#kaiju writes

[kaijuscientists]

A small selection of my DinCobb fic that i’m particularly proud of from last year:

Rest a while 

When Cobb asks the Mandalorian to stay a while after killing the krayt dragon, he didn’t expect him to accept the offer.

Sandstorm 

Cobb has an old knee injury that tends to act up when sandstorms blow through. Just usually not quite this badly.

Something in you (brought out something in me)

After watching the Jedi take the kid away, not knowing when or if he would even see him again, Din is at a loss.

He returns to the one place that keeps calling him back, Tatooine, and the Marshal that lives there.

Wounded

Cobb is injured badly enough to need attention for it for the first time since Din's been around, since they've started their relationship.   Cobb can take care of himself, thank you very much, he lashes out at Din for trying to help.

trust your gut      

Cobb should have trusted his gut when they shoved that black fruit thing in his hands.

under the weather

While tracking a bounty together, Cobb comes down with a cold.

Surrender     

Din finds himself drawn back to Tatooine and Mos Pelgo, so between leads on his quest to return the child to his people, he figures it can’t hurt to indulge, just a little.

troubled thoughts (and the self esteem to match)

Din has seen a lot of Cobb's scars, but there is one that he’s kept hidden.

[narumi-gens]

Indecent Proposal

Narumi Gen x f!Reader feat. Hoshina Soshiro

summary: Hoshina Soshiro is visiting the First Division’s base for the first time in three years only weeks after you mentioned a threesome with the man to Narumi. And really, who are you to question the universe's plans?

warnings: 18+ minors dni, f!reader, smut-adjacent, established relationship, discussions of threesomes (including: anal, double penetration, squirting), dirty talk (I suppose), ass slapping, relationship negotiations (but not in a mature and responsible way...), jealous/possessive Narumi, dumbstruck Hoshina, fed-up Hasegawa, don't do what the chaos couple does and please talk to your partner before asking someone to participate in a threeway

notes: this is pretty much a direct follow-up to level up. after chapter 57, I couldn't not write this. also, I think the reader might be more chaotic than Narumi in this one and I love it.

words: 2.9k

part of the Agents of Chaos series

You’ve never really believed in fate. It’s hard to watch a kaiju attack and think that the death and destruction are all part of some greater plan. But when word reaches you that the Third Division and their Vice-Captain will be making their way to the Ariake Maritime Base, you wonder if there really is some higher power that’s looking out for you.

After all, Hoshina Soshiro making his first visit to the First Division in over three years only weeks after you mentioned a threesome with the man to Narumi has to be some sort of sign, doesn’t it?

Who are you to simply ignore what the universe is trying to tell you?

So, you decide to wait casually in the hallway rather than follow the other officers and required personnel towards the conference space like you know you should. Hasegawa has reminded you multiple times that as the First Division’s Head of Operations, your attendance is mandatory and you in return have assured him multiple times that you heard him the first time.

But destiny is calling and you can’t just let it go to voicemail.

When you see Hoshina round the corner alongside the other members of the Third Division on their way into the conference, you know that this is the opportunity that you’ve been waiting for. Without a care for the meeting that’s scheduled to begin in less than ten minutes, you plant yourself directly in his path, forcing him to come to a stop.

You can feel the stares of the other Third Division officers, but your attention is solely focused on the smiling face of the man in front of you.

“Vice-Captain Hoshina, it’s good to see you again!” you greet him cheerfully, a markedly different welcome from the one that you’re sure that he just received from the rest of the First Division.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he asks, his smile turning slightly playful. “You know, it’s a good thing Captain Ashiro’s not here. She won’t say it, but I think she’s still holding a little bit of a grudge that you chose to join the First Division over the Third.”

“Well, what can I say? There’s just something about the First that caught my eye,” you grin and Hoshina’s smile grows a little sharper.

“So I’ve heard,” he offers knowingly and you have to laugh. “But I guess the heart wants what the heart wants.”

You internally send your thanks out to the universe for providing you with the perfect opening yet again.

“Speaking of…” you begin and take a step towards him, now standing close enough that it borders on the line of inappropriate for a man who is not your boyfriend. From the way he raises an eyebrow, Hoshina seems to recognize it as well. “Have you ever had a threesome?”

You’re not sure what causes the sudden silence that falls over the members of the Third Division, whether it’s the bluntness with which you’ve just propositioned their Vice-Captain, the fact that you’ve done it so publicly, or how casual you sounded in doing so, as if you were asking him how he took his coffee.

Hoshina’s face has slackened with shock, the man so taken aback that his eyes are now fully open. You simply tilt your head curiously, waiting for his response.

“Uh…” is all you receive and you realize that he probably didn’t understand what you were proposing.

“Sorry, maybe I didn’t put that right,” you say with a slightly sheepish smile. “What do you think about having a threesome with me and Gen?”

You hear a loud sigh and in your periphery, you see Shinonome making her way past the scene playing out within the base’s hallway.

“Hey, don’t tell Gen, okay?” you call out after her and she just waves a dismissive hand, which you take as her compliance.

When you turn back to face Hoshina, you find him, and the rest of Third Division, standing exactly how you left them — in total silence. You frown in confusion.

“Am I not being clear enough?” you ask and Hoshina’s mouth opens and closes wordlessly. You scratch the back of your head thoughtfully, wondering how else you can make him understand. “I want to fuck you and Gen at the same time.”

That finally seems to get a reaction out of someone in the Third Division as the man with messy dark hair to Hoshina’s right seems to choke on his own breath as he erupts in a loud coughing fit. Your brow furrows before understanding finally dawns on you.

“Oh, no, no, no,” you’re quick to rush out, waving your hands in front of you in hopes that it will help clear up the misunderstanding. “Don’t worry, I know anal can sometimes be intimidating with someone you don’t know that well. Gen would be the one fucking me in the ass.”

To your complete and utter bewilderment, Hoshina’s eyes somehow manage to grow even wider. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say…

“Oh, do you want to fuck me in the ass? That’s totally fine with me!” you laugh, relieved to have gotten to the heart of the problem. But then you rest your finger on your chin and look up as you think it over. “We’ll have to see what Gen thinks about that — well all of it really. But whatever, it should be fine. You’re the guest of honor after all.”

You give a satisfied nod but before you can say goodbye and assure him that you’ll catch up after the meeting to hammer out the details, there’s a familiar screeching that comes from the conference room’s entrance.

“Oi, Hoshina! Get away from my woman!”

You barely have a chance to look over your shoulder and catch a glimpse of the furious expression on Narumi’s face before you’re being roughly yanked back by the collar of your shirt. And then the world is spinning as he easily slings you over his broad shoulder like a sack of potatoes with a strength that usually lies hidden under layers and layers of laziness, narcissism, apathy, and immaturity.

“What gives you the right to think you can just waltz onto my turf and take what’s rightfully mine?!” Narumi shouts, gesturing wildly with the arm that’s not currently holding you in place and keeping you from wiggling out of his grasp.

“Oh, perfect timing, Captain Narumi!” Hoshina exclaims, Narumi’s sudden appearance seeming to have snapped him out of whatever stupor he had just been in with you. “Your Head of Operations and I were just discussing an exciting opportunity for me to outperform you again!”

You think that the only thing that keeps Narumi from keeling over from the verbal blow is the knowledge that if he collapses to the floor in a heap, then you go right along with him. For as careless as Narumi can be, he’s never truly careless with you.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I bet you’ve never even made a woman come before! You know how often I make her come?” He then screeches your name repeatedly, trying to grab your attention like he doesn’t already have it. “Tell him! Tell this beady-eyed hack how much I make you come!”

With a roll of your eyes, you summon all of your upper-body strength to lift yourself up enough on Narumi’s shoulder to be able to look behind you and over his head at Hoshina’s unruffled expression.

“I mean, to be fair, it’s a lot,” you agree with a shrug, regretting it the second you do as Narumi lets out the most obnoxious laugh possible. He readjusts his hold on you to move you higher up on his shoulder and keep you from slipping from his grasp, causing you to let out a soft oof! as he bounces you unexpectedly.

“Hear that, Hoshina? I know how to keep my woman more than satisfied!” he boasts and gives your ass a slap that you should have known was coming.

The admonishing, “Gen!” that leaves your lips sounds too much like a moan for your taste and you can practically feel him preening like a fucking peacock at the sound. Hoshina seems happy to let the First Division Captain rant and you wonder if it’s because he knows that Narumi is more than capable of making himself look like an idiot all on his own.

“Y’know, I can make her squirt so easily that I don’t even have to be paying attention—ouch!” You cut him off by grabbing onto his hair and yanking. “What the hell was that for? It’s the truth!”

You’re much less concerned with the intimate details that Narumi is spilling about your sex life than you are with the unamused look on Hasegawa’s face as he stands at the end of the hallway in the conference room’s entrance.

“It’s time for the meeting to begin,” the First Division Vice-Captain announces and Narumi immediately stiffens before whirling around to face the man and you’re once again face-to-face with Hoshina and the Third Division.

Unable to help yourself, you shoot Hoshina a wink as you part two of your fingers in a ‘V’ and lift them up to your mouth to stick your tongue between them in an obscene gesture that has his cheeks turning the most wonderful shade of pink.

“Now, just a second, Hasegawa!” Narumi begins to protest but he doesn’t get much further than that before you’re suddenly being effortlessly lifted out of his grasp by the back of your shirt and placed on your feet at his side.

“My apologies, Soshiro,” Hasegawa offers and the rest of the Third takes this as their cue to go about their business and head into the conference area.

“No worries,” Hoshina replies easily as he too breezes past the three of you. “I think all of the Defense Force is aware of what to expect whenever they visit the First.”

You ignore Hasegawa’s grimace at the statement to peek around the mountain of a man at Hoshina’s retreating form.

“I’ll catch up with you soon, Soshiro~” you call after him and you’re pleased to see that this time, he seems ready for your advances because he tosses his head back and laughs before giving you a wink of his own.

“Hey! Cut it out!” Narumi cries and you can see him visibly growing more distressed when you look at him like you had forgotten he was there — which maybe, for just the briefest second, you had.

Hasegawa doesn’t give your and Narumi’s argument a chance to gain steam, cutting it off by tightly grabbing your ear with one hand and Narumi’s ear with the other. You both let out a matching string of ow ow ows! that falls on deaf ears.

“I told both of you that it was vitally important that you were on time for today’s meeting,” he lectures.

“I was on time! She was the one who was out here trying to get in the pants of that smug bastard!” Narumi argues but from the loud ow! that follows, Hasegawa doesn’t care to listen to his excuses.

For the First Division’s Vice-Captain, the fact that Narumi is standing here in the hallway beside you and not seated in his chair in the conference room means that he was not, in fact, on time.

“We’ll discuss this later. The two of you have already held up the meeting for long enough.” His tone leaves no room for argument and even Narumi seems to have accepted his fate.

Other than the sharp inhales of pain that escape him from how tightly his ear is being tugged, he makes no attempt to protest as Hasegawa drags the two of you alongside him and into the conference room.

He releases you both only once you’ve all entered the conference space, ensuring that everyone who has been kept waiting, including the Defense Force’s newly appointed Director General, Itami Keiji, who is watching on with clear irritation, is able to witness your joint humiliation.

You would probably care more if it weren’t for the way Narumi grabs your arm before you even have a chance to glance at Hoshina and yanks you after him to where the rest of the First Division is seated.

As he drags you along, your eyes meet Shinonome’s where she sits only a few seats down and you shoot her a look of betrayal. Despite the blank expression on her face, you know that she’s laughing at you. Even if she didn’t tell Narumi what exactly you were up to, you knew her well enough to know that at the bare minimum, she told him who you were with, and he was competent enough to at least put two and two together.

Narumi stops at the three empty chairs in the front row and sits right in the middle, leaving you with no other option than to sit next to him. You know that’s what he’s counting on because as soon as you take your seat, he’s already leaning over to pick your conversation back up.

“Hey, how many times do I need to make you come tonight for you to give up on all this Hoshina stuff?” he hurriedly whispers in your ear. A wide grin grows on your lips at his own proposal and you’re suddenly much more interested in his to you than in yours to Hoshina.

You’re prevented from answering when Hasegawa arrives and easily lifts Narumi from his chair by the collar of his uniform and deposits him in the empty chair at the end of the table. You pout when Hasegawa then takes the seat between the two of you, separating you in an attempt to keep the attention on the matter at hand and not on your negotiations with Narumi.

However, Narumi’s offer is too good for you to let pass you by and you lean forward to look at him around Hasegawa. You catch his eye and boldly hold up all five fingers. He raises an eyebrow before smirking. He then leans forward in his own chair to extend his hand toward you so that you can shake on it.

You’re surprised that Hasegawa is allowing it but maybe he realizes that this is what’s needed to put an end to this entire mess. Whatever the reason, he does nothing to stop you as you reach in front of him and meet Narumi’s hand and give it a shake.

Before you can let go, Narumi leans in even closer to darkly promise, “I’ll have you squirting all over my face tonight.”

What he doesn’t seem to realize is that by leaning forward, his mouth is now directly in front of the microphone on the table in front of him.

Which means that every attendee, from those physically present in the meeting space — including the most senior members of the Defense Force’s leadership — to those joining virtually and projected across the large screens at the front of the room, has just heard the Captain of the First Division, the man known as Japan's Strongest Anti-Kaiju Combatant, announce that he’s going to make you squirt for him.

There’s a smattering of muffled laughter from around the room — you’re pretty sure that you can make out Hoshina’s laugh — and some groans from the other First Division officers who are more than used to incidents of this nature. But it’s the overwhelming silence that’s more deafening than anything else as it allows Narumi’s words to echo and hang in the cavernous room.

This might be the first time that you’ve ever seen Narumi — a man who knows no shame — look truly embarrassed as he releases your hand and slinks down in his chair, hoping to hide from the rest of the room behind Hasegawa’s hulking figure.

You chance looking up at the screens hanging above you and have to physically slap your hand over your mouth to keep from laughing when you see the wildly different reactions of the three other Division Captains.

Ashiro is sitting there with her eyes closed, looking like she’s summoning every ounce of patience she has. Igarashi looks like his usual self, which is to say he looks like he’s about to bite someone’s head off — Narumi’s you’re sure. And Ogata, your own former Captain during your time at the Fourth Division, has a wide and amiable grin stretched across his face, seemingly amused by the entire display.

You suddenly feel Hasegawa’s disapproving gaze on you and you clear your throat, forcing down your laughter and a serious expression onto your face as you sit forward properly in your seat.

The Director General seems like he’s already exhausted and the meeting hasn’t even started.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” Itami states, directing a pointed look in your and Narumi’s direction. “Let’s begin the Anti-No. 9 Eastern Divisional Conference.”

Before he can say anything else, you hear a loud yawn from the other side of Hasegawa. You’re apparently not the only one who notices as Igarashi does indeed take the opportunity to bite Narumi’s head off and the four highly-esteemed captains descend into a bickering match that’s far below their station.

You find yourself leaning over to Hasegawa with a smirk.

“See? With all these idiots around, even if we had been early, this meeting was never gonna start on time,” you tell him and while he gives you an unimpressed look, you notice that he doesn’t disagree.

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine Kafka Letting Slip How Much He Likes You

Kafka Hibino x FemReader

Warnings: None

Going through training to fight Kaiju was taking it’s toll on your body today as you limped to the mess hall. You could hear the ruckus of all the cadets from across the building. Normally you were up for laughing and carrying on with your fellow trainees but today you were just ready for some grub and then hopefully afterwords a much needed rest. It wasn’t until you walked through the doors did you find out what the uproar was about. A red faced Kafka Hibino was all the explanation you needed to know he was the butt of the joke and everyone was making fun of him. While Kafka seemed like a doofus who was wasting his time to everyone else, you genuinely liked him. He was funny and the way he was trying again after so many failures was endearing. You ignored the cackles and Kafka’s windy replies. You waited in line fighting a headache from the tense training that had happened today while everyone else carried on. You were secretly jealous that everyone seemed to have tons of energy while you were dragging. As you limped towards the closest table with a tray in hand you didn’t notice Kafka watching you with concern. When you sat down you felt relief but now you were worried you wouldn’t be able to get up again. Running on adrenaline had sapped all your strength and you didn’t know it until you sat down. Without a word Kafka got up from his seat and carried what remained of his tray towards you. He plopped down beside you giving you one of his famous grins.

“You doing alright,” he asked.

You nodded, “Yeah I’m doing fine. Training is just kicking my butt today.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Mine too.”

“It’s always kicking your butt Kafka!”

You laughed while the older man sputtered, though he couldn’t argue.

You ate your food while Kafka finished whatever was left on his tray. Normally he would inhale anything he got (being part Kaiju made his appetite jump off the scales) but just having you around gave him an excuse to eat slower. It wasn’t until the warning bell sounded that it was almost time to get back at it. Kafka had finished but you shoveled what was left in your mouth before rising to take your tray to the dish washer. As soon as you stood putting weight on your ankle it gave way leaving you to fall onto the unforgiving floor. Except you never hit the floor. A arm wrapped around your waist and set you back on your feet, though you kept your weight off your bad ankle.

“Yeah you need to go to the infirmary,” Kafka answered also taking your tray. He grimaced as Reno glared at the older man from across the mess hall but you didn’t notice as he helped you along. Awkward silence had settled between you two as you hobbled along with Kafka still by your side. You cleared your throat trying not to think about his close proximity and warmth.

“So for a guy who sucks so bad during training. You’re pretty strong there Kafka.”

He laughed awkwardly, “Guess I’ve been eating more veggies around here.”

“Sure I guess it’s been rough on a guy like you who’s probably spent most of his adult years running on pork rinds, cigarettes, and beer,” you laughed.

  “Hey I refrained myself from those things before joining the Defense Force thank you.”

“Sure sure,” you snorted. Kafka held open the infirmary door for you while you hobbled in.

“Kafka. (Y/N). What brings you into my neck of the woods,” the base doctor asked.

“She got injured during training, now she can’t put weight on her ankle,” Kafka explained while easing you onto the examination table.

“Okay we’ll see how bad it is. Thanks for bringing her Kafka, I can take it from here.”

Kafka shook his head, “I’d rather stay here to see how she is and then help her back into her room.”

“I think if I’m patched up I can head out for more training,” you spoke causing both men to shake their heads.

“I think it’ll be better for you to rest,” the doctor spoke. “I’ll send a letter for your superiors to explain your absence and to give you a little time to recover.” That’s what you didn’t want to hear but if you needed to heal completely then you would. The Defense Force wouldn’t like putting someone out on the battlefield that didn’t take care of themselves. It only put more people at risk.

With a patched up ankle and a Kafka once more acting as a crutch you both walked towards the barracks. Kafka seemed to be thinking about something but you shrugged it off. He had always seemed a little distant and you couldn’t figure out why, but you were thankful for him. You also thought his kindness and care endearing. Back at your room you entered in your number on the wall panel. Using the door frame as a brace you turned towards your hero.

“Thanks for your help today Kafka,” you grinned. “I think I’ll be just fine on my own now.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad it wasn’t serious. I’ll bring you some grub a little later,” he answered while his foot tapped nervously.

“Well thanks again you’re my hero Kafka.”

“(Y/N)?”

“Yeah?”

“I um…”

You waited before he bolted forward pulling you into his unyielding body. Though he was still careful about your injured ankle. He kissed the top of your head and you froze.

“Kafka?”

“I like you a lot and what you said made my walls come crumbling down. I’ve always wanted to be someone’s hero and it just makes it better that I’m yours,” he sighed before stiffening up again realizing what he just said and done. 

Now his confidence bled away replaced by a blush so red a cherry would be jealous. You laughed returning the embrace and kissing his scruffy chin, “I like you too Kafka. Now get back to training before you get yelled at some more.”

“Yes ma’am,” he let go saluting you sloppily. “Hey I’ll see you later?!”

“I look forward to it,” you spoke softly. Watching his retreating form you couldn’t help but think that there was more to Kafka Hibino then anyone realized.

[macabro]

Gojira

As much as I love seeing two gigantic monsters slap the heck out of eachother, I want to see another film trying the "film noir" angle of the 1954 one.

[pocket-ozwynn]

Genesis Day: Chapter 1

Author’s preface: All OCs used within the tag marked as Kaiju!AU have an alternate history to how they are presented in my other works of fiction on this blog. 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Kaijune y’all. :)

---

[Kaiju!AU]

Next Chapter: Chapter 2

Word count: 4160

CW: Adult language, mild blood, violence

It was barely midnight when deep within a supply warehouse, at the very edge of Fort Jeffrey, blood was spilt and shouts were raised.

Passing by old metal doors with grime-caked windows and into a hallway lit by strips of flickering fluorescent lighting, the distant fight’s din echoed down across dented lockers and linoleum floors. At the very end of the hallway, light escaped through the cracks of the warehouse doors and spilled out into the sleepy hallway…

Corporal Freyja Montayne staggered back–her boots hit heavily as she regained her footing. Her lungs ached, and sweat dripped from the tip of her nose as she rolled her broad shoulders and tried blinking the stars out from her vision. The intense lighting of the warehouse’s interior shone harshly down upon the center of the room. 

Shouting. The stomping of boots. Applause. People were chanting her name.

Freyja tasted a familiar tang…that was fine–Freyja was used to the taste of blood.

“You okay Frey?” The question was nearly lost in the din of the onlookers.

Freyja took a moment to wipe the sweat and blood from her lips with the back of her hand. She bobbed her head to the cadence of the chanting before grinning. Fresh blood started trickling down her split lip once more.

“Who, me?” Freyja asked as she pointed to herself. She couldn’t help but grin widely. She could smell the salt of her sweat and could almost taste the adrenaline as her heart thundered like war drums. She felt ALIVE.

Freyja winked and squared back up. “Never felt better, Ekland.”

Ekland smirked and shrugged. “Good.”

Freyja danced forward towards Ekland–her wrapped fists raised to guard her face as she closed the distance between the two of them with brisk precision. 

“KICK HIS ASS MONATYNE” Williams screamed. She roared with laughter as she threw her fists up in the air. Delgado meanwhile was yelling something to Ekland, but he was nowhere as loud as the Samoan private as she bellowed. 

Thinking quickly about her posture and movements, Freyja jabbed with her left to test Ekland’s guard. Unsurprisingly, Ekland blocked it deftly. She grinned as she went in for a second jab…then feigned, and went for a hook instead. Ekland was completely blindsided as he went to guard for the jab, but found Freyja reaching around and clocking him in the side of the jaw.

Ekland staggered back a bit, though he kept himself squared up if Freyja planned to push the assault. Hunter–who had drawn the short straw and was acting ref tonight–kept a careful eye on the two of them. None of this was technically regulation boxing…nor was it probably the most “legal” of off-duty activities for soldiers to be partaking in. But it was a helluva good time, and everyone made sure to look out for one another.

And, of course, everyone also made sure not to snitch and tell the officers.

“You okay Ekland?” Freyja asked, echoing Ekland’s question from earlier. Ekland weakly nodded. He murmured something under his breath before bouncing on his heels once more. He licked his lips before he pressed forward. Ekland seemed determined not to back down–especially if Freyja wasn’t.

The next few seconds were nothing but a blur of jabs, blocks, and a lot of less than fancy footwork. As they got into a rhythm, it was hard to find an opening for Freyja–Ekland knew how to read her; but then again, the same could be said for Freyja as well. 

They’d been part of Fireteam Griffin for far too long–they knew all of each other’s tells. They were more than just a well-oiled machine–they were a family. Sergeant Buck was the grumpy Dad, Freyja and Ekland were the two semi-responsible oldest children who would lovingly bicker and fight and drag Hunter into the mix by accident, Delgado was thoughtful and soft-spoken, and Williams was…well, Williams. 

It also made it incredibly hard to find a proper opening when it came to boxing with one of them too.

Freyja went for a double jab, but was interrupted before she could even land the first–an overhand from Ekland sailed over her jab and clocked her in the face. Freyja grunted and staggered back, her eyes wide as her vision spun with spots. Damn–that was a good hit.

Hunter took a step, his eyes keen and trying to see if Freyja needed him to step in…but Ekland was faster. He closed the gap, his right shoulder pulled back ever so slightly…

Ekland jabbed, and Freyja dipped to the side. With a cry from the crowd, Freyja dealt a devastating hook to Ekland's exposed side. Ekland groaned as the air left his lungs. Freyja felt a satisfied surge of adrenaline that felt like lightning through her veins. She caught herself growling as she went for a second swing…

“STAND DOWN.”

The command was as loud and clear as a gunshot. It was enough for Freyja and Ekland to snap to attention. The sound of boots and heels echoed through the warehouse as the residual din of the match fell quiet as three figures made their way across the concrete towards the jerry-rigged boxing ring. The collection of twenty or so soldiers around the ring made of stacked boxes and cases turned to face the sound of the noise with muted horror.

The one who had barked the command was Gunnery Sergeant Norman Buck–the patriarch of Fireteam Griffin. Buck didn’t condemn nor condone these “training activities.” He allowed them to go on, so long as no one got too hurt and that everyone made sure they were looking out for one another. 

With him was a copper-haired woman in a service uniform with plenty of medals that glistened in the harsh lights angled towards the boxing ring. And judging by the silver bar on her uniform, this was a Lieutenant. A First Lieutenant, in fact.

Damn–that probably explained why Buck was pissed then. They were ALL busted–himself included.

Freyja had seen this First Lieutenant around Fort Jeffrey. She walked around with a crisp, disciplined air and her head held high–and she always had her assistant close on her heels. Sure enough, he was with her–his arms clutching a collection of folders and a tablet close to his chest. He nervously readjusted his glasses as he studied the First Lieutenant’s movements…almost as if he too was waiting for her to go off like a grenade. As the Lieutenant stepped into the edges of the lights focused on the ring, Freyja could make out the name tag on her uniform: SINCLAIR.

Lieutenant Sinclair raised an eyebrow as she eyed the makeshift ring–her face was expressionless. Her assistant awkwardly shifted from foot to foot.

Most of the soldiers present looked very interested at their scuffed boots, the ceiling, the boring rows of shelves that lined the warehouse–basically anything that wasn’t the First Lieutenant. Not a single soul dared make eye contact with her. Not Ekland, not Delgado, not Williams, and sure as hell not Hunter–he'd already slipped out of the ring and was trying to make himself small and hidden behind the far side.

But Freyja didn’t back down. She knew it was pointless to act like they weren’t breaking any rules by having these fights, and she didn’t feel bad for doing so. They had fun and grew closer together as a fireteam and as soldiers–so why cower and back down when what they were doing was bringing them together? So Freyja just leaned heavily against the ropes of the ring and awaited the Lieutenant’s judgment.

“I’ve told them before to cut this out,” Buck sighed as he ran a leathery hand across his buzzed scalp. “Sorry Lieutenant. This won’t happen again…I’ll make sure of it this time.”

For a breathless moment the Lieutenant surveyed EVERYTHING. It felt like those cool blue eyes were picking apart every little detail. Every scratch, every bruise…

The Lieutenant’s gaze lingered on Freyja. Her eyes seemed to narrow. Freyja couldn’t help but frown. She was used to getting stares from people, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit put-off by the look Lieutenant Sinclair was giving her.

Finally, the Lieutenant broke her gaze from Freyja. There was a pause…

…before she laughed.

“Well, don’t leave me hanging!” Lieutenant Sinclair finally exclaimed with disarming brightness. “Who was winning?” 

The soldiers gathered around murmured in surprise. This wasn’t exactly the berating they were expecting. A couple of them actually chuckled and seemed to visibly relax at seeing the levity of the Lieutenant. Sergeant Buck looked more confused than anything else; curiously, the Lieutenant’s mousy assistant hadn’t relaxed.

“Um…Corporal Montayne was, ma’am,” Ekland admitted as he too leaned up against the ropes on his end of the ring. He nursed his side where Freyja had slugged his liver–but not without a proud smirk on his face. “Girl here beat my ass. I got sloppy, and she went for the throat…”

“Well, at least you’re honest!” Lieutenant Sinclair said with a bright laugh. A few soldiers chuckled with her–even Williams was smiling; however, after a moment, Lieutenant Sinclair pursed her lips and sighed. “Look, this obviously CAN’T go on. As much as I would love for you to have these exercises, can you imagine what the top brass would say when they found out about this?

“But, I’m a fair woman,” the Lieutenant insisted. “I spoke with Sergeant Buck on the way here, and I understand that this little fight club of yours was done in good fun…so in the spirit of that, I’ll only be punishing two of you–” She gestured to Freyja and Ekland. “--the two I saw fighting with my own eyes. Corporal Montayne and…?”

Ekland’s expression had soured. He grimaced before responding. “Corporal Ekland, ma’am.”

“Ekland–thank you.” Lieutenant Sinclair put on a tired smile. “Now, Corporals Ekland and Montayne, I expect to see both of you at 0300–my office in Grant Hall, room 116. I’ll put the two of you to work and we’ll put this whole thing behind us.”

Freyja and Ekland exchanged a glance.

“So…in like, three hours?” Freyja carefully asked. Lieutenant Sinclair nodded. 

“By the time we’re finished you’ll be able to make it in time for your morning regiments with the rest of your fireteam.” Lieutenant Sinclair looked to Sergeant Buck. “Does this seem reasonable, Sergeant?”

“That seems fair to me, Lieutenant,” Buck grunted.

“Very good.” Lieutenant Sinclair beamed. She clasped her hands together and looked about. “Now let’s get this cleaned up and get back to our posts, shall we? Dismissed.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and marched out. Her assistant shot an apologetic look to no one in particular before hurrying off after the Lieutenant. An awkward silence fell over the warehouse as soldiers started to trickle out–not a soul stayed behind to help, until it was only Fireteam Griffin.

“Fine, don’t help us clean up!” Williams yelled through cupped hands. “Y’all are just a bunch of scablickin’ sons of a-”

“Private Williams,” snapped Buck. Williams looked as though Buck had stopped her from trying to help an old lady cross the street.

“What?!” Williams asked incredulously. Buck could only manage an exasperated sigh–he clearly did not have the energy to match William’s tonight. 

“Can she even do that?” Ekland asked no one in particular as he just leaned against the ropes and grimaced. “Roping us into an all-nighter? We have drills tomorrow. Isn’t she worried about Frey and I crashing? I’m sure the corpsman would love to know we’re getting zero sleep tonight…”

“Doesn’t matter if she can–just be thankful she didn’t deal harsher punishments,” Sergeant Buck retorted with a snarl as he marched over. And though he huffed and simmered, he carried himself like a disappointed father–but not one without care of his children. The weathered sergeant started unworking the ring’s ropes with his calloused, leathery fingers. With a silent nod, he motioned for the soldiers in his fireteam to lend a hand.

Like clockwork, Freyja and Ekland started helping with the ropes while Delgado and Williams started removing the tarp and boxes that made up the ring proper. 

“Besides,” Buck added softly. “I’m not about to let you two collapse on me tomorrow…not because of the Lieutenant, anyway.”

“Sarge is right,” Hunter quipped as he poked out from behind his hiding spot to help. “We actually got off pretty lightly, all things considerin’…”

“Speak for yourself,” Ekland grumbled. “Pullin’ an all-nighter for Princess Copperhead? No thank you…that’s the last thing I wanted to do with my evening. Also, where the hell did YOU scurry off to Hunter? Slinkin’ off while Montayne and I took the heat-”

“That’s First Lieutenant Sinclair to you, corporal,” Buck growled as he cut off Ekland’s chastisement of Hunter. “Watch your tongue.”

“You could’ve lied for us Sarge,” Ekland insisted. “We had a good thing goin’!”

“I’ve lied for y’all for three months now–to MY superiors.” Buck glowered. He shook his head with a sigh as he started wrapping up the rope. “This got bigger than just Griffin–it was bound to come crashing down on y’all eventually.”

“Ekland is thankful you covered for us for so long, Sarge,” reassured Freyja as she helped snake over the rest of the rope that Buck was working on. She jumped down from the ring with a heavy thud and smiled as she passed it along to him. “I am too. You could’ve gotten in a lot of trouble.”

Buck puffed out his cheeks and slowly exhaled. He quietly shrugged as he finished reeling up his length of rope before passing it over to Freyja.. “Yeah, well…this fireteam’s a family. ‘Families sometimes make real shitty decisions, but you still do what you can to help ‘em…within reason, of course.”

“You got that right, sir.” Freyja grinned. Buck moved away to help Hunter with one of the larger supply containers.

“So what’s the deal with the Lieutenant, anyway?” Ekland asked. He looked around curiously, and judging by his tone it sounded like he was actively looking for dirt.

“Careful,” warned Buck before he quickly switched to instructing Hunter on how to lift with his legs, and not with his back

“I’m just asking, Sarge!” Ekland insisted. “One minute she seems chill, and the next minute she’s dragging Montayne and I out for an all-nighter! Besides, didja see how her assistant looked at her? Poor guy was shaking like a leaf.”

“I heard she’s some kind of…living artificial-intelligence experiment made by ex-war criminals living out in Argentina!” Williams grinned as she stopped what she was doing so she could perch on the container she had been hauling. She drummed her fingers anxiously on the edge of the container. “I’ve also heard that she’s the daughter of some crazy cultist millionaire who builds giant robots!”

“Oh hell yeah!” Ekland cackled as he moved a water barrel.  “Now THAT’S some dirt!”

“You’re SO weird Williams,” Hunter groaned as he and Buck successfully got their container off the ground. Williams glared at him, and looked ready to pounce off her perch once he stepped within range.

“Knock it off you two,” Freyja ordered with a laugh. Williams sneered, but forced herself to relax.

“I heard she was stationed out at Camp Fromann in Savannah back in ‘18,�� huffed Delgado with a murmur. “She got demoted and shipped out after she nearly got her company killed of heatstroke. Makin’ ‘em do all sorts of shitty, off-the-wall PT drills that weren’t even scheduled that week during the hottest summer in Georgia.”

Freyja furrowed her brow as she listened. That was a serious accusation. It was one thing to throw around silly conspiracy theories about living supercomputers and crazy millionaires…but this? Lieutenant Sinclair putting other soldiers in harm's way?

Those calculating looks the Lieutenant had given them prior. The way that Freyja almost felt…appraised. Deconstructed. How wrong it felt…

With any luck, Freyja hoped that Lieutenant Sinclair didn’t have plans to try and have her killed in a few hours.

—

After they had broken down the rest of the ring, Buck shut down all talk about the Lieutenant and ordered Hunter, Williams, and Delgado back to the barracks so they could get rested–he didn’t intend for the entirety of Fireteam Griffin to be exhausted in the morning. Ekland and Buck hung back so the Sergeant could have a word with Ekland about his behavior regarding the Lieutenant.

With nothing better to do for the next few hours, Freyja decided to split off so she could go hit the showers and grab a quick bite to eat. 0300 would come quickly, and Freyja wanted to make sure she was refreshed and fueled up for an all-nighter. Hopefully it wouldn’t hit her too hard during PT tomorrow.

She couldn’t help but drink in the cool, springtime air as she slowed her gait. It was a bright night with a clear sky, brilliant stars, and a full moon. She was from the city, so she was still getting used to bright nights like this that didn’t involve cities and street lamps. But high up in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, Fort Jeffrey was a prime local for those soldiers who enjoyed gazing up, and getting lost in their thoughts as they looked at the the stars abov-

WHAM.

Freyja staggered back only a pace but the collision was enough to grab her attention as she watched the man she ran into yelp and fall right onto his tailbone as his armful of papers and folders were thrown upward from the man’s sheer surprise.

Tossed papers fluttered down like lazy helicopter seeds as the man groaned and nursed his tailbone. His grimace melted as he looked up at her and stared for a moment–his eyes widened slightly.

Freyja was honestly used to people staring. And honestly, people had every reason to stare. Freyja was a lot. She was big in every sense of the word–not that that bothered her, mind you..but she understood how off-putting and unattractive that could be. It could even be annoying or potentially scary if she wasn’t careful. And though she never hated herself for being big, sometimes it did make her sad that others didn’t love her the way she loved herself.

But this man’s expression was different.

She couldn’t quite place what that look on his face looked like. But whatever it was, it made her feel…good. Really good. There was something really endearing about the way he looked up at her–it was a look that she wanted to protect. She felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she realized she was staring at him too.

After a few breathless moments, the man blushed and cleared his throat. He quickly scrambled onto his hands and knees and tried to gather up the papers and manilla folders as best as he could. “G-Gosh, I’m…I’m sorry ma’am. I-I…REALLY should’ve been watching where I was going. I-I’m just a bit of a clutz tonight. U-Um…sorry, I…here, let me just get this all outta your way…”

Freyja couldn’t help but guffaw. “Hey, no! It’s okay! Look, I was the one not paying attention. Here, lemme help you…”

Without really waiting for his permission, Freyja dropped down on one knee and swept up most of the papers and folders. The man scooted back with a soft squeak–clearly he wasn’t anticipating her to actually help him. As Freyja awkwardly shuffled the papers into a clumsy stack of sorts, the man reached over and grabbed a pair of glasses that had fallen onto the ground. He slipped his glasses back, readjusted them, then pursed his lips as he studied Freyja carefully.

Wait, wasn’t this Lieutenant Sinclair’s assistant? Dark hair, scrawny frame, glasses…

“There.” Freyja smiled as she tucked the paper stack under one arm and stood to her full height. She reached a hand down towards him. “Need a hand?”

The man stared at her hand for a moment before reaching up to place his slender hand in hers. She curled her strong, calloused fingers in a secure grip before Freyja hauled him to his feet. She probably should’ve given him some warning first, as the man yelped as he caught air for a moment, then burst into laughter as he landed with a bit of a stumble.

Freyja felt her cheeks grow hot again. 

His laugh was bright and clear–like a bird’s song. It was a surprisingly lovely sound. Freyja couldn’t help but smile even wider as she heard it.

“I think these belong to you,” Freyja teased as she offered him the stack of papers and folders. “Sorry it's all jumbled up now...” The man blushed and smiled shyly. He mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ as he took the stack back from her and hugged it close to his chest.

“So, um…you got a name?” Freyja asked as she placed her hands on her hips. “I know I’ve seen you taggin’ along with Lieutenant Sinclair…but I don’t think we’ve ever met before. Sorry your first impression of me was an underground boxing ring and then crashing into you like a semi-truck going down the highway.”

“Oh! You’re just fine, ma’am–it happens to the best of us. And, um…my name is Alice, ma’am. Alice Beauchamp,” the man–Alice–replied reluctantly. “And you’re…Corporal Montayne, right?”

“Good memory.” Freyja grinned down at him. “But please, call me Freyja.” She paused for a moment so she could try and work out Alice’s surname. “Alice Beau-...chaw?”

Alice blushed and giggled as he ducked his head. “Ah! You’re close! Um…you kinda hafta swallow the last bit of it. It’s spelled -champ, but…ya’ know. Silly French names…you basically just gotta swallow all the consonants and make it sound fancy at the end of a word...”

He gave a little flippant wave of his hand and an awkward little laugh as he rolled his eyes self-mockingly. “Silly girl’s name, silly French name…that’s me!”

Freyja furrowed her brow and laughed, “Hey now! I LIKE your name! It’s cute. And besides, my name literally is spelt with a ‘y’ and a ‘j’...so join the Our Names are Spelled Weird, But Still Sound Really Cool Club!!”

Alice blinked in surprise and then burst into laughter as he clutched his papers tightly to his chest. It was infectious, because it got Freyja laughing too. After a few moments, the laughter died down and Alice awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, um…thanks for helping me with my papers Freyja.” Alice beamed up at her. “I should probably let you get going, huh? I know Ma-” He caught himself before clearing his throat and continuing, “-Lieutenant Sinclair wants you to be over at 0300. So, I’ll let you go…but, um…I guess I’ll see you then?”

“You’ll be there too?” Freyja asked with surprise. “I didn’t think the First Lieutenant would need YOU to stay up to help her oversee any disciplinary action. I figured she just needs some muscle to help her do some heavy lifting or somethin’.”

“Yeah, well.” Alice sheepishly shrugged. “I like to help her out where I can.”

There was a feel of awkward tension the moment Lieutenant Sinclair had been brought up. Freyja wanted to crack a joke about her to lighten the mood, but something stopped her from doing so. The way that Alice just…tightened at the mention of her. She watched that precious glimmer in his eyes that she had wanted to see stay lit start to flicker and dim. It was almost as if he was bracing himself for the impact of something…

“Well.” Alice jumped as Freyja replied. She smiled down at him. “I guess I’ll see you in a few hours then, yeah? Hopefully it won’t be too bad.”

Alice couldn’t help but smile. “Y-Yeah…I’ll…I’ll see you then.”

Freyja wasn’t quite sure if she should give him a slug on the shoulder, offer a fist bump, or maybe even a hug…so she just kinda gave an awkward little two-finger salute before walking off–though she was certainly cursing herself for somehow making things awkward towards the end.

Alice watched Freyja lumber off. He was still shaking a bit from the encounter; however, he wasn’t shaking in a bad way. In fact, he felt how incredibly hot his cheeks were getting. He swallowed nervously as he tried to still his racing heart…

He felt a stab of panic as his phone vibrated–he yelped and fumbled a bit with his arms full of paper before pulling out his phone and checking the notification:

What’s taking you?

Lieutenant Sinclair–though what wasn’t the name he had for her in his phone.

Alice swallowed hard. Jeepers, surely he wasn’t THAT late…how long had he taken speaking with the corporal? Not too long, he hoped…

After Alice awkwardly rearranged the papers his arms, he typed out a quick reply:

Sorry I’m late! See you soon, ily :) 

Alice saw that Lieutenant Sinclair had read the message, but no reply came.

He felt a silly wave of hurt attempt to bubble up, but Alice promptly shoved it back down as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and hurried off towards Lieutenant Sinclair’s quarters.

They had a lot to discuss.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Mom wrote an essay about Godzilla and Japan a few years ago in which the late Akira Takarada featured prominently. She’s not on social media, so I asked if I could share it here.

Enlightened by a Japanese Monster

By Barbara Murphy

Akira Takarada entered the ballroom at the 19th annual Godzilla Festival in Chicago in 2010. Here was the Japanese actor whose character Ogata helped to save humanity in the original 1954 Godzilla movie. Erect and fit in his seventies, he wore a tailored, striped summer suit, a contrast to his ardent American fans, wildly clapping in their wrinkled cargo shorts and “Got Zilla?” t-shirts.

What in the world was I doing here? Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I hated monster movies. Too much fighting. Not enough dialogue.

But then I became a mother in 1993 to a son who by age four had checked out every dinosaur book in our county library system. His fascination with prehistoric creatures led to a passion for fictional monsters, mostly Japanese—colorful Pokemon and no-nonsense kaiju. Library visits now included a full sweep of videos with titles like Godzilla’s Revenge; Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster; and Gamera vs. Zigra.

I found Ghidorah creepy with all those swinging heads, and Gamera, the flying turtle, almost comical. But I was taken by the rainbow-colored Mothra and her twin fairies in Mothra vs. Godzilla, another kaiju movie in which Takarada had a role. In the fairies’ song, they call Mothra a guardian angel who will come whenever the people need kindness and protection. Who doesn’t want someone like that in their lives?

No slouch when it comes to fighting, Mothra’s devotion to her people and her strength and beauty encouraged me to discover more about Godzilla’s world. By the time my son was 10, there we were, my husband, son, and I, driving 800 miles to an event that still turns human heads when we say it: The Godzilla Festival, or G-Fest. We have attended every year since, even in 2018 when my husband and I returned from an overseas trip at 10 PM the evening before we needed to depart.

While participating in the Godzilla Festival and learning about kaiju, I have seen my son grow from a shy youngster to a leader there of panel discussions in 2018 and 2019 (the most recent to have been held thanks to COVID-19), surrounded by “Big G” friends who live in Scotland, Kentucky, and California.

Beyond that, my knowledge and love of Japanese culture and its people have deepened, making the past two years of increased hate crimes and prejudice in our country against Asians even more troubling.

A soft spot for Japan was already alive in my heart when I was young, in spite of my being born 11 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It’s hard to recall what I learned where, in school or the culture, but I do recall some paradoxical sentiments.

I was taught that the Japanese were evil. Their aggressiveness in WWII was proof, and kamikaze pilots in movies underlined the point. I also ascertained that a lot of their post-war products, including toys, were an attempt to conquer the world in a new way, manufacturing and exporting the cheapest products they could. Everything was suddenly “Made in Japan” and, similar to some of today’s Chinese goods, everybody complained but bought them anyway. The Japanese continued to be our enemy.

Here came the tough part. I loved the cute toys.

I still have some of them: a glass tea cup decorated with pink flowers; a seven-inch stuffed mouse wearing a pinafore and striped beret.

That talent for creating cuteness became more visible when regular attendance at the Godzilla Festival led our family to a tour of Japan with other Godzilla fans in 2015, where we saw parking space cones decorated with smiling faces and cream-filled biscuits stamped with pandas. We also witnessed firsthand the generosity and star power of Mr. Takarada as he arranged for us a private tour of Toho Studios and signed autographs for waiting fans after dining with us on a boat on Tokyo Bay.

Preparing for that once in a lifetime journey also increased my awareness of the Japanese language. I had heard its rhythms often enough in those early videos and more recently during my favorite G-Fest tradition, interview sessions with a translator and Japanese guests such as Mr. Takarada. However, when one is trying to learn to speak a few phrases like “Thank you” and “Can you help me find my hotel?”, one’s appreciation grows.

As Takarada that day in 2010 said hello in English, we smiled, appreciating the gesture, but as everyone sat, and he spoke into the microphone in Japanese, we began to get what we had come for: the native language of our hero who never talked. Godzilla did not have to speak, his rage-filled roar plenty, fueled from being created out of American-made nuclear debris.

In that first black and white film, Mr. Takarada plays a sailor who accompanies Dr. Serizawa, a scientist with a conscience, into the depths of Tokyo Bay after Godzilla has nearly destroyed Tokyo. Both safely secured to a boat, it is Dr. Serizawa who carries his creation, the Oxygen Destroyer, a narrow tank that literally holds a solution. Once released, that chemical will deplete all living things nearby of oxygen. Knowing the enormous power of his invention beyond the current crisis, as Takarada’s Ogata rises to the surface and safety, Dr. Serizawa remains underwater, severing his own tie to the boat.

The first time I saw this sacrifice for the common good, I was in the darkened TV room of my son’s Japanese teacher. I did not know it then, but she was born in Hiroshima. When our tour group visited the Hiroshima Museum, it felt odd but affirming to stand next to Japanese museumgoers. My son and I got so caught up in the relics that the tour guide had to come find us to get us back on the bus.

Once I’d climbed one stage of Mount Fuji, tried to keep up with Kyoto morning commuters, and seen the decorated boats and shrine of Itsukushima, any remnants of my childhood stereotypes of the Japanese had dissolved.

During Mr. Takarada’s next visit to G-Fest in 2012, he sat in the front row of the annual costume parade. The ballroom was packed as adults and children stomped and swayed up the aisle to the table of judges across from Mr. Takarada. A wide variety of characters drew praise, among them a gray and silver fabric Anguirus, a long necked Rokurokubi who frightened onlookers like a good yokai should, and a crawling Mothra larva with eyes that lit up red and blue.

And then a young man dressed in a yellow costume, a replica of the diving suit and helmet Mr. Takarada himself had worn in Godzilla, carrying an Oxygen Destroyer, approached Mr. Takarada amidst camera flashes and cheers. Overcome with emotion, the young man removed his helmet and bowed to Mr. Takarada. As they hugged, I felt lucky to be present as a Japanese actor and an American viewer met in real time and to witness the convergence of history and art where one act inspires another. And the next day, at the closing luncheon, I was the beneficiary of Mr. Takarada’s attention.

Mr. Takarada, wearing the traditional yukata, entered the room from the back where we sat. The whole room stood up and applauded; he bowed and began to walk toward the front where a place had been reserved for him. As he moved forward, I too bowed, my hands together in a prayer-like position in front of my heart. Then, as I separated my hands to begin clapping again, he gently took my right hand and kissed it. No swagger. Just pure star decorum.

It’s impossible to predict what motherhood and monsters can bring.

[aperiodofhistory]

Kaiju

Strangeness in the water

a beast that could slaughter.

Too big when in motion,

thick skin, demon claws,

the birth of the ocean.

They remind us of the past,

the ghosts of forgotten giants,

that our memories have passed.

[studiobeebo]

IM SO GLAD I COULD CONVINCE U BC ITS FANTASTIC AND I HOPE MORE PPL GET INTO IT! and im literally the biggest slut for aquariums so ty ty and hope u enjoy 🤙🏽 @alibrick1

♡ Aquarium Date ♡

Soshiro Hoshina x Unspecified Gender! Reader

as always if y’all enjoy this please remember that reblogs are greatly appreciated!!

“What’s so funny?” You huffed, giddiness at the sight of the incredible creature in the tank in front of you quickly turning to suspicion upon turning away to look for where your boyfriend could have wandered off to, only to find him standing a few feet behind you, laughing.

“Nothin’.” He chuckled, a smile still on his face as he closed the distance between the two of you, though now his eyes were on the large whale shark that passed by behind you, which was arguably where his attention should have been considering the two of you didn’t go to the aquarium just stare at each other, but he couldn’t help his focus shifting to you more often than not.

Things at the base had been a bit hectic to say the least and being the vice captain, that chaos naturally landed right in his lap and he was expected to take a large part in getting things under control. That combined with the fact that you hadn’t exactly gotten off easy yourself meant that the two of you had been seeing very little of one another, which was generally expected due to your jobs and the fact that he was never really ‘off duty’ due to his position, but you’d barely had time to do anything aside from maybe eat lunch together and even that had become rare.

To be honest, he was arguably more put off by your lack of time together than you were, yet it was you who ended up finally requesting to get a weekend off with him.

While you decided to shoot high by asking your captain if her vice captain could be included in your time off, you were expecting her to draw the line at him considering the amount of work that had to be done, but to your surprise she agreed. It was something about how she knew good performance stemmed from a well rested mind, but all you heard was ‘you get a weekend off with your boyfriend’ and you were practically running down the hall ordering shinkansen tickets to Osaka and texting Soshiro simultaneously. He didn’t believe it at first, but he was more than happy to agree so here you were, at the Kaiyukan aquarium on a well deserved weekend off.

He himself was pretty impartial to aquariums and zoos, he dealt with insane creatures damn near everyday so there was never really anything about the attractions that really drew his attention. You, on the other hand, were someone who had become very good at drawing his attention and he’d caught himself staring a good handful of times throughout your day.

It was partially because of your looks, especially since you had gone all out considering the fact that you rarely got to do so, but mostly because this was the first time he had seen you looking excited and happy in a while. Usually when you saw one another, you were both exhausted and just about out of any energy you could muster, so seeing you looking into the various fish filled tanks with a wide smile playing on your lips and an extra pep in your step was more than enough to give him reason to stare.

He only laughed because he couldn’t believe himself for being so romantically cringey, plus it was funny seeing you practically smash your face against the glass to get a better look at the gentle giant that swam by every once in a while, but he was quick to act like he definitely-totally-100% wasn’t laughing at you.

“ ‘Nothin’ “, you mocked while gently elbowing him in the ribs before leaning into his side as he feigned dramatic pain. “You’re a shit liar, I can always tell when you’re laughing at me.”

“I don’t know what you mean.~” He hummed, this time letting out an actual ‘ow’ upon receiving a kick to his foot as he wrapped an arm around your waist. “Just in a good mood ‘s all.”

You hummed, shifting your eyes to look at him before looking back at the display before you. You liked to act like you didn’t care in retaliation to the amount of teasing you received from him, but you really did want him to have a fun weekend to relax a bit. You had been a tad bit worried that he might have wanted to spend his small slice of free time having time for himself, not that you would blame him, so you were relieved to see the lack of tense body language that you had been seeing in him as of late and a genuine smile on his face.

“In a good enough mood to buy me dinner?” You challenged with a raised brow, not wanting to dwell on being mushy for long as he let out a laugh of his own while giving a gentle squeeze to your waist.

“You’re not very good at being persuasive.”

“What do you want me to do, pose?”

“God no, that would be embarrassing and then I’d have to act like I don’t know who you are.”

You rolled your eyes and let out a faux huffy “Fine then.”, though when you went to pull away from him he was quick to tighten his grip, reflexes as fast as ever as he pulled you closer and muttered a resigned “Fine, fine.” against your skin while pressing a playful kiss on your temple.

“Gross, people are gonna think we’re dating or something.” You teased, this time actually wiggling out of his grasp to get a move on as your hunger began to creep up on you at the mention of dinner.

He simply smiled, moving to follow after you as he had done so many times before and would probably end up doing until the day he died.

“Yeah, well-“ He started, lacing his fingers with yours as he caught up. “Guess we’ll just have to tell them I got lucky.”

[liamiya]

day nine – narumi gen, video-games/quality time

warnings: agender!reader; nothing else i think; not proofread

word count: 470

It was hard to get some alone time with Narumi. Attacks could happen at any moment, and the man had to make them a priority, no matter what you two were doing. So, those small times that you could spend with him are your treasure.

— What? How do you even do that? — He yelled, pointing at the screen.

— The strongest soldier in Japan is losing to his partner on Super Mario. — You shook your head, scowling sarcastically. — Unbelievable.

— I'm not losing! — He huffed and focused on the screen, his red eyes wide and shining.

You did the same. Your eyes focused on your screen, the expression on your boyfriend's face was priceless. You were set on making him lose this time. 

As the match was arriving to its end, you felt your focus and eyes starting to get sharper. You knew that map and you knew that you were already very close to winning from Narumi. When you both could see the finishing line, you felt something wet against your ear. Gen had just licked your ear.

— Gen! What the fuck? — You put your hand over the side of your face. — You licked my ear?

From the side smirk on his lips, you already had your answer.

— No, but look. — He pointed at the screen. — I won.

He got up and started doing a little dance.

You threw your controller at him and groaned loudly.

— Oh my God, I'm dating an eight years old. 

He noticed how upset you looked and dropped down next to you. His head rested on your shoulder and his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into his lap.

— Aw baby, c'mon. — You gave him a dirty look and he pouted even harder. — Don't give me that look.

He batted his eyelashes at you, trying his best to crack you with his puppy eyes. The more he looked at you, the more your heart melted. After some seconds of him holding you against him, you sighed and hugged him back.

— You're lucky I love you, you menace.

His cuteish eyes went wide. His mouth fell open and you realized what you said, your own eyes going wide.

— W-Wait… You love me? — He whispered.

You nodded and looked away. You were too scared of his reaction. You two never talked about it, the feelings you both shared were casual until now, since you both don't even know if you're doing to see each other in the next day. His fingers gripping your chin suprised you. He pulled your face close to his and he kissed your lips softly.

— I love you too. — He smiled widely. — Let's play again. This time you can win.

taglist: @coco-goat-milk , @nanaminswaifu , @whyispistashanuttaken ​​ 

2021 © content belongs to liamiya, do not repost or edit without permission

[qualxon]

Kaiju 101

How does Godzilla's atomic breath work?

Remember that none of this is canon (at least as far as I know) unless explicitly stated. I'm just here to bend reality tbh

Part 1 - What organs make this work?

Godzilla breathes, we know this, we see him do the classic huff at least once every film, therefore we can easily conclude that Goji has lungs and a diaphragm. However, he also has gills which in turn implies that he has some form of filtration system for seawater. I don't know how to explain this in words but I made a diagram to help me (ft. KOTM screenshot)

Basically, I theorise that Goji has 3 lungs. Two work like regular terrestrial lungs (red), where air is pulled into the chest cavity by the diaphragm and oxygen is filtered through the lungs and into the bloodstream. Simple.

The third lung (blue), however, is used mainly when Goji's doin' his thing in the ocean. Water goes in through his mouth/nose/whatever and over his gills as he's swimming, which then gets pushed into the "water lung" in the same way that air does with his other lungs. Here, the water molecules are sent to the "gut" (teal):

(tbh literally none of these shapes are accurate, they're mostly just to show roughly where everything is)

The water is still full of salt though. So, the water is sent to the kidneys (pink), where the salt is extracted and sent as straight sodium to a gland next to the oesophagus, where it is stored. Any excess salt is dealt with in a way that we'll discuss later.

The salt-less water now goes to the gut, where the molecules are split into oxygen and hydrogen atoms. This generates a lot of energy and heat, effectively creating a 'nuclear reactor' within Godzilla's gut.

Part 2 - How do we get the flames?

Easy answer: hydrogen is very flammable.

Now, how do we ignite it?

Remember the sodium deposit gland? Well, sodium reacts quite violently with water. So, Godzilla just has to hack up a bit of water from that third lung while he expels hydrogen from his nuclear reactor gut, and boom! The sodium reacts with the water, generating heat which ignites the hydrogen and gives us fire.

As for why the flames are blue? Well, there's a type of radiation that actually glows blue, called Cherenkov radiation!

Part 3 - What if he goes thermonuclear?

Now, it's going to get very hot in his gut as Godzilla uses more and more energy to obtain and use as many hydrogen atoms as he can. If he's not careful, this can quite easily lead to a nuclear meltdown, like this:

This is where some of that other excess sodium comes in: sodium can be used as a coolant in nuclear power plants to help prevent a meltdown, or at least to lessen the effects. Although, this isn't a foolproof. Hence, one of the other uses of the water lung; in a case of a nuclear meltdown in his gut, the water lung can secrete any unused sea water directly into the gut, providing a second layer of defense against a thermonuclear reaction.

Part 4 - Where do the dorsal plates come in?

Godzilla's dorsal plates are essentially just made of nuclear waste that has cooled and hardened, we've seen this in Godzilla: Aftershock. But there's also the question of how they form in the first place, since a newly-hatched Gojira wouldn't be born with ridges of nuclear waste along their backs - they've never produced the nuclear waste to begin with. So, let's look at what infant Gojira do have (I'll use Ajax as my example).

Those little bumps along his back essentially act as intentional weak points for when he eventually begins developing his internal reactor and using his atomic breath. The nuclear waste gathers at these weak points and seeps through, causing the formation of the dorsal plates that he has in adulthood.

When Gojira are young, their new dorsal plates are pretty brittle since they either need years upon years of development in order to maintain a sturdy structure or a lot of hardened waste.

In a bit of a side note, I've mentioned before that Fodie can't really use her atomic breath since her dorsal plates are, to put it colloquially, fucked. While they did mend after they got broken, some of them didn't mend properly, causing "leaks" and cracks in the plates if she tried charging up. It's like if you broke your leg as a kid and has a slight gait in your step ever since. It's not a detrimental setback for her, just a bit of an inconvenience at times. She could pull an Aftershock and grow some new dorsal plates, but that takes a whole lot of energy, especially given that she has hardly used her atomic breath or even kicked her reactor into second gear at all.

[avelera]

In Moon Knight, Marc and Steven are both different types of archetypical characters I adore (tortured badass processing grief and snarky nerd?? like literally how many of these characters have I hyper fixated on across multiple fandoms??) and the fact that they come as a 2-for-1 deal in a pitch perfect mythological urban fantasy played totally straight but updated for my age group is frankly redonkulous.

My one fear is that the final episode won’t live up since MCU second to last episodes often pack the emotional punch before the finale devolves into cliche BS but holy shit, I definitely felt the pitter patter of loving a character in the latest episode and now I just feel like I’M IN DANGER

[kaijuscientists]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth Characters: Din Djarin, Cobb Vanth, Grogu | Baby Yoda, Boba Fett Additional Tags: Presumed character death, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Din Djarin Removes the Helmet

Summary:

Marshal Cobb Vanth is dead and while Din had not been present, it feels like he may as well have pulled the trigger himself.

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

written for @intricatecakes who posted something about this a month ago at this point

[narumi-gens]

Who brought up anal first? kn8 couple

Anon, I had to get this out of my inbox because it was at the very top and I could no longer look at "anal" and the "kn8 couple" every time I got an ask lol

narumi gen x f!reader

warnings: 18+ minors dni, smut-adjacent (as usual with the kn8!chaos couple), porn/porn-watching, talk about anal

part of the Agents of Chaos series

The last thing you're expecting when you open your laptop, impatiently hitting the spacebar over and over again to wake it from sleep, is to be met with a chorus of high-pitched "ah, ah, ah!" and the sound of skin slapping against skin blaring through your headphones while a close-up video of some girl getting pounded in the ass plays across your entire screen.

It takes you a second to just get over the surprise before you exit out of full-screen, rolling your eyes when you see the title of the video: fucking my gamer gf hard in her tight ass.

Typical.

You sit up a little taller where you're slouched on the couch to look over the top of your laptop at where Narumi cluelessly continues to play his game, sitting so close to the tv that you would worry about his eyesight if you didn't know better. Your gaze moves back and forth between him and your computer curiously.

The entire time, your ears are filled with the groans and whimpers from the video still playing on your computer. Each time you look at your screen, you find your eyes lingering on the sight of the guy's cock disappearing into his girlfriend's "tight ass" with each thrust.

Finally, you sit up fully and shove aside the empty water bottles and energy drink cans littered across the coffee table's surface to make room for your laptop. You slip your headphones down to hang around your neck, where you can still hear the girl's pleas for her boyfriend to "Fuck me harder!"

"Gen."

Just as expected, he keeps playing. Rather than wait for a response that you'll never get, you take one of the empty water bottles and hurl it at the back of his head where it hits and bounces off with a dull thunk! that you can barely hear over Narumi's game and the sharp gasps coming from your headphones.

He must be in a safe location in the game because he whirls around to glare at you, his hand rubbing the spot where the water bottle made contact.

"What?" he snaps and you simply raise an unamused eyebrow.

"If you're gonna watch porn, can you not do it on my computer?" you ask him dryly and his features scrunch up in confusion until you twirl your laptop around to face him.

His expression slackens in shock before morphing into one of horror when you turn your headphones off and his office is filled with the lewd sounds coming from your computer.

"I mean, at least use incognito mode," you scoff with an unimpressed eye roll.

That seems to spur him into action because he's suddenly scrambling out of his futon and across the floor towards you. But just when he reaches out a frantic hand to grab your computer, you pull it away and set it in your lap, the screen still open and the video still continuing to play.

He leans across the coffee table in a desperate move to try and get to your laptop again, but he freezes at your next words.

"So, you're into anal?"

When he slowly lifts his gaze and sees the smirk on your lips, he feels his cock twitching in his pants.

There’s a cry of pleasure that’s followed by a low groan from your computer and Narumi’s eyes drop down just long enough to see the girl in the video wiggling her ass as her boyfriend coats it in his cum. But all Narumi can picture is your ass streaked with his cum. Or even better — your ass leaking his cum.

When he meets your gaze, he finds the same dark hunger that’s surely present in his own. Slowly, he nods and when your smirk grows more dangerous, his cock begins to ache at the thought of being buried deep in your ass.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine A Quiet Moment With Soshiro Hoshina

(A/N:) I am a complete and total Kaiju No. 8 nerd!!! This series is so freaking good and I don’t think enough people know about it nor have read it! I love the artwork and all the characters! I really hope they make it into an Anime sometime cause I would love to see several scenes animated. So I had to write a little something something for my top fave character (which I really have several favorites). So this is the end result happy reading! ~Countess

Soshiro Hoshina X FemReader

Warnings: Suggestive themes

Dating THE Soshiro Hoshina was difficult, it didn’t help that he wanted to keep the relationship a secret. He claimed that it wasn’t very professional and while you could agree with him the biggest reason for him to keep such things from his fellow soldiers was he could be very jealous. He wanted to keep you to himself and had the odd imagination of someone wanting to steal you from him. All you could do was pat him on the head and assure him that you wouldn’t leave him for anyone else. Except maybe Kafka, though you were teasing when you told him that. Hoshina took it literally and was on his way to kill his subordinate when you stopped him and kissed him passionately. For teasing him you were trapped into spending hours cuddling on the couch in his apartment while watching movies.

After a particularly hard and deadly battle you limped into Hoshina’s office to see him bandaged and tired writing out paperwork. You locked the door behind yourself and scooted a chair by his side. He knew you had entered but he had yet to acknowledge you. While he preferred playing this work needed to be done because one it was important (the higher ups said so anyway) and two he didn’t feel like messing with it later. He rather mess around with you anyway. Filing the last piece he finally swiveled around and leaned forward pressing his forehead to yours.

“I thought I lost you today,” he mumbled.

“I thought I lost you,” you replied burying your hand in his black hair.

“I don’t ever want to feel that helpless ever again.”

“Soshiro you can’t be perfect all the time. There’s going to be moments where we can’t control things and things will go wrong. Especially in our fields. I mean we fight and kill monsters a hundred times bigger than we are. We are soldiers first and foremost this is what we do,” you kissed his cheek trying to comfort him.

“I just don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you,” he sighed cupping your face in a large calloused hand.

“You would continue on for my sake and you would make it. It would hurt at first but I know you could make it through.”

“What about if you lost me?”

“I’d think finally! What took him so long to kick the bucket,” you laughed at his glare. “I’m kidding I’d be a mess.”

“And what makes you think I wouldn’t be.”

“Because I know how strong you are. I said that you would hurt at first but time does heal wounds or rather they scab over and you get used to dealing with them,” you cooed.

“Are you sure you aren’t a therapist wearing a Defense Force uniform,” Hoshina questioned getting up from his seat and tugging you upwards. You stretched your arms across his shoulders nibbling at his jawline. “A blind dog finds a stick every now and again babe.”

“Oh yeah,” he grinned.

“Shut up I’m too tired for your cheekiness.”

“I thought that was my whole charm that reeled you in.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Okay then was it my dashing good looks?”

“More like oh crap I feel so sorry for him I’ll date him to make him feel better,” you said dramatically.

“Now I know that’s a lie, c’mon don’t be shy you can tell me the truth,” Hoshina continued with wondering hands.

“Keep traveling downward and this conversation ends now and you’ll know nothing.”

“Yes ma’am,” he obeyed hands now resting on your hips.

“Truthfully I’ve had a crush on you forever. I had your poster on my wall in college, I didn’t wait to volunteer long after I saw you in action,” you blushed.

“Oh a groupie then. Never knew I had one of them.”

“I want to punch you so bad in the face right now,” your blush deepened.

“Apologies,” he held you tighter. “You know what will make me shut up.”

“I’m listening,” you cocked an eyebrow.

“Lot’s of kisses.”

“I think I’ll oblige you just this once.”

Hoshina leaned down capturing your mouth with his and that’s how you both spent the evening until it was time to go home.

[thousandnightsdreaming]

━━━━ ∘◦ ☆ narumi gen x reader ☆ ◦∘ ━━━━

warnings: 18+ ; minors dni ; afab reader ; mentions of fingering, penetration, and slight hinting at overstimulation

notes: inspired by this tweet that made me think of gen once i realized how much of a dweeb (affectionate) he actually is

just thinking about the moment after gen finally finishes a game he’s spent days playing, struggling to get through, and when he beats that final boss or completes that last mission, he gives you the best dick you’ve ever had in your life. i’m talkin rearranging your guts like a damn rubik’s cube. because all that’s on his mind after meeting that game’s goal, whatever it may be, is finding solace in that spot at the apex of your thighs. but it’s not because you’ve been so patient with him as he’s dedicated every free moment he’s had to the game, that he can’t help but want to tend to you. no, it’s because he deserves a reward for completing it, doesn’t he? after how many hours he’s put into it, how many resets he went through to reach its conclusion, how many scoldings by hasegawa he’s had to endure because of it, he needs to take it out on you--his trophy. the adrenaline that rushes through him, the blood that goes directly to his dick the moment he knows he’s won, forces him to seek you out no matter where you are at the first division’s base.

and when he finds you, he plays with your pretty little pussy, plunging his well-trained fingers into your tightening hole, finding that one spot that has you spasming around him in seconds, and he comes to the realization that he can’t stop now, not when you’re so damn needy for him and his cock is aching for you so badly. so he fucks into you like a mad man, bending you in every kind of way he can manage, drawing out orgasm after orgasm from you until you’ve both long lost count, going at it until you’re absolutely spent and can no longer keep your eyes open.

and when you wake up the next morning, your entire body feeling like jelly, of course gen feels slightly bad about it. “my bad, may bad. i just couldn’t help it, ya’ know?”

and you do know. because after some time passes and you had almost pushed this delicious memory into the back of your mind, gen runs up to you one day with sparkling eyes and a child-like grin plastered on his handsome face, unable to hide his elation over the fact that the game’s next installment had just released and he couldn’t wait to get started on it. and the moment he tells you this, your thighs inadvertently squeeze together and your pussy begins to throb at the thought of what’s to come once he’s completed it. because you may actually be more excited about this than he is.

[pocket-ozwynn]

Genesis Day: Chapter 2

[Kaiju!AU]

Previous Chapter: Chapter 1

Next Chapter: Chapter 3

Word Count: 1520

CW: Gaslighting

Alice’s heart was still racing after his brief encounter with Corporal Freyja Montayne. It’d been…what? One hour? Maybe not even that? And he still couldn’t get her low, warm voice out of his head. 

At first he had been embarrassed for being so careless and clumsy in front of a complete stranger. She was a soldier–one that was clearly quite strong and capable. Not to mention one who was still glistening with sweat from her earlier boxing match. Her lip was split, but had stopped bleeding. What was first embarrassment turned to awe at the sight of her–a sensation that left his heart buzzing like a pack of Pop Rocks. And then after talking with her, after hearing her laughter…embarrassment and awe had melted into something…else. Something even sweeter than awe.

He remembered Freyja at the warehouse and how she looked as she casually draped her massive, chiseled arms over the ropes. Strong, but beautiful. She had been battered and bruised and dripping with sweat and blood…but despite all of that, she still managed that half-cocked grin under those harsh warehouse lights…

A sincere confidence that wasn’t smothered by the pain.

Alice cleared his throat once he felt his cheeks grow hot. He pursed his lips and tried focusing on the words on the document in front of him–he had been reading the same sentence over and over for what felt like ages. The letters and words just…blurred. 

Alice ran a shaky hand through his thinning hair–a nervous habit. There was something nagging him about that encounter. What was it? While sure, Freyja was attractive and she seemed quite sweet, their interaction left something hooked to his psyche. Something gnawing at him–something was vying for attention…

Attention. Being noticed.

Even though neither of them had been paying attention when they bumped into each other, Freyja went out of her way to make sure he was okay and that he wasn’t hurt. She even helped pick up his paperwork. Some might simply call that “human decency,” but then again…it wasn’t something that Alice saw every day. It was compassion without any ulterior motive; indeed, it was being kind for kindness’ sake.

Even though he hadn’t been noticed at first, he felt incredibly seen as Freyja laughed off their mutual clumsiness and readily helped him..

A guilty part of Alice wasn’t quite sure if Maura would’ve done the same.

While Alice had felt his heart sparkle thinking about Freyja, he found that joy quickly sour into a guilt that threatened to drag him down. He was in a committed relationship after all. Alice really shouldn’t be thinking about another woman like this, no matter how nice or pretty they looked…

But the way that SHE had looked at him…

“Someone looks happy.”

Alice yelped as he jumped. He had nearly forgotten where he was.

The officer’s quarters were minimalistic. He was sitting on Lieutenant Sinclair’s bed–the mattress was a familiar comfort (though he wished he wasn’t sitting on it alone). Everything in her quarters had its exact place–everything was precisely how Lieutenant Sinclair had arranged it to be. The clock on the wall, the framed diplomas and pictures, the fake plants–everything.

Lieutenant Maura Sinclair was staring at him–her face half cast in shadow thanks to the light cast by her desk lamp. Her hat and jacket were hung, and she had slipped out of her heels for a moment in an attempt to unwind before the meeting.

“What’s got you smiling?” Maura pressed with a coo. Her lips curled into a smile. It was almost disarming to see how soft Maura looked in this moment…the softness of the smile, the way that her copper locks fell in lazy waves to frame her angular face.

A muggy, summer evening…the lapping of the Savannah River on the banks…the touch of her hand in his…the taste of cinnamon and dark chocolate on her lips…the reflection of lightning bugs in her eyes…

Alice’s heart ached as those memories came fluttering back to him on fragile wings. Sure they had their rough patches, but they had been together through so much. They’d spent so many sweet, lovely nights talking about their future together and how Maura never wanted him to leave her side. He still loved her, and she loved him…didn’t she?

Some days it was a little hard to tell.

“J-Just…” Alice couldn’t bring it to admit what he was actually thinking. “Thinking about your meeting…that’s all. I’m excited for you, sweetie! This’ll be SO big for you!”

Maura narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. After a moment of studying him like a pinned butterfly, Maura leaned back in her chair with a sigh and idly fiddled with her pen. She studied the sharp lines and edges of every ceiling tile as she pondered.

“Me too.” Maura admitted quietly. “Tonight might be THE most important night of my career. It’s not every day the Department of Defense entrusts this level of classified tech to be tested just anywhere…and to me, of all officers. Especially after Camp Fromann, we need to make sure nothing goes wrong tonight.”

There was a heavy moment of silence before she added coolly: “That means there can’t be any screw ups, Alice.” 

Alice felt like he had taken a punch to the gut. Alice knew precisely the meaning behind the edge of her statement, but it was still uncalled for–it still hurt. 

He remembered their fight after the hearing at Camp Fromann–and each fight that followed. He wished he had been able to do more for her. He knew it was his fault that Maura was in this situation to begin with, because he hadn’t done enough for her. They could’ve had so many more beautiful evenings by the Savannah River, just like they used to…and Alice had been the one to ruin all of it.

“Maura, that…” Alice admitted quietly. He tried swallowing his hurt and attempted to redirect the conversation back towards her. “I know how important tonight is to you…I-I would never want to screw it u-”

“Alice, you’re taking things too personally.” Maura cut him off, her eyes not leaving the ceiling. “Please stop making this all about you.”

Alice pursed his lips tight and swallowed. He didn’t feel fine. But then again…maybe he really was just taking things too personally? Maybe he WAS the one in the wrong.

“I promise, everything will go great,” Alice reassured with a smile and a tone of confidence he didn’t feel. Maura didn’t respond–she just kept studying the ceiling. 

Alice licked his lips nervously. He swallowed then fumbled with the knot of his tie as he worked to loosen it a bit. Sure it wasn’t exactly “professional” of him...but it was just him and his girlfriend in her quarters, and mercy, did he hate the feeling of his tie pressed up against his neck. It felt awful. Constricting. Now he actually felt like he could BREATHE.

After taking a few steady gulps of air, Alice set his paperwork to the side. He crossed the distance between them and knelt down by her side. He reached up and took up her free hand in his. Alice smiled and looked up at her until she finally flitted her gaze down at him.

“Tonight will be AMAZING!” Alice cooed as he squeezed Maura’s hand tightly. “And if you need anything–anything at all–you just let me know…okay? I would do anything for you Maura Sinclair.” 

Maura looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. Alice reached up and tucked some of Maura’s coppery hair behind her ear. He brushed her cheek.

They searched one another's eyes. Alice was curious to know what Maura saw his…and truthfully, he couldn’t even begin to tell what she was thinking.

Finally, Maura set her pen down and reached back out to cup the nape of Alice’s neck. She held him there for a moment before leaning in for a kiss and Alice reached up to meet her. He closed his eyes and waited for the sensation of her lips against his. And though it came, it felt…cold. Vacant, almost. Maura kissed him deeply–he could feel her gently digging her fingers into the muscles of his neck. Maura practically loomed over him as she drank in every bit of him that she could…

And though Alice kissed back, he did not feel what Maura felt.

After a few more moments of polite lip service, Alice finally broke away from the kiss–though Maura leaned in, as if anticipating a few more seconds. When she realized the kiss was over, she straightened up slightly and smiled softly down at him. Her hand slid around his neck so she could readjust and pull his tie back up. 

“Anything, Ally Cat? Mmmm…” Maura mused playfully as she used her old pet name for him. She gently held onto his tie and gave Alice a peck on the forehead. “Careful, I might just hold you to that.”

A new spark of confidence was ignited in Maura’s eyes. Confidence…or perhaps even hunger? “And you know what? You’re absolutely right…”

Tonight is going to be perfect.