character in the story.

Never wanted to kill a child so badly in my existence

Death to Gabi Braun!

I don't hate Gabi enough to want her dead, but "too much spotlight" is the understatement of the year, especially when there is still a lot that has yet to be resolved with the main characters

She just wants to protecc

I love Gabi but she gets too much screen time at this point in the story. I want to see Historia and hopefully Eren later.

I LOVE GABI SO MUCH SHE IS THE BEST GIRL

I like Gabster. Gabi Gang Gabi Gang

Me no likey bad bad

  NOW THAT ALL OF THE ORIGINAL BRANCH HEADS ARE GONE, WHO SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF THE PARADIS MILITARY? 1,955 Responses

The head of all of Paradisian government, Darius Zackly, went out with a bang, and now we’ve lost the interim head Pixis, as well as Nile Dok.  Who’s going to pick up the torch?  There’s a big three that seem to have emerged as popular choices, with Jean winning out, Hange coming in second, and Shadis taking up third.  

A combination of several people noted above.

Hanji+SC Armin+Garrison Jean+MP

Anyone but Floch

Jean. He's the only one that can view the Rumbling objectively and not rule it out as bad because their enemies are destroyed

Armin for strategy, Jean for leadership, Hanji for progress

Daz

Shadis should take over, but only untill Jean can get a little more experience leading.

As long as they agree Marley needs to be wiped out for the sake of Paradis, I'm okay with any leader that accepts that responsibility

Definitely not Hange. She wanted to make peace with Marley. Not leadership worthy at all.

Rico ;-;

Hange may be commander, but they are unfit for taking on as the head of the military. Same goes for Keith, though in this chapter he shows courage by stepping up to push the trainees to fight, I doubt he is willing to go back into a similar position as he was before as the Survey Corp's commander. Among the candidates, Armin may seem like a promising candidate, but aside from his proven intellect, just like Hange both do not possess the level of prowess of leading all three branches (four if count the training squad)of the military. More I think about it the "best" candidate in this list may surprisingly be Jean, but so far he hasnt been giving me the impression as someone who can take on such a massive role.

Erwin

  WHY DID FLOCH ARREST THE VOLUNTEERS? 1,903 Responses

The fandom is fairly divided on Floch’s motives, with a three-way split that comes close to being even. The highest amount of respondents feel he is arresting the Volunteers because he doesn’t trust them based on past actions. In the middle, people feel that he doesn’t want to be associated with any non-Eldian people. And in third place, people felt that he doesn’t trust Yelena specifically, and is taking her group down with her.

As far as I've seen, Floch is on Eren's side, not Zeke's. So that would make Yelena, who hasn't heard about her boss and the euthanasia plan, dangerous as fuck. Even with that, Floch's following his own principles. He has different reasons than Eren, but he just needs the "devil" figure to project his own will.

He always knew Yelena and Zeke's intentions because of Eren, and now he's arresting them to prevent more trouble caused by them. I think Eren "trusts" and is working with Flcoh more than the fandom expect.

Because they conspired to sterilize/euthanize the Paradisians.

He's a completely inconsistent character whose personality and character motivations change at the drop of a hat in order to create conflict in the story.

He thinks Yelena can take over his position of the best Yeager fanboy and he can't have that.

He was never really on their side at all! Just like how Eren saw them - they were a means to an end, a useful tool but a dangerous one that could never really be trusted. Now that Eren has made his intentions clear and the ideological split is visible, he's fully turning on them and suppressing them from potentially pursuing their own agendas further.

There’s not enough room on Paradis for both of those eccentric hair cuts

  GABI AND ARMIN BOTH SEEM INTERESTED IN PUTTING ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES: WILL THE SURVEY CORPS AND WARRIORS TEAM UP? 1,928 Responses

After having been warring factions since the beginning, will the warriors and Survey Corps finally team up as one?  62.9% feel a team up will happen, but not everyone from both sides will want to be involved, and a solid 30% believe a full team up is in the cards.  Only 5.8% don’t feel that it’s possible at this point.

Any cooperation will be a compromise, so maybe?

At this point I really don't know. Their passivity disappointed me fully this chapter. They need their TRUE leaders who are MIA at the moment.

I hope it happens but I think Armin is acting under Bert's influence

I hope not, it sounds lame.

i think maybe they will be forced to work together to stop the titans because they are attacking both sides.

It's the ideal scenario I suppose

Only until the Rumbling stops. After that, the SC needs to dispose of all the remaining Warriors to end the war for good.

PLEASE MAYBE REINER WILL GET SOME CLOSURE OUT OF IT

Probably but it’s waaay to cliché. Please don’t Isayama

They'll team up to stop Eren, if that works they'll be enemies once again

Yes and Yes! I've been saying this for months: warriors and SC are going to have to work together. Magath is going to play a role in this too.

  ANNIE!! THOUGHTS: 1,948 Responses

91 chapters.  91 Months.  7 and a half years.  Longer than we were with the characters pre-timeskip.  Annie has been in a crystal, but now she's free!  33.4% think she came back at the perfect time and Isayama has nailed his writing once again.  18.4% are excited for her return, but don’t feel there’s much time left in the story for the wait to be worth it.  15.7% aren’t worshippers at her crystal, and so aren’t too hyped out of their minds.  29% however: A N N I E

akueeoekskfnfjyfjekqwiruuri MY GIRL IS BACK BITCHES, AND I NEED POST-AWAKENING MIKANNIE FANFICTION NOW

glad she's back but the plot has nothing for her to do anymore

How he brought her back makes perfect sense and I love it. If she chose to come out at this time rather than being forced, it would have been awkward and forced to be honest. But Eren taking away all hardening is the best way to bring her back AFTER SEVEN FUCKING YEARS.

glad to have her back but sceptical of her importance

go back into hibernation

Good in-story reason, great writing, but waited far too long. Not sure if she will even be relevent for the remainder of the story that already has a lot of loose ends.

Hentannie

I am not hyped because it took too long and the series has gone too far down a path I can no longer follow.

I DID MY WAITING! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!

I don't know what Annie can do at this point of the story that will make her return worthwhile

I don’t think Isayama and his editors would allow her to be brought back for a poor plot point/reason, so I’m curious to see what role she’ll have.

I wasn't too concerned about Annie at this point in the story but I'm glad that her return makes sense with the events currently taking place and I'm interested to see what Isayama has planned for her.

I'm no fan of her so I'm not excited at all, but I assume she'll drive the plot somewhere soon.

She's got a lot of catching up to do. Concerned it won't be handled well.

The reasoning is sound, and I am glad that Isayama thought that part through, but we have a limited number of pages left, so I am worried about how this will play out.

Took too long so it ended up being very 'meh' for me, but congratulations Annie-stans, have a drink tonight

Should've been way sooner, her potential as a character feels wasted since we're almost done now. All she'll have time to do is get caught up on what happened and then have a couple reunions.

I honestly have no idea what Isayama plans to do with her but I’m just GLAD SHES FINALLY FUCKING BACK!!!! MY BABY GIRL IS BACK!!!!

  ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT ANNIE WILL DO NEXT? 675 Responses

Annie will have a run-in with Hitch, get things explained and head towards the main conflict.

Dare I say it, Assist With Armin’s Talk No Jutsu with Eren

"Run"

Definitely try to get to her dad.

Try to find her warrior friends

Determine her situation and act accordingly

She won't be too surprised at what Eren's become. She remarked how when the "good guys" take power, then it's all over to Marlowe in Season 1.

A girl can dream of her and Pieck being badasses.

All the titan shifters will come together (location-wise), it seem like a flag? Since all the shifter's powers is a part of Ymir herself, having them close might have significant meaning.

ANNIETHING

Be traumatized by manga spoilers? Wonder wtf happened?? Try to find Reiner??

Annie will join Eren.

Not give a shit about anything apart from Papa Leonhardt

Annie will play a huge role in stopping Eren, in some way.

be a badass like usual and FEMALE TITAN ACTION?????

Change her clothes because why is she wet

umm take a shower lol

Character development and teaming up against Ereh

I think Hitch will be the one to find her - she was in charge of guarding the crystal. I think she'll be too weak to fight right now though, so I'm worried that she's just going to be used as a Titan Shifter snack :(

Somehow affect Eren's mindset. Not sure exactly how.

Go kiss Armin pls

I'm hoping for Armin to transform into the Colossal Titan. Annie will see this thinking it's Bertoldt, and then have a good character moment upon finding out that Armin ate him.

Her endgame is to at least partially counteract the rumbling with her scream ability.

Confused --> Shocked --> Mad --> or all at the same time. Anyway, she will probably meet up with Armin and the gang and they will explain the shit situation to her and somehow they will come up with a plan or smth.

I think she’ll be forgotten about for a few chapters then show up in the battle. It’ll be interesting to see what side she takes at that point. I’m sure someone will conveniently fill her in on the last few years.

She's a wild card, but the last we saw her she wanted to get back home. I'm sure she will be invested in saving the world from annihilation.

She is FAR away right now. I think dealing with Annie is a good wind-down after all this World-ending stuff has been dealt with, like when they save the Shire after defeating Sauron

Crystallize

Yeet to Marley and die with her papa.

Annie's first move will be to find a toilet sure she must be dying for a pee like

  HOW HAS YOUR OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS CHANGED?

Shadis, Jean and Gabi are the big winners in the opinion poll this month with the majority selecting “More Favorable” reaction to them. Shadis had 1379 respondents selecting “more favorable”, Jean had 1076 and Gabi came in third with 980. Fighting titans so soon after surviving a bear attack is impressive, so I’m not surprised with these results. At the other end of the spectrum, Connie (542) and Floch (496) had the most number of “Less Favorable” selections. While the good outweighed the bad, Gabi again proved to be polarizing with 432 people choosing “Less Favorable” despite her positive development this month.

  FAVORITE NEW TITAN DESIGN? 1,926 Responses

Isayama’s nods to his television viewing habits continue with the appearance of the “Better Call Saul” titan. Our appreciation of Isayama’s sense of humor continues with more than 50% of us selecting it as “Favorite New Titan Design” (51.5%). Pixis was a distance second with close to a quarter choosing his titan form (23.7%) as their favorite.

Still laughing over the Saul Titan. Good ol' slippin' Jimmy

the Better call Saul titan looks more like Bolsonaro (Brazil's president)

one last hurrah to the Pure Titan mayhem the series was originally known for, and witnessing the tragic end to Nile and Pixis

  WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,926 Responses

The three elements of the story which have been absent for months, or even years, take the top overall votes for what the fandom would like to see next. 33.6% are dying to see present-day Levi and Hange again. 24.1% are still eager to get Historia’s perspective. 23.6% are still hoping to one day see Eren’s inner thoughts.

All I want for Christmas....Is Historias POV

I'm missing Connies adventure on the 'What are you hoping to see next chapter?' question.

Bitch give me Levi. It’s been more than half a year.

I literally only care about the 104th characters so the more of them we can see next chapter the better

Give me more Eren action pleaseee

So why is Annie pov not an option for next chapter?

I have waited for 7 years, finally, Annie is back. I wanna see more of her story and  character development. I cant wait to see her conversation with Hitch and Armin!

Please Isayama give me more good Shadis content

I really want to see Eren's full complete titan. Issayama, stop blueballing us please!

I would actually like to know more about that spine creature that is evidently the source of Titans.

Is there a Kiyomi option?

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,843 Responses

With close to 200,000 members it’s no surprise that Reddit continues to dominate the discussion field (47.7%), followed distantly by Tumblr (15.5%), Real Life (9.8%) and Discord (6.7%). Amazingly, 9% don’t discuss it at all. This month, FIVE of you said Snapchat, up from four last month, so while there’s still technically a possibility that you guys are actually forming some weird snapchat cult and this isn’t an elaborate psyop, I’m still not convinced. But regardless of where you discuss the series, or if you even do, we truly appreciate your participation in the chapter poll!

  ADDITIONAL COMMENTS? 416 Responses

OMG! Okay, it's happening! Everybody stay calm! Annie! Annie! Annie!

Annie got crystalized in chapter 33, and now she's out, 91 chapters later. Since 12 chapters are published in a year, we have been waiting for her (not including flasbacks and her just chilling in the crystal) 7 years and 7 months. I salute all the diehard Annie fans, you had a long wait.

Once again I have marked my calendar. May 9, 2012 - December 5, 2019. After 7 excruciating years our queen is FINALLY awake. This deserves a new record for longest amount of time a character has been comatose in real life. Thank GOD it's finally over I still can't believe it.

I'm a big fan of all of the smaller storylines coming together, hoping for everything to be wrapped up nicely and characters from different factions (i.e Hange, Annie, Historia) all coming together to address the rumbling.

It felt a little like a breather chapter, despite all the action. It was nice to slow down and get some character development for everyone.

“Everyone has a devil in them” is a great message. Hope they all team up and stop Eren. Very curious about what Annie will do!

The parallels to Trost arc were nice, but I felt like the endgame was finally amping up only to be put on hold.

Great chapter! I like Pathland, and the flashback with Levi and Hanji was great, but it was a relief to get some current time action. Gabi is best girl, Armin just went up by leaps and bounds in my book, and Annie is back!! So excited for the next chapter…

Great one ! The fear from the mindless titans in back, like in Trost. Many side characters development/deaths (Nile, Pixis, Shadis, Kaya, Nicolo, Gabi, Annie, Connie, Jean...). So much good stuff, I almost forgot about the rumbling going on !!

Amazing. If Isayama maintains this quality til the end, then this will be one of my favorite series, of any media, ever.

I'm wondering what Annie can realistically do at this point. Sure she beat Eren before but now he's in another level.

Guess we don't have to deal with the genocidal jock for a while

REINER HELOS BRAUN WILL SAVE THE WORLD (after his power nap)

ANNNIIEEEEE; Shadis' comeback was wonderful. I hope he can make up for the loss of Pixis and Erwin and such. He has great potential and he's a well developed character. Jean is asking the real questions, but the showdown between him and Floch is about to go down.

I said previously that if Floch survives I wanted my money back. But you know what? I'll take my refund in Annie store credit. Thanks for that bright spot, Isayama!  Also: this chapter pointed out how many good people in the world will suffer if Eren succeeds. And I felt as frustrated with the remnants of the 104th as Gabi. Nicolo and Shadis became my unexpected heroes this chapter.

Is Zeke still alive? Is he still controlling the mindless titans?

Floch didn’t do anything particularly bad this chapter but every time I have to see his face my opinion of him becomes less favorable. When Jean said “so you lived...” I FELT that disappointment lol.

I love the Braun siblings interaction in this chap. And Nicole's "we'll try to get out of the forest" sends chills. I think that's one of the point ISTM is trying to get across.

Does Connie realise that if his mother was given one of the nine titan powers she would be made to fight? Getting one of the titan powers is very much a curse not a blessing (especially with the Jaw titan)

At this point the Eren/Gabi parallels are feeling a little overdone and forced.

If Gabi receives Eren’s Titan it will be the stupidest most disappointing thing to happen in this- no all of manga! Besides, what is the damn point of her “paralleling” Eren anyways? But the Sasha paralleling was even more gnarly YUCK!

It's true that the people of Paradis will benefit from this shit, but I highly disagree with any justification when it comes to Eren's horrible actions. GENOCIDE IS NEVER THE OPTION. I think Jean is disappointed too but he's trying his best to rationalize the crap Eren's carrying out for he still doesn't want to believe his friend is committing genocide. I expect he comes back to his senses soon otherwise I no longer will appreciate him as a character.

That "who are you most disappointed" will sadly be filled with Armin hate tbh. And in the end he was just wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict... tbh Anyone hating on Connie, Gabi and Armin doesn't seems to know how humans emotion work in helpless situations...

What Yams is doing to Connie is further proof he is ruining his main characters (the good ones) to make room for his precious Marley characters (the crappy ones)

Connie's regression and frustration was more and more visible since Sasha died. He's lost everyone close to him. I am happy to see him finally snap at Armin and go his own way. This was foreshadowed for a while now.

I hope Isayama sensei doesn't forget to include World Millitary's raid in the action. They already mention in some previous chapter by Zeke.

Quantity-wise, the chapter wasn't centered around Gabi, okay. But. BUT. Gabi got quite a few powerful scenes, very Gabi-centric scenes, and I'm not happy about that. I don't see how and why the fandom so easily forgave her for what she's done. Isayama drawing parallels between Gabi and Sasha was insulting and distasteful.

It is highly likely that this is the last time we are going to see Pure Titan mayhem in the series now that the Rumbling is taking place, so I think it was great to that focus in this chapter. I thought it was handled well, especially with Shadis's scenes, the parallel of the new recruits seeing the Pure Titans peaking through the hole of the fortress tower much like a similar scene in the Trost arc, the tragedy of seeing Pixis and Nile (two of the last remaining head honchos of the military not counting Hange and Shadis) as Pure Titans and getting killed off for good, and how characters like Armin and Jean fought those Pure Titans.  

WARMASTER FLOCKE, TO LEAD THE ARMIES OF ELDIA TO VICTORY! Haha no I guess not. I'm torn between Flocke, Jean, Eren, and Shadis. All could be good picks but all outcomes would have different implications on the story and what it means. I guess if I had to pick, it'll be Shadis or Eren for now and then perhaps Jean later when things have settled and they've grown up more.

I honestly can't keep up with how many faces Floch has.

With how the pacing is handled there's no way this is ending in 6 chapters. The real climax is Eren having to go against his friends because there's no way in hell Mikasa is allowing him to genocide kids

As heartbreaking as this chapter has been, I already had my hopes destroyed when 119 was released. Today has been the confirmation for two awesome characters, who fell because of the non-veteran rule. I don't know why I still hope to see Keith staying alive, but at least we got an awesome moment of his.

Characters are being balanced relatively well. Isayama's got a lot of characters and plot threads to deal with, and while Levi, Hange and Historia are getting less focus than I would like, I think he's doing a pretty good job of keeping each character relevant and giving them all some good arcs/ moments

Everything (except for Gabi scenes) was perfect for me!

Eww Gabi-focused chapter…

I simply hate how cowardy the 104th is acting. It's clear they're only fighting in their own interest and are just pulling excuses after excuses for supporting Eren. At least Floch is honest about it.

Man, the 104th always been the group I care the less in the story, but this chapter they're being so annoying (apart from Mikasa). Well, I can forgive Connie because of everything he went through, but Jean... why are you saying this ""there was no other choice, eren is protecting us"" bs ? Nice of you to be complicit of mass genocide. (Yes, I know his face shows he's conflicted, but he still sides with eren) Also Armin... at least he's horrified at what's Eren's doing but when he said that if they don't kill Falco there would be no conflict with the warriors since Marley will be gone....that's just dumb. Their home and families are going to be destroyed, but ok Armin, go off. And getting into another serumbowl situation, with one of my fave uncounscious while the SC decides who will eat him... I don't like it. (I don't think Falco will be eaten tho, the whole thing raised many death flags on Connie)

Great chap, Isayama seems to finally give closure to certain plot parts. End is near.

Here's a crazy idea: feed GABI to Connie's mom instead of Falco, there would be nowhere near as much arguing with that

Highlights that people can rise above their conditions to become better people, offering a counterargument that humanity should be wiped out.

I don't get why the story pacing was disrupted so much. Why build up to a climatic cliffhanger with the rumbling, only to basically ignore it for the entire following chapter?

I honestly wonder if titan shifting still works as it used to. I'm afraid of seeing Falco get eaten for nothing. Honestly I'm worried about Falco dying for nothing while people right over him as a pawn in general.

Quite interesting chapter. Had fun with it. Much, much slower paced than expected almost. But then again we need time to cover all this stuff. And I'm happy it all took place in the current rather than another flashback. Not really a fan of the Gabi stuff but it is what it is. The other character developments were quite nice. Reiner literally just falling asleep tho lol. Overall I guess I wouldn't say it's a "big" chapter but it is necessary to bridge what came before with whatever comes next. And at long last Annie is back, so that's GLORIOUS.

I hope Annie will have such a big role she gets repaid for the all years she's been gone😞

I hope Isayama uses the slowdown in the pace to better sell the scale of the rumbling, we already see part of that by hoe Eren's dino titan still isnt complete, even after all this time

I love how the story is progressing.The next chapter is always something I personally don't expect and it's always exciting. The hype at the beginning/end of the month is unreal. As for the chapter itself, it's always refreshing to see Jean's perspective on Eren's plans because I love his interpretations on him. #TEAMJAEGER

i love my waifu annie i missed her so much

I love you Connie and I'm sure your mom is nice and all but Falco is a precious bean who needs to be protected.

I really hated the Gabi-Sasha and Gabi-Eren parallels. I also still think Gabi was never needed in this story, in fact I don’t know how I’ll be able to stomach season 4. Ugh, the first half will be completely and utterly Gabified. Gabi in color and motion plus speaking, YUCK!  Anyways I hope that the next chapter will have an update on Hange, Levi, and Historia. And maybe Floch getting punched by Shadis that would be the Cherry on top.

It was an average chapter, not bad but nowhere near as good as the previous ones. Plus I'd appreciate if other characters, outside of Gabi, had more spotlight. Her arc and development is done, give more development and screentime to other characters such as Mikasa please.

Just being disappointed. The pacing is very slow. Also the main cast's reactions were too passive. I hated it.

Just great. Just great. The drawings were incredible and the plot just keeps getting better.

Less Gabi, more Historia!

Levi and Hange better return in some way, shape, or form, or Yam's is in for it.

Levi is the new Annie

Love getting to see thoughts from many different characters and where they stand. A lot of them are still left behind trying to rationalise things to make it emotionally palatable, or simply stuck not being able to accept the reality, whereas Gabi has kind of gone ahead and realised there's evil on both sides, and she's willing to kill Eren or work with him if she can best protect the people she cares about (eventually probably not just her friends and family either, but the outside Eldians as a whole).

My baby is back!!!!!!!! I wanna see more of ANNIE!!!!!!

Nicolo talking to Kaya and Gabi was cringey af. Did they really do back to that derpy forest analogy? If this series ends with them holding hands and singing around a campfire imma legit be so disappointed. I need me my Rumbling!

This chapter felt like a nostalgia trip, but I wasn't in for the ride. It was a mess of short catching-up moments when I just want to pick Eren's brain. I want to see Levi and Hange alive or hear what Annie and Historia think about the events, but at the moment I don't care about even those storylines. I just want to know what the relationship between Ymir and Eren is now that the walls came down.

The first panel being Mr. Leonhart was a pretty strong indicator to me that Annie would be released in the last panel, and it was. I felt that to be extremly poetic, and the timing is good too. Another wildcard in the plot. Excellent.

Compared to the previous chapter, this one turned out to be very disappointing. I was excited to see the rumbling and getting a glimpse of Eren’s thoughts and feelings. But instead I got Reiner going to sleep, Gabi being paralleled to Eren (again) and Sasha, the 104th busy arguing over what to do with Falco instead of, you know, focusing on THE RUMBLING

Good chapter, but if S4 is the final season and airs Autumn 2020, and with a monthly release, curious as to how isayama might tie up these "last minute" plot threads such as the new developments with Connie and Falco.

What else can I say except it's amazing and it was worth the wait

Where is Levi damnit

[kaepop-trash]

AS: Proclamation

Rated: M for Smut, Angst.

Pairing: Jaehyun x Reader xYuta

Summary: Image makes up the life of a public servant. Being a person who needs to elected by the public only makes that worse. It all about image: the smiles, the babies at conventions, the fake girlfriend and far too many secrets. It doesn’t matter who you are behind closed doors, the people want a perfect candidate. One that doesn’t exist tangentially, only in the polls. Jaehyun knows this game better than everyone, and this is his olympic moment.

(A/N): special thanks to @jaehyunsbub for this wonderful banner. I love it so very incredibly much, it fits the tone of the fic so appropriately.

September, 2024

It was purely coincidental that Jaehyun had to be the only inhabitants of the house save for (Y/N). People started leaving in a rush once the hurricane warning was sounded. Even his parents were leaving claiming their presence at a dinner the next day. It was forecasted to rain heavily for the next three days and thunder was already quite audible.

Jaehyun was on the phone with a senator while (Y/N) sat on the large table at the side of the library, reading something with concentration. When the door opened Jaehyun turned only when she stood up, turning around his eyes met his father’s. Yet it was his mother’s gaze behind him, avoiding Jaehyun that both intrigued Jaehyun and unsettled him terribly— he turned to (Y/N) as an automated response.

“We wanted to speak to you.” His father spoke with a voice that struck him as too familiar, too dreadful. Jaehyun mumbled into the phone and hung up, his eyes met (Y/N) who had a similar unaccountable panic in hers. He turned to his father with hardened eyes as his parents came and sat on the sofa adjacent to him, “What did you think of the Jones family? Their daughter Olivia is very nice.” He spoke to his son with heavy approval in his tone. Jaehyun’s ears rang in the way it did before one blacks out and it made him wonder if he would collapse, his eyes were on his father but he wasn’t seeing much at the moment.

“I’m sorry?” His voice was slow, careful. His father’s demeanor seemed to solidify: his back stiff and his eyes resolute.

“I’ve spoken to the family, we think it's better to just get engaged instead of doing the dating thing. You're old enough." His father went on, the background he heard a chair scrape against the wooden floor. He didn't need to look up to protest.

"Sit down (Y/N)." His voice was resolute, when he looked up, she was watching him with a face clean of any expression. But her eyes watched him, "Sit down and listen." His eyes locked hers in place, she swallowed a lump down her throat. The distance the sky rumbled as the chair scraped back in place. She put her elbows on the table and watched him.

"I'm not going to get engaged to her." He turned around to his father, who grew increasingly restless and confused at the refusal.

"Why not? She's a fine girl!" He slapped the desk and both his mother and (Y/N) flinched.

"I'm sure she's great. But I'm not getting engaged." He sat back cooly, no remorse on his face. His father's face turned red and he stood up, flinging his hand across the air towards him with accusation.

"Why not?," He screamed so loudly the walls rattled, mirroring the oncoming storm. "Give me a reason Jung Jaehyun. I want to know what causes you to disobey me like this!" He spat across the room, his words razor sharp. Jaehyun turned to (Y/N) dismissively, his eyes fixing hers with curiosity and a sliver of hope.

"You know why I had to do it then right?" His voice was tender, his father was too saturated with rage to notice but his mother paid attention now.

"Yes. Working for him gave me credibility. It made me a worthy candidate." She didn't hesitate her eyes still stuck to his. Jaehyun cracked a smile, he was sure now.

"Yes and now you work for me." He reassured, "And nobody else matters." He shook his head once with resolution, she nodded in response, eyes filling in.

"What are you doing?" His father screamed so loud his ears rang, his voice filled the room and brought him out of the moment. "I don't want to hear anything you will—" His father began, Jaehyun turned, his gaze cold and feline sharp.

"I'm in love with (Y/N). If I'm marrying anyone it's her." He let the words out so easily that in that moment he wondered why he couldn't say it sooner, why he felt the need to conceal something that felt so normal. He even smiled at his father, his joy growing. When his mother gasped he turned to her, unsure of how to assist her emotions, "She makes me happy Mom, I mean that. I love her." He told her with sincerity: he needed one of them on his side.

"What utter bullshit are you coming up with? You love her? You think that's going to take you places? You've lost your senses!" He screamed more and in that moment Jaehyun wondered if the pulsing vein on his temple would explode.

"I don't know about love. But she'll get me places further than you and your manicured selections. I'm tired of you father, leave me alone. You want a son in government you have it, you want a son who's president." He took a deep breath, lips splitting into a smile, full of years of silence—misplaced power, "You won't get it unless I'm with her. Imagine if people find out I was with her all along. Nan even gave me her ring a year ago, they asked me to bring their granddaughter home. You know how she is, she just wants to see her daughter's son happy; the silly woman." He laughed bitterly. His father sat down while rubbing his face.

"What the fuck is all this Jaehyun? She's a criminals daughter. You asked your mother's father for his old ring, so I'm supposed to be okay with this atrocity?" He glared at his son, his voice hoarse but still loud, gritty words scratching against his sandpaper throat and spilling out harsh and abrasive.

"She's the lawyer who passed a unanimous law on a landmark judgement at the supreme court. The only person stuck in the past is you. You don't have to be okay with anything. You just need to shut up or get out of my life. Either way I'm done with this idea that what you ask me to do is a compulsion and not a suggestion. Who I marry is not up to your made up calculations based on made up beliefs. No one cares, most of all me." Jaehyun sat back; when he turned away, he almost missed his father lunging at his and his mother moving forward to stop him. The chair slid again and when his mother grabbed his father's arm, she was at his side.

"What are you doing? You can't hit a grown man!" His mother cried out while hauling him back.

"I'll do what it takes to keep my son in place!" His father roared, his mother pulling him back harder.

"Jaehyun move, your mom can't hold him." (Y/N) pulled him urgently, growing more eager when he refused to budge, "Please Jaehyun, he's going to kill you." When he turned to her at her whisper, her eyes were desperate, he shook his head and let out a scoff.

"He's not going to do anything. You know I'm too pale father, how will I explain a man sized red palm on my face to the press." He paused, tapping the arm of the sofa and humming thoughtfully, " In fact, you might just make it easier for me if you do hit me. It wouldn't take a day to explain why I had to cut you off for my happiness. You know how sentimental voters are." Jaehyun's voice was level, unafraid of the body looming over him, with years of similar sights of torture on his shoulder. But this time Jaehyun didn't need to flinch, his father might have had tradition on his side, but now Jaehyun had power on his. He watched as his father's body lost it's rage, coming to terms with the corner he was backed into as all untamed species usually are.

"Good. You understand now. Sure you don't approve, but you'll learn soon enough that the protest isn't worth it: I've watched you for years father, I know you." The room went silent after his remark, nothing left to say on his part.

"I'm never going to accept that leeches daughter as my daughter in law! Do you think that because I had pity on you and gave you a chance at the same opportunity as my son that somehow you're his equal? Don't you know how to appreciate charity?" His questioned her and she faced him, eyes sharp and unflinching.

"You put my father in jail. Took my rightful place at law school away and then gave me a loan and a job that you made me work myself off for your benefit. Just because I have the gentility to not come screaming at you, doesn't mean I don't know that your act wasn't charity as much as you assuaging your guilt with a throwaway act. I'm not daft Mr. Jung, only polite." She responded to him softly, ignoring his wide glares. She got up quietly after that and left, he didn’t stop her because she had seen what she had to.

“You can leave now father, there’s nothing else left to be discussed.” Jaehyun got up promptly, fixing his shirt and leaving the library.

He only kept putting off leaving because she spent the whole day outside with that horse.

Jaehyun remembered the time he was running through the grounds of his school at an ungodly early hour, preparing for a rowing match, when he spotted the most magnificent horse he had ever seen, it's skin was this shade of rich brown that looked almost red in the light filtering through the tree it was sniffing under. Jaehyun was mesmerised by the way it's hide gleamed in the sun and he moved a little closer to it.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” A voice stopped his movement. He turned around to find a familiar face sitting under a tree, a half bitten plum in her hands, “She's a bit moody. Kicks like a nightmare.” She got up, picking up a hard looking helmet as her boots clicked with her steps.

“Is she yours?” He asked quizzically, tilting his head when she scoffed.

“I wish. It's just that I'm the only person she'll tolerate, so I ride her. She's quite good, incredibly fast. People just don't seem to find the patience for her.” She looked up and went over to the horse, petting it's snout gently. The horse seemed to respond to the gesture with a huff and a shake of it's head and (Y/N) seemed to laugh with delight. Jaehyun watched this happen before him.

“Merlot likes being pet but she won't admit it.” She smiled a little wider and Jaehyun mirrored it. He took a hesitant step closer and the horse seemed to grow restless as it clicked his hooves. Jaehyun took two safe steps back and stood back a little flustered.

“Calm down drama queen.” She smacked the horse's head and it nudged her making her chastise it again.

“I'm sorry she's horrible. I love it when people show her affection because she loves it, but she's a little shy.” She spoke about it like a person with character and it made him look over the creature again.

“It's alright (Y/N).” He smiled and she blinked thrice, caught by his charming smile and the way the early morning rays reflected in his eyes, before looking away and nodding, “I guess she's an acquired taste.” Jaehyun looked up at the horse while he spoke, nodding decidedly at the idea— frowning at the creature that seemed to be frowning back at him. He turned back to her when she laughed.

“I guess that's what it is.” She laughed once more, before lifting herself up to her saddle and riding away with a last nod of acknowledgement. As Jaehyun walked back to his room to get ready for class, he wondered why the encounter he had moments ago felt like something he'd dream when he's half awake. He just shook it away and planned his day ahead.

Jaehyun stood on the porch with a steaming cup of coffee before he had to put it down on the wrought iron table outside and venture out to spot the person he was in search of. It had started raining twenty minutes ago and she had made no gesture to return so Jaehyun decided to venture out with a large umbrella in his hand. His parents were still packing in the house and he saw her mother doing the same when he left his room. He ducked under a tree as he reached the edge of the raised hill the house was on— under which he saw the stable. As he had predicted, a light shone from inside through the dense downpour and with the promise of that he walked down the muddy slope and reached the stable with his pants soaked heavy with mud and parts of his shirt damp. His senses were the first to be assaulted by the stench of his surroundings as he looked at two restless horses on one side as they clicked their legs endlessly against the hay covered ground.

“Don't you want to go inside?” He spoke to the figure sitting in the corner on a metal chair, her hair dripping down and stuck to her cheeks.

“They're frightened. I can’t leave them.” She lifted her hand to point at the horses, “Go back inside, I'll be back in a while.” She mumbled as he came and bend down in front of her, pushing the hair out of her face and tightening his grip on her face when he realised how cold it was. This close he could see her trembling lips, beads of water jumping gently against the skin.

“Go.” She pushed his hand away and he combed his fingers through her hair, watching her close her eyes.

“How can I leave you in a storm when you're so frightened?” His voice was soft and her eyes fluttered open to catch his face, he gave her a gentle smile.

When he finally convinced her to go inside the house, her mother was waiting in the kitchen, who looked up when two silhouettes entered from the backdoor, setting her mug of coffee on the marble counter and looking between them. When her eyes focused on (Y/N) there was a passing guilt in them.

“If the reporter left because of me, I apologise for my behaviour.” She looked away from her with no remorse for him.

Jaehyun watched (Y/N) carefully as she caught the flesh behind her lower lip in her teeth, staring at her mother with an increasingly contorted face. She looked away from her and turned to Jaehyun, he didn’t bother looking away anymore.

“Sure.” She moved away from the door and towards the stairs, leaving pools of water in her path and disappearing to the first floor without another word. Jaehyun watched with a little disbelief. 

“If you ever ruin my daughter for your personal gains, i’ll destroy myself if it assures that the same happens to your family.” She spoke out to him, making him turn away from the entrance of the kitchen to her mother. It took him another moment to understand her words, cautious of them.

“Why did you do it?” He gave in to his curiosity. He wasn’t oblivious to her animosity towards him, he also didn’t underestimate the women’s intelligence to assume she didn’t understand. He had to but consider whose mother she was. She turned up to him as headlights crossed her face, eyes flooded with duty and Jaehyun almost pitied her.

“Because she’ll get rid of you by herself. Self-preservation has always been her way. I couldn’t trust an actual good man.” She stood up after that, picking up her things and leaving without a word.