#and i moved up her ponytails so that way the ribbons kind of resemble the actual antennae

[puppyeared]

tried my hand at making a ladybug redesign

[baekberrie]

Small, high-pitched giggles filled Baekhyun’s bedroom. It was six in the evening and the clean, crisp scent of shower gel and strawberry shampoo floated in the air, brought by the warm steam cloud coming out of Baekhyun’s toilet. Beside the boy laid a blow-dryer while in his lap sat the little baby girl bouncing excitedly on his legs while watching the big device that you, her dear mama, would always use to clean the floor. Baekhyun’s hands were struggling to gather the little one’s hair into a stable hold but soon enough, a triumphant smile erupted on his lips when he managed just fine. Eagerly picking up the long tube, he directed it toward his daughter’s hair.

Hesitantly she asked; “Are you sure this is how you do it, daddy...?” A hesitant pout frowned her pink and extremely soft looking lips, her high pitched and cute voice gave the man an incredible urge to scatter anything he was holding away so that he could cup her cheeks and smooch every inch of her face that resembled the woman he loved too much. Just like you, his baby was beautiful.

“Don’t you worry buttercup, daddy’s got this!” He exclaimed reassuringly, the silly smile on his face made the little girl reciprocate the expression, letting out another set of giggles.

��Are you sure?”

“Yes, Sweetiekins,” He sang in an adoring chuckle.

“But won’t it suck in all of my hair?”

“Don’t you trust daddy?” He pouted, merely resembling his own daughter as he pulled that kind of expression. Had you been there to witness it, you would’ve been all over him, ogling him with heartshaped eyes pooled love and affection, he knew for sure you would’ve. The little girl’s expression wavered ever so slightly but turned soon into a face splitting smile that made the organ in his chest swell with love and adoration, a giddy feeling taking over his body as he felt like the luckiest man in the world to have such a beautiful daughter by his side. Flowers bloomed in his chest- colorful petals tickled his belly when he leaned down to plant a chaste peck on her small lips, excitedly, she smacked her lips loudly against his. Her cheeks lifted and turned her twinkling eyes into crescents moons, it looked like her eyes held pure stars within them, he noted. A pink hue covering her skin at the happiness of having received a little kiss from her favorite man in the whole world.

“I trust daddy the most!” She encouraged and with a holler of triumph, Baekhyun finally turned the vacuum on and directed it towards her hair. As soon as it sucked into the tube- it took it less than thirty seconds to gather her hair neatly before lacing a pink ribbon around her ponytail. 

“You look beautiful, princess,” He cooed once done, satisfaction rested on his delighted features and the little girl squealed in joy as she jumped off the bed to sprint toward the full-body mirror planted on his shared closet, he followed. Her small hands rested against the class as she adored her own reflection, happily screeching once again, this time more high pitched and her hands formed into fists by her chest as she tightly shut her eyes close to control the excitement.

“Daddy you’re the best!” She almost shouted as she threw her arms around his legs, hugging him with all of her might. If his eyes could show any more adoration- if only his eyes could reflect the arrow piercing his heart at the feeling of his daughter’s short arms sending love through the embrace she had attempted to pull him in. Crouching down to her level, completely driven by his overflowing emotions, he forgot to take it easy when he pulled her into his chest, tightening his arms around the petite figure- it never felt like he was hugging her close enough, he wanted her to know all of the fatherly love he had for her, his princess.

“Daddy loves you the most.” He whispered soothingly in her ear, rocking their bodies slowly. She only nodded because young or not, she knew no more words were needed.

When the noise of the front door opening resounded from downstairs, the kid was quick to break the calm and peaceful embrace because her legs tickled so greatly with the urge to sprint down to see her mother, but not without planting a kiss on her dad’s cheeks did she move. 

“Mama!” She screeched on her way down the stairs, you could only smile at the familiar sound of her voice.”

“Hi, baby!” You crouched down immediately, knowing she’d jump in your embrace. “You look so pretty!” Honey dripped from your lips as you admired the pink ribbon keeping her golden locks in place, the compliment turned her face into pure sunshine.

“Daddy did it!” She pointed behind her shoulders once Baekhyun’s footsteps were heard.

“With that cleaning machine!” She screeched excitedly, Baekhyun froze in his steps and your eyes widened.

“With what?!”

“Shortcake!” He cried, ”I thought we decided to keep it a secret!”

Her hands flew to her mouth with shock, but nonetheless, a giggle escaped her mouth.

“Daddy I’m sorry! It slipped!”

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

There you go little flowers✨💕🍓😚

@byunfirstlady​ @and-you-found-me​ 

[the-trickster-of-hearts]

Kasumi’s Design and How it Compares to Joker

In honor of Persona 5: The Royal coming out in 1 day, I decided to dedicate my first post to this topic since I’ve seen people talk about it. I also wanted to share my speculation about her design along with how and why her design is possibly connected with the protagonist/Joker by using given information about the game and the designs themselves. I’ve been working on this for a while and it might kind of messy since this is the first time I made a post of this nature (plus, I want to post it before the game’s Japanese official release).

Before I discuss about Kasumi’s design and its connection to the protagonist/Joker, it’s best to look at the reason why she was created in the first place. Weekly Famitsu magazine #1588 had an interview with producer Kazuhisa Wada, director Daiki Ito, and character designer Shigenori Soejima about P5R. When Ito talked about Kasumi, he mentioned the following:

“Kasumi Yoshizawa is a new student at Shujin Academy, who has been a high achiever in rhythmic gymnastics since middle school. Since she goes to the same school as the protagonist and his friends, there’ll naturally be many points of contact between them. Introducing a new character adds a new perspective and meaning to the story, while also letting [the team] dig deeper into the characters we already know and love. Kasumi was created after much discussion about what kind of character would allow us to realize that”.

Kasumi was always meant to represent another perspective towards the story and themes of the game. Also going by this, she was most likely never meant to be a FeMC in the way people were expecting when the second P5R teaser was dropped. With that out of the way, let’s talk about her design and how it possibly relates to the protagonist’s design (for the sake of this post, he’ll be referred to as the protagonist when talking about his civilian self and Joker as his Phantom Thief self). 

In the November 2019 issue of Game Informer magazine that was released digitally on the 1st, there was an interview with Soejima and he states the following about Kasumi’s design and how he came up with it:

“With Kasumi, [he] really wanted to create just a straight-forward heroine type of character. This might be a little bit different in the West, but in Japan, the manga [he] grew up reading, the main [female] characters always had a ponytail, and their club activity was gymnastics. [He] really wanted to just shoot for that female protagonist archetype. Maybe in the States or in the West, it’d be [comparable to] a cheerleader type of girl. With most of the characters in Persona 5, we really design them to have kind of a twist, kind of make them unique and different from what the standard character archetypes might be like, but with Kasumi, we wanted to just go straight for that heroine type of girl”.

Based on this, the reason why Kasumi wears the standard Shujin uniform is because she embodies the classic heroine. Soejima even points that while most of the main cast have a twist to their designs and how it relates to their archetypes (remember that the rest of Phantom Thieves, including Akechi, are meant to be deconstructions of their given archetype), he decided to be straightforward for Kasumi’s design and how she’s supposed to reflect her given archetype. The only other character to not have a twist on their design is the protagonist. Actually, that’s not completely true. The protagonist and Kasumi actually have a twist in their design (this isn’t counting the protagonist’s glasses or Kasumi’s ribbon as they don’t take away from the uniform). Compare the concept art for the protagonist to the concept art for the Shujin uniforms. 

It’s hard to tell here, but the protagonist doesn’t wear the standardized shoes. Instead, he switches them out for some dress boots. Now let’s compare the protagonist and Kasumi.

Like the protagonist, Kasumi switches out the standardized shoes (in her case, she trades them out for some red loafers). This may not seem like much, but it’s rather strange that the one thing they change to their uniforms is the shoes. If anything, it seems like an intentional design choice to make them more similar. 

Now that I talked about her winter uniform, I can move onto her Phantom Thief attire and its relation to Joker’s outfit. 

Back to Weekly Famitsu magazine #1588, Soejima says the following when discussing about her Phantom Thief design: 

“Kasumi doesn’t form a pair with the protagonist, but since [Soejima] was drawing her as an icon of P5R, [he] designed her phantom thief appearance to feel like it goes alongside the protagonist’s. The idea of ‘phantom thieves’ in itself has manga-like elements, right? Like with the protagonist, [he] wanted this new character to have that ‘coolness’ that everyone normally expects from a phantom thief. A female phantom thief that has a different stance from the protagonist… What kind of character is she? [He hopes] you’ll be excited to find out.”

When he mentions that she doesn’t form a pair with Joker, I’m assuming that he means that the two aren’t completely direct counterparts or mirror images like how P3MC and FeMC are. While their outfits do have differences (that are better seen in the new prologue), their outfits parallel each other and have the same color scheme (more on that later). Soejima confirms that Kasumi’s Phantom Thief design resembles Joker’s design is because he intentionally made her design to feel like it goes along with him. 

Despite the almost uncanny resemblance of their Phantom Thief outfits, I get the impression that the overall intention of the designs are different. I believe the reason why their designs are so similar but different is because they’re supposed to reflect two different versions of the hero and heroine archetype that reflects their ideologies. At this point, I might sound like I’m crazy, but let’s quickly go over their designs and compare them. 

Joker wears a black and white domino mask. Kasumi also wears a mask, but her mask is black and white/silver. Joker only has small gold buttons on his waistcoat, the rest of the buttons are silver as seen on his in-game model (they are sometimes depicted as black or gold depending on the artist). Kasumi, on the other hand, has large gold buttons on her coat and smaller gold buttons on her thigh-length hose. Kasumi also has a silver chain belt with roses on it (basically, Joker and Kasumi have their placement of the silver and gold reversed). He has a white handkerchief in the pocket of his jacket while she wears a black choker. Joker wears brown winklepickers, but Kasumi wears black stiletto-heels, which resemble ballet shoes. Lastly, he wields a knife as his melee weapon while she wields an estoc. Joker’s attire can be described as classy but able to blend in the shadows. His design the embodiment of the gentleman thief, a classical type of anti-hero. Meanwhile, Kasumi’s design is very graceful and more traditionally heroic compared to Joker’s gentleman thief-esque design. Soejima points out how the Phantom Thief concept has manga-like elements (which the characters also bring up in PQ2). Combine this with Kasumi’s transformation sequence in PV #02, Kasumi’s Phantom Thief design seems to have taken some inspiration from magical girls. Despite the numbers of differences, their designs still complement each other because of the shared color schemes, red gloves, and number of coattails. Basically, their designs are different yet still go along with each other (kind of like yin and yang in a sense).

In both their Shujin uniforms and their Phantom Thief attire, they share a black-red color scheme (which are also the main colors of Persona 5). An interesting thing to note is that the two have more of a certain color in their designs.The protagonist has a bigger emphasis on black as his hair, rim of the glasses, and dress boots are black. His eyes are technically gray, but they’re a much darker shade compared to P3MC or Yu Narukami. Meanwhile, Kasumi has a bigger emphasis on red as her hair, eyes, and shoes are red. It’s possible that the reason for the protagonist greater emphasis on black relates to how he’s the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who steal the distorted desires of individuals by morally grey means and sneak around Palaces within the shadows. In this school life, the protagonist keeps his head down and doesn’t really stand out from the crowd. Meanwhile, Kasumi rejects the Phantom Thieves because she believes that their methods don’t actually help anyone and that people should solve their own problems (this seems to stem from her own issues based on translations of her character introduction, PV #02, and PV #03). Despite this, she later joins them for her own reasons. Her appearance also helps her stand out.

This last part before moving on is speculation, but I’m going with the idea that there’s an in-universe for why her Phantom Thief outfit is similar to Joker’s. I’m kind of going on a tangent here, but it will connect back to Kasumi’s design. It’s known that Kasumi dislikes the Phantom Thieves, yet she’s seen helping Joker fight off a group of shadows while at the Casino Palace (at this point, she doesn’t consider herself a Phantom Thief but has awakened to her Persona) in the updated prologue and telling him that she isn’t going to stop him when she brings up that he still has something to do as a Phantom Thief. In PV #01, there’s a new animated cutscene involving the protagonist, Morgana, and Kasumi (note that both the protagonist and Kasumi are wearing their regular winter uniforms, not the ones for the third semester). 

PV #02 elaborates on this by showing new shots of it, and reveals that the new Palace is feature in that cutscene. 

In Kasumi’s introduction trailer, we see Joker and Morgana watching Kasumi awakening to her Persona in what appears to be in the new Palace. There’s also a gameplay section where the trio are seen fighting together, just them. 

Based on all of this info, I can conclude that the protagonist, Morgana, and Kasumi first enter the palace some time in between Spaceport of Greed arc and Casino of Envy arc (possibly even during one of those arcs or even before). Not only that, but the animated cutscene leads to the trio exploring the new palace for the first time and Kasumi awakening her Persona. After this point, Joker and Kasumi would meet again at Sae’s Palace when she has already awakened to her Persona. Based on all of the evidence presented, her in-universe reason for her Phantom Thief design looking like Joker is because her view of rebellion is him. Again, this is only speculation. It can only be confirmed when the game released on the 31st of this month in Japan. 

Lastly, I want to talk about the designs of their Personas briefly and how they compare/contrast. 

Arsene of the Fool Arcana and Cendrillon of the Faith Arcana are the only P5 Personas to not have golden eyes in any shape or form (as of now anyway). Instead, Arsene has red eyes while Cendrillon has blue. Their legs have a similar shape and they’re both seen to use physical skills by using their heels. Arsene’s horns and Cendrillon’s bow both point forwards. Arsene has a mask-like face that has been described to be glass-like while Cendrillon’s legs and chest are composed from glass. Both of them feature feathers in their design (Arsene has wings while Cendrillon’s cape and bow have a feathery appearance). Both of them have hearts patterns somewhere on their designs (Arsene has heart patterns on his shoulders while golden decor holding up Cendrillon’s cape resembles hearts). Another thing they have in common is that Arsene and Cendrillon both have French origins (Arsene Lupin is the creation of French novelist Maurice Leblanc while Cendrillon is based off of French author Charles Perrault’s interpretation of the Cinderella story). As for how they’re different, the first thing to mention is the color schemes. While both have black, white, and gold, Arsene has red, but Cendrillon has blue instead. Arsene has black wings while Cendrillon has a white feathery cape. Arsene has black claws resembling talons of a bird while Cendrillon has blue nails. Arsene has an overall demonic appearance while Cendrillon has a somewhat angelic appearance. Lastly, Arsene uses Curse skills while Cendrillon uses Bless skills. 

In conclusion, Kasumi’s design is intentionally meant to resemble the protagonist’s design to go alongside him and highlight their difference stances. They represent the hero and heroine archetypes on different scales, with the protagonist representing the anti-hero and Kasumi representing the traditional heroine. The in-universe reason for their similar Phantom Thief designs possibly has to do with how Kasumi’s view of rebellion is Joker mixed with gymnastics. Or maybe I’m looking too much into Kasumi’s design and how that design compares to the protagonist/Joker. 

[mapowrites]

Misericórdiae (Erwin Smith/OC)

Chapter 7: Rain Check

[ I ] [ II ] [ III ] [ IV ] [ V ] [ VI ] 

Two weeks passed before Lyor first received the news of Faye’s safe return. She had been at her father’s house for the winter break, and she had nearly fallen over when they opened the letter.

Wilhelm and his daughter sat across from each other in the carriage on their way to Faye’s hospital. With a bouquet of yellow crocuses in her lap, Lyor quietly peered from the carriage’s window as the bumpy road rocked her. She watched the hospital building approach expectantly. This was their fourth visit so far. Each visit had proved more fruitful than the last with Faye’s quasi skeletal appearance dwindling each time they saw her. Lyor’s guilt never lessened though. The young girl seemed so vulnerable and troubled in her hospital bed. Faye would never admit it, but Lyor knew she was traumatised. After being left alone outside the walls for nearly six weeks, who wouldn’t?

When Faye was well enough to accept visitors, she had told her group mates how she survived: a hollowed out tree trunk, plantain leaves, and a near-by stream for drinking water. For those long, lonely weeks, Faye had eaten only plantain leaves, and remained glued inside the shelter of the hollowed out tree. Occasionally, she was able to spear a fish in the stream if she was feeling particularly courageous. She had admitted to herself early on that there was no way she could make it back to the walls alone, so she waited patiently for help to arrive, away from the titans’ eyes. In the moment, Lyor had been taken aback by the girl’s wisdom, but after some time she realised it wasn’t so surprising coming from the child prodigy that was Faye.

The teen had described her rescue to the best of her recollection — she had been so relieved to be rescued that exhaustion and malnutrition had finally imposed themselves on her, and she had soon found herself unconscious. But what she did remember was witnessing the deaths of several scouts on their way back to the walls — a titan had chased them home. Lyor had refrained from asking if a blond man had been amongst those soldiers.

“You look perplexed.”

Lyor’s eyes moved from the window to her father. She shrugged.

“I’m anxious to see Faye.” Lyor replied, her eyes dropping to the flowers on her lap as she played with the white ribbon keeping the stems together.

Her father watched her mutely. He knew his daughter well enough to see through her mask. “It’s not your fault she got left behind.”

Lyor inhaled deeply. “I convinced her to work with us. It may be indirect, but it’s still my fault that she was out there.”

“So what? I bought the last loaf of bread the other day at the bakery, which means a starving child wasn’t able to steal bread that day. Maybe he’s dead now, and it’s indirectly my fault,” Wilhelm’s reply made Lyor look up from her hands, her face pulled into a frown. Wilhelm held her gaze steadily. “That kind of thinking is destructive — don’t sabotage your decisions based on guilt. Faye made her decision when she accepted to work with us, and when she insisted on accompanying us outside the walls. Accept what is out of your control.”

Lyor chewed on the inside of her cheek, her eyes acquiescently returning to her lap. She grumbled. “You sound just like mom.”

Wilhelm’s lips pulled into a smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Wilhelm squared his shoulders before he continued, his smile fading. “Now, we haven’t talked about the Scouting Legion since Faye’s return. I’ve talked to Rick and Heinrich, and they’ve agreed to sign the contract. I want to know if you still think it’s the right call.”

Lyor blinked, surprised that her father placed so much importance on her approval. After some thought, Lyor nodded. “It’s the only way to keep our cause alive.”

The two of them spent the rest of the carriage ride chit-chatting; from the future of their group to Faye’s recovery. When they arrived, they both stepped out of the carriage and walked into the hospital. Wilhelm was speaking to the nurse at the front desk, who gave them permission to make their way to Faye’s room, when Lyor spotted a familiar face round the corner of the hallway. He looked irritated, to say the least.

Upon his blue eyes meeting hers, the man marched over. She noticed the teddy bear in his hands and raised an eyebrow. Once he reached the woman and her father, he ran a hand through his brown hair, seemingly to calm himself down.

Lyor pointed to the stuffed animal in his hand sarcastically. “Hi, Rick. Nice teddy bear. What’re you going to name it?”

Rick rolled his eyes, his jaw twitching in irritation under his beard. “Faye’s parents are here… They all but decapitated me when they saw me knocking at the door.”

“So a full grown man ran away from a teenager’s scorned parents?” Wilhelm sneered.

“I didn’t come here to be screamed at,” Rick pushed the stuffed animal into Wilhelm’s chest, his voice coated in annoyance. The older man took it into his hands. “In order to come with us, the little brat snuck out without them knowing. If you manage to get past the door, tell her this is from me. I’m done.”

With a huff and a wave, the broad man bid the two goodbye. Lyor and Wilhelm shared an uncertain look between them.

“Well, if anyone has to face them, it’s me.” Wilhelm commented, tucking the bear under his arm as they steeled themselves for the walk to Faye’s room.

They walked in silence through the marble-floored corridors, the heel of Lyor’s boots clicking and echoing off the pristine walls. They found themselves before the wooden door within minutes, and Lyor took a deep breath as her father knocked before opening the door. Inside was a middle-aged woman — her eyes sunken and framed by dark bags. She bore a slight resemblance to Faye. A man of similar age sat beside her at Faye’s bedside while the young girl slept, a hand on his daughter’s arm and his face riddled with worry. His wife’s brows instantly knit as her eyes set on the pair.

“How many of you are there?! You shouldn’t have come here! Get out!” Her face twisted in anger, and she stood from her seat to approach Wilhelm at a frightening pace. “It’s not enough to send my daughter to her death but you also have to come here to pester her?!”

Lyor opened her mouth to respond, her eyes apologetic and heartfelt, but her father held out his arm and spoke to her over his shoulder. “It’s best if you wait outside.”

Before she could say anything, Wilhelm stepped into the room and closed the door gently behind him. Albeit muffled, she heard him murmur something softly to the woman through the door only to be replied to with a roar of wrath. Lyor sighed to herself in the hallway as their conversations continued in the same pattern.

She brought Faye’s bouquet to her chest, holding it close to her as she looked around the hallway to spot a bench across the way. She walked over to it and took a seat, quietly trying to translate the muffled argument coming from Faye’s room. A few minutes passed this way as she idly twirled the bouquet of flowers in her hands. What made her look up from her hands was the sound of footsteps clicking down the hallway.

Her heart skipped a beat upon recognising the man who strolled down the hall, a brown haired woman to his right. He was wearing civilian clothes: a white button up tucked into his black trousers underneath a casual jacket. She would never admit to herself that she was relieved to see Erwin safe.

She took the time to curiously eye the woman he was with before she was spotted. She was around his age, her unruly hair pulled into a ponytail, and a pair of oval spectacles upon her nose. Her brown eyes met Lyor’s before Erwin followed the woman’s gaze. Lyor stood from her bench, a small, polite smile on her lips as the two approached her. Both the woman and Erwin returned her smile.

“Hi there,” Lyor greeted them, standing before the two taller adults.

Erwin’s gaze seemed to soften for half a second. “Hello, Lyor. It’s nice to see you.” He expressed.

Her eyes poured into his and she replied, her voice as soft as his gaze. “It’s nice to see you, too.” He broke their eye contact as if breaking from a trance in order to turn to the woman beside him.

“This is my colleague, Hanji Zoë. She is one of the Recon Corps’ lead researchers, and also one of the soldiers who rescued Faye,” The blond stated. Lyor smiled and held out her free hand. “Hanji, this is Lyor Reichart; Wilhelm’s daughter.”

“You’re Lyor?!” Hanji took her hand enthusiastically with both of hers, her eyes sparkling as a wide grin spread on her face. Lyor blinked in confusion. “Wow, I didn’t picture you like this at all! Erwin told me all about your codex on the flight of birds… I have so many questions! I tried to ask Faye, but she said she hasn’t even read it yet! You have to let me borrow it!”

“Hanji…” Erwin warned.

Pleasantly surprised by her intensity and warmth, Lyor returned her grin and squeezed the woman’s hand, ignoring Erwin’s disapproval. The world wouldn’t be an interesting place without people like Hanji.

“It’s not quite finished, but I promise you’ll be the first person to read it when it is. Consider it a gift for bringing Faye back.” Lyor responded, and Hanji laughed heartily before letting go. She spoke before Hanji could twitter about anything else. “Are you two here to see Faye?”

“Yes, we try to bring her some real food on our day off. I wouldn’t even feed this hospital's food to a titan!” The woman remarked as she gestured to the package in Erwin’s hand. Erwin chuckled, and Lyor savoured the sound after not hearing it for several weeks.

“How sweet of you.” Lyor commented, smiling at her, but her smile didn’t last long when she heard the muffled sound of something smashing from inside Faye’s room followed by more screaming. Automatically, Hanji and Erwin, both being military officers, twitched in response, their shoulders now square and defensive. Lyor could tell by their movements that they had both received the same military training. She held her hand up in appeasement, a hesitant smile on her face.

“Now may not be the best time to visit. We just learned that Faye had snuck out of her house to come outside the walls with us. We had no idea her parents didn’t know… And now that she barely made it home alive, they’re blaming my father. He’s trying to defuse the situation.”

“Sounds like he’s doing a good job.” Hanji replied sarcastically.

“Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned, Hanji.” Lyor offered, earning a laugh from Hanji and another chuckle from Erwin. She turned her attention to the eventful door beside them, hiding her giddy smile. She liked making him laugh.

Before their conversation could progress any further, Faye’s door swung open, her mother on the other side. “You’re just a monster! Exploiting a teenage girl! I’m going to report you to the King, and then we’ll see how sorry you really are, you scum! Now, get out!”

The mother violently motioned Wilhelm, who was still inside the room, towards the hallway. After opening the door, Lyor must’ve caught her attention for she turned savagely towards the young woman.

“And you!” Faye’s mother pointed at the brunette, stepping out of the room to shove her index in Lyor’s face. Lyor tried to back away defensively, but the woman followed her. “You abused your influence as Faye’s upperclassman to get her to join! I’m going to denounce you to the university and have you stripped of your degree! You’re nothing but a depraved trollop! Go back to your rat hole, you damned bit-”

Lyor watched as Erwin seized the woman’s defamatory finger in his imposing hand, and lowered it from Lyor’s face. “That’s quite enough, ma’am.” His voice was firm and domineering; it made Lyor’s skin prickle.

The woman seemed to blanch at Erwin’s demand, but she quickly snapped her hand away and regained her composure — although she refrained from raising her voice to her previous decibel level. “Just what my daughter needs: humanity’s greatest tax money waste visiting her. Just leave her alone!”

The mother stomped back to her daughter’s room, and after confirming she had successfully kicked Wilhelm out, she slammed the door behind her with a furious glare.

“Well,” Hanji cooly broke the awkward silence that filled the hallway between the four of them. “I guess Faye won’t be joining the Scouting Legion anytime soon.”

They exchanged a disarming laugh, and Wilhelm introduced himself to Hanji. Erwin turned to Lyor when she spoke to him over Hanji’s squeaks of excitement. “Let me take that for you.”

He watched her take the bundled package of food that was in his hands, and he revelled in how calm she was after just being vituperated by a stranger. She gathered Erwin and Hanji’s package, Rick’s stuffed animal, and her bouquet into a pile as Hanji and her father conversed, and neatly placed it beside Faye’s door.

“Shall we?” Lyor turned to Erwin, and he nodded.

The foursome made their way down the halls and to the hospital’s main entrance, Hanji and Lyor’s father deeply engaged in a discussion about something regarding a chemical oxidation process. Outside the hospital, Lyor and Erwin listened quietly, both amused by the strange friendship blooming before them.

“Well, why don’t we go out for an afternoon drink to finalise our contract?” Wilhelm proposed, the four of them facing each other. Hanji and Erwin exchanged a glance before nodding, Hanji more enthusiastically than the blond.

“That sounds great! I know a great bar in this area!” Hanji exclaimed, dragging the older scientist along with her before diving right back into their previous debate about something Lyor could only guess was chemistry. Erwin began to follow them until he realised Lyor didn’t move from her spot.

“You’re not coming?” He asked, stopping to turn and face her inquisitively.

Lyor offered him a humble smile. “No, I have to go home — my final semester starts tomorrow. I have to pack and return to Sina tonight. But, please, go enjoy yourself.”

“Allow me to walk you home; it’ll be hard for you to get a carriage at this busy hour. Do you live in the area?”

Lyor hesitated, suppressing a bashful grin. “I’d hate to separate you from them.”

“Nonsense. I know exactly where Hanji’s taking him; she’s got a go-to bar to talk people’s ears off.” He argued with a smirk. Lyor pondered for a few moments before she nodded and began to lead the way with a small smile.

They fell in step together, a comfortable silence falling between them as they walked through the cobblestone streets. The two of them maintained a chaste distance from one another. The sky was basked in pink and purple from of the setting autumn sun, being that it was nearly sundown, and it gave a peaceful quality to the bustling area of Wall Rose. Merchants were packing up their markets for the day, mothers beckoned their children to set the dinner table, and men were returning home from their long day of work. Lyor enjoyed this time of day; all felt tranquil for those few hours.

She eyed Erwin in her peripheral vision as they walked, and she finally mustered the strength to finally blurt what had been floating in her head.

“Faye told me about the four soldiers who died rescuing her,” Erwin looked at her. “I’m sorry about your comrades. I also want to apologise for behaving the way I did when you brought me back to the walls. I was a perfect ass.” Lyor attempted a remorseful glance to the tall man to her left. He was smiling calmly, but the smile never quite reached his enigmatic eyes.

“Apology accepted.” He responded, his voice deep and as smooth as always. He caught the sound of Lyor releasing a relieved breath. “How was the book?”

Lyor looked at him again but this time she wore an amused expression. “You think I finished that monster of a book in three weeks?”

“Of course not,” He then smirked. “Six days?” Lyor held his gaze challengingly, her devious smile only making him smile wider and vice versa. “Five?”

“Four. Nearly failed my final exams.”

Erwin feigned exasperation, and Lyor couldn’t repress a giggle. “I seem to constantly underestimate you.”

“I found the passage on whether or not humility is a virtue fascinating. I never thought of it as being the ‘antidote to pride’,” Lyor continued to answer his previous question, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “And then he goes on to describe Descartes’ different types of humility… What were they again?” She mumbled to herself, not expecting an answer from Erwin.

“Virtuous and vicious humility.” He completed her thought, and she gawked at him in excitement.

“Who the hell writes a single line about it and moves on to the next topic without citing anything?! I wasted an entire eight hours looking for Descartes’ book at the library! The librarians thought I was crazy.” Lyor exclaimed, and the way her tone of voice expressed her annoyance made Erwin laugh heartily. The image in his head of her slumped at a desk, appearance bedraggled, and grumbling incoherently to herself didn’t help either.

“It’s not funny! I thought I was losing my mind.” Lyor defended herself but Erwin’s laughter was contagious.

“Ah, then I’m sure Voltaire would be very proud of himself,” He commented, and the two of them exchanged a smile before focusing on the busy street before them. “What did you think of his passage on instincts?”

The two adults continued their walk absorbed in conversation. Subject after subject, they traded perspectives and bartered arguments — all amidst laughs. It was the fastest half hour walk of Lyor’s life. Though they didn’t necessarily agree on everything, she had to admit that his arguments were based on solid foundations, and she quickly found herself respecting him and his intellect. Not knowing whether or not he would agree with her, or what he would say, excited her. But when they did agree, they both felt an indefinable growth of camaraderie between them. And in those moments, she didn’t notice him watching her; not as a man who looks at a friend, but as a man who looks at a woman.

They found themselves in front of the main door of her father’s house, and Lyor paused as she eyed the doorknob, having left the front door unlocked.

“I’d invite you in for a cup of coffee, but I’m afraid I won’t make very good company. I have to start packing now or I’ll miss my ferry.” Lyor turned to face Erwin, unable to suppress a disappointed smile.

“I’ll take a rain check.” Erwin replied simply, returning her smile but hiding any sign of disappointment. He offered her another smile to bid her goodbye and began walking away.

“Wait,” She stood at her door, and he watched her hands fidget, deep in thought, before she lifted her eyes to meet his unflinchingly. The depth of her eyes swallowed him whole, and he refused to acknowledge the skip in his heartbeat. “I haven’t thanked you for finding Faye. I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you.”

He chuckled. “Come work for us.”

Lyor blinked before she breathed out a scoff. “That’s already a given. All that’s left for us to do is dot the i’s and cross the t’s.”

“And have that cup of coffee with me some day.”

She returned his chuckle. “You saved someone’s life, and for your bravery, I offer you coffee. That seems fair to me, too.”

With a chortle and a wave goodbye, he turned on his heel and began walking in the direction they had come from. “Good luck with your classes.”

Lyor, with a leftover smile, let herself watch the blond man walk for a bit before she let herself in. Closing the door behind her, she leaned her weight on it with her back and let her eyes go out of focus as she stared at the floor. Her heart fluttered happily. She wondered if there had been any double meaning behind his words. She flushed at the idea, but deemed it impossible before she shook it out of her mind and went on with her day.

Erwin smiled to himself the whole way back.

--

“You’re fifteen minutes late!” Rick hollered from the wagon as he watched the brunette skitter down the stairs of the hospital. She hurdled into the carriage, slamming the door behind her inelegantly, and the immediately man ordered the driver to step on it. She collapsed in the carriage bench across from Rick and wheezed out a sigh.

“Sorry; I had to wait for Faye’s parents to leave before I could visit her.” Lyor barely had enough oxygen in her lungs to speak.

Rick rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath as she fixed herself up; smoothing down her dress shirt and pulling up her pants that had almost fallen down her ass from sprinting through hallways without a belt. “That’s what you’re wearing to meet the commander of the Survey Corps?”

Lyor frowned. “And what’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“I don’t know,” Rick ambiguously gestured to her clothes, a grimace on his features. “Shouldn’t you be wearing a dress or something?”

The younger woman guffawed. “I don’t know, Rick. Shouldn’t you be jumping off a cliff or something?”

As the carriage took them across the district, the two ended their bickering in a truce and quietly watched the scenery from the windows. They were on their way to the Scouting Legion’s headquarters deep within the countryside of Wall Rose. Lyor had already visited the grounds when she and her father had dropped off their signed contracts a few weeks ago, but she had yet to meet commander Shadis and the military police brigadier general who was in charge of their project supervision.

As stipulated in their contracts, the group of engineers had been permitted to carry out their research but only under specific conditions. One, the engineers must complete and store all their work at the scouts’ headquarters. Two, all experiments must be escorted and documented by military personnel, then immediately relayed to the MP. Three, a weekly project inspection must be completed by military police officers, supervised and directly reporting to one brigadier general of the interior police, Markus Schoenberg. No one in their group had ever heard of or met the officer, and being drowned in midterm projects, Lyor hadn’t had the time to ask about him.

Lyor recognised the surroundings as they pulled onto the path leading to the Survey Corps’ castle headquarters. The carriage stopped, and the two engineers stepped out of the wagon to find themselves past the castle gates and near the stables. A Scouting Legion officer waited for them as they exited, and he asked them to follow him to Shadis’ offices after pointing out that they were late. A few recruits stole glances at the two civilians as they made their way through the intimidating halls, but Lyor tried to copy Rick’s nonchalance and pretended not to notice.

After climbing two sets of stairs and walking down a long hallway, the soldier stopped in front of a wooden door and knocked. Feeling a little bit insecure after seeing Rick — who normally couldn’t care less about his appearance — tidy himself up, Lyor took the opportunity to take out the hairpin from her bun and quickly brushed through her wavy locks with her fingers, letting her hair loose.

“Come in.”

The soldier opened the door to reveal a large room with several people gathered around a coffee table; some on chairs, some on couches. She recognised Heinrich and her father who sat on the couch with a cup of coffee in front of them, but a few unfamiliar faces scrutinised her and Rick. She was surprised at Erwin’s absence. The soldier saluted who Lyor could only assume was Shadis, and motioned for the two engineers to enter the room. The door was closed behind them as the soldier exited. Wilhelm shot Lyor and Rick a disgruntled look.

An intimidating military man with sunken eyes and a head of short brown hair eyed the two heavily, standing behind his desk with both of his hands strictly folded behind his back. “Did you misunderstand when I said we would be meeting at 1500 hours?”

Lyor swallowed when Rick didn’t seem phased by the man’s words. “E-erm, no, sir. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“That’s right, for your sake, it will not happen again,” Shadis warned. “I do not and will not tolerate such disrespect in my— ”

“Keith, Keith! Give them a break!”

Everyone’s attention turned to the military man who spoke out, sitting on the couch across from Heinrich and Wilhelm, his deep voice booming. Lyor watched the tall man, in his late thirties, unfold from his seat and stand to his full height; shoulders broad, chocolate locks slicked back, and a chiseled jaw powdered by a trimmed beard. He wore a long, leather uniform coat with the Military Police’s insignia on the breast pocket. His green eyes fell on Rick, and he walked over to him, holding out his hand. “They’re not soldiers! Greet them properly, for God’s sake.”

Rick — being reluctant to this whole partnership with the military ordeal — gingerly took the man’s hand and shook it.

“Markus Schoenberg, at your service.” The military man flashed a charming smile, his canines sharper than any Lyor had ever seen.

“Rick.” He replied bluntly, purposefully omitting his last name to show his dissatisfaction.

“I don’t care if they’re not soldiers. By extension, they are part of the Scouts and they need to learn to act like it.” The commander snarled, taking a seat at his desk.

Markus’ stare moved from Rick to Lyor, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand as his eyes pierced through hers, a sharp smile on his face. Nobody but her had noticed that the look in his eyes was not at all the same. Nervously, but diplomatically, she held out her hand to shake his as he walked over to her, but instead, Markus took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. Whether he kissed her hand out of chivalry or not, she couldn’t tell.

“You must be Wilhelm’s daughter,” he spoke, his lips brushing against her skin as he spoke. “Lyor Reichart.”

She cleared her throat and retracted her hand from his rather peeved, but she bowed her head respectfully. She grit her teeth into what could pass as a smile, and spoke through her teeth, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, brigadier general.”

She witnessed an emotion unbeknownst to her flicker in his eyes at her defiance.

“Alright, that’s enough. I don’t have all day. Take a seat,” Shadis interrupted, and Markus smiled airily at her before regaining his seat, completely dissipating any of his previous aggressiveness. Rick and Lyor sat on the closest chairs, facing the commander across the room over the coffee table. “I’ve gathered you here today to go over the expectations of this partnership.”

Shadis then went on to reiterate what Lyor had read in her contract, but he ad libbed a few rules: mandatory participation in physical training four times a week, abiding by military rules if chosen to stay in the barracks — AKA mandatory 0500 hours wake up and 2200 hours curfew — and some adjustment to their compensation method. Otherwise, they were considered civilians and were expected to “act accordingly”.

They were to directly report to the fourth squad leader, Augie Hills, who was in charge of their assigned squad, and to Markus Schoenberg, brigadier general of the interior police, when required and during weekly inspections. Augie, who sat beside Markus, was a middle-aged woman with tight traits from stress, but otherwise she looked quite pleasant to Lyor — an honest face and bright hazel eyes. After Augie shook hands with the new additions to her squad, Shadis ended his articulation.

“I will ignore any weak first impressions,” Shadis punctuated by staring at Rick and Lyor across the way. Lyor stared at her feet. “And I welcome you to the Scouting Legion. I’ve called an assembly in the courtyard to introduce you to your colleagues.”

With this, Shadis stood and everyone followed suit, the engineers falling back a bit as Wilhelm scorned Rick and Lyor for their tardiness, away from the commander’s ears. The commander led the way down the hall and a flight of stairs, his walk brisk and aggressive, and the squad leader opened a set of doors that led to a raised wooden platform. The group stepped onto the scaffold as Shadis barked at his men to stand at attention. Lyor couldn’t help but laugh to herself at the way she jumped at his command, but her smile soon vanished when she realised that they stood before the entire regiment.

“Men, before you are the newest additions of engineers to squad four. For better or for worse, they are to be treated as your colleagues and nothing less. Our partnership has been finalised and is effective immediately. Salute!” Shadis bellowed, and Lyor watched 150 soldiers salute, the sound of their fists colliding over their hearts sounding in unison. She spotted Erwin in the front row — his hair neater than the last time she had seen him, and his traits solemn. She admired how noble and tall he looked saluting; like the perfect knight.

Before she knew it, Shadis ended his speech and dismissed his soldiers. Each engineer shook his hand before parting ways, and Augie led the group to her squad before excusing herself to a meeting. To Lyor’s surprise, she found Hanji waiting for them with seven other soldiers. The brunette happily greeted Lyor and her father after they had stepped off the scaffold, and introduced herself to Heinrich and Rick.

“Meet the guys! You’ve got Rashad, Moblit, Nifa, Keiji, and Abel.” Hanji spoke, and each member acknowledged the group in their own ways; some smiled, waved, or grunted. They started chatting easily amongst themselves before Hanji proposed to show the group the squad’s workstations. Being the research and development squad, Lyor was excited to see what kind of equipment they had.

But her excitement was interrupted when she was cut off by someone towering over her; his build athletic and tall. She watched her group walk away, too busy making acquaintances to notice that she wasn’t following. Finally, she looked up to meet brigadier Schoenberg’s scrutinising eyes.

“I’m sorry to isolate you from your group like this, Ms. Reichart,” Markus spoke, his vixenish voice contradicting the innocent smile that stretched across his face. “I just felt the need to apologise to you for flustering you earlier.”

Lyor blinked before she held back a scoff, out of respect for his high rank. She didn’t want to start trouble this early on. “You didn’t fluster me.” She simply replied, matter of factly.

“Well, then, you seemed displeased by my greeting,” he offered, his eyes drinking in her every expression. She suddenly felt suffocated by his presence. Her malaise only fed his smirk. “I only meant to greet a lady like a proper gentleman.”

Lyor offered a disarming smile in order to alleviate her discomfort, and to trick him into thinking she wasn’t phased by him. “You mistook my reaction. I assure you I was not displeased. Now, I’m sorry, but my squad has nearly disappeared, and I don’t know my way around here.”

“Oh, please,” The officer cooed and offered her his arm. “Let me escort you. I know the grounds like the back of my hand.”

Lyor swallowed the uneasiness in her throat and eyed his leather coated arm. If she declined, she wasn’t sure how her immediate superior would take it. With an artificial smile and a disconcerted inhale, she timidly took his arm and he began to walk her towards her squad’s station, striking a conversation as they made their way down the dirt path.

From a few feet away, Erwin stood with Mike and another squad member. The latter was occupied with a document, discussing its content with Mike, their backs turned to the walking couple, but Erwin had a clear view of Lyor over Mike’s shoulder. His icy blue eyes glared daggers into Markus’ back as he watched the couple disappear from his sight as they rounded a corner. He noticed how Lyor had tried to hide her distress. Despite his perfect mask of indifference, he felt his eyebrow twitch.

For the first time in a long time, Erwin felt �� in the truest sense of the word — uneasy.

--

Notes: LEAVE ME SOME COMMENTS BROS

Sorry this chapter was so uneventful, but I needed an entire chapter to set the foundations for the rollercoaster that awaits y'all. 3-3 Thoughts on Schoenberg?