#balance? whats balance? we r fighting giant monsters day and night. we need all the OP builds we can get.

[orcelito]

Hilarious thing. I'm so far gone on my fictional crush on Dohalim that I'm even talking about it with everyone at work. Them grateful I'm talking about smth other than Akechi, but turns out I am JUST as insufferable about it lmfao

[mst3kproject]

1107: The Land that Time Forgot

Watching the opening credits of this actually made me do a double-take – the name Colin Farrell appeared on the screen and I was like, wait, what the fuck?  Wouldn’t he have been like two years old?  Well, I looked it up and learned that I was wrong: The Land that Time Forgot was made in 1975, and the Colin Farrell I was thinking of wasn’t even born until a year later.  At least that woke me up.

It’s World War I, and a passenger ship is torpedoed by a German submarine.  The only survivors are a few sailors, Doug McClure, and a Dr. Lisa Clayton who serves as the movie’s designated pretty girl.  The nearest thing to rescue in sight is the submarine itself when it surfaces a few hours later – so they climb aboard, storm the hatch, and take over the ship.  At first it seems that all they have to do now is head for home, but they soon learn that the Germans have sabotaged the compass.  They’ve come ashore instead at the mysterious lost continent of Caprona. Naturally this is a land of cavemen and dinosaurs, and in order to escape the British and the Germans must put aside their differences and work together.  Only then will they be able to get back to the real world and resume shooting at each other.

While At the Earth’s Core comes across as a movie nobody gave a much of a shit about, there are places where The Land that Time Forgot is surprisingly artful and well-made.  In particular the first half-hour has several very nice moments in it, especially in the way it uses sound.  After the opening credits, the music totally vanishes for a third of the film.  The only background sounds are the lapping of waves and the creaking of the submarine, which makes gunshots and explosions all the more jarring when they happen.  It also makes this part of the movie seem very grounded and real, which contrasts with the more fantastical stuff that happens in Caprona.  The first sight of the Capronan cliffs is accompanied by the return of the soundtrack, which ushers us out of this more real world and into the fantasy beyond.

I feel like if Amicus had just set out to make a suspense movie about WWI submarines, a sort of early-20th-century Balance of Terror, they could have done a pretty fair job.  Several scenes, such as when the characters are all sitting in the dinghy waiting for the sub to surface, or when they’re diving to escape the British ship firing on them and aren’t sure if the hull will hold, are very effective indeed. The interior of the sub is an appropriately creepy and claustrophobic place, and details like the slight swinging of the lamp in the captain’s office remind us that we’re at sea.  The miniature sub surfacing, with water pouring off it, looks lovely.  The giant squid that passes by them un-noticed in the dark is my favourite ‘creature’ moment.

Unfortunately, there’s also stuff that sucks.  What ought to be the ‘action’ sequences are just a bunch of guys in very similar jackets and sweaters punching each other in the fog, and you can’t tell who’s who or which side is winning.  The conversation between the captain and Dr. Clayton attempts to make the point that when your country’s at war it’s impossible to ‘stay out of it’ no matter how much of a pacifist you, personally, may be, but it’s too heavy-handed to work properly… though I do like how the two of them are able to bond over a shared interest in biology.  I have no idea what happened in the tunnel that damaged the submarine, because the exterior shots are just blackness with a few rocks.

Then we hit the dinosaurs.  These are honestly fairly impressive for the time the film was made.  We don’t get a good first impression, as the first ones we get a good look at are three completely stiff pterodactyls circling like they’re hanging from a baby’s mobile.  The rest are puppets, stop motion, and animatronics, and the people who decided which technique to use for which shot had a good grasp of what each is best at.  The greenscreen work is sometimes crummy but there are some lovely matte paintings, and for the most part the effects here are good enough to tell the story without being distracting.  There’s even some attempt to portray the dinosaurs as animals with behaviours, rather than monsters that exist only to menace the humans.

So I actually have quite a bit of praise for this movie.  That’s not what my blog is about, though.  This blog is about movies that suck, so let’s look at the bad parts of The Land that Time Forgot.

Well, there’s the standard stuff.  The day-for-night is bright enough that it was obviously shot in the daytime while still being dark enough that you can’t tell what’s going on. The human inhabitants of Caprona are stupid cartoon Neanderthals with dark makeup on their faces but not their arms and legs, who become whiter and whiter as they move up the evolutionary scale. The motion of the dinosaurs may be pretty good but the design of them is ugly and lumpy, with far too many teeth even on the herbivores.  This is partly because we didn’t know nearly as much about dinosaurs in the seventies, but the movie’s fat carnosaurs with their lizard-like heads would have been ugly and inaccurate in the thirties.  Compare them, for example, to Charles R. Knight’s Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops from freaking 1927.

Many ‘lost world’ scenarios will simply present us with t-rex fighting a saber-toothed tiger and expect us not to question it.  The Land that Time Forgot gives us an reason of sorts for its mixing of geological eras, but not one that makes any sense.  From Om’s conviction that he will become a ‘Stolu’ and Dr. Clayton’s explanation of what’s going on in the giant coconut hot tub, we gather that each individual organism on Caprona evolves from a single cell to a complex being, following the entire history of its species’ evolution.  This appears to have been inspired by the fact that embryos ‘evolve’ as they develop, going through phases in which they have things like gills before losing them.  The phenomenon, called 'recapitulation', was considered one of the original pieces of evidence for evolution and I guess I can accept how they use it here.  The problem is that the movie refuses to state it clearly, which gives the impression that the writers were kind of embarrassed by the idea.

The biggest problem with two-thirds of The Land that Time Forgot is that once the characters reach Caprona, the story more or less comes to a screeching halt.  The parts set on the submarine were quite tightly-focused.  Now we are technically still seeing the same story, as they try to find fuel in order to get them back to civilization, but we also stop for long sequences of people climbing hills and dinosaurs wandering around in the dark, or pointless arguments between the British and German sailors.  In a dinosaur movie we obviously need a little bit of people standing around going oooooh and aaaaah, but they go about it all wrong here.

Then there’s the ending, which quite literally destroys everything we’ve seen so far.  The characters are on the verge of saving the damsel in distress, escaping the island, and celebrating the power of international cooperation, and then at the last minute the volcano erupts and it all goes to hell.  A volcano erupting at the end of a movie that is not about a volcano erupting will always be a deus ex machina, because there’s nothing characters can do to cause or prevent it – it’s never anything but a coincidence.  The need to escape prompts the Germans to turn on the British and try to leave without Dr. Clayton and Doug McClure, and their karmic punishment is to be cooked to death by volcanic gases in their own submarine.  Clayton and McClure are left behind on the shore while everything around them catches fire. This doesn’t feel like a conclusion to the story we’ve just seen.  It feels more like somebody just really hates happy endings, and ripped one out from under us at the last moment.

There are a few things in this movie that could have counted as thematic material if anyone had cared, but nothing is ever done with any of them. Om is a ‘bolu’, a lower order of cavemen, and he never seems to notice Dr. Clayton, nor do the slightly higher ‘stolu’.  It is the ‘golu’, the most human-like of them all, who attempt to kidnap and rape her. I doubt this was an attempt to say anything about human nature.  It seems to have been done that way just because it wasn’t yet time for Dr. Clayton to be in peril until the climax of the film.

Likewise, Jonah and the bots comment on the fact that this is a movie about Europeans coming to a new country, shooting the inhabitants, and generally making a mess as they search for petroleum.  Within the story this is not a colonial urge, as the characters have no plans to settle, but a matter of life and death, and again it seems like nobody thought very deeply about it.  It was just a thing that needed to happen to make the plot work.

Enough went right in this movie that the things which went wrong really do become a terrible shame.  A great deal of effort seems to have gone into just about everything, but a few poor writing choices mean that the result is not very good, yet not bad enough to be enjoyed on that level either.  If I were contemplating this as a potential Episode that Never Was, I honestly think I would have decided against it.  It just doesn’t have the kind of personality I associate with a good MST3K movie.

[charleecat-bat]

Fandom Meme

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Uuuh, well, lemme think, for fantoms that aren’t sonic stuff, I enjoy Retsuko and Haida because adorable. Angus and Gregg from NITW is too adorable for it’s own good. 

Sonic wise, well, I’m not strong on my ships but they’re are some I do think about or do think are matching, I think Shade and Knuckles are a good match, I enjoy Espio and Tikal, especially in my canon. 

I do love Locke and Luger a lot though, since I can see them working in my canon, but other then that, I’m not huge on ships so eh. 

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Locke and Luger, mainly because they were related but then with some fanart and talking with friends of mine, especially @terraqua111, I started to like it and my friends had a point that they were too distantly related for it to matter anymore. She also showed me Lien-Da and Xenin which I liked. 

I also didn’t consider Locke to be paired with anyone else before Luger, then I saw @lockewat‘s ship, Chuck and Locke... and I thought it was quite suiting as well. 

Two other ones are Vanilla and Big because that was so adorable and that would be such a peaceful relationship good god it’s what they’d both need, so many picnics for dates. and @motobugg did some work on Rouge and Wave which I have never considered and I immediately thought... damn that would actually work a lot. XD Also Shadamy at some points due to a friends artwork and Shadow would be balanced from Amy’s personality that he would need.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will. I’ve never been big on Julie-Su and Knuckles, in the comics it felt kind of forced to me, same with Sonic and Sally, that I don’t see them suiting each other at all. 

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Ummm, I don’t know, I can’t think of one. 

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh, I don’t know. 

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Sonic fandom. XDD Been in that for around 8-9 years. Since I was 9 or 10 years old. 

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

I think it would’ve just been Shade and Knuckles. lol Again ships aren’t my life. 

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

Mainly ongoing stuff, I know it started with games, so I guess games? But I enjoy shows/series as well. 

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Ummmm... not that I know of. 

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Animal Crossing? I didn’t start playing the phone game until I saw people talking and reblogging stuff about it, then I tried it. 

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Well, in Steven Universe, a lot of the character have great arcs, that who their true opinions and colours, like how Amethyst had self-hating habits, Pearl didn’t think she was worth much, and seeing Peridot’s growing into a whole different gem, it’s really cool.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

I’ll go with um... Lars from Steven Universe, I didn’t like him much as a character at first, but I could understand his insecurity and being unsure on how to act and how to show himself, and being scared to show his true colours... but now he’s showing his own worth and letting himself be who he is with the Off-colours, which I can genuinely appreciate about him, he’s much better as a character now. 

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Can I say the entire brotherhood? XD I would love that like you wouldn’t believe. 

N - Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Just more Brotherhood content in general, uuuummm more monster-related AU’s? I don’t know, maybe more merchandise too? I don’t know I’m not all that demanding about content. o-o I’m terrible at this. 

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

All the Way (Jacksepticeye fan song) is the one that came up on shuffle, and it reminded me of Hawking, at least my version. I could imagine he would listen to this to motivate himself or something like that. 

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

...Trying not to say Monster AU for any sort of fandom CRAP TOO LATE-

But what about a Shape of Water-esque AU? 

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

I haven’t really abandoned any fandom? o-O R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

When they’re not a couple and they’re just best friends, Locke and Luger I guess, they act like big dorks. I don't know, I don’t think about relationships much besides family ones. 

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Hmm, well, I feel while Locke doesn’t know what his main sexuality is right now, he’d feel he’d be in writing (sexuality)/Asexual, as he never really had sexual feelings, he only had sex in order to have his son, and he honestly never liked it all that much. 

I also have a head canon that Steppenwolf is afraid of humiliation, or just making a fool of himself in social situations (he’s got a very well hidden social anxiety), so if he saw a bunch of people staring at him and whispering to each other, he’d instantly become worried about what he did. 

Another head canon is that I love to imagine Sabre can swordfight very well, and the person who taught him is surprisingly Tobor. As he was very good with a sword and shield combo back in the day (before his injuries). 

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

That Steppenwolf is a werewolf okay not really, I’m not really about strong head canons that I would ‘die defending’. I just like the thought of him being one because it’d be ironic for his name... and it’s just with me for so long man. 

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Steppenwolf (Sonic Fandom I guess)- I still don't fully understand why I liked him, I simply did but nowadays I just find the character I made him an extremely interesting character and every time I’ve wrote something or drawn something to try and cheer myself up, it made me feel he’d be a very strong, protective and oddly supportive in his own way. I’m not sure. I’m weird. 

Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe Fandom)- I just want her to be happy, I find her really interesting, her powers are really cool and I just want to know how things turn out for her, it just sucks that she tends to disappear for long periods of time. 

Angus (Night in the Woods)-He’s a bit underrated but he’s just so cute to me, especially with how others draw him, I love his character and I feel bad for him when he takes about his abusive childhood and issues growing up that made him who he is today, made me want to give him a big hug. 

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Well, I feel I can relate to Angus at a few points, always feeling like I have to be the responsible one, being usually quiet and wanting to hide in corners in parties (and your friend that you stick to is your corner in those situations), 

I also feel I can relate to Retsuko from Aggretsuko, always trying to keep calm and from losing my temper, also Mister Ton kind of reminds me of my dad at some points... and he can piss me off just as much as he does with Retsuko so yeah. 

Part of me also feels like I relate to my version of Rembrandt, he’s an artist, he deals with a lot of emotional issues, he’s insecure about his body size/weight, very motherly/fatherly and protective. 

I dunno. 

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

Annoying characters that think they’re full of themselves and practically perfect while thinking everyone else is below them and everyone is unworthy of their ‘greatness’... or mary-sues. 

Or just a needlessly dramatic moments or moments of anger and arguments that don’t need to happen. 

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Kind of the big strong protective one with a heart of gold and is very loving whether they show it or not, or big ass ones who are strong as hell but are really just gentle giants.

And probably monsters stuff like werewolves or stuff but sometimes that can backfire and become annoying. 

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Team Fortress 2 is one, have a few friends who like that game while I don’t like it much anymore for personal reasons, some horror fandoms like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Little Nightmares all of that. Idk

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Umm... I always strive to make my Guardians unique in different situations, hell, I imagined they were in certain AU’s or in certain video game situations, like a fighting game, I’d like imagining like ‘finishing moves’ they’d have or the type of weapons they’d have, or even simple stuff like hobbies or favourite foods. Just stuff like that... and I will try everything in my power to be unique, like in my Gem AU, wanted all the gems to be different and at the least unique, and the same with the Monster AU, only Thunder and Steppe’s are the same but they have a difference. 

Okay that’s enough. ^^; This was really difficult surprisingly. 

[adamwatchesmovies]

2017/10/01 - Adam Watches Movies’ Top 20

Before we dig in, I wanted to clarify a couple of things. This is my “Favorite Movies” list, not necessarily the ones I think are the best, but the ones I enjoy or cherish the most. There are so many to choose from that I expect this list to change significantly between now and the next time. My only rule was that I needed to have seen the film more than once. If there’s a title that you expect to see here, it’s likely because I’ve only viewed it that one time… or maybe I still haven’t watched it!

20. Seven Samurai (1954)

A recent addition to this list, I watched The Seven Samurai in order to get prepared for the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven. I was blown away and wound up seeing it twice in a row. It may seem impulsive to include it, but it really made an impact on me.

19. 12 Angry Men (1957)

A lot of the pictures on this list could be categorized in the sci-fi, fantasy, or musical category. You will notice that a number of them also share a certain trait with 12 Angry Men in that they’re boiled down to their essence. There’s no fat to trim in this film. You don’t even find out a whole lot about the case the jurors are debating because you don’t need to. It’s all about that immediacy of what’s going on right there and then.

18. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

I vividly remember the first time I saw Singin’ in the Rain. A friend of mine invited me to see it with her in the theatre. I haven’t stopped thinking about Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds since. Like my #16 pick, it’s pure jubilation on-screen.

17. Beauty and the Beast (1946)

Similarly to the next film on my list, this version of the fairytale perfectly brings child-like wonder to life. I love the sets, the costumes, the black-and-white cinematography, the fact that it isn’t ashamed of being what it is. It never smirks or winks at the camera. Beauty and the Beast doesn’t need to; it enchants you from the very first frame. There are many other versions of this tale out there, but don’t overlook this one.

16. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

I literally just re-watched this musical last night. I’ve seen it many times and it never loses its charm. Everyone reading has probably seen this film, but have you REALLY seen it? I’m not talking about bits and pieces on TV with commercial breaks or fleeting glimpses between laundry being folded. To me, The Wizard of Oz isn’t just a movie, it’s a feeling that’s been captured and immortalized on film.

15. RoboCop (1987)

Dark, violent, funny and deceptively smart, this is much more than a story about a cyborg shooting criminals. The sequels weren’t kind to RoboCop and while the remake was ok, it isn’t on the same level as the original. It’s got great villains, many quotable lines, an iconic look and feel… so many of its scenes are permanently imprinted on my brain that this was an easy pick.

14. The Terminator (1984)

I remember the first time I watched The Terminator. I snuck downstairs while everyone else was asleep so that no one would know that I was viewing an R-Rated movie. That was the beginning. Over the years, I’ve flip-flopped between this first chapter in the series and its sequel. In fact, Terminator 2 was “my favorite movie” for a long time. Today, I’m giving my love to the one who started it all.

13. King Kong (1933)

One of my favorite things about this film is that it’s bigger than anyone working on it could’ve imagined. There’s a reason why we’re still talking about this movie today. I love the visuals, the storyline, and that ending; it’s unforgettable.

12. Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965)

This could’ve been any number of Godzilla films. I could’ve put anything from the 1954 original to last year’s Shin Godzilla in this spot, but Monster Zero is the one I’m most nostalgic for, the giant monster film I used to watch the most as a kid. There are so many lines from this one that I know by heart and wish I could quote… but how often do you get to slip “The Monster is Zero” in a conversation?

11. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

The most recent film on this list and one of the greatest action films ever made. It’s also beautiful and features surprisingly well-developed characters. This movie goes for it, all the way. There’re no superficial aspects. It’s just blazing action all the way through. I saw it what… Five times in the theatre? and it just keeps getting better.

10. The Iron Giant (1999)

Another childhood favorite of mine, I had the pleasure of watching the Signature Edition on the big screen with some friends when it was re-released in 2015 and it reignited something in me. I’m also fairly certain that I saw this one in its original theatrical run in 1999. It’s got so much heart and so many laughs. I fall in love with every detail of this Brad Bird film every time I watch it.

9. Batman (1989)

Tim Burton’s Batman is not a faithful adaptation of the comic book character. The Joker’s origin is different, Batman’s methods of fighting crime are not consistent with what’s been printed on the page for decades now, the characters’ dynamics have been vastly altered… but there’s something about it that captures the spirit of the character nonetheless. It all builds towards that final, epic shot with Danny Elfman’s music in the background that tells you what this character is all about. You watch this movie and it brings you back to when it was first released. You understand why it was such a big deal. You don’t get that feeling from any run-of-the-mill movie.

8. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

My #2 movie is another horror film, and I love it for its historical value. It’s higher on my list, but it doesn’t frighten me like this low-budget chiller does. When I pop The Blair Witch Project into my player, I’m immediately filled with a sentiment of dread. I don’t want to put my back to the window, I don’t want to go to bed afterward. It’s a film like none other because it doesn’t even feel like a film, it’s real footage of something horrible that happened. It doesn’t matter that I know that isn’t the case, that I know how it ends. The impact never diminishes.

7. Ben-Hur (1959)

1957’s 3:10 to Yuma was in this spot until the last second when I remembered Ben-Hur. How could I forget the betrayal, the galleys, the chariot race, the delicate balance of themes, the tale of vengeance? This list was hard to make and I’m sorry 3:10. You’re great, I love you very much but when a film lasts 212 minutes and never feels long, it absolutely must be placed on the list.

6. X2: X-Men United (2003)

This is how you do a sequel right. I could’ve put several of the X-Men films on this list, but this is the one I’ve seen the most times. I love the way it builds upon what we’ve seen before and raises the stakes. 

5. Star Wars (1977)

Surprisingly, I don’t really have nostalgia for Star Wars. I saw the originals as a kid a couple of times and of course saw the prequels when they were released, but my love for it comes from an adult viewpoint. The way this first chapter takes familiar story elements and makes them feel fresh again, the characters, the iconic moments, the things it brought to cinema as a whole is what made me go back to it over and over. Over the years, It’s brought me back to that time that didn’t actually happen but feels like it does, that moment where I first saw the colorful aliens and laser battles and was blown away.

4. Fantasia (1940)

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Fantasia. As a kid, I loved the Rite of Spring segment. As an adult, it’s the combination of music and visuals that gets me. This would be a great first movie to show to your children. I think it would spark their imagination in the way few films would.

3. The Little Mermaid (1989)

My favorite Disney animated film, at least today. This could’ve easily been Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or Beauty and the Beast on a different day. I remember the moment I truly fell in love with this one. It was in high school and suddenly, something clicked. As soon as I got home, I scoured the shelves for our VHS copy and watched it. My family couldn’t understand why I suddenly needed to view this animated musical, but I sat there and drank it all in. The colors, the details, the character designs, the songs, they all work so well together. Ariel and I both have a passion for collecting and a ferocious curiosity. Maybe that has something to do with why I relate to her so much.

2. Halloween (1978)

When I think I get tired of this film, I find something new to like about it. Like in 12 Angry Men, I love the simplicity of the story. You’re home, alone. There’s a man with a mask and a knife. He’s trying to get you. That’s all you need for a horror story. Even the killer isn’t fancy, it’s just a white face, but if you saw that mask starring at you through the window late at night, you’d wet yourself.

1. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

I’ve mentioned my love for the Universal Monsters before. I could’ve put some of the other films on this list; Dracula and its Spanish Counterpart, The Invisible Man or The Creature from the Black Lagoon but I don’t like any of them as much as I do Frankenstein. Since this one squeaks past it by just a hair, it’s only fitting that it takes the #1 spot. Will it stay there the next time I make this list? I can’t say for sure, but I’m excited to find out.

[attackontitanlyfe]

Walls-Part 2

"Alright cadets! Training starts in one hour so you better be up!" Someone yelled down the halls, banging on all the doors. You of course, had been up for hours and had already showered and dressed yourself, hoping to get the most time training before the other cadets. You quickly made your way past the other sleep-deprived soldiers and into the mess hall, where a surprising amount of soldiers were. Grabbing your tray, you found vacant table and claimed it, hoping that this time no one would disturb you. Unfortunately, you weren't that lucky, and Eren, Mikasa and Armin showed up and sat across from you. "Hey (Y/N)!" Eren exclaimed happily. "Hey." You greeted half-heartedly. "You kind of left in a hurry last night, so we figured we'd make sure you were okay." Armin added suddenly. You waited a moment before answering. "I'm fine. Like I said, I was tired. Yesterday was a long day for all of us." "Whatever you say, (Y/N)." Armin said quietly. The three of them kept talking, and you took that as your chance to leave. It wasn't that you didn't like them, you just didn't have time for small talk when you could be training. After all, that is what you were here for. - - - - - - "Alright, since you've managed to make it this far, let's see what you've got. Each of you are to pair up and show us your skills in hand-to-hand combat." Ervin ordered, and the block split into small groups. "Hey, (Y/N), do you have a partner yet?" You turned around and saw Petra standing behind you. "No, not yet. You need a sparring partner?" You asked. "Yeah, but I'm not that great at one-on-one..." she trails. "I can help you a bit, I guess." you offer, and her eyes light up. "R-really? Thanks!" She says, hugging you. "You're...hugging...me..." You say, and Petra releases quickly. "Oh, uh, sorry." She nervously rubs the back of her neck. "So, should we start?" -Time skip~30 minutes- "Your form isn't bad but it needs work. If your stance is your base-if it's too narrow you'll be slow, if it's too wide I'll be able to knock you over with a toothpick." Petra listens to your advice and widens her stance a bit, putting up her fists. "Okay, I think I'm ready." She says confidently, just as Levi begins walking in your direction. "Lets see what you've got then," you smirked. Petra throws a punch at you which you quickly dodge, using that momentum to swing one leg behind her and putting her on her knees. She quickly regains her catches your fist before it hits her, spinning you to the ground which you push off of, swinging out one leg and putting Petra on the ground. She tries to kick you down but she misses, and you catch her foot, pushing her to the ground and pinning her, face down, in the dirt. "Not bad, you almost got me for a second," You said, releasing her and offering your hand. "Really? I though I failed miserably," Petra laughs, standing up and wiping the dust off her clothes. "Alright cadets! I want each of you to find a new partner and continue sparring!" Ervin commands, and everyone once again pairs up. You however, are stuck without one. "Stuck without a partner, (L/N)?" Levi asks flatly. "How could you tell?" You deadpanned. "You're can't just stand around waiting for an hour, you know that right?" He asked. "What, are you going to spar with me or something?" "Tch, seeing as there's no one else, I don't think you've got much of a choice, brat." "Whatever you say, corporal."You smirked, and suddenly, Levi was running towards you. His skills were definitely no joke, as almost every attack you sent his way he dodged. You however, were much the same in your offensive skills. Neither of you had been able to really touch each other since you began fighting. Suddenly you were sent backwards by a strong blow to your stomach. Levi took this moment of weakness to attack again, while you waited for him to get close enough. Once he was in range, you hooked him in the jaw, taking him off guard. He quickly regained his stance, but you were already prepared for his next move. He dropped, trying to kick your legs out from under you, but you jumped and turned, landing a foot to his side. However, Levi quickly grabbed it and spun you to the ground, getting ready to pin you. Right before he could, you pushed him off of you and readied yourself for another round. "Alright, that's enough." Ervin's booming voice halted you both as you turned to face him-and the crowd you'd drawn. Everyone had been watching you the entire time. "Great." You mumbled "Alright, nice job cadets. Most of you showed decent fighting skills today. In ten minutes, I want all of you in block at the second training field where you'll begin training with 3DM Gear. Understood?" "Yes sir!" Everyone yells, saluting him. Breaking your attention, you all begin the trudge to the second field. "Hey, (Y/N)," Eren yells, running to catch up with you. "Hey Eren," You replied, watching as Mikasa and Armin ran behind him. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Eren asked, clearly interested. "Trade secret." You smirked. "C'mon, tell me! You almost bested Captain Levi of all people, and you didn't even think twice about it!" "There's honestly not much to it, my father taught me how to fight at a young age, and ever since then I've been perfecting it." Eren kept looking at you with content eyes, as if you were the most interesting thing in the world. "Where did you say you were from again?" Mikasa questioned. "I'm from Trost district, I told you that." Eren and Armin staggered behind you a bit, sensing the tension building between you two. "Doesn't explain why you'd be fighting so much to get to where you're at." She pushed. "I could say the same to you, seeing as you're from Shiganshina, rather peaceful until the incident five years ago." You countered. Mikasa was a skilled fighter sure, but you could best her easily. She had a soldier's spirit, but she was blinded by Eren, that was clear. "Fair point." She agreed, and the tension vanished. "Looks like we're here," Armin quipped as we walked into the open training area. Your group filed into the block that was half-formed and fell into attention, awaiting your orders. When Ervin and Levi arrived, they split you into groups to test your compatibility with the 3DM Gear. Everyone around you looked nervous, but you of course, were not. When it came your turn, you balanced with ease. You'd used this before-smuggled it from the Military Police on more than one occasion. Your fellow trainees were shocked at how quickly you did this, dispite most of them not taking too much time to adjust themselves. After the balancing portion you were taught how to use the gear, and a few ways you could evade a titan in the event you ran out of gas or your wire broke. You ignored this, waiting for the time you'd be officially given your gear. 'This is pointless. They'll learn more by doing. I certainly did.' When it came time to actually use your gear, you were eager to get in the air. 'Last time I flew like this, I was still in the underground..' You thought. "Trainee (L/N), you may begin." Ervin says and you take off. You stumbled for a moment but quickly fixed yourself. Within seconds you were going top-speed, slicing through the titan dummies like they were vegetables. "Guys look! Is that...(Y/N)?" Eren stood dumbfounded along with many of the other cadets. When you were almost finished, you missed you anchor-point and fell. Taking action you immediately tucked your head and rolled mid-air to break your fall. When you hit the ground you rolled straight into your feet, taking one confident step forward to balance yourself. Once again, everyone was staring, at you. "What?" You sneered, and they looked away shamefully. As you walked off with the other cadets that had completed the course. ~Time Skip-Dining hall, one hour later~ During the evening meal, you didn't try to protest when Eren, Mikasa and Armin came to sit with you. "So, (Y/N), you excited for squad placements?" Eren excitedly said. "To be completely honest I'd say I don't particularly care." You stated. "W-what? How can you not? It's the biggest thing to care about! You learn which people will become your best friends, who your leader will be and most importantly where you'll stand in the formation for when they take us outside the walls!" Armin still looked dumbstruck by your nonchalant comment. "Yeah yeah. I still don't see the big deal. We're all gonna die someday. Doesn't mean I'm looking to be titan food, obviously, but it just means I could care less if I died a decorated commander or a new recruit. Either way, I've done my part in this." The table is silent, save for Mikasa. "Wow, that's bold for you, (Y/N)." She chimes, a bit shocked. "How's that?" You ask. "You've said more than once sentence and the whole time you didn't even care that giant monsters were basically going to try and eat you alive." Armin wavered. "Damn, not gonna lie that was some deep stuff, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't expecting you to fear these damn things." Eren chimed. The four of you start to head out of the cafeteria to find out your squads before switching rooms and going to bed. "...And finally, the last two squads, Ervin and Levi." You were shocked that Mikasa wasn't with you, considering her skills. Perhaps they'd seen her bias to Eren. "(F/N) (L/N), And Petra Ral, Sqad Levi." Ervin yells. "The remaining soldiers will be with me. The living quarters are divided by squad so make sure you're closest to your squad members!" With that, he dismisses you to change rooms. "Squad Levi, huh?" It was Eren. "Yeah, wasn't expecting that. I expected Hanji to get me." You answered. "Your skills are almost if not exactly evenly matched with our strongest soldier, and you're surprised they put you in his squad? You must be crazy." "So I have been told." You say, walking alongside Eren to your new room. "(Y/N)!" Petra yells from down the hall, sprinting towards you. At the last second you sidestep her and she spins twice before falling down. "Damn..." she says, rubbing her head. "Sorry I forgot about, your hugging thing." She nervously laughs. "It's alright. Where are we rooming?" You asked. "Glad you asked! We're right over here! I'm making you my new neighbor!" Petra yelled excitedly. "I don't have a way around this, do I?" You looked at Eren "Doesn't look like it," he replied "And you're right! (Y/N), your room is here." She says, stopping next to a door."I'll leave you to unpack anything you have. See you tomorrow?" She asked. "Sure," you answered and she beamed. "Awesome! See you in training tomorrow!" And that was that. You were officially part of the Levi squad, best of the best. Petra wasn't that bad, Eld, Oluo and Gunther weren't either. You hoped this would go well, seeing as your first expedition was in one month. You lay staring at the ceiling, wondering about nothing. How many times had you found yourself in this position? Too many, that's for sure. Sighing, you once again opened your windows and climbed onto the rooftop in just a white tank top and fitting blue leggings. Complements of a store you ransacked a day before you were taken into the corps. The memory wasn't one you were proud of, but in the underground, it was kill or be killed, predator vs prey. In a normal world, it wouldn't be so bad, but down there, it quickly became predator v. predator. "Tch, You again, (L/N)?" It was Levi, on the roof, interrupting your thinking time once again. "Seems I'm not the only insomniac here, yeah?" You commented. "That explains why you're out here every night." He mutters, but the light breeze wasn't loud enough to blur his words. "So why'd you do it?" "Do what?" He asked, perplexed. "Put me in your squad. There's plenty of us to choose from. Why me?" There was no real push behind your question, you were only asking to keep things moving between the two of you. "Because you're skilled. I haven't seen anyone take up our gear that fast, and your one on one combat skills are bested by no one. I could use you on my team." He answered. His honesty towards your nonchalant question almost made you smile. But the temperature was dropping, and this time, you hadn't worn a sweatshirt. "You're going to get sick if you keep doing that," Levi quips. "Doing what?" "Coming out at midnight without warm clothing." "Whatever you say, Captain Clean." "What did you just call me?" Levi pushed, a hint of anger in his voice. "I thought that's what everyone called you, or so I've heard." "From who?" You didn't answer straight away. "It was Jager, wasn't it?" You nodded in response. "Try not to kill him before your first expedition. At least then you can say a titan killed him and save yourself the courtroom." You smirked. Levi chuckled in the background. Wait he what? You'd never heard of him showing any signs of humanity until now. It felt nice being able to do that, and you suddenly felt the need to do it more. Now it was your turn to surprise yourself. You felt something. That hadn't happened since the incident...You shivered between your thoughts and the cold, hoping Levi would leave you alone, but also not quite wanting him to. "(L/N)," he spoke suddenly. "Come with me." He ordered, and you followed quietly behind him. 'Damn idiot, you keep this up and you'll be under his thumb. What are you, his pet? God, keep it together, (Y/N), we've got titans to face soon. Just keep your shit together and stop acting like you're his damn dog.' Levi led you to a small kitchen in the back of the building. It was quite secluded, probably so they could grab something to eat if they needed to work through dinner. After all, Commanders and Squad leaders lived here too. After ten minutes of peaceful silence Levi turned to you. "Here, you'll feel warmer." He handed you a cup filled with a dark liquid. It smelled nice, and you didn't hesitate to drink it. Levi was right, it did help warm you up, but not by much. You still shivered a bit, even though you were inside. Levi noticed this and did something you weren't expecting. He handed you his jacket. "Try not to get sick, or I'll make you clean this entire building." "That's my punishment? Better do worse than that, Captain Clean." The two of you talked for a while, sitting across from each other at the small table in the center of the kitchen. You felt yourself falling asleep before you could do anything about it. "Tch, idiot fell asleep on the damn table..." Levi said, and you felt yourself being lifted before falling into complete blackness. Word Count~2665