#104th Trainees Squad

[rosec0urtz]

Bertolt: Christa has green eyes right?

Reiner: Christas eyes are blue with a hint of light blue when the light hits just right.

Bertolt: And when was the last time she smiled?

Reiner: Last night at 12:03 am

Bertolt: Right, and when's my birthday?

Reiner:

Bertolt: When's my birthday, Reiner?

[lehouxnap2]

So i was very bored and i needed a new phone background.

Guess who misses the 104th bitchessss

[ecyr]

Found someone who shared the audio drama CDs with translation 🩶

Cant stop grinning while listening to all of it, i wish they make more of these!

1. The Old Castle (Levi x Hange, Moblit)

That part when Levi interrupted Hange and Moblit by scolding about the see-through clothes soaked by the rain (sure Levi, now that someone else is in the room you're concerned 😏)

2. Cleaning battle (Levi vs Mikasa)

3. Manzai (stand-up comedy) (Eren, Jean and a trolling Erwin)

4. The missing scarf (Erwin, Levi, 104th kids)

5. Toast Speech (Armin, Mikasa, Eren, the 104th + special guesting of Erwin and Levi 🤣)

6. Congratulatory Party Squad (Levi with the 104th squad)

[pickalilywrites]

A 104th + Porco, Pieck and Marcel snowball fight on Christmas eve

thank you! hope you like it :)

snowball fight

104th trainee squad. marley warriors. modern au. 1522 words. read on ao3.

Reiner ducks behind the wall of snow he and his friends have built for protection. He breathes heavily, clouds of white escaping his lips as he tries to catch his breath. He doesn’t dare to look up and risk being pelted by an enemy snowball. They have so few men to begin with, and he’s not sure his team can afford any losses. His eyes dart towards Bertholdt who is busy providing them with even more ammunition to throw at their enemies. 

“Bertholdt, status report?” he asks. 

Bertholdt finishes off his most recent snowball and places it along with the others. The dark-haired giant listens for a bit before looking carefully over the wall of their snow fort. Just as quickly, he ducks back down. He scoots closer to Reiner, keeping his voice low to prevent being overheard. “They’ve temporarily ceased fire although the reason is unclear at the moment. I advise we take this time to stock up on supplies and ready ourselves for the next attack. It would be unwise to go on the offensive when they outnumber us.” 

“They also have Mikasa,” Porco growls. Like Reiner, he has taken refuge behind the snow fort. He rubs at his shoulder, sore from throwing so many snowballs. “I haven’t been able to leave the fort at all. She has incredible strength and accuracy. It’s like being pelted by a sniper that only shoots snowballs.”  

Reiner nods as he listens to Porco’s input. “It’s agreed then, we’ll take the time to rest and recover our supplies. How are the others...?” Reiner’s voice trails as his gaze travels towards Pieck who is patting down snow on one side of the fort. 

At first glance, it looks as is Pieck is reinforcing the snow fort and making the walls sturdier in case of an invasion, but on closer inspection she is simply making a small snow cave. She doesn’t notice her comrades staring at her until a beat later. Upon being caught, she gives her friends a dazzling smile. 

“Ah, are we still fighting the good fight?” she asks.  

“We’re fighting the good fight,” Porco snorts. He gestures towards her snow cave with a gloved hand. “What the fuck are you doing? You’re supposed to be helping us!” 

“I am helping! I’m keeping our most valuable warrior protected,” Pieck insists. She points towards Annie who lies sleeping inside the snow cave like a hibernating bear.  

“Okay, and what are you doing?” Porco asks his older brother who is sitting on the other side of the cave and reinforcing one of its walls.  

Marcel looks up with a guilty expression on his face. He had initially been taking part of the snowball fight and had even taken down part of the enemy’s snow fort by pelting snowballs, but he had seemingly disappeared without anyone noticing and gone off to help Pieck with her side quest. He shrugs pathetically and gestures towards Annie. “Just ... supervising,” he says with a guilty expression on his face.  

“I don’t think building a small snow cave needs that much supervision,” Reiner says. While Porco is nodding his head in agreement, Bertholdt does have an expression of concern on his face as he peers worriedly into the cave.  

“Is Annie okay? Isn’t it dangerous to sleep in the snow?” he asks. He can’t see very much in the cave. It’s quit snug and custom-built for Annie.  

“’s fine,” Annie can be heard mumbling before curling herself deeper into the cave so as to not be disturbed.  

Reiner looks troubled. Three people are currently out of commission: one is hibernating while the other two are ensuring their safety. “We’re going to have to rethink our strategy,” he mutters. 

Meanwhile, the other side of the battlefield is facing their own issues.  

Connie Springer lies on his back, eyes closed as he breathes raggedly. Sasha and Jean look down at him, their faces filled with worry. One of his hands is clasped in Sasha’s and the brunette is close to tears as she looks at the sorry state her friend is in. His clothes are covered in snow and he lies shivering, the tip of nis nose red despite the many layers he wears. 

“Connie! Connie! Stay with me! You’ll get through this! I promise we’ll get through this together!” Sasha cries. She holds on so tightly to Connie’s hands that her knuckles are turning white. Her lip quivers as she watches Connie’s breaths begin to slow. 

“I’m afraid ... it’s too late for me,” Connie chuckles weakly. His eyes flutter open just enough so that he can look at his friends one last time. He gasps and clutches at his side with his other hand. He winces at cold snow that permeates through the fabric of his mittens. “Those bastards got me good ... This may be goodbye.”  

Sasha and Jean watch in horror as Connie’s eyes flutter and his breathing slows to a stop. They pretend not to notice the shallow breathes he takes or how the corners of his mouth twitch upward in a smile he’s trying to suppress. 

“No!!!” Sasha cries. She crumples over Connie’s seemingly lifeless body and lets out exaggerated sobs as she mourns her friend’s fake death. 

“Don’t worry, Connie. We’ll avenge you if it’s the last thing we do!” Jean vows and stares back at the weapon of mass destruction that Armin is preparing that Jean refers to as “Hell’s Snowball.” He stalks over to the massive snowball, his boots crunch against the crisp snow. “Is the weapon ready, Arlert?” 

“It’s ready, but I’m afraid we don’t have a way to use it against the enemy. We don’t have anything large enough to throw it,” Armin says. He gives the large snowball, which is half his height, a few more pats just to check that it’s sturdy enough. “We should really have a catapult if we want to use this. Pushing it to the other side isn’t realistic.”  

“We don’t need a catapult. We have Mikasa!” Sasha says. She scrambles off her knees, kicking up a flurry of snow as she makes her way to Mikasa. Desperately she clasps Mikasa’s hands and looks into her friend’s gray eyes with fervor. “Mikasa, will you help us?” 

Mikasa looks down at Sasha’s desperate gaze. She then turns to look at the snowball that is as large as a small child. She returns her gaze once more to Sasha and reaches out to brush a hair from the brunette’s face, tucking it behind Sasha’s ear. “No,” she says sweetly. 

As Sasha’s face falls, Eren stands up. The pouch of his hoodie is filled with snowballs and he holds even more snowballs in each of his hands. His green eyes blaze with a passionate fire.  

“Don’t worry, Sasha. I’ll avenge Connie. I’m going to fucking destroy those bastards,” Eren says. He looks towards the snow fort on the other side of the snow. “They’ll rue the day they ever went to battle with us.”  

“Eren, no!” Armin says, clutching desperately at the elbow of Eren’s hoodie but Eren shakes him off. “Eren, it’s a suicide mission!” 

“Oh, just let him go,” Jean says, already waving Eren off. 

“Rrrragh!!!” Eren roars as he charges towards Reiner’s camp. He is pelted with more than a dozen snowballs five steps in and falls over, completely defeated. 

Historia, who has been strangely absent from the entire battle, appears with a tray of steaming mugs of hot chocolate. She smiles brightly, her cheeks rosy red from being in the kitchen preparing her friends holiday drinks. “Does anyone want any hot chocolate?”  

“Ooh, me!” Sasha says, bolting right towards Historia and grabbing the first mug. She drinks one long sip and squeals with delight. “Delicious!”  

“Wait, wait for me!” Connie calls, following close after Sasha. The scent of sweet, delicious hot chocolate has revived him. 

Soon, everyone is drinking hot chocolate, arguing about which team was closer to winning and how they definitely would have won if the battle had been extended five more minutes. As Eren describes how he could have defeated everyone if he had gone with his original plan — having Armin roll him up into a giant snowball and using him as a giant snow bowling ball to knock out all of Reiner’s team like they were bowling pins — Ymir sidles up against Historia. 

“Don’t you regret slipping away from the battle and missing out on such stimulating action?” Ymir asks with a grin. She elbows Historia. “But I guess making hot chocolate means you were able to stay warm and cozy instead of freezing your ass off in the snow.”  

Historia elbows Ymir back, a pout on her lips. “At least I was actually helpful. You just stood in the kitchen and watched me make hot chocolate for everyone,” Historia sniffs. 

“Oh, that’s my way of helping. If I had even touched the stove then the I would have burned the hot chocolate,” Ymir says and Historia laughs.  

The two girls take the last mugs and clink them against each other before taking a sip, smiling as their friends chat and laugh around them.  

[wiispywitch]

The Braun Family⚜️🥀

~

{Fanon//spoilers ahead}

Reiner had never intended to fall in love with an island devil, but the moment his eyes met Melody Oglethorpe, the beautiful redhead of the 104th Trainee Squad, he was starstruck. He could listen to her speak about her passions for hours, loved her quick wit, and how she cared deeply about the people she loved deeply and would do anything to protect them. When Reiner revealed his and Bertholt’s true identity, he couldn’t bear to leave her behind, despite knowing things would never be the same with them ever again. In order to allow her friends to escape the titans coming their way, Mel made the ultimate sacrifice to surrender herself to Reiner and Bertholt, and was captured alongside Ymir.

Reiner and Bertholt knew the dangers if Mel’s true identity was exposed to Marley, and it was thanks to Zeke Yeager and a trusted comrade of his to help create forged documentation of Mel of Marleyan descent. Zeke chastised Reiner for being so careless and stupid as to fall in love with a devil, and the only reason he agreed to keeping her alive was to get further information about the people of Paradis (and the fact that he himself grew a fondness over her). It took time to adjust to her new life in Marley, and there were times Reiner wished he hadn’t acted so selfishly and let her go, but overtime the two reconciled their broken relationship. They would marry and have a daughter together, Charlotte “Charlie” Braun. Despite his inner demons, Melody and Charlie were Reiner’s reason to keep fighting.

.

Mel Oglethorpe- @simpingslutt ; Base

[isolatedcorner]

“The Survey Corps forgave Annie a bit too quickly” Okay I’m gonna try to explain why I think the SC’s acceptance of Annie isn’t irrational. Firstly, when does it show that the SC completely “forgave” Annie? In the scene where they talk around the campfire Jean clearly gets very emotional at Reiner and Annie’s admittance of guilt, YEARS after it’s been known that they were “traitors”. I see people being more confused about Connie and Armin’s treatment of Annie though, but I disagree.

In Connie’s case: The SC had 3 years to digest the truth about Marley and Eldia. Between those 3 years they’ve matured and understood that their view of the “enemy” was one-sided, and ConnieSashaJean in particular were friends with Nicolo, a Marleyan! It’s not strange to assume that they talked about the whole Warrior programme at some point. Reminder that not everyone had the same mentality as Eren, in fact he was the only one who didn’t accept peace as a solution within the 104th. Connie didn’t forgive Annie, but in that moment he saw an old comrade stuff her mouth with food (just like Sasha would 🥲), and in a time of war and desperation he simply… found it funny. The 104th spent 3 formative years of their lives together, they were very close and the constant life and death situations they were in only strengthened that bond. So it’s not OOC for Connie to instinctively search for that version of Annie he was close to when they were trainees — it’s clear that the 104th never truly accepted the Warriors’ betrayal after all.

In Armin’s case: Armin has always been an extremely empathetic person. He noticed Annie’s kindness behind her cold exterior way before she was revealed to be a Titan, and it was this same understanding of her human nature that allowed him to help the SC defeat her in S1. I’m not an AruAni shipper (I thought all the canon romances in AoT were rushed), but if there was anyone who could put themselves in the Warriors’ shoes, it would be Armin. Not to mention he had Bertolt’s memories and could EXPERIENCE what they were going through! Armin is also a strategist and a leader, he wouldn’t see the point in antagonising the people whom he was supposed to work with.

I’d also like to mention Levi as he was closest to the squad that Annie killed. Levi did not forgive Annie. I don’t think he ever will. His interactions with her were close to 0 in the final chapters, and he probably distanced himself from Reiner and Annie as much as possible. But Levi is also one of the most empathetic characters in AoT considering how he treats his men, and he was one of the driving forces behind Armin and Hange’s plans to make peace with Marley. People want to see Levi avenge his squad so bad that they forget he was friends with Onyankopon and worked with the other volunteers. If Levi could understand Gabi and Falco to the point where he took them under his wing - why wouldn’t he understand Reiner and Annie, whom he also saw as kids?

People like to talk about how Annie “enjoyed” killing the SC. Look, I also don’t think that Annie was suffering in guilt the entire time. The Warrior trio were Marleyans first and Eldians second, they ultimately saw people on Paradis as descendants of the devil owing to years of brainwashing. As soldiers, Levi and the SC know firsthand what it’s like to feel bloodlust on the battlefield. Dehumanisation is the first step in being able to fight the enemy without restraint in times of war. If the SC could muster the bloodlust to kill titans even after they were revealed to be humans first, then they could certainly understand how Annie could discard her humanity when killing Levi’s squad. A big part of Levi’s character is that he completes his missions without regrets, regardless of the sacrifice. This mentality was just copied and pasted onto Annie and co. Again, this doesn’t mean Levi forgave the Marleyans — he just understood them enough to put his hatred aside when working with them to save the world!

Anyways, dudebros give the SC too much slack for having basic rationality and not being carbon copies of Eren. Erwin would also not support the rumbling, hope this helps!

[mwolf0epsilon]

I saw your original clones post and I was curious to know more about each of them if that's ok? I really like the one with purple hair

You're the first Anon of 2023. You're also lovely for asking me about my blorbos, thank you :')

This is gonna be a little long so I'll keep it under a readmore, but like, I'm keeping batchmates together because it's easier to explain who's who if I do it like that. I'll also be addressing them each through order of appearance so it's less confusing.

Anyway, lets do some clone talk!

---

First lets start with my 104th ARCs, Bully and Jawbreaker. They were former members of Krell's Battalion and two of his favourite punching bags, which is where they got their scarring from.

They were pulled into the 104th by Maeleen Eppa, a natborn engineer that noticed their fearful and distrustful nature when Plo Koon's battalion ended up working with Krell's on the same mission.

They're the hard-ass older brothers because, back on Kamino, they lost two batchmates during training exercises, and then had two much younger cadets (Tup and Dogma) introduced into their squad to even out the numbers. It's become second nature to be protective of Shinies, and even if they don't trust very easily they are loyal to a fault (unless they feel like they've been personally betrayed).

They sadly don't make it post Order 66.

Next up we have the tragedy that are Pox and Syrup.

Pox was a clone medic trainee on Kamino that got along brilliantly with his batchmates. Despite the hardships of training, he was always kind, reliable and willing to drop everything to help someone else along the way. Syrup was no different from his batchmate, and while he was training to be a simple foot-soldier, he was going to be acting as a reserve medic as well for whatever battalion he ended up in.

They were finishing training during the last leg of the Clone Wars, when suddenly Sulu Ra called for Pox's squad to partake in some kind of a training exercise. Syrup was, at the time, in medbay for an injury he'd sustained during training, so he wasn't brought along for whatever mystery exercise they were being tasked with.

Long story short... It was a bioweapon test... One that killed several clone troopers that hadn't even graduated yet; left Pox as a carrier of a highly infectious disease that continuously mutated within him, while he went on the run; and which left Syrup essentially without his closest brothers to rely on...

While Pox eventually finds a group of vode to connect with post Order 66, Syrup isn't as lucky. His inhibitor chip was faulty and began to rot inside of him, much like Tup's had, and it obliterates his sense of self to the point where he doesn't consider himself a person. Just a tool to be used by the Empire.

Next up Hyena, a medic of the 104th.

Like with Bully and Jawbreaker, he wasn't originally with the 104th. He was assigned to the 501st with his squad from Kamino, which he never got along with because they were a bunch of unrelenting bullies that thought they were better than everyone else. The disagreements got so bad that eventually he grew fed up enough to request a transfer, and managed to get into the 104th where he felt much more at home.

There's not much to say about Hyena other than, he has quite the sense of humor and love for terrible jokes/puns.

Still unsure what happens to him post Order 66.

We're missing one of them (Goch) due to his face being a little harder to draw than your average clone due to several facial deformities, but next up comes the Long Name Squad.

Lichtenberg, Pretty Boy and Olly are in the 501st, 212th and Coruscant Guard respectively, while Hippo and Cala were never in battalions due to the two of them (and Goch) being confined in Sulu Ra's private lab.

Lich is the accident prone but often optimistic and carefree older brother of the batch, PB is the token pretty boy with a bit of a sassy mean streak, Olly is the responsible but heavily traumatized one, and Hippo and Cala are still getting used to being free at all.

Side-notes: Hippo's goggles are technically a visual aid because her cyclopsia has left her vision severely impaired. Cala needs a cane to walk due to her polymelia making her a little top heavy (she has four arms). Both used to be conjoined twins before being surgically separated.

They have a relatively happy ending post Order 66, even if getting to it is an absolute hardship that tests their bonds repeatedly.

Next up, Seafood Squad! And boy howdy these ones are such a burning trash-fire of a mess...

In order we have Geoduck, Conch, Crayfish, Jelly and Sponge. All of them were in the scuba trooper program before Sponge (who had always been a target of Kaminoan scrutiny, due to a set of circumstances that still make them very uncomfortable) was ultimately pulled from it and forced into the medical training program.

This seemed to cause a sizeable rift between Sponge and the three eldest members of their batch (one that grew overtime due to Conch's pettiness and Crayfish's indifference). Jelly, the most amicable and compassionate of the batch, stuck with them for the long run and refused to grow distant. The two of them were so inseparable to the point where Sponge begged Jelly to come with them into whatever battalion they got assigned, rather than go with the others. Jelly accepted, pulling out of the scuba trooper program and worsening the growing contempt a certain member of the batch felt towards Sponge.

Ultimately, Geoduck, Conch and Crayfish were assigned to Kit Fisto's battalion, while Jelly and Sponge were assigned to the 501st. Jelly then died in an incident that heavily traumatized Sponge, and from there on out the rest of the batch (mostly Conch) blamed them for the death of their favourite vod'ika, and stopped contacting them at all. This left Sponge alone to deal with their trauma, which they didn't do very well...

A lot happens to them throughout the war itself and, at some point (likely driven by guilt and shame of being such a poor excuse for an older brother), Geoduck decides to try to mend the relationship between the batch and Sponge. But, due to his rather unique issue (face blindness so severe that he honestly has trouble recognizing anyone), he never managed to do so during the war itself. Mostly due to Conch actively sabotaging his attempts, and Crayfish simply not caring enough to help because he'd rather not stick his nose into any drama.

Side-Notes: Geoduck, Conch and Jelly have sea creature themed names which they decided on when they first began their scuba training. Crayfish has a freshwater creature themed name instead, because he may or may have not eaten a live crayfish that he pilfered from the Kamino Kitchens during the night.

Meanwhile, Sponge is not named after sea sponges at all. They are instead named after surgical sponges due to a... Rather unfortunate incident during their training... In an ironic twist it just fits their batch's theme in a way.

What happens to the great majority of them post Order 66 is still a WIP, but I know how Sponge's story ends and I'm very pleased with it.

These three next ones are fun... Introducing Medic Canivete of the 212th, Officer Incognito of Krell's Battalion, and Ordnance Specialist 8-Ball. The one batch who can't decide which is the sane one of the group (none of them are).

Cani is essentially a Swiss army knife in terms of skills. She's officially a medic on record, but she also does a lot of flight crew tasks and a spot of engineering here and there. A girl has to keep herself busy after all! And she just likes to learn new things.

Incognito is an anxiety-riddled mess that wishes he wasn't often so unlucky with what life throws his way (he cannot get a break the poor sod), and has a lot of self-doubt that plagues him during his introspection sessions. He's living with a lot of survivor's guilt due to the situation he's stuck in (pretending to be a droid while trapped in a Venator he's trying to stir away from Republic space so the seppie droids that took over don't slaughter any more of his brothers), but overall seems to be in relatively safer hands with the droids than when he was under Krell's command.

8-Ball is a bit of an enigma to most. He's a happy go lucky sort, lover of anoobas of all shapes and sizes, and also a force sensitive clone with a predisposition for precognition that he doesn't recognize as anything else other than "gut feelings". He's a fun guy who doesn't have one mean bone in his body, and who's predictions have earned him both his name and a bit of infamy among other clones, since he mostly seems more attuned to "guessing" less than positive events to come...

I'm not entirely sure what happens to them post Order 66...

[REDACTED]

Before Fox became the Marshal Commander of the Coruscant Guard, the title belonged to Sturm... His predecessor who was met with a terrible fate for caring too much and trying to investigate things he should have averted his gaze away from...

Lets just say there's more than one reason why Fox keeps his mouth shut about what goes on on Coruscant, and Sturm's unfortunate fate is one of those reasons.

Order 66 doesn't much matter in this case. Sturm was already doomed from the start.

Finally we have Mythos Squad, a squad of clone commandos who deserted the GAR after their Jedi General (Vikerius Kwinde) was killed by Grievous.

In order we have Dragon (the defacto leader), Komainu (the designated medic), Basilisk (the sniper), Gremlin (the designated technician) and Kerberus (the demolitions expert).

There's not much to say about them because unfortunately Kerberus is the last one standing post Order 66. He was deafened during torture, so while listening to the GAR radio chatter the others heard the order being called out while he could not (thus they attempted to terminate him for disobeying the order, and he had to kill them in self-defense, something that will never stop haunting them).

[mysteriawrites]

Hi! Here's my info for our matchup exchange. Could I please get a romantic matchup for Attack on Titan?

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Straight

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

MBTI: INFJ-A

Ennegram: 5w6

Personality: I'm pretty quiet in social settings but if someone talks to me first, I can keep a conversation going. I will occasionally go up to someone to initial a conversation but not very often. With people that I'm close with, I'm very open and sarcastic. And I make a lot of self-depreciating jokes (even though I have a high self worth).

Likes/Hobbies: Reading, writing, anime, video games, and listening to music (stuff like Hamilton, Panic! at the Disco and Offspring). I would love to be a published author one day.

Dislikes: Spiders (deathly afraid of those), being forgotten when I'm gone, and disappointing those who I care about.

Looks: I'm 164cm (5'4") and have an average build (not too curvy but definitely not straight up and down). I have green eyes that everyone thinks are brown and curly/frizzy dark brown hair that is just below my shoulders.

Hopefully I've put a good amount of useful information! I hope you have a lovely day and that life is treating you kindly!

~Eren

We interrupt you regularly scheduled program for........ A MATCHUP TRADE WITH @justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms!!!

Hihi Thank you for trading with me! Here is you matchup...DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

ARMIN ARLET!!!

LOL, WE MATCHED EACH OTHER WITH THE SAME PERSON XD

You and Armin are thick as thieves. From the moment you met he knew he had found his match, his equal. When you were kids you two would dream of life beyond the walls when the titans were gone. You stood up for him against bullies, and even from such a young age he knew that he loved you. He promised you that one day no matter what it took he would take you to see the ocean...and then the wall fell.

It was chaos. Friends and family dead, streets in panic, titans at every corner. You and Armin got separated in the chaos. He tried so hard to find you, he needed to make sure you were ok. He begged the adults to go back for you and struggled against the ones holding him back from finding you himself, but it was no use. He had lost you.

In that moment his decision was final. He now had a reason to fight alongside Eren and Mikasa. He would get his revenge on those who took everything from you, and he would see the ocean for you. He would build your grave there so you could finally see it too.

Years passed, puberty came and went, and now it was finally time to join the ranks of the scouts. He trained countlessly day and night to try his best to keep up (haven't seen season 1 in a while so my bad if the events or order of are wrong) with the other trainees. On the day of the final test, he thought he saw a familiar face in the crowd, but just deemed it as his mind playing tricks on him.

When he finally makes it into to the 104th cadet squad he's relieved. For once he can finally let himself relax now that one hurdle is over with. That is until a familiar voice sounds from behind him. When he turns around to see you, at first, he thinks he's hallucinating from grief even all these years later. Then you run up and give him a hug and he breaks down in happy tears. You're real and very much alive! That night is spent with the two of you catching up until dawn. That night you made a new promise: you would fight together to liberate your future and gain freedom for yourselves and everyone else. That night you two also share your first kiss.

From that day on you two are a couple, but you keep it a secret as to be able to focus on your goal and not let feelings get in the way of missions. Although you don't hide it very well. You always eat together, train together, and stick to each other on missions. Everyone just pretends not to notice because you two are sweethearts who never bother anyone (I mean Mikasa and Levi do get on your case about how relationships can jeopardize the missions, but since you're both stubborn they just let it go). Things were perfect.

Until they weren't. First came the traitors, then the truth of the walls, the desperate plans for survival, being wanted fugitives, but you got through everything together. Until Armin left this world without you. There you saw his broiled corpse laying before you cling desperately to the thin threads of life and the choice of who lives and who dies was in the hands of your captain.

You wanted to beg and blead for Levi to save the life of your beloved as much as Erwin and Mikasa were. He needed to live to see the sea, he needed to live to experience a life beyond the walls, a life with you. You needed him to live. However, you knew that there was no convincing Levi and that even if by some miracle he chose Armin over Erwin, that would cost humanity the best commander they had, their best chance at winning the war, and their beacon of hope. And you knew Armin would beat himself over it for the rest of his life. You knew he wouldn't want to be selfish, but for once in your life you desired to be selfish.

So, you just sobbed over your lover's body, apologizing over and over for not being able to save him. And then your miracle came. Before your eyes your beloved sweet, kind, smart Armin had become one of the behemoths you had sworn to kill. Soon it was all over, and your Armin was back in your arms once more.

After everything was said and done you and Armin did get to see the ocean together. You two were safe, your friends were safe, and although you had lost many you could feel their spirits watching over you. You both knew that there were many more challenges to come, but as long as you two were together you could get through anything. So, in front of the crashing waves of the ocean Armin got down on his knee and asked you to marry him. You two would never be apart again (aka I'm skipping season 4 cause I haven't seen it yet. This is becoming too long and we don't need anymore angst).

Wtf why did this become a long angsty piece out of nowhere I legit almost cried writing this. Welp sorry for making this depressing, but I hope the ending kinda makes up for it (maybe it's because I wrote a fluffy one yesterday). Anyway, thank you for doing this with me it was fun and it's hilarious that we matched each other with the same person (ig Armin has a type lol).

Runners Up: Erwin Smith, Connie Springer, Jean Kirstein, Marco Bodt (even though he's dead)

[ohmytomorrowisthursday]

Until I Fall - Part 9

Levi Ackerman x Fem Reader.

Eventual romance but this is a slow burn, definitely angsty and darker. It will also focus a lot on Hange, Erwin and the original scouts. Eren and the 104th training corps will be around but I’m focusing on the older characters in here. Your self insert name is ‘Azeria Becker’ pronouns She/Her/Hers. Using a name because don’t like using ‘y/n’.  

Cannon universe. I wrote this for myself but I hope that you enjoy it, too lol <3

cw: imagine literally every awful/gory thing that happens in SNK. Death, violence and gore. Drinking, sex. (bolded ones in this chapter)

I will be releasing 2 chapters at a time every few days. You can find all chapters here.

The days leading up to the 27th expedition all rolled together. More training, more sitting in the boardrooms and most importantly, checking the signal flares every morning and night to make sure they were all working. Erwin was adamant that his squad needed to prove the usefulness of the devices. He didn't explain further but the look in his eyes was of determination. There was only one instruction for you all; don't fail and don't die. Everyone seemed calm, but with each passing day the silence in the room grew. Soon you'd be back out in hell, fighting for your life again.

The night before the expedition, the dining hall was filled with a different air. You were sitting nexts to Ilse and a few of your fellow trainees tonight. You wanted to see them all. The odds were low that you all would be in that room again, and it was a strange, cold feeling to have. People talked of their families, their friends and what foods they wanted to eat when they got back. Everyone desperately longed for something that would be strong enough to make them fight. You talked about your parents. They were engineers in the interior who had mostly built houses and transport carriers. When you told them that you were becoming a scout, they were so mad.

"We worked hard to make a good name for ourselves, we've given you the best education and connections so that you could come back and become an MP. Why, Azeria? Why would you do this to your mother and I?" Your fathers words still rattled in your head. "Because," You stood your ground, trying to hold back the tears you felt from their disappointment, "There has to be more out there. There has to be something that we can do. I refuse to believe the only options are to hide away or get eaten. Even if you don't understand my choices, you need to know that this is what I've always wanted."

Now that you had seen titans up close, it felt like you couldn't go back to who you were before. Even though it terrified you; their horrible screams and the sounds of your comrades being eaten. It put you into a paralyzing fear just to think of it. But you would never be the same person that you were before that first expedition. You couldn't run away. Now that you had fought, you needed to keep going.

"Ilse, where are you in the formation tomorrow?" You asked as the two of you sat in your bunks, "I think our squad is riding just out behind the Commander; middle formation. I'm guarding the supply carts." You felt a little relief knowing that. It would be one of the safest places. "I wish I was up at the front with you," She said, stretching herself down into the sheets. "Me too," you yawned, "Just keep it up, you'll be with me soon." Night had arrived but your heart was racing. You stared up at the patterns in the wood on the ceiling for what felt like hours until sleep took over your body.

Finally; morning arrived. You rode out of Shiganshina just after breakfast. It was a gloomy day, the sky was full of heavy grey clouds that threatened of rain and that was never a good thing during expeditions. The streets were full with people looking to watch the spectacle of the Scouts. Riding up at the front on Erwin's team was a rush. He lead the group out with Commander Shadis, followed by Hange and Levi, then Oliver, Mike and finally, you. "Enjoy it, kid. It's never the same when we return," Mike said over his shoulder to you. Looking around at the people, you saw all of the faces cheering you on. Even after the first expedition, you felt the pressure of being a Scout. Looking in front of you, the rest of your squad sat straight, faces determined. You adjusted yourself to copy them. We will not let you down. We will create the freedom of the future. But even as you thought it, you couldn't ignore the sound of your own heart pounding in your ears. The gates rose up in front of you. It was time. The ground rumbled with the sound of the hundreds of horses.

"Soldiers, advance to positions!" Commander Shadis yelled, his voice booming. Your squad took the lead. With all of the best soldiers in the front, you were guaranteed to encounter most of the titans. Erwin wanted to spread out everyone even further on the front line because of the signal guns. The Commander would be riding beind your squad to instruct the other teams behind him. The hope was that by having Erwin take on most of the titans up front, less of the soldiers in the back would be at risk. The goal was to find a suitable landscape perimeter that could be added as another outpost town to wall Maria. If the Scouts could establish a location that was naturally protected from titans then building could commence in the summer, and there would be new land to plant crops for the following spring. The only problem was that it seemed too good to be true.

"Soldiers, take your positions!" Erwin commanded. Like clockwork the group divided. Levi was at the front point, Hange on the far left and Mike on the far right with the rest of your squad broken up within the formation. Erwin rode in the middle to give signals. It didn't take long. You saw Levi's signal flare go off far ahead. Suddenly, a red flare from the far right, and then the far left. You kept riding, waiting for Erwins call. Finally, a green flare; move to the west. You shot your first flare and saw the other green smoke signals fly around you. The formation shifted, but the red flares shot out again from all sides. That wasn't a good sign. Then; black smoke. Shot from all three sides of the formation. How could there be abnormals in all directions?

"Azeria, let's go support!" Oliver yelled across to you. You turned your horse to follow him and the two of you rode in Mike's direction. It didn't take long to spot it; a ten meter titan, running towards the scouts. Your heart raced in your chest. You had never encountered an abnormal before. Mike had his swords drawn. The ground shook with the sounds of the horses running and the titans feet. Then, from behind the abnormal you spotted two more titans. "Shit," you cursed, "Looks like he brought friends."

Oliver clipped the reigns of his horse, "You take the 4 meter; I'll take on the 8!" The two of you galloped faster, Mike hollered to the two of you, "Leave me with this one, take care of the rest!" You passed by the abnormal; it was big. Mike was fast though and he was already in the air fighting ferociously. He was strong and fast, faster than you could see. You had to keep going to kill the others. Adrenaline rushed through your body and even though you were terrified, you knew you had to fight with all that you had.

"Hey! Ugly!" You shouted at the monster. It stopped chasing Mike and came straight for you. It was small, but it moved quicker than you anticipated. You got your horse close and switched to the ODM gear, anchoring to him by his skull. You flew up and just missed his hand grasping for you. Without hesitating, you screamed and sliced the back of its neck. It crashed down in a steamy flood. Your heart was pounding; your first kill. Looking back over, you heard Oliver scream; he was caught in the titans hand. "I'm coming!!!" You yelled, flying over to the titan. He was stabbing it across the face, screaming bloody murder. "HELP ME-" He screamed.

It stopped. There was a horrible snapping sound. Your eyes widened. Terrified.

It had killed him. You were furious, your entire body rushed with white hot anger. You cut its neck, tears streaming down your face. Its body crashed to the ground; lifeless. "Oliver," you cried.

"Azeria!" Mike screamed; there was no time to be sad. Mike was dodging the titan clawing at him, but only by a few inches. You rushed over and cut the heels of the abnormal; Mike finishing the job. Your voiced was shaky, "It got Oliver." His face was hardened and furious. "I know. But we need to go; look." In the field away, more red signals were being fired. It was on all sides of Erwin's squad; and who knew how many were behind them in the rest of the formation. You ran over to Olivers body and grabbed a ring from his hand; the only thing that you could find on his remains. "Let's go!"

Your horses were charging to the front now; on the way you had to help other soldiers fight even more titans; it felt endless. It was a massacre on the scouts. Too many titans and too few people. You felt helpless. Mike and you kept riding after each kill, leaving behind wounded soldiers and steaming titan bodies. Your hands were covered in the blood of soldiers, your body trembling with adrenaline. Finally you reached Erwin; his eyes widened with rage, charging towards Levi at the front, "We need to retreat, otherwise we will all die out here! Go help Hange and fall back! We can't defeat them!" He was cold and rode off into the front of the formation; shooting a blue signal into the sky.

You rode as fast as you could across the form, killing more titans until you finally reached Hange and Moblit; facing four titans alone. You and Mike took two together, you'd cut the heels and he'd make the kill. Hange and Moblit took the other two. "Let's fall back!" Hange said, the defeat and anger was written across her face. You were trembling, "I need to find Levi!" The three of them looked at you. "We've been ordered to fall back. Levi will be fine," Mike said, his brows were furrowed. "I'll go to the Captain and ride with him! I won't leave him!" Why on earth were you saying these things? If you stay out here and ride back; you'll die. But you couldn't leave him. It didn't feel right. "Azeria," Hange but a hand on your shoulder, trying to reason with you but your eyes were begging for them to let you. "We aren't far. Mike and I just saw Erwin." Mike let out a sigh. He knew you weren't going to budge. "Fine. Go straight to Erwin. Signal if there is a problem. The rain began to pour down from the sky.

You hopped back on your horse and charged back in Erwins direction. He wasn't far. If you could get to the captain, you could get to Levi. You couldn't leave without knowing he was okay. Even if you were certain Levi would be fine, it was too hard to think on leaving him out there alone. Suddenly; a 10 meter titan came barreling in your direction. "Dammit not again!" You fired off a red flare. Your heart was racing. This time you were alone. There was nothing to hook onto nearby; you'd need to take on the titan from the ground, much to your disadvantage. You loaded new blades and grew your swords. This was it. You had to kill it. No one was there to help you. It came closer. You hooked onto the side of its thigh and used it to project you to the back of its legs, slicing one of its heels. It let out a horrible cry. Its hands were swinging for your body now, you shot yourself up to its eyes so that it would stop grabbing you. It terrified you to see its face so close, and its hands just missing your feet. You cut one of its eyes and it screamed out again. With it being blinded, it would give you a chance to cut the other heel and send it to the ground. You flipped over the top of its body, racing to cut its other ankle. Suddenly an arm swung out from between its legs and grabbed you. Shit.

You hacked at its arm and kicked wildly to try and break free, but nothing was working. You screamed. A terrible animalistic scream that you had heard from Oliver before he was killed. This was it. You swung your sword wildly trying to make any kind of damage that you could, but it was reaching up its hand to its mouth; ready to swallow you. Tears streamed out of your eyes, "I'm going to kill you!" You screamed, but it was no use. How could you be so stupid? Why did you turn back? Now, you'd never get to see anyone again. Its jaw opened and you could smell its hot breath.

"What the shit are you doing?!" Levi's voice appeared. He was on top of its head, covered in blood and fuming. He cut the titans neck just as it was pulling you to its mouth. It fell over with you still stuck in its hand. He dragged you out on the ground, panting. You were so disoriented. "Levi," was the only thing you could say. "Why did you not retreat back?!" He shook you by your shoulders. "I- I- wanted to make sure you-"

"-I told you not to do anything stupid! You almost died!" His eyes were wild. He was covered in blood and sweat. His hands held you tightly by your arms and he looked at you with what seemed like a mixture of relief and anger. "Im sorry," you said, tears streaked down your face. You reached out and hugged him tight. It was a frantic hug; you clung to his body and grimaced in pain and sadness. He held you back, his arms were so tightly coiled around you. The rain fell around you, adding to the filth, the sweat, the tears and the blood. You couldn't help but feel relief that he was there, his breathing in your ear was such a comforting sound after so much fighting. For a brief, beautiful moment, you felt a sense of peace that you had never experienced before, it felt like the two of you were floating in nothingness. You never wanted to let him go. But it couldn't last long; you had to retreat. He pulled you back, "Lets go."

You rode back. Galloping as fast as you could. It was a nightmare. Everyone had been killed. You rode past bodies and bodies of scouts. In total, only 20 had survived, most of them were in Erwins squad. The land was strewn with corpses. The pain was immeasurable. You managed to find Ilse, her leg had been broken and her horse missing. You put her on the supply cart and rode back. It was complete defeat. No one could speak; you had lost over half of the scouts. Just as the relief of being safe came; the nightmare of returning began. The gates rose and you looked as people realized in horror what had happened. Parents crying for their children, people yelling about wasting tax money, children crying at the horrors that were in front of them. The people infuriated you, they had so little understanding of why you did what you did. You felt the weight of a thousand bricks on your chest. You were exhausted, dehydrated and your forehead was bleeding profusely. Looking ahead at Levi, Hange, Moblit and Mike you could see them trying to hold it together. Only Erwin seemed to carry himself with that same great determination that he always did. You couldn't hide it the way that they did, though. The relief of survival was overshadowed by the great guilt of living. 

__

Chapter ten here

[nospectral]

I’m drawing too many fan arts of Levi. It’s time for someone else I really like.

Mr Horse face being pissed off as always xD

Tried to experiment with SnK-like line art and I’m quite proud if it ^^

[psyche-in-the-window]

Mikasa: Looks like we’re on to plan B.

Armin: Technically, this would be plan G.

Sasha: How many plans do we have? Is there like, a plan M?

Armin: Yes, but Eren dies in plan M.

Jean: I like plan M.

[rosec0urtz]

Erwin: Hange! Look, do I have a grey hair?

Hange: …

Hange: Do you want me to be brutally honest, honest or lie?

Erwin: Brutally honest?

Hange: One?

[carvedformylady]

I just finished aot s1 and i’m wondering how the hell people waited four years for it to come back. like i want to give each of you hugs. how did you do it. i’m so proud of you:)

[reinerbraunprotectionsquad]

*Jean and Eren get into another fight during their trainee years*

Jean: At least I'm not some suicidal bastard!

Eren:

[pickalilywrites]

Eren, Armin, Jean, Connie, Marco, Reiner, Bertholdt, Porco and Marcel all go into a haunted house. First one who leaves the place screaming has to ride the most embarrassing kiddie ride in public

thanks, this was fun :)

never too old

104th trainee squad boys. modern au. 2789 words.

The group of friends stand in front of the haunted house, although some of them look more skeptical about entering than the others. Eren and Connie look especially excited, but Armin’s lips have been pursed nervously ever since they’ve entered the amusement park and Bertholdt has been growing an unsettling shade of green as they’ve neared the haunted house.  

“We’ve agreed, right? First one out of the haunted house screaming has to ride a kiddie ride?” Eren asks with the biggest grin on his face. Like Connie, he lives for horror and thrill rides and the thought of going through the haunted house excites him to no end. 

“We're going into a haunted house in the middle of the summer. Is it really going to be that scary?” Jean asks doubtfully. He looks up at the haunted house with a frown. It looks out of place in the middle of the amusement park, especially since it’s such a bright and sunny day. He glances over at Eren. “Is it even worth it at this point?” 

“Y-yeah,” Bertholdt stammers as he tries to put on his bravest face even as his knees shake horribly. “M-maybe we should t-turn back now. We c-can go on a different ride.”  

Eren shoves Bertholdt aside so he can get in Jean’s face, one side of his mouth upturned in a smirk. “What’s wrong, Kirstein? Are you scared you’re going to run out screaming?” 

There had been a time when Jean would have ignored any of Eren’s jibs, but Eren’s provoked him for far too long for him to hold back anymore. With a growl, he grabs Eren by the collar and pulls him forward. “Don’t talk as if you’re not going to be the one pissing his pants five minutes in,” Jean snarls before dragging Eren with him to the haunted house entrance.  

The doors are a muted purple, the paint peeling although that might be by design. The floorboards of the porch creak as the group of friends cross the boundary of the amusement park and this haunted mansion. Once they step inside, the light in the entrance hall flickers on and the lamps that line the corridor turn on one by one. The lights are dim, illuminating enough to give the visitors a glimpse of the ornate rug that runs from the entrance all the way down the seemingly endless hall and the detailed paintings that hang from the wall and seem to be staring at them intently as they hesitantly step forward. Once they make it past the front lobby, a figure steps forward from the shadows, making a few of them jump. 

“Holy shit!” Bertholdt yelps, stumbling backwards and nearly knocking over a vase sitting on an end table. He immediately turns his eyes downward to avoid any eye contact with the haunted house’s host whose skin has been painted blue to give them a ghostly appearance. He finds a way to stumble back and cling onto Reiner’s sleeve, groaning, “Oh my god, why’d they have to pop out like that?”  

“It’s just part of the gig, Bertl. Don’t be so jumpy. You know this is all fake anyway,” laughs Reiner, pulling Bertholdt from out behind him and giving the trembling giant a pat on the back. 

“Thank you kindly for visiting us today. Please be assured that we will take care of you as best as we can,” the host says, his voice more of a ghastly groan than a normal speaking voice. It only serves to make Bertholdt even more anxious about everything they’re about to encounter. The ghostly butler in front of them is welcoming them into the haunted house and giving them instructions, but only Armin, Marcel, and Marco seem to be paying any attention. If the butler minds, he doesn’t show it and continues to drone on and on about the horrors they might encounter and how they should continue to trudge forward even if they find their knees becoming weak. 

“Haunted house! Haunted house! Haunted house!” Connie and Eren chant in unison as the butler is finishing up his spiel.  

“Did you guys even listen to anything he said?” Jean asks with a roll of his eyes.  

“Doesn’t matter what he said. We’re going through this without batting an eyelash,” Eren says. His arm is linked with Connie’s and the two idiots stand with their chests puffed out proudly even as Jean shakes his head.  

“The deal is just that we had to get through the haunted house, right? Can we just go through the whole thing with our eyes closed?” Armin mumbles. He fiddles with his hair, twirling a lock between his fingers as he stares at his feet.  

“Wouldn’t that make it scarier? You don’t even know what’s jumping out and screaming at you or waving a chainsaw in your face,” Marcel points out, but he yelps when Porco elbows him.  

“This whole attraction is, what, twenty or thirty minutes? It’ll be fine,” Porco says. He takes a more empathetic approach to calming down the nervous people in their party, although it’s unclear if it’s more helpful than Marcel’s more rational approach. Porco rubs at the back of his neck when he sees that Armin and Bertholdt are still shaking. He wonders if he shouldn’t have said anything at all. “Anyway, it’s fine if you guys get scared. It’s just a stupid bet. You’re supposed to get scared in a haunted house.” 

As they walk down the corridor, they see that the hallway has become covered in cobwebs. There are only a few at first, but soon the entire hallway is covered and only the floors are free of spider silk. Even though Connie and Eren laugh and point at the various cocoons trapped in the spiderwebs, Armin and Bertholdt cringe especially when they see the cocoons wriggle as if the victims are alive and struggling to get free. There’s a particularly large cocoon in the corner, one that’s about Reiner’s size, where muffled screams can barely be heard.  

“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” Armin whispers to himself in a mantra. Even though he had resolved himself to staring at the floor, he can’t tear his eyes away from the large cocoon the corner. He’s attached himself to Eren’s side, but even Eren’s hysterical laughter can’t ease his anxieties.  

“It’s probably just a clever machine,” Marco says reassuringly to Armin. “Most of the things in this haunted mansion are.” 

“Y-yeah,” Armin stammers.  

There’s a sharp screech and a shadow drops from the ceiling in the center of the hall. Armin and Bertholdt exclaim in alarm and even Porco and Reiner curse as a giant spider joins them. The spider is twice as big as Bertholdt and pitch black with glowing red eyes. It twirls around menacingly on its silk thread, its pincers opening and closing as it lets out another high-pitched screech before it slowly retreats into the ceiling. 

“I hate this place,” Bertholdt groans. He clings to Reiner’s back like a koala and Reiner laughs.  

“It’s fine if you want to keep going like this, but just don’t pass out on me. I don’t want to have to carry you the rest of the way. You’re pretty heavy,” Reiner jokes, but even his light-hearted words aren’t enough to make Bertholdt feel better. 

The corridor twists and turns as they continue to walk down the path. There are many different paths, but only one is open to the guests. The other paths are closed off with velvet ropes and signs that say, “Warning! Do not enter.”  

As they escape the cobwebbed corridor, the hallway soon evolves into a jungle of fake flora and fauna. Even though it was bright outside, the foliage blocks any sunlight that might be streaming through the musty windows of the greenhouse. Only the dim garden lamps give them any light and it makes it difficult to navigate, so the group sticks close together with the exception of Eren and Connie who keep darting towards every moving bush or running towards every sound of jostling leaves.  

“Do you really have to do that? It’s scary enough without you guys actively seeking the thing that’s supposed to scare us,” Bertholdt whimpers. He’s lagging behind, clinging to the hem of Reiner’s shirt. Despite his long and lanky legs, he’s only able to move an inch at a time.  

“It’s more fun this way,” Connie laughs. He gives an excited shout when they hear a low growl of a wolf, and he and Eren run forward to find out where it came from.  

“Our definitions of ‘fun’ are way too different,” Armin mutters. He’s grown increasingly pale the deeper they’ve gone into the haunted house. Like Bertholdt, he’s stumbling forward inch by inch, but unlike Bertholdt he has the ability to use his much larger friends as a shield from whatever horrors they might face. 

“If you think about it, you guys are really getting a better deal out of this,” Marcel says. After failing the first time to console his friends, it seems he’s trying his hand once more. “Isn’t the point of going into a haunted house to get scared? If you don’t, it’s not a very good haunted house.” 

A rapid flutter of wings and cicada screeches fill the air, causing Bertholdt and Armin to yelp. Any comforting words Marcel had offered have gone unheard. The wings flutter once more and the cicadas shriek, but this time they’re joined with the sounds of hissing and the rattle of a snake. A low growling can be heard in the distance. The growling grows louder and louder. Even as the group of friends inch closer, Bertholdt and Armin struggle to take steps forward and have to be dragged forward by everyone else. Without warning, the growl erupts into a piercing howl that makes Armin yelp, but Eren and Connie simply cackle and let out mocking howls of their own before bursting into giggles.  

“I hope you two are having fun,” Jean says dryly. He and Marco are holding up Armin whose knees have grown so weak that he can hardly stand upright. “Your friends are going to faint soon.” 

“Are you two able to keep going in this state?” Porco asks with a doubtful frown.  

“The faster we walk, the fast we can get this haunted house over with,” Bertholdt says. Though he does his best to sound confident, his words come out shakily and his gaze is terrified at what might lie ahead. 

They trudge on ahead, Bertholdt and Armin much more grudgingly than the others. Even though Connie and Eren forge ahead making jokes and mocking everything they encounter, it’s still not enough to ease Bertholdt and Armin’s worries. They’ve managed to make it past the strange greenhouse portion of the haunted mansion and have returned to a hallway that looks similar to the hallway entrance from before. The ornate carpet is the same, but this time the hallway is lit by wax candles that flicker as they walk by.  

“How much more of this do you think we have?” Marco murmurs. 

“Hopefully not much more,” Armin groans weakly. 

There’s a door where light is illuminating so much brighter than the dim candlelight. They are drawn to it like moths to a flame. Only their footsteps can be heard as they approach the room and as they cross the threshold, they see a warm fire burning in the fireplace. The room they’ve entered is decorated ornately like the rest of the house: various paraphernalia adorning the shelves and tabletops, books with titles written in strange scripts across the spine, torn curtains fluttering as wind streams in from the open window. A closer inspection shows even more oddities: blood staining the carpet and walls, scratches across the hardwood floor and stone walls, and a strange satanic pentagon carved on the exposed in the center of the room. Bertholdt realizes too late that he’s standing directly in the middle of the pentagon. 

“A sacrifice? The Master will be quite pleased,” a disembodied voice booms. It echoes across the room, seemingly coming from every direction.  

As the party looks around in alarm, a figure begins to form in the fireplace and a silhouette of ash and fire rises from the embers. Just before its final form can take place, the fire goes out completely and the room rumbles with the sound of laughter. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appears from the ceiling, illuminated by flashes of lightning from the window, and a face appears in the clouds. Its expression is twisted in an evil grin, but everything about it — the eyes too far apart, the mouth too wide, the cheekbones too pointed — is too warped to be human.  

“Tonight, I shall feast!” the voice cackles and Armin faints in Jean and Marco’s arms. Bertholdt’s reaction is much more severe. 

The gentle giant, finally scared out of his wits, jumps up a foot in the air screaming before running out of the room in the direction they came from. His friends, baffled, stare after him. 

“Should we ... should we go after him?” Porco asks. 

“I don’t think we’re supposed to go backwards,” Marco says worriedly. 

“Is he going to be alright? He’s going to see everything that scared him again,” Marcel points out.  

“We should probably go after him,” Jean sighs. 

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ 

It turns out that running out of the haunted house in the wrong direction is highly discouraged, which is something the party would have realized if they had paid attention during the host’s speech at the entrance of the haunted house. There are many alternative routes that are typically closed off to guests and only available to amusement park workers, but guests are known to wander off either in panic or out of pure curiosity and then get lost. In his fright, Bertholdt had scurried down one of these forbidden paths and had gotten lost. In the end, the haunted house had to usher its guests out and enlist the help of additional park workers to find Bertholdt in the haunted house in an operation that took nearly an hour. 

“I feel kind of bad. Maybe I should have offered that park worker more than fifty dollars to not ban us for life,” Eren says even though most of that money was Jean’s. “He was pretty young. He doesn’t understand the value of money yet. You know how kids are.”  

“We shouldn’t have gone into that haunted house in the first place,” Marcel sighs.  

“At least Bertholdt looks like he’s having a better time,” Reiner remarks. 

The friends look over at Bertholdt riding in a small dragon roller coaster. His smile has returned to his face. He’s in the very front seat despite being the largest person on the ride. Behind him are Gabi and Falco who look like they’re having a much less fun time than Bertholdt despite being the appropriate age for the ride. The friend watch as Bertholdt loops around the tiny rollercoaster, a smile on his face as the wind whips through his hair.  

“... does that look kind of fun?” Connie asks and Eren nods beside him. 

“He looks like a giant on that ride,” Eren says almost enviously.  

“We can’t ride on that thing. We’re not kids, and we don’t have kids,” Porco points out. 

Eren grins wickedly at him. “Don’t we?” 

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ 

The tired, underpaid park employee looks tiredly at the group of friends and the two children that the friends are claiming to be the guardians of. The young teenager asks once more skeptically, “So all of you are fathers of these two children?” 

“Yup!” Eren says with his chest puffed out confidently. He gives the employee a charming smile, but she couldn’t care less whether or not he was telling the truth. “All of us are their legal guardians. Should we have brought the legal documents? Who brings that sort of thing around with them?” 

The girl remains unconvinced, but she sighs and opens the gate for them to enter the ride. She doesn’t get paid nearly enough for this. “Enjoy the ride.”  

The friends all shuffle into the carts in the front, leaving Gabi and Falco to take the cart in the back. Even though Falco seems disappointed about having to ride the same kiddie ride again, Gabi looks excited. 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this. Aren’t they too old for this?” Falco mumbles under his breath. 

“Aw, lighten up, Falco. It’s only just this once. And they said they’d take us to two PG-13 movies next weekend,” Gabi says with a grin as she straps her seatbelt around her stomach. “Besides, nobody’s ever too old to have fun!” 

[sk-elene]

Jean Kirstein, a boy forged before the fire.