Hi I hope I'm not hijacking your post too much but since you and others liked these, I thought of some more with a bigger focus on the timeloop element (since that's the biggest theme in Greed:IF) so :) here you go :) :) :)
Reinhard is literally the strongest man in the world, practically unkillable, so he doesn’t measure his strength against enemies, only against Subaru's safety.
He knows exactly where to stand so that if something explodes, Subaru will be in his shadow. He knows how to angle his arm so Subaru's head slots under his chin in a crowd, how hard he can grip Subaru's wrist without leaving a mark.
He treats Subaru's voice like a command line. Subaru says, "Stay." Reinhard can bench-press a building, outrun a dragon, but does none of that. He stays. Subaru says, "Come here," and Reinhard will cross any distance, no matter what’s between them.
If anyone asks Reinhard what he is, not just who, his answer is basically: "I’m… Subaru's. I protect him."
Reinhard listens for Subaru constantly. He's always aware of where Subaru is, what he's doing, who he's talking to. It's not stalking, of course, he's just looking out for him. It's definitely not stalking... right?
He keeps this tracksuit jacket for completely non weird reasons, okay!
Reinhard doesn’t remember loops, but think about the amount of miasma coming from Subaru's body how. Sometimes when he first sees Subaru after a reset, his chest tightens like grief. He doesn’t know why. He just knows: I have to keep him safe. This would get progressively worse.
Subaru treats Reinhard’s obsession as a resource. He's less concerned with if it's healthy than if it's useful. He gathers information through loops, and uses it to fake intuition in their connection.
If Reinhard tells Subaru a personal story in one loop, Subaru will remember. Next loop, Subaru drops a line that Theresia once said to him, exactly, in the same cadence. Reinhard feels like Subaru is "the only one who really gets him." Subaru never admits he mined it from another life.
Subaru tests obedience in "expendable" loops.
In some runs, Subaru will give Reinhard an unreasonable order, like "Stand down," when Reinhard could save someone, just to see if Reinhard obeys.
If Reinhard disobeys, Subaru notes that this configuration of praise/neglect isn’t enough. Next loop, he adjusts.
When a loop goes off-plan, Subaru's priority is not survival, of course.
He knows Reinhard will watch him die. He knows it will hurt him. He rationalizes: "This Reinhard will disappear. The next one benefits."
He can’t see the aftermath, can’t watch Reinhard fall apart over his body. He only has the split-second before he dies. The look on Reinhard’s face as he reaches for him. Subaru uses that last image as proof: Good. The attachment is strong enough
Subaru has tried dozens of petnames across loops. Some bounce off. Some annoy Reinhard.
But one makes Reinhard’s shoulders drop, his eyes shine, his whole posture go loose with relief. Subaru locks that one in. Uses it only when Reinhard is at breaking point, or Subaru needs absolutely unquestioning obedience.
Reinhard can fight the sun, but one quiet "Good boy" (or whatever fits) in the right tone, and he’d lie down in the dirt if Subaru asked.
All that said, some specific loop concepts:
It’s a bad night. Subaru's scraped up, exhausted, almost died. Reinhard is shaking from how close he came to losing him.
Reinhard breaks down. "I can’t- I can’t breathe when you’re not here. I'm in love with you."
Subaru could shut it down. Instead, he thinks, "fine. Let’s see."
He lets Reinhard kiss him. Maybe more, though it wouldn't exactly be sexy. More like a half-frantic moment where Reinhard is almost sobbing into his shoulder. Subaru participates just enough.
After that, Reinhard is different. He stands too close. He touches Subaru more easily: hand at his back, fingers brushing his waist. He becomes less focused on anything else, including fighting or battle.
Subaru notices a pattern over the following days, and decides that this will result in Reinhard being too sloppy. The emotions are too messy. The camp’s survival odds are at risk.
Next loop, Reinhard looks at him with that same naked devotion, but this Reinhard hasn’t said anything yet, hasn’t touched him like that. He’s still "pure" in a way.
Subaru feels a flicker of guilt when Reinhard smiles at him, unaware of the history only Subaru remembers.
The memory of Reinhard’s confession. The sound of his voice. The way his hands shook. The feel of his mouth. The words "I’m in love with you" ringing in his ears. The knowledge of exactly how Reinhard kisses, how he reacts when touched.
Remembering when Reinhard doesn't somehow feels like a violation. How can you look into someone's eyes and know you've seen them at their most bare, and yet know they never agreed to that in this life?
Subaru burries the guilt, as always.
Sometimes their relationship gets pushed further. Subaru tries to reject Reinhard: "Don’t complicate things. You’re more useful like this."
But sometimes, in moments of high stress, Subaru slips.
And then he has to reset again.
The timeline is a disaster. People are dead, the situation is hopeless.
Subaru calls Reinhard, very calm: "Do you trust me?"
"Of course."
"Then listen. I need you to kill me."
Reinhard short-circuits. He’s physically capable of anything, and yet his hands just… won’t move.
He tries. He gets as far as touching Subaru's throat or shoulder, and then jerks back, horrified. "I can’t. Don’t ask me to. Please don’t ask me to."
Subaru watches all this with a cold, evaluative stillness. Almost disappointment. "Then you’re useless to me."
It's cruel, but he won't remember anyway. This Reinhard truly has no use anymore.
But the uglier truth is he also wants to see what that word does to Reinhard’s face. How deep it cuts. He wants to know how much power the phrase has as a lever.
Subaru walks away, leaving him stunned. Later, alone, Subaru ends his own life. Reset.
He never sees Reinhard find the body. Never hears him scream. Never sees the days afterward. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. That reality is no longer real.
Subaru breaks down Alone in his room. He turns on himself with the pen, hurting his own body to feel something he can control. It's not an unfamiliar scene.
Reinhard, can sense something off. He rushes over. He sees the red, and it's as if time stops. Reinhard never looked so helpless. He crosses the room in a blink, grabbing Subaru's wrist, horrified: "Su, stop. Please stop.”
For a few horrible minutes, Subaru's mask shatters. He’s shaking, crying, fingers fisting in Reinhard’s clothes.He leans into Reinhard like a drowning man, clutching at him, whispering fragmented, ugly truths: that he’s tired, that he’s scared, that he wanted out. It almost mirrors the lap pillow scene. It's almost sweet.
Once he’s pulled himself back together, the humiliation hits.
A pathetic moment like that shouldn't be allowed to exist in the perfect future, after all.
Obsession loop (Which I'm also calling the Yanderein loop)
In this loop, Subaru leans harder than ever into the conditioning. It's the same basic idea as before, but he's focusing way more on it.
Reinhard, already dependent, tips into full obsession. He starts memorizing Subaru's schedule down to the minute, watches him sleep under the excuse of "night watch," pockets his discarded mug or used bandages, and hardly ever leaves his side even if all he does is stand there.
Subaru notices how off it is. The long stares, the way Reinhard appears instantly whenever someone else gets too close. He gets unnerved and pulls back. Clearly he's overdoing it, so he gives Reinhard space.
To Reinhard, that feels like abandonment. He convinces himself someone must be turning Subaru against him, that Subaru is overworked, confused, being dragged away by people who don’t really understand him.
The jealousy hardens into a quiet, frightening resolve. If the world or even the camp keep hurting Subaru, then Reinhard will just... remove the problem.
Unfortunately, Subaru has lost control of his human nuke.
Instead of leaving when Subaru says tells him, Reinhard knocks him out (Using the same trick he used on Felt in arc 1) and takes him to a hidden safe room, far away. (We know Reinhard already isn't that opposed to kidnapping if he sees a good enough reason)
The route ends with Subaru waking up in a locked, carefully prepared space: his favorite tea, his things neatly arranged, Reinhard sitting beside the bed, exhausted and radiant with devotion.
"You don’t have to decide anything anymore," Reinhard murmurs. “You don’t have to know who you are. You’re mine, and I’ll protect you from everything." (Ironically echoing Subaru's words back)
"What about the rest of the camp?" Subaru asks. No answer. “They'll come for me.” Still no answer. Fuck.
Reinhard notices Subaru becomes distressed and keeps trying to hurt himself. Subaru is freaking out because this loop may be permanent if Reinhard doesn't let him kill himself. And Reinhard is always watching. "This was a good call" he thinks. "Subaru needs me to protect him. I'm glad I took drastic measures this time."
Eventually he distracts Reinhard just long enough to do something about it. Maybe he kisses him, something he knows this version of Reinhard would melt into and lose his ability to focus. In that moment Subaru quickly stabs himself, or slices his throat or something.
He bleeds out in Reinhard's arms. Reinhard apologizes repeatedly for not protecting him. For failing. For not being able to die with him, because Od won't allow it.
Subaru almost manages to apologize back before dying.
Subaru resets. Reinhard is back to how he was. Still a lost puppy without him, but at least capable of having other thoughts.
For a moment he thinks about what he's doing. But some things can't be reset.
"I'm sorry, Reinhard." He says to himself
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