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fanmoose12 · 4 years ago

Text

Partners

Characters: Petra Ral, Levi, Hanji Zoe x Levi Genre: Action / Mystery / Romance Rating: T

Detective!au

Summary: when Petra was promoted to a detective and partnered up with legendary Levi Ackerman, she felt like the happiest person in the world.

But, as she soon found out, detective Ackerman she used to admire so much was actually a far cry from the ideal policeman Petra thought he was. He was rude, harsh and easily annoyed. And, in addition, he still hadn’t moved on from the death of his previous partner - detective Hange Zoe.

Chapter 11/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Сhapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Сhapter 7

Сhapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

With every word from Levi's mouth, Erwin's face grew darker and darker.

"Fuck." He declared, as soon as Levi had finished. "Fuck," he repeated, rubbing his temples. He took a deep, heavy sigh, and when he blinked, the tense expression was miraculously gone, the usual look, full of determination and conviction, taking its place.

"So no sign of forced entry?” he asked, calm and collected and completely devoid of the previous frustration. “No sign of struggle? And no sign of Petra?"

"Yes, sir." Oluo confirmed with a frantic nod, which reminded Levi of a stupid toy dog Hange once put in his car.

Had the matter at hand been at least a little less grave, perhaps, he’d even crake a smile at the comparison. Hange definitely would have. Alas…

“And do we know who’s behind it?”

“No,” Levi replied. “Hange suspects one of Zeke’s man, but she also thinks some third party is involved.”

Erwin accepted his answer, slowly scratching his chin. “And where is Hange herself?"

“She went to talk to Zeke to ask if he knows something, and…" Levi faltered, not sure if he should share this information with Erwin. Hange was sure that Zeke was innocent, and Levi never doubted her, but…

"And?" Erwin prompted.

Fuck it, Levi decided. Perhaps, Erwin’s unbiased opinion was exactly what they needed.

"Oluo found Zeke's cigarette pack inside the apartment," he said, throwing it on Erwin's desk.

"It's not his," there wasn’t even a hint of doubt in his voice. Erwin didn’t even glance twice at the evidence presented to him. "Zeke would never be so careless. Someone's trying to sabotage him, and they are not very good at it."

“So you think it’s someone else?”

“Naturally.”

Erwin’s confidence eased a portion of his worries. If he and Hange were of the same mind, then it must be the truth. At least, he didn’t let Hange meet up with a potential culprit all by herself. Not that it gradually quelled his concern, but it was something…

“Zeke Yeager…” Oluo mumbled, biting his thumb. “Yeager, Yeager… I heard this name somewhere…”

“Huh?” Levi raised an eyebrow, looking quizzically at him.

“Yeager!” he exclaimed, his eyes lightening up. “Of course! Yes, now it came back to me!”

“What came back?” Levi demanded, glaring at Oluo in annoyance. God, how he hated being kept in the dark…

Oluo didn’t respond, irritating Levi even more. Instead he reached Erwin’s desk in two short strides, pushing him aside. “May I, sir?”

“Be my guest,” Erwin made a welcoming gesture, pulling his chair back. “If you know something, then…”

“Could be just a coincidence,”Oluo muttered, as he opened the database on Erwin’s computer. “But…”

For a long moment nothing happened. The office was silent, except for the sounds of typing on a keyboard, and Oluo’s quiet murmurs.

Levi shared a look with Erwin. He shrugged helplessly, seeming just as bewildered by Oluo’s actions, as Levi himself felt.

“Aha!” he beamed, finally showing Erwin what he found. “Like I said, could be just a coincidence, but I came across name Yeager before. Here.”

“A family murdered in their own house,” Erwin began reading, his eyes quickly scanning the page. “Wife and husband found dead in their own bedroom by their fourteen year old son, who came back from a sleepover. The identity of a murderer remains unknown.”

“It was the first case I took as I started working,” Oluo confessed, scratching his neck. “That’s why it stuck with me. Don’t know if it has any connections to your Zeke…”

“The father of the family, Grisha Yeager,” Levi read the name from behind Erwin’s shoulder. “Zeke is his son. From the first marriage, but still… Maybe, he was murdered, because someone wanted to get back at Zeke.”

“And now that same someone wants to finish the job,” Erwin agreed. “The culprit was never found after all. It’s a solid theory.”

“Or as solid as we can get for now,” Levi nodded.

"It's different from other cases, though,” Erwin contemplated thoughtfully, his gaze turning distant, as he taped his finger against the desk.

"Other cases?" Oluo shuddered. "Are you talking about recent... Murder cases?" he paled, his lower lip trembled, and Levi started to regret bringing him here. They needed to keep their heads clear. Petra needed them to keep their heads clear. There was no time for worrying and panicking right now.

In Levi’s experience, that attitude could only lead to more tragedy.

"It's obviously different with Petra," Erwin said, his voice going an octave softer. Levi stared at him, almost gawking. Erwin wasn't the man to give empty promises. Either he was that optimistic about this whole ordeal, or... Levi preferred not to think about the other possibility.

"Levi?" Erwin turned to him. "What do you think?"

"I think Oluo is right, Petra was taken by someone close to Zeke. But either it was the same perpetrator from before or someone else, it remains to be unknown," he replied. "And I think we don't have any time to waste."

"Agreed," Erwin clenched his jaw, his brows furrowed. "I'll talk with Pixis and Nile, ask if they know anything or if they have any people they can spare... We need to start the search..."

"Sannes!" Oluo suddenly exclaimed, startling Erwin and Levi. "Sannes, we should check him first! We’ve planted a bug on him just yesterday!"

"Fuck," Levi groaned in frustration, feeling like the biggest and the most useless idiot in the world. He had completely forgotten about it.

"I didn't see him at work today," Erwin noted. "Perhaps, it's worth checking it out. Take care of it, Levi."

"Will do," he nodded. "Permission to go?"

"Report to me once you find anything," Erwin stood up. "I'll go to Pixis and Nile."

Levi nodded again, and left the office, his steps swift and heavy.

***

"Could it be our lead?" Oluo asked.

They've listened through every conversation that Sannes had that day and the day before. And only one of them, the one where he had agreed to a meeting with an unknown man, had raised Levi's suspicion.

"Not sure if we can call it a lead," he mumbled, biting his lip. There was no word about Petra and no mention of the actual location, but it was something they could work with. It was a starting point, at the very least. Much better than nothing. "But it's definitely a clue. Come on, we need to continue our investigation."

"Meaning..."

"Meaning we're going to break into Sannes' office and see if we can find something inside. Don't worry," he clasped Oluo's shoulder with just a little too much force. Oluo coughed, almost doubling over under Levi’s hard hand. "Nothing you hadn't done before."

***

“Zeke is a fool,” the man sneered, his voice full of disgust. “He’s not the man he was before. Ever since he took in that Zoe, he made mistake after mistake. It’s time to put an end to this. It’s time for someone else to take over his legacy. Our gang needs a new leader. Someone, who has as much potential as Zeke, but who doesn’t yet possess any of his flaws. Someone, who is cunning and ruthless. There is only one man who can do this," he finished, and even from afar Petra could see a shine of adoration in his eyes.

Sannes scoffed, rolling his eyes, not moved by the passionate speech at all. "And who is that?"

"No one can achieve the greatness Zeke once possessed. Except," the man smiled, and the sight of it made shivers run down Petra's spine.

"His own brother."

"You've gone mad," Sannes rolled his eyes, still unconvinced. "You've lost it completely, and now you want to drag me down with you. I refuse. Good luck getting arrested, but I’m out of here.”

“You’ll regret this, Sannes,” the man promised, his eyes flashing. “You’ll come begging for us to take you back in no time.”

“I really doubt that, boy,” Sannes sneered, his face showing nothing but disgust. “And if you’re going to actually proceed with your plan, then be ready to meet Ackerman. Believe me, it won’t be a pleasing experience. See you in prison,” he finished, and left, throwing the door shut.

As soon as Sannes had stormed out, the man with an eerie smile turned around to face her.

Instantly, Petra closed her eyes and lowered her head, but the man simply laughed.

"There is no need to pretend," he spoke, shortening the distance between them. "I know you've been awake for quite some time, detective Ral."

She looked up then, saying nothing and glaring at him beneath her bangs. Just the sight of that man left her breathless, her heart beating so loudly she could hear it in her ears, but she wouldn’t show him her fear. She was better than this. He may have had an ultimate upper hand over her, but she would never give him the satisfaction of seeing her tremble.

"I think we've started off on a wrong foot," the man smiled, the shadow of a lightbulb above him making him look even creepier. "I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Floch, nice to meet you!"

With the same crazy smile on his lips, he reached out and patted her shoulder. Petra winced, unable to move away from the undesired touch.

"What do you want from me?" she hissed, trying to hide the shaking in her voice. As discreetly as possible, she tried to loosen her restraints. In movies she watched with Erd, Gunter and Oluo, heroes always freed themselves so easily, the ropes being nothing more than a nuisance. But in reality, they didn't bulge an inch. Petra searched through her mind, trying to remember what characters from those movies did. Wiggle out of the restrains? Broke their wrists? Or was it applicable only for the handcuffs? Shit. She should have watched more movies like this, instead of melodramas and rom-coms. Shifting her attention back to the present, she stared up at her captor, still glaring at him defiantly.

"What do I want from you? The same thing I wanted from the others."

The same thing he wanted from the others? But the others were... dead. Petra suppressed a shiver.

"It's nothing personal, really,” he continued in the same careless manner. “All I need from you is to motivate your partner."

"Levi?" Petra gasped. "What it has to do with him?"

To her surprise, the man shrugged. "Nothing, really. In a way," he swept his hand across the room. "He's just a victim of circumstances. He's one of the best detectives in this city and he has a personal connection with Zeke. It'd be a shame not to use him."

"But why do you need him?" she pulled on the ropes, leaning closer towards the man and looking deep inside his eyes, trying to see right through him, trying to understand him. "Why can't you just kill Zeke and be done with it?"

The man tutted, shaking his head. "That's not what I—" there it was, that same pleased, creepy smile. "What we want to do. Taking Zeke's life would be too easy. We want to destroy it. But unfortunately," he continued in a voice of badly feigned sympathy. "You're not the main event here."

"Not the main event?" Petra echoed, confused. If it wasn't her, then....

"Not sure if you've met...” his eyes lightened up with something dark and dangerous. The smile on his face grew wider, more sinister. “But surely you've heard of one Hange Zoe?"

"Hah," a short chuckle escaped her lips. Very soon it turned into a full blown laughter. Petra would have clenched her sides if she wasn't tied up, she would have doubled over, hands on her knees and chest heaving, overcome with a sudden feat of giggles.

"What are you laughing at?" Floch inquired, the smile disappearing under a frown.

"You, of course," Petra answered, still breathless. "You're a bigger fool than I thought. To think that you can take on Hange Zoe..." of course, he had already gotten her, but Floch had taken her by surprise and she wasn't nearly as experienced and skilled as Hange. And even if they do somehow catch Hange... "Levi would never let you even get close to her. More than that," Petra raised her chin, a confident smirk pulling on her lips. "I'm sure he'll show up here so very soon. He'll save me and ruin your stupid plan. Then you'll be rotting in jail alongside your Zeke."

"We'll see about that," Floch promised through gritted teeth. "Wait a couple of hours, detective, and we'll see if your optimism would remain just as strong."

He gave her a furious look and then did a sharp turn, heading to the door.

“Enjoy your last hours. I’ll come to check up on you later.”

With that he had left, and Petra finally managed to breathe normally.

*** "Weren't you supposed to be good at this?" Levi dryly inquired. With a bored expression on his face, he was leaning against the wall, watching Oluo fiddle with a lock on the door to Sannes' office.

"I never said I was," Oluo grunted, wiping sweat from his forehead. His head darted from one side to other, checking if the hallway remained empty. "It's my first time breaking into someone's office, you know."

"Eh?" Levi frowned, confused. "Then how did you and Petra get in the other day?"

"I stole a key," Oluo huffed.

Levi rolled his eyes, pushing Oluo aside. "Let me handle it then. You go and stand on a lookout."

Oluo didn't need to be asked twice. He got his fair share of bullying from Levi today. With an annoyed but very quiet - he wasn’t so thrilled about receiving even more insults - sigh, he rose to his feet, going to do what Levi had requested of him. He didn’t even reach the end of a hallway, and Levi was calling out to him.

"Already?" his eyebrows went up. "You broke the lock so quickly? How?"

"Well," Levi shrugged and pushed the door open, sporting an almost smug expression. "Let's just say I wasn't always a law-abiding policeman."

"So cool..." Oluo whispered in reverence, as he followed Levi inside the office.

In Oluo's humble opinion and in comparison to a small cubicle he shared with Erd, Sannes' office was huge. A large desk, a wide bookshelf that took up most of the wall, a leather couch and a mini-fridge with a coffee machine and a microwave oven? If affiliating yourself with criminals meant you can have a workplace like this... Oluo wasn't that opposed to the idea anymore.

But they took Petra, he reminded himself. They were the bad guys, even if they were much richer and more successful than he could ever be. They certainly didn’t deserve any of it. And his job was to catch them.

"So what should be our starting point?" he asked Levi.

"You could start with telling me what the fuck you are doing inside my damn office."

With heart in his throat, Oluo whirled around. As his eyes met Sannes' dark and furious ones, Oluo gulped, slowly taking a step back.

He chanced a glance at Levi and was surprised to see that he didn't look as scared and panicked as Oluo himself felt.

Quite the contrary.

"Sannes." he snarled.

With wide eyes and mouth open in shock, Oluo watched how Levi manhandled Sannes, a man, who was almost twice his size. He pushed him to the wall, fisting hands into his shirt.

"Where is Petra, you scumbag?" he hissed into his face. "Where are you holding her?"

“Let go of me, you freak!” Sannes shouted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Oh, but you do,” Levi’s voice dropped even lower, almost resembling a growl. “You know about everything – Zeke’s dealings, Petra’s kidnapping, Hange’s survival,” he pulled Sannes even closer. “So I repeat my question – where are you holding her?”

"I don't know!" Sannes wheezed out, already out of breath.

"Bullshit," Levi answered, his voice so dark and dangerous it made shivers run down Oluo's back. And he wasn’t the one Levi was talking to. He really didn’t envy Sannes right now. "You know it, and if you're not a complete idiot, you're going to tell me everything right fucking now."

Sannes looked down at him, his gaze calculating. "If I tell you, do you promise not to reveal my connection with Zeke?"

"No,” Levi answered coolly, shaking Sannes once more. “But you're going to tell me anyway."

Sannes closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose. "Fine,” he said. “I'll tell you everything. Just let me go."

"Smart choice," Levi murmured and instantly took a step back.

Sannes sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. "He's keeping her at the docks,” he mumbled, his face aimed at the ground. “I'll send you the exact location."

"Good," Levi nodded, much calmer now. "And after you do that, go straight to Erwin. If I were you, I wouldn't make him wait. Perhaps, he'd be more merciful then. Although,” he added, sending Sannes one last glare. “I doubt he actually would."

Levi turned on his heels then, walking out of the office. Oluo stayed behind for a second longer, a pressing need to ask Sannes a question arising in him.

"Petra?" his voice broke on her name, but Oluo willed himself to stand strong, looking up at Sannes without an ounce of fear. "Is she alright?"

"Dragged and unconscious," Sannes replied, rubbing the spot where Levi had grabbed him. "But she's unharmed. For now."

For now. Those two words made his knees buckle. They needed to hurry. Petra's life was on the line.

***

With sweat dripping down her face and completely out of breath, Hange finally reached Zeke's hideout.

Panting like a chain-smoker and with her leg muscles burning, she climbed all four sets of stairs, cursing Zeke all the while. Why couldn't he put his office on the first floor? Or next to a police precinct? Would have made her life so much easier.

As expected, Zeke was inside his meeting room, smoking. The fat rings of smoke were flowing around the room, flying just below the ceiling before dissipating into nothingness. Hange narrowed her eyes, squinting at the cigarette in his fingers. Could the cigarette from Petra’s apartment really belong to him? Perhaps, they should have run some tests on it… No, Hange shook her head. Zeke was innocent - at least, in that regard.

She looked around the room, nodding at Pieck and Porco, who, as usual, were sitting next to their boss.

"Ah, my dear Hange!" sweeping the ash from his cigarette, Zeke raised his hands, opening them in a welcoming gesture. "What brings you here? Already missed us?" he winked and Hange scoffed.

"Missed your ugly face?” she rolled her eyes. “Not in a million years."

Zeke shook his head, his gaze filling with disappointment. "Detective Ackerman has a terrible influence on your sense of humor," he complained, his expression turning sourer.

"Whatever," Hange fell down on a chair next to him. "I came to ask you for help. Petra is missing."

"Petra?" Zeke frowned, looking genuinely confused. The lost look inside his eyes cemented Hange's conclusion that he wasn't the one involved in her kidnapping. Zeke was sleazy and unreliable, but he was also a very bad liar. Well, that meant they managed to rule out one possible suspect…

"Yes, Petra. Levi's partner."

"Ah, he found a new one already?" Zeke spread his lips into a wide, self-contained smirk. "Not very loyal, is he?"

More loyal than you will ever be, Hange wanted to say, but stopped herself. Now was not the time to start a pointless squabble.

"Do you know something or not?" she demanded from him.

"I don't," Zeke answered, putting a cigarette to his lips and exhaling the smoke right in Hange's face. He knew how much she hated it, asshole. She waved the smoke away, scowling fiercely. "But I do know one thing," he turned to Porco. "The time has come, start packing."

Without asking for clarification, Porco nodded, thrusted hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and hurriedly left.

Hange watched him go, stunned. Was Zeke planning something? What could it be? Why didn’t she know about it?

There was only one way to find out. She surveyed Zeke’s face carefully, trying to see his motives reflected there.

"Packing? To where? What the hell are you talking about, Zeke?"

"Don't worry about our destination," he patted her hand, looking so condensing Hange had to clench her fists to stop herself from punching the bastard. "You're going with us after all."

"Like hell I will!" Hange threw his hands off, glaring at Zeke. "And you can’t seriously expect me to follow you. What does all of it mean?"

Zeke shrugged, lightening up another cigarette and taking a long drag. "It's the grand finale, Zoe. The dramatic climax, the thrilling last act. And I was never the one for theatrics. So I'll leave the stage and go on my way."

"You promised to help," Hange grunted. She couldn't believe it, she actually trusted the bastard, and now he tries to escape? She wouldn't let him. "Or did you lie to us?"

"I wasn't lying," Zeke scoffed. "Like I said, I don't enjoy the drama. I simply changed my mind."

"So you won't honor your promise?"

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Zoe, please. I'm a criminal. The word honor was never in my vocabulary."

"Fine," Hange huffed, blowing hair out of her face. The attempt to awaken his consciousness failed. Maybe, she could appeal to his ego instead… "But someone is targeting you. Don't you want to know who it is?"

"Not particularly,” Zeke shook his head. “Since they went through all that trouble just to get me, I'd rather we never meet. Lord knows what they're going to do then, and, unlike you, detective, I know what self-preservation means."

"So that's it? You're just going to leave?"

Hange couldn’t believe it. She knew Zeke was a scumbag, but goddamn it. She didn’t expect him to be that untrustworthy.

"Of course, I’m not going to just leave," Zeke smiled. "I'll take you with me. To make sure that no one is going to follow us."

Hange snorted. "You're that delusional? I told you already, I'd rather die than go anywhere with you."

"Be it as you wish," he said. "Pieck," he lazily outstretched his hand to her. "Make our dear detective cooperate. Do with her what you want, but make sure she won’t get in our way."

Hange turned to Pieck, her heart skipping a beat. She held her breath and tensed her muscles, anticipating her first move. She could take Pieck in a fight, in theory. But in reality, she came unarmed, and Pieck always carried a gun. And a couple of knifes.

And Hange wasn't sure that her wits were much sharper.

There was a bit, the air in the room growing stiff. Hange swallowed, her one eye narrowed, as she watched Pieck. Maybe, if she makes the first move—

"No." Pieck said suddenly.

For a moment, there was silence. Hange sat there, dumbfounded, staring at Pieck and feeling utterly lost. She didn’t mishear? Did Pieck really—

Next to her, Zeke seemed to have the exact same trouble. He blinked a few times and then his expression changed, turning into a look of betrayal and fury.

"What did you just say?" he snarled, baring teeth at her.

"No," Pieck repeated, staring straight at him, not swayed by his outburst. "I won't touch Hange, and you, Zeke, will go with her and surrender to the police."

"What do you think—"

"Stop it, Zeke," Pieck sighed tiredly. "Own up to your shit and stop running away. Do you really not get it? If you do this right now, whether you'll kill Hange or take her with you, this—" she gestured around, her gaze on Zeke hard and disappointed. "This running and hiding will never end. If you touch a hair on her head, detective Ackerman will get you even from underneath the Earth. Accept it, Zeke," she stood up and squeezed his shoulder. "You've lost that battle the moment you started it. You simply picked up the wrong opponents."

With slow, elegant steps Pieck approached Hange and bent down to leave a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Goodbye, Hange," she murmured, tucking a hair behind her ear. "It's been fun."

In spite of herself, Hange smiled. Sarcastic, adorable Pieck always had such an effect on her. "Are you leaving already?" she asked, touching a place where Pieck's lips met her skin.

"Well," Pieck grinned. "Pock had started packing, right?"

"And where are you going?" Zeke wondered, his lips pressed in a line and hands crossed at his chest. He stubbornly refused to even glance at Pieck.

"A secret," she chirped, smiling cheerfully. "But I'll make sure to send a postcard. Hange, I'll send yours to detective Ackerman's address?” she winked, chuckling at the sight of red color on Hange’s cheek. “And, Zeke? You'll be staying at the state prison, right?"

"Oh fuck off, Pieck," he groaned. "Go away already."

Their eyes met for a second, and Zeke's gaze softened ever so slightly. "Try not to get caught, will you?"

"Roger that, chief!" Pieck saluted, kissed Zeke too and then headed to the entrance, gliding on the floor and humming under her breath.

"You two should talk," she advised Hange and Zeke, and then quietly closed the door.

As soon as Pieck was gone, Zeke dropped his head on his hands, sighing in frustration.

"How the fuck do you do it, Zoe?" he sent her a side-glance. "How the fuck do you manage to inspire that kind of loyalty in people?"

Hange shrugged, sitting back in a chair, and curled her lips in a crooked grin. "Try not being a complete jerk, perhaps?"

"Fuck off," he retorted, hiding his face again. "You'll send me to jail, right?"

"R-right," Hange sang. "And before that, you'll help us looking for Petra."

"And if I refuse?"

"Initially, I planned to be the one organizing your arrest. But I can give that honor to Levi..."

Zeke visibly shuddered.

"Fine," he looked up, fixing the glasses on his face and brushing the hair back from his forehead. "I'll help you. Now get the hell out of here."

Hange arched an eyebrow. "You're coming with me, you know that?"

"I'll come," he huffed. "I promise. For real this time," he added, when Hange just kept giving him an unimpressed look. "Just give me half an hour to get all of my possessions in order, would you? I don't know if I'll be coming back after all."

"Half an hour." Hange nodded, looking at him strictly. "If you don't show up in half an hour, I'm sending Levi to get you."

She would have stayed behind and monitored him, but time was of the essence. She promised Levi she'd back in two hours. And the watch was telling her it was almost an hour past that. She needed to get back, and quickly. Hurrying out of the building, Hange rushed to the precinct.

But in her haste to get back to Levi, she didn't see a swift shadow that followed right after her.

***

One way, then the other, back and forth, left and right, Levi paced around the room.

Seven. That was the amount of steps needed to get from one end of Erwin's office to the other.

Levi glanced out of the window, and then turned around, starting anew. He clenched and unclenched his fists, thinking if he should look at his phone again. Maybe, he missed a message? Didn't hear its ringing? Maybe, she had already replied to a dozen of his texts and calls?

"Levi," a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, making him stop in his tracks. "Levi, we can't wait any longer," again, Erwin's voice was so much gentler than usual, and that alone should have been enough for him to realize that he was being irrational. That, the eyes of a dozen other policemen, gathered in Erwin’s office, who looked at him with a mix of worry and sympathy.

"We have the location," Erwin reminded, bringing him back to present.

"I know."

"We have the team."

"I know."

"We have a plan."

"I know," Levi gritted through teeth. "But we do not have Hange!"

Frustrated, he turned away from Erwin. He took out his phone, holding it tightly.

Why didn't she call? Why didn't pick up the phone and answer his texts? Where the fuck was she? She promised to be back in two hours. Almost three passed and no sign of that messy, four-eyed brilliant weirdo. The knot in his stomach grew tighter with each passing second.

Logically, he knew Hange could be simply running late. She could be stuck in traffic or she could be busy trying to get some kind of useful information out of Zeke. But while Hange was never the one to care about such trite matters as punctuality and she could easily get absentminded and usually appeared to be scatterbrained and frivolous, she was so very different during the times like this. Times, when lives were on the line. Hange never let herself be so unfocused, that’s why Levi was so worried now. He was anxious, and he knew that feeling won't go away until he sets his eyes on Hange, alive, breathing and well. He just got her back, the thought of losing her… Levi cursed, checking the phone again.

"Levi..." Erwin sighed, patting his shoulder. "You know, we can't waste our time."

He knew that. Petra needed their help, needed him. He couldn't let her down, but still...

Hange, oh god, Hange. He couldn’t lose her. Not again.

"Perhaps, detective Zoe isn't going to come back," came a quiet murmur from the corner of the room.

Levi’s head whirled in that direction, and, in a flash, he was beside him. "What did you just say?" he demanded from Oluo, barely stopping himself from grabbing him just as forcefully as he had done with Sannes.

Oluo swallowed, a trail of sweat rolling down his face, but he stared back at Levi, raising his chin.

"She was working with an enemy for more than two years. Maybe, she was the one who kidnapped Petra."

Levi closed his eyes, counting to ten in his head. He was not going to lose it right now. He was not. Not when Erwin - and a dozen other of his colleagues - were looking at him.

"Bozado," he began as calmly as he was able in that moment. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, sir!" he answered without a moment of hesitation.

"Good," Levi nodded. "You trust me. And I trust Hange. With my life. And if you are at least half as smart as you're trying to appear, you'll trust her too. If you're not ready to,” his gaze grew harder, enabling Oluo from turning away. “Then get the fuck out of my team. If you doubt Hange, you doubt me, and I can’t work like that, I have to trust my people. So what do you say – are you leaving or staying?"

"I'm... I'm staying with you, sir."

"Alright," Levi watched Oluo’s face for another second, his eyes narrowed. Would he follow his orders without question? It seemed like he would. He hoped so, at least. With a low, thoughtful hum, Levi turned to Erwin. "We can start the operation. Bozado will lead my team."

He pointedly ignored the shocked gasp from Oluo. The boy wasn’t nearly as experienced, wasn’t even a detective, but their mission was to get back Petra. And Levi believed Oluo wouldn’t let himself fuck it all up.

It's obvious he has feelings for her, Hange once told him. She was right that time, but then again – when she wasn’t?

"And you, Levi?" Erwin asked.

"Half an hour," he promised. "Half an hour, and I'll be at the location."

Hange swore to come back to him. This time, Levi won't let her broke that promise.

Closing the door behind himself, he hurried to Zeke. He prayed that Hange was alright. Zeke wouldn’t get out of this alive, if she weren’t.

***

The silence pressed onto her. The silence, the waiting for god knows what - it was all making Petra go slowly insane. She wanted to hear something, any sound would do at this point.

Or so she thought.

But then Floch came back, sauntering inside and still sporting the same deranged grin, and Petra realized that she preferred silence so much more than the low, out of tune humming mixed with the sound of him polishing the various knifes taken from a long table in front of him.

She squirmed, the ropes digging into her skin even more. It would leave bruises, she thought absentmindedly.

Bruises? She chided herself almost immediately. Who would care about bruises if they find her dead? She suppressed another shiver.

They won't find her dead, Petra tried to persuade herself. They won't, because so very soon Levi would be here, and he'll save her. Perhaps, detective Hange would be with him, maybe, Oluo too...

She had friends who cared about her. They won't let her be murdered. She just had to keep believing in them.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked Floch, trying to distract herself from the thousand of horrible what ifs.

Why haven’t you— no, she wouldn’t ask him that. She would remain optimistic.

“You’ll see very soon,” he told her enigmatically. “My friend is almost here.”

His friend? Did he mean Zeke’s brother? The one, who had planned it all? And what would happen, when he comes? Would he—

No, she stopped herself once again. She needed to hold onto that hope. She needed to stay strong.

The sound of footsteps somewhere above her startled Petra. Hearing them too, Floch started chuckling. He turned to Petra, pressing a finger to his lips.

“That’s my friend,” he whispered quietly, as though it was the biggest secret in the world. “And he brought someone with him.”

The next second, the door opened and a man – so young, probably in his early twenties – stumbled in. He was hobbling slightly, his hand pressed to a place just below his hairline. His face was a mess – split lip, bruised eye that already started to turn deep purple, bloodied nose and forehead.

“You didn’t tell me she was a fucking psycho,” he grumbled, glaring daggers at Floch. “I wouldn’t have a chance, if I wasn’t armed.”

“But?” Floch passed him a white cloth to wipe off the blood. “You’ve caught her, right?” his voice was full of hope, and his fingers were trembling in anticipation.

“She’s in my car, dragged out of her mind. Help me get her here.”

“With pleasure,” Floch turned to Petra, winking. “You’ll have company so very soon, detective. I hope you’re excited! I am!”

He didn’t stop to hear her response, following after his friend and leaving her alone once again.

It was possibly her last chance, she realized. Petra desperately pulled on the ropes, trying to get away, but to no avail. She couldn’t move an inch, and it seemed like the more she struggled, the tighter her bindings became.

Not enough time passed, before Floch had returned, dragging a body inside. His friend put the chair, right next to Petra, and Floch dropped the body there.

No, not just some body, Petra realized. Fear crippled inside her, seizing her heart in its merciless hold.

Not just some body, Hange Zoe’s body.

Her head was bowed, but even from where she was sitting, in a poorly lit room, Petra could see blood dripping down her cheek and neck.

So much blood, she thought. She was breathing, albeit faintly. But she wasn’t waking up.

Her heart stopped, as Petra realized another thing – if Hange was there, no one was looking for her. And if no one was looking… then Hange and she… they would most probably… not be found.

At least, not alive, or so it seemed.

Petra tried to hold onto that sliver of hope, but with Hange Zoe’s bloodied face in her line of sight, it was getting increasingly harder and harder to.

#/gasps/ update?? to that fic????#levihan #also yeah pieck and porco had simply turned into bonnie and clyde they're legends like that

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albino-whumpee · 4 years ago

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The Pet´s party

A bit of my take in what could go wrong if a Romantic went touch starved in purpose. Also, a little secret I´ve been dying to write is unveiled today!

Taglist: @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @giggly-evil-puppy @cowboysrappin @haro-whumps @burtlederp @neuro-whump @comfortforthepain @whumps-the-word @whole-and-apart-and-between @broken-horn @ashintheairlikesnow @rosesareviolentlyread @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @as-a-matter-of-whump @whumpasaurus101 @grizzlie70 @twistedcaretaker

TW// Pet whump, dehumanization, slavery, noncon drug use, abuse, non con touching, conditioning, public humilliation, alcohol. Slight NSFW at some points.

Albus was standing in front of the mirror in his room. A few suits were scattered above the bed as he prepared for the party at the Glass residence. Apparently it had been Robert´s father idea to hold it in his house. He had a hunch Robert had a more active role on it, but nor Zarai or him could refuse to go. It was the company owner´s party after all. Even the trainees would attend it.

He put a purple tie in front of him before shaking his head and switching it with a grayish blue. He smiled to himself before stretching his neck to start tying it.

He stopped suddenly. Passing a hand over his bare neck.

“Albus come here” she had ordered him after they got home from work that day. He had trotted to her, putting his hands behind his back. Then she had lifted his chin with a single finger before loosening his tie. He flinched a bit, but held himself still after she pulled her eyebrows together. He squeezed tightly one hand with the other “Sorry” she said unbuttoning the collar of his shirt. Making him gasp slightly.

“Ma´am?” She passed her fingers over the white leather as Albus breathing quickened. Zarai exhaled slowly before nimble fingers unbuckled the collar and took it away.

“You won´t need this at the party today” Albus blinked before shyly putting his hand up and touching his neck. Put off by not feeling the familiar weight on it. “There won´t be shock collars this time either” she finished putting the collar over the dining table. “I made sure of that” she said stretching her sore shoulders.

Albus passed a thumb over the other before walking to her. Slowly, he passed his arms around her and gently squeezed. She went stiff, but didn´t pull away. “Thank you, ma´am” Zarai heard him whisper, before she pulled her own arms up.

Albus adjusted the knot of his tie before walking out of the room. A smile on his face that seemed to be contagious. As Zarai smiled back at him as they got on the car.

—

Finally there, Albus watched in awe the place Sann lived in and frankly, he was intimidated. Everything was luxurious and impeccable. The spacious halls full of marmol and fine wood, filled to the top with equally fine ornaments and extravagant objects.

Servants ran around giving drinks and food to everyone without rest. Referring to him as “sir” with a smile on their face despite their eyes telling they were two seconds away of dropping in exhaustion.

In the garden next to the pool, gourmet food was prepared and made a show about while a band played.

However, it wasn´t the champagne Tony and Sasha drank as if it was water, or the ice sculpture Jeremy was trying so hard to take a photo of, what Albus was looking for.

He had asked around the hall, the gardens, inside the mansion, to stationed servants and butlers, but nobody knew where Sann or Robert where. A bad feeling settled harder in his stomach as time passed.

He was walking through a hall when he found Sasha and Zarai trying to find out who could drink quicker a bottle of tequila. Some liquid dripped over Zarai´s black palazzo but that didn´t seem to bother her. The whole team broke into hollering and whistling when the woman lifted the bottle in the air triumphantly and Sasha collapsed in laughter. Albus was happy to see her having fun.

He handed her a napkin as Tony helped Sasha stand up. Trivial conversations continued even as the music began to melt into the night sounds until there was none and the alcohol took away the worry.

It was almost 3 am when Robert hugged Albus from behind.

“Hello darling” he whispered into his ear in the same honeyed tone Jefferson had used back then, making him jump away with terrified eyes. “Oh, sorry, didn´t mean to scare you” Robert said with that foxxy smile coming to his lips “Happy to see you enjoying the party. Congratulations on the Dune project. You did a great job” he said, looking around as Albus held his arms over his chest “Where´s Zarai? She will miss the big surprise in the hall”

Albus swallowed the fear, but couldn´t hide the shaking of his legs “Surprise?”

Robert looked at him and then smiled.

“Go find Zarai and go to the hall, Albus” he commanded him. Mechanically, he set into motion to complete the order.

She found her sitting on a chair on the garden, laughing along Tony and Sasha. He breathed in and out over and over, trying to sooth the violent trembling rattling his bones before walking to them.

“I thought you were scarier boss” Sasha said with a short sigh.

“Nah, it´s just the face” she joked pulling her cup to her lips but stopping at the last second “But, maybe I softened up a bit” she said lost in her wine “you can relax a lot if you have capable assistants” she pointed at Terrance who was singing with the guys from development “You did a great job of softening that guy up, Sasha. He was insufferable three years ago”

She was about to reply when she spotted the albino trembling on a corner.

“Hey, Albus?” she stood up, walking closer “You ok?”

She barely tapped his shoulder when he turned to slap it away. Eyes wide and scared.

“Nope, you´re not. What happened?” after a few seconds, his face twisted into recognition, followed by embarrassment.

“S-Sorry. You surprised me. It´s nothing” he said eyes nailed to the grass as Zarai and Tony walked to them. After a moment they were among a full crowd in the hall.

“You sure you´re ok?” Sasha asked him, getting a nod from him before turning to find a thick wall of people whispering to each other. “What´s this?” Sasha asked to the person in front. But they only shrugged.

“Good evening, everyone. First and foremost, thank you for coming today” Robert´s voice echoed through the tall halls as a servant tapped Albus shoulder and made them follow him to the middle of the sea of people “In behalf of my father, I would like to congratulate you for the great performance of our company in the Dune project” he started clapping, making a bang of applauses drill Albus´s ears. Finally, Zarai and him got to stand next to Robert “Specially to our Marketing head, Zarai Montenegro and her assistant, Albus Serra” between the claps the trainees shouted “Mister Serra!” with an energy that made him blush. ”He´s got fans” he said making a wave of little laughs. “So, I´m giving you full access to your biggest, beloved fan” he said as a servant struggled to pull something from a rope.

A half naked figure stumbled to his feet as whistles made a round, dizzy eyes trying to find the hands touching him through the crowd but failing to focus. A violent tug on his collar made him fall to his knees, barely catching himself with wrists tied together in a red ribbon.

“Sann!” Albus shouted. Making the boy look on his direction. Eyes sparkled as he tried to lift himself up but failed. Earning even more laughs. Albus tried to run off to him, but was intercepted by Robert himself.

“Not so fast, lover boy” He said pushing him back to Zarai. Robert twisted his lips into a grin “You know? He´s a sweet romantic. He gets really sad if someone doesn´t touch him in a while. So I made him extra grateful for any touch today” he walked to the boy and crouched. Then he extended his hand in front of him and the boy leaned into it, kissing his palm all the way to the wrist before he wripped on the least and dragged him to stand. Robert pointed to the small bulge on his shorts “Look at that, wish my salary went up that fast too” he said savoring their disgusted faces. “He´s pretty and needs all the attention right now, so I´m giving him off for the night to one lucky guy as prize for such a magnificent job on the Dune project! Or gal. He´s suited for all”

“Stop this, Glass” Zarai growled grabbing his elbow, but the man only laughed as if expecting that exact response.

“My lady! But what show would we give if there´s no pet doing tricks for us?” He said taking out a control from his pants and showing it around “What do you say y´all? Should I show you a better entertainment instead of my pet?” He looked straight into Albus´ direction “Should I show you your favorite pet´s act?” Zarai didn´t know what he was talking about, but she tried to fish the remote off his hands. “So hasty!” he laughed, walking away “Now, let me set some rules! To win a night with this gorgeous boy, you need to do three things” Albus suddenly felt the room getting energized. A few faces actually eager to take on the challenge. He only saw Sann being held straight by the leash attached to his collar. “One, adjust your glasses” he shouted. Zarai gave up on trying to take the control and walked to Albus.

“Go for him” She ordered. Nodding, he walked taking his coat off.

“Two, drop to position 34” the moment he said that, Sann dropped to the ground and sticked his butt out, knees apart to give full view to the people behind him. There was a moment of silence before Zarai saw Albus was doing the exact same.

“Albus?” She said, watching the boy trying to pull himself up, face red and scared of how his body had moved on its own to a position he shouldn´t know. A position only romantics should know.

“Hold it” Robert said as Albus slammed his forehead back to the ground, unable to resist the order.

“Stop it Robert!” Zarai cried, trying to lift Albus off the floor but the boy´s body refused. As if suddenly it wasn´t his. “Albus stop!”

“And now say “I´m just Zarai´s slut”” He said before putting the photos Jefferson had taken in the projector behind him, just censored enough to keep the most private parts off.

Click, click, click

He remembered the sound. Albus didn´t need to look up to understand what everyone was seeing. Some put their phones up in awe. Others simply had their jaw open, horrified. He closed his eyes and breathed in hard. Hearing Sasha and Tony rushing through the crowd to get to him. But he stood up making all eyes follow him to where Robert was.

“I´m just Zarai´s slut” he said with eyes cast down. He saw the microphone get closer to his lips and when he lifted his eyes, Robert delighted himself on the humilliation on them before he whispered again, this time his words echoing through the whole mansion “I´m just Zarai´s slut”

“Good boy” Robert said, ruffling the albino´s hair “Looks like we got our winner” he announced to the silent audience. “He´s all yours. Be sure to bring him back” he sing songed before the whole hall heard the slam of Zarai´s hand making his head whip to a side.

“Puto malparido” she heaved, feeling a sharp sting on her hand.

Robert simply smiled “What made you get a romantic Zarai?”

“I didn´t. He´s not supposed to know!” Robert shrugged.

“The handlers must have been bored out of their minds then” He said ironically. Pleased with her face, he took away the photos. “Thank you for attending today. Hope you enjoyed the show” he had the nerve to say before Tony grabbed his tie and put his fist up.

—–

Albus walked to Sann taking off his coat in the way and knelt to cover Sann with it. The servant extended the leash to Albus but he was more focused cupping Sann´s face, searching for injuries on his body. The pet leaned on to the touch, giving him a kiss on the wrist that freaked him out.

“Oh god what did he do to you?” he whispered as he quickly untied the ribbon on his wrists. Not expecting him to jump on him in a kiss, so deep, he went red immediately.

Albus had to push him away and see in full display the pet´s erection. Covering his mouth with his left hand he noticed Sann´s lips tasted like a drug… Albus scrambled to cup his face and hopefully cover him from outside eyes.

“Look at me. C´mon Sann, look at me” he said, gently, making teary eyes stare into his. Hearing a dry thud behind him. He tried to keep his voice calm “You´re drugged. This is not what you want to do. Not like this” He searched for the boy with a bratty smile below the pained face from being rejected, craving affection as if it was air. Albus bit his lower lip before putting away the hand trying to go up his thighs. “No, Sann”

Sann leaned on Albus and started rubbing his nose against his face, trying to make his way to a kiss. But Albus whipped his head to a side. Running out of patience, Sann tried grabbing his face and make him kiss him, but the boy froze when red teary eyes fell on him.

Albus covered Sann´s hand and let himself lean into it. Soothing it with his thumbs.

”Come back, Sann. Please” He said, never breaking eye contact. Even as a tear rolled down his cheek into his own hand “Please, stop…” Sann stared back with a frown. Any intent of furthering action dropped, as he let Albus put his hand back in his lap.

Sann took away the hand after a moment to sign.

“Hug?” Albus thought he asked, looking worried he would say no. But instead his eyes softened as he nodded. Opening his arms to receive the other with a thud. Sann buried his face into his chest as Albus ran a hand through his hair and tried to not think about the little metal studs poking against his chest.

Albus sighed as he pulled his coat to cover him better. Soothing his back slowly. Albus lifted his eyes to catch Sasha staring at him with furrowed eyebrows. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

“I´m sorry I didn´t tell you” he finally said after a moment.

She took a deep breath and crouched. She pulled the bracelet covering her wrist, revealing a burn mark. Exactly where the numbers should be. The boy´s eyes widened and pulled them up to see her smile.

“I never asked” she said. “It´s gonna be ok, yeah?” She wiped away the tear rolling down the boy´s face with her thumb

Zarai stood above both of them. Her eyebrows in a tight knot. Albus hugged Sann closer, protectively, hearing a small purr from him.

“I´m sorry, ma´am. I-I just…” She crouched to hug them both.

“He forced you didn´t he?” at his silence she sighed, collecting the albino in her arms “It wasn´t your fault”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Albus couldn´t resist any longer and broke down crying. Sann lifted his head up with a worried face and hugged him tighter.

“Let´s go home” she said pulling away before the boy sniffed and nodded.

Sasha and a bruised Tony helped them put Sann on the back of the car. Albus sat next to Sann, soothing his hand with slow circular motions as a sheepish smile sat on his face.

Robert was standing outside talking with Zarai sporting a bright purple bruise on his cheek that didn´t seem to bother him at all.

“I´m giving you until tomorrow night” he terminated, making her go stiff “I don´t see him one minute later and I´m sending the cops to bring him back. Understood, princess?”

“I´ll bring him myself. With a lawyer” he leaned into the man, a sharp stare that made him hold his breath “You´re abusing him. Even for pets, what you have done to him for two years is torture. You better prepare yourself”

“You wouldn´t…” his little smile vanished as he saw how serious she was before she turned on her heels and walked to her car.

“See you in court, Glass”

The man was left speechless, as she drove away and turned right to take the highway home.

As the sun began to appear on the horizon, Albus tried to suffocate the question slowly drowining every and each thought at Sasha´s quick explanation: How does a pet become a person again?

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youuuimeanmee · 4 years ago

Note

What do you think of the chapter 139 of aot? If you’vs read extra 8 pages.

Honestly? It's not that bad at all. I quite like it, in fact.

I'll put my review below to avoid upsetting people who were disappointed with this ending, lol

1. Mikasa and Ymir's Interaction

I like how Ymir spend her last moment with Mikasa. I was annoyed in the previous version how sudden Ymir disappeared without telling Mikasa anything even though she is supposed to be the chosen one, so I'm glad this was fixed. I also like how Mikasa mentioned Ymir's love is like a long nightmare and how Ymir wished she hadn't saved Fritz. Regardless if she truly loves him or it's just a severe Stockholm Syndrome, at least she acknowledged that she's not happy with this relationship and she's suffering. I'd like to make a longer post about this topic but sadly I don't have time nowadays.

2. Mikasa Visiting Eren's Grave

I'm glad she's moving on with another man. I wish Yams has more balls to reveal her husband's face though, haha (show us Jeaaann). I also wish more people could accept the fact that her moving on with her life doesn't mean she'll forget about him, and it's normal to visit his grave after time has passed. No matter what, he's still an important person to her. Heck, I still visit my relative's grave every year even though I no longer remember their face. Maybe it's the cultural difference *shrugs*

Kinda baffles me actually how Eren's grave stays relatively indifferent after years -except for the fence addition. I'm willing to bet that Mikasa, Historia, and the SC did a great job at keeping his grave's identity a secret from the Yeagerist and their family.

3. Paradis' Destruction

Judging from the developed technology and infrastructure, I'd say Paradis managed to survive for 200 years. Its destruction, either because people have forgotten the history again that they failed to learn from it, or someone has a different ideal and stronger than the SC's peaceful ideal, that they take over. Just like Sannes said.

I see many people disappointed because it means Eren's sacrifice is meaningless, Armin's work is useless, Floch is right, yadda yadda. But that's exactly why I like it; it gave us a sense of wonder. Just like we wonder if Mike and Erwin had survived, we wonder if there's another way too.

Tbh I'm not surprised at this outcome. Maybe because I'm more invested in Eren and the SC's journey rather than Paradis as a whole. Ever since the secret of the world is out, the meaning of humanity is not just Paradis anymore. No matter what Eren's reason is, what he did is wrong. I'd be more disturbed if the peace gained from Eren's genocide last forever because to me, it'll bring a bad message that extermination is the key for peace. There is a necessary evil in this world, but if it's done too far, it's not necessary anymore. It's just evil. I think Eren's role in the story is not supposed to be the hero of his people, but rather, a tragic person to give us a reflection of our own humanity and to make us question our definition of freedom.

*Edit: this might be an unnecessary opinion but I wanna add something: I just like Paradis' destruction. Even if Eren wins and Paradis becomes the only nation standing, I want Paradis to eventually fall under the civil war, or economic crisis, or natural disaster due to the imbalanced ecosystem, etc. I also find Erwin's quote, "humanity will never stop fighting itself until it shrinks to a size of one or fewer" to be fitting. Idk, I just want Eren's action to be the wrong solution, that's all. Ofc this is just a personal taste of mine, lol.

3. The Possible Resurface of Titan Power

Again, I like it because it makes us wonder. People might see this as a symbol of hopelessness, but to me, I'm curious to see this boy's journey. Don't @ me, I know Yams won't give us a sequel, and I honestly think it doesn't need to. Maybe this is the ironic way of saying that titans are indeed a necessary evil to bring humanity together? Lol Even though I think that's not true. This is like Yams' way of saying "Please don't stop thinking about Attack on Titan!" and I don't know if I should treat this as a wholesome message or a curse, haha.

TLDR; I'm not saying this ending is perfect. The flaws are plenty, I'm too lazy to point it out and many people already did it soo *shrugs.* I just like the general direction of the ending. I feel like if it's longer and elaborated more, it'll be more compelling. So yeah, personally feel like an improvement from the previous version, but not much. I give this chapter from 6 to 7/10.

Thanks for asking!

#shingkei no kyojin #snk #attack on titan #aot #snk 139 #snk analyses #aot analysis #snk spoilers #aot spoilers #aot 139

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snkpolls · 4 years ago

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SnK Episode 70 Poll Results (for Anime Only Watchers)

The poll closed with 76 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Manga Readers’ poll, click here.

Anime only watchers, beware of spoilers if you venture over to the manga readers’ poll results.

RATE THE EPISODE 74 responses

Although the response to this week’s episode was still overwhelmingly positive, with 95.9% of responses giving the episode 3 or higher, it was a bit lower in comparison to the previous one.

Epic

Very amazing a 💯/10✊

I loved it, as always

Gabi episode? NO BUENO.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING GABI AND FALCO MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 74 responses

Gabi and Falco’s escapades took up the vast majority of the episode, so we wanted to know which one of them was your favorite. An equal amount of respondents (28.4%) seemed to prefer either the moment wherein Gabi came under attack from that perfidious horse or Kaya remembering Sasha and how she saved her life years ago. Closely behind those (25.7%) are the folks preferring the argument between Gabi and Kaya. Another semi-popular option was the scene wherein Kaya showed Gabi and Falco her former village.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS FOCUSING ON OTHER CHARACTERS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 73 responses

We also had a fair bit of scenes focused on characters besides Gabi and Falco. For this question, there was a rather noted diversity in opinions. 24.7% seemed privy to seeing a recurrence of Mikasa’s headache and the flashback to Eren’s killing of the traffickers. 15.1% were most interested in seeing Hange remember Sannes’ warning about the cycle. An equal number of responses (13.7%) were most interested in either seeing the discussion between Magath and the rest of the Warriors on their further actions or seeing Hange confront Floch and the rest of the recruits about their recent actions in regards to Eren. Finally, 11% said that their favorite moment was either seeing the conversation between Mikasa and Louise or the conversation between the warriors and shirtless Reiner. A few folks also indicated their enjoyment of the scene wherein Hange was heckled by the civilians or the conversation between Pixis and Yelena.

WHICH FLASHBACK HAD THE MOST EMOTIONAL IMPACT FOR YOU? 73 responses

We’ve had a few small flashbacks in this episode and it seems like the definitive majority (58.9%) enjoyed the flashback about Kaya getting saved by Sasha. 26% were most privy to seeing Mikasa remember Eren killing the kidnappers many years ago and 13.7% enjoyed seeing Hange remember Sannes’ warning. One person liked catching the sight of Mikasa’s actions in Trost.

RATE JEAN’S OUTFIT 73 responses

Jean decided to try out a new style, courtesy of Coco Chanel, the Paradis Collection. Not too many were impressed, however, with only 34.8% giving Jean’s fit a 4 or a 5. 24.7% gave it a 3, the rest gave it a lower score.

WHO WERE YOU MORE EXCITED ABOUT TO SEE SHIRTLESS? 72 responses

It looks like Eren won this round when it comes to the showdown of AoT’s rare fan service scenes with 75%.

AOT men are immaculate

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE AN EXCUSE TO TALK TO YELENA? 73 responses

Yelena looks to be a rather popular girl, with 53.4% of respondents noting that they would totally appreciate an opportunity to talk to her. 23.3% aren’t sure and 11% really wouldn’t, in contrast. 12.3% simply don’t care.

WHICH NEW DETAIL DID YOU GET MOST EXCITED ABOUT? 72 responses

For this question, we got a rather colorful pie chart. 26.4% of respondents stated that the existence of a flying boat fueled by iceburst stones is the most interesting detail. That was followed by, in order from more interesting to less interesting according to the poll takers, Blouse family’s involvement with Historia’s orphanage, Yelena making contact with Eren beforehand, the girl Sasha saved in Episode 2 of S2 being Kaya’s identity, the confirmation that Louise was the girl Mikasa saved back in Trost and fact that Floch and his co-minded folks leaked information about Eren to the press and the existence of Eren’s “home”.

GABI SPENDS A LOT OF THE EPISODE SPOUTING OUT THE THINGS SHE’S BEEN BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE, A CONTRAST TO FALCO WHO IS MUCH MORE OPEN-MINDED. THOUGHTS? 72 responses

Gabi shouted out a lot of questionable things in this episode, at various points. We’ve asked how the respondents felt about it. The plurality, 37.5% simply saw it as a rather sad state for her. In contrast, 27.8% were actually annoyed with her for that. 16.7% thought that it might have been, perhaps, a result of her attempting to fool herself. We also received a lot of write-ins.

Gabi's IQ is a bit low or she has been brainwashed harder than others

I think it’s just hard for her to see it any other way because she is so young. She was starting to be shaped like reigner, Annie bertholdt.

I understand why she acts like that. Doesn't make it any less annoying tho

I feel so bad for her. Marleyan propaganda and indoctrination is one hell of a drug

Gabi sucks and she just is a trash character

She's just a kid trying to deal with a lot of trauma and new contradicting information whilst also having a winning attitude. Her negative feelings toward Eldians is familiar and so constant hatred is just a coping mechanism.

It only makes sense for her to act this way. Falco and Colt had to join the warriors unit to redeem their uncle’s crimes as part of the restorationists. Gabi has been praised and fed false propaganda her whole life, so yes she would have a harder time rejecting her race’s past history. Children are easier to manipulate/brainwash than adults.

I think she’s clinging to what she knew because she had based her whole identity and goals in life off of these facts. Admitting that these things might not be true would be like denying who she is?? Y’know

Immovable object (my hatred for Gabi because I find her annoying and she killed Sasha) vs unstoppable force (me recognizing she is a child in a traumatic situation who has been brainwashed and raised to believe she must atone for things she is not actually responsible for)

A bit annoying, but I'm hopeful that she will slowly change her mind. Maybe due to realizing Sasha was actually a good person through Kaya/seeing she's no different from them?

HOW DO YOU THINK GABI’S BELIEFS WOULD HAVE DEVELOPED HAD SHE BEEN THE ONE TO MEET EREN INSTEAD OF FALCO? 73 responses

An interesting what-if comes about when thinking about Gabi possibly meeting Eren instead of Falco all those weeks ago and how that would have impacted her personal beliefs. A slight majority (50.7%) believe it wouldn’t have changed much, if at all as a result of that possible meeting. 20.5% think that Gabi would have taken somewhat of a middle-ground position when taking her current and Falco’s current beliefs into account. 17.8% can’t really say for sure and 8.2% don’t seem to care. Only a few believe that Gabi would have started to feeling differently back then.

GABI SEEMS TO BE GENUINELY SCARED WHEN INITIALLY EATING AT THE BLOUSE’S HOME. ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW BADLY DID YOU FEEL FOR HER? 73 responses

It doesn’t appear that Gabi has garnered that much sympathy for her near breakdown, with 49.3% noting that they really didn’t feel much, if any, sympathy for Gabi. In contrast, 50.6% said that they felt some noted degree of sympathy, mostly on a moderate scale.

It makes me sick to my stomach seeing Sasha's family just treating Gabi so nicely. I know they don't know she's Sasha's killer but I'd really like to see them go horror-flick on her ass and kill her when they learn the truth

THERE SEEMS TO BE A CLASHING OF IDEOLOGIES BETWEEN HANGE AND FLOCH REGARDING WHAT’S BEST FOR THE ISLAND. WHO WOULD YOU SIDE WITH IN THIS SITUATION? 72 responses

Floch states that Eren ensured Paradis a path to survival via the ability to initiate the rumbling, while Hange shows skepticism that the rumbling is even a probable solution to their problems, feeling they should secure their freedom in other ways. 52.8% seem to feel the same way that Hange does, while only 27.8% would take Floch’s side in this differing of views. 12.5% think neither of them are wholly correct and feel there are other options.

Both should co-operate

Fuck ever agreeing with Floch. Who is he to even question their authority. Sit back buddy, relax, have a breather. You only became a main character this season, nothing bads gonna happen if wittle baby ewen is in jail for COMMITING WARCRIMES and forcing his superiors to cater to him. That's lit-rally how the army works.

I want to say I side with floch, but I don’t trust eren.

I don’t know for sure

I think they're both right in their own way.

dont like floch lol

Wish Gabi would've shot Floch instead of Sasha :/

REGARDLESS OF YOUR ANSWER IN THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, DO YOU THINK EREN DESERVED TO BE JAILED? 73 responses

Nearly 55% of respondents feel that Eren absolutely deserved to be jailed for his actions in Marley, regardless of how they answered the previous question. Only 35.6% feel that he was wrongfully locked up.

Jailing him is just tradition at this point

idk

Yeah. You fuck up and you do the time. If you want to make decisions and live 'freely', don't become a soldier. Simple???

Eren did some war crimes, time to sit in the time-out box

He definitely needs to be observed and perhaps questioned, but not jailed. I thought that wasn't really a great move.

I don't know

How many times has Eren been in jail now? He's obviously not gonna be staying there for long

Reprimanded a little bit for not trusting his team, but didn't deserve jail

DO YOU THINK HANGE IS FALLING INTO THE CYCLE THAT SANNES WARNED THEM ABOUT? 71 responses

Hange remembers Sannes’ words about how someone always steps into the role he once played prior to the Uprising Arc. 67.6% feel that Hange, whether intentional or not, is falling into the cycle that Sannes and his comrades perpetuated for years before them. 19.7% feel the opposite, however, and believe that Hange wouldn’t let things get that bad.

I don’t know why I can’t remember who sannes is rn.

yes but i feel like she will realize this and try to change

I can’t say yet

Yes, to a degree but this doesn't mean they've past the point of no return. Everything the previous government did could have started with good intentions similar to Hange now but those intentions eventually morphed and corrupted.

i dunno

Maybe i'm not sure only time will tell

I think that can't be said for sure until we see how she acts/responds to this realization

Maybe

LOUISE SEEMS TO ADMIRE MIKASA TO THE POINT OF OBSESSION, BUT HOW DO YOU THINK MIKASA FEELS ABOUT HER? 73 responses

Half of respondents feel that Mikasa’s demeanor toward Louise stems from her feeling as though she can relate to the girl in some way. The remainder of responses were rather mixed, with 15.1% feeling that Mikasa simply feels sorry for her, and at a tie for 11%, either feel that she finds Louise annoying or is just generally indifferent toward her.

WHAT DO YOU THINK SEEMS TO BE THE TRIGGER FOR MIKASA’S SUDDEN HEADACHES? 73 responses

Mikasa’s headaches, while they don’t get much of a focus, tend to happen infrequently throughout the series. Though, her headache in episode 70 appears to be a bit more traumatic for her than ones we have seen in the past. 27.4% feel that these headaches are likely related to her Ackerman biology, while 20.5% think that it can be explained as simply PTSD. 15.1% think that it’s her “Eren sense,” so to speak. Small handfuls feel it’s something more related to Paths/The Coordinate, or a mixture of her Ackerman and Asian biology. 21.9% still aren’t really sure what to make of these. Will Isayama give us answers?!

the wine has to have something to do with it????

It's those damn ~PATHS~

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN THE HORSE BIT GABI? 72 responses

The horse gets the gold start this week for giving Gabi a little bit of karmic justice. 65.3% appeared to enjoy the little misfortune Gabi had to endure thanks to the horse’s shenanigans. 19.4% agree that this was surely the work of devils! And 15.3% felt genuinely bad for Gabi during this moment.

Horse !!!!!!

Wish that horse would have bit Garbage's head off xD

Horse got some revenge for Sasha! Here's hoping someone ot something else will finish her off permanently!

*falco voice* GAAAAAABIIIIII

Thank you Horse-kun!

WE ASKED THIS A FEW WEEKS AGO, BUT WE WILL ASK YOU AGAIN. WILL GABI CHANGE HER VIEWS ABOUT THE PEOPLE ON PARADIS? 73 responses

56.2% of respondents feel confident that Gabi’s views of Paradis will change by the conclusion of her character arc. 12.3% are still adamant that nothing will be able to sway her views. The remainder continue to be uncertain.

I hope gabi changes her views. But she seems pretty set

I don't honestly know if Gabi will change her views, but killing Sasha was enough to make me ALWAYS hate her no matter what kind of development she may get

Will Gabi change? I don't know but I don't care. Nothing will undo her killing Sasha.

DO YOU THINK GABI AND FALCO WILL BE ABLE TO GET HELP FROM NICOLO? 73 responses

Kaya mentions that they will be eating at a Marleyan’s restaurant and believes that said Marleyan (Nicolo) will be able to help Gabi and Falco figure out a way to return home to Marley. Nearly half of the fandom feel that they won’t be successful in getting any help from Nicolo, while only 13.7% think that he will be able to do something for them. 31.5% didn’t want to make a call either way.

REINER IS DETERMINED TO GET TO PARADIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO SAVE GABI AND FALCO. DO YOU THINK THE WARRIORS WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN RETRIEVING THEM? 72 responses

Over half of the fandom (65.3%) doesn’t have much faith in the Warriors to successfully retrieve Gabi and Falco. 20.8% feel the opposite, however, and think that their urgency is warranted. Will they get to Gabi and Falco in time?!

epic laina

WHICH QUESTION INTRODUCED IN THE EPISODE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ANSWERED? 73 responses

With every AoT episode, we get as many questions as we do answers. This episode is not an exception. Majority of the respondents (53.4%) are interested in getting answers for all of them (What did Yelana talk to Eren about, what is up with Mikasa’s headaches, what is Hange going to investigate and why is Shiganshina being evacuated?). Out of the all of those, the Yelena-Eren convo is the most popular one.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

Gabi sucks so hard, she should be much more harshly punished for killing Sasha

The scenery was beautiful!! I'm hoping we get some action soon tho

MAPPA created some beautiful imagery this episode, like the scene with Falco and Gabi at the lake so was gorgeous! Also I wanna honk Reiner's tiddies

babies, my babies.

Gabi sucks

Doesn't really stand out, but I much preferred the pacing of this episode to the last two. I better see some damn rumbling next ep, we're getting straight edged rn with that ice plane. I absolutely FUCKED with seeing Louise do the little salute, brought back memories of simpler times.

Gabi is garbage

I loved the episode! Beautiful callbacks to so many previous set-up/storylines. It made me reminisce a bunch. I also hope for a bit of catharsis regarding Sasha's death by the hands of Gabi. Hopefully something will click and Gabi will realize that she may be wrong in her beliefs after realizing the person she killed (Sasha) is savior Kaya had described to her. While I don't hate Gabi, I also wouldn't mind a bit of karma going her way either.

I think this is definitely one of my favorites so far. There's a lot of interesting new pieces of info, and I'm excited to see how this stuff resolves in the end.

I hate Gabi even more

I hate Gabi SO much

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 73 responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated!

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk s4

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lostcauses-noregrets · 5 years ago

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Hi Lost! I'm sorry if this is gonna be a long ask, but I think you're the most suited person to answer this if it's not a bother for you. 《Part 1》This was my first time reading the Frau Magazine (the date goes back to August 2014) Q&A's translation regarding Levi's character & how he helps the main character(s) preserve stability (credits to fuku-shuu) . Isayama said-

(Same Levi anon) - 《Part 2》 What's more Levi said during the uprising he's ready to dirty his hands if someone gets in his way for at least in that way not all of humanity would go extinct, which in their eyes it's another proof why Eren didn't mind killing innocent ppl in Liberio and so on, because Levi would do the same thing.

(Same Levi anon) - 《Part 3》 In the last part they brought up Eren's irrational decision of leaving the corps behind and compared it to Levi's decision (which was kinda) reckless in the forest where he said they could strike at Marley again and delay their full-on attack because again (in their opinion) Eren's actions and ideas align with Levi's and how he deals with an emergency. Now what do you think about all of this? Could you please give me your interpretation on each part? Thank u very much

This ask reads a bit like a 3 part exam question and it’s a while since I’ve done one of those! I’m not sure if there’s a bit missing from Part 1 though? The section of the Frau Magazine Q&A you’re referring to is here and it’s a little obscure tbh.

Isayama: I have also sensed Levi’s appeal, and he is a character that makes me happy whenever I get the chance to draw him. He truly plays a role that helps the main character(s) preserve stability (T/N: The language here is a bit vague, it can also be “that can even be defined as a main character himself” - a Japanese-English translation might be clearer on this). If Eren has to march forward in pursuit of Levi’s shadow…the entire series could also progress in a similar manner.

@fuku-shuu later clarified this by adding

How I’m interpreting this part from the Chinese is that Eren needs to continue chasing Levi’s shadow in order for the series (And himself) to evolve.

I’m not quite sure what question you’re asking about this though?

Part 2: Are you saying that some people are suggesting that Eren believed he was justified in killing civilians in Liberio, because of Levi’s speech to the 104th in chapter 56? Nothing would surprise me of Eren tbh, however that’s a serious misunderstanding of Levi’s words. I’ve spoken about the context of Levi’s speech here and why it’s so important, but I also think it’s worth pointing out that the people Levi was willing to kill were agents of a corrupt government, men like Djel Sannes who were themselves willing to kill to prevent the truth from being revealed. That’s a world away from the senseless killing of innocent civilians. Levi may be prepared to kill, but he is also the man who hates senseless deaths remember, and his furious reaction to Eren’s attack on Liberio in chapter 105 spoke louder than any words ever could.

Part 3: Again, there’s a world of difference between Eren’s actions in Liberio and Levi’s suggestion in chapter 112 that they should launch a preemptive strike again Marley’s military in order to delay an attack on Paradis. And again context is key. Levi has just discovered that Zackley has been assassinated and the Yeagerists control everything inside the walls. At this stage they still view Zeke as the main threat, which leads Levi to suggest that they feed him to a mindless titan to remove him from the equation until Historia has given birth and can assume control of the Founding Titan. It’s a risky plan, because without the Founding Titan, Paradis are vulnerable to attack from Marley and other forces. This is why Levi suggests launching a preemptive strike, to buy Paradis time, and prevent them from being annihilated.

Eren’s actions were intended to do exactly the opposite. He defected from the Survey Corps, teamed up with a dangerous enemy, and launched a premeditated offensive attack designed specifically to provoke conflict.

Although I said in my answer to the previous ask that there is good and bad on all sides of the Eldian conflict, comparisons like this are nothing short of moral equivalence, and that’s never a good thing. Levi’s willingness to kill people like Sannes and Kenny’s Sqaud, is in no way equivalent to Eren’s willingness to kill innocent civilians and slaughter the whole of humanity. End of.

#asks #levi ackerman #eren jeager #zeke jeager #lostcauses meta #levi meta #snk

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alrightberries · 4 years ago

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rewatching aot shit post

not relevant, just me not wanting to shit post abt aot on my rant twt lmao

thinking abt how when levi was torturing sannes, he FORGOT he had to ask questions first BEFORE beating him up lmaooo

edit: yes i’m rewatching aot

edit 2: the look of hurt and betrayal on sannes’ face when he hears ralph say no one liked him is,,, i know he’s a bad dude but i can’t help but feel genuinely sorry for him :((

edit 3: levi’s neck and collarbones,,, MMMM

edit 4: LEVI FINDING OUT KENNY’S LAST NAME WAS ACKERMAN ALSHDLGGKSHSK

edit 5: desperately waiting for someone to gif that ONE scrne where levi leaps through fire

edit 6: historia’s 4’9” wtf I DIDNT REALIZE SHE WAS SO SHORT

edit 7: not @ how historia’s moment of clarity comes only when she thinks of ymir but,,, 👀

edit 8: why eren wanna die so bad srsly everyone been out here trying to save his ass the least he could do is LIVE ON MFER

edit 9: the look on levi’s face when he asks kenny if he was the lone survivor after having his comrades wiped out by a titan,,,, maybe levi remembered being in kenny’s place :(((((((

edit 10: will i ever not be emo over kuchel crying tears of joy when she gave birth to levi?? the answer is no.

edit 11: kenny sorrowfully telling levi that the reason why he left him was bc he wasn’t fit to be a parent lowkey makes me think he wanted better for the kid but knew he wasn’t the best option. and the last thing he ever did before he died was give levi the serum that could’ve saved his own life,,,, :—(

edit 12: COMMANDANT SADIES HAVING THE FATTEST FUCKING HEART THO he wanted humanity to have better, he wanted to make an improvement to the world. he put his duty before his heart ((y’all just KNOW that’s the reason why he never made a move on carla even tho he was in love with her)). when he realized he couldn’t be with carla, he stepped aside and let someone who could. when he realized he couldn’t make a difference, he stepped down and gave his position to someone who could. he stopped commanding soldiers and started training them, trying to prepare them for the real world bc he still cared. HE TRIED TO STOP GRISHA FROM MUTILATING EREN. HE TRIED TO STOP EREN FROM JOINING THE SCOUTS BC HE WANTED HIM TO LIVE. he’s got the biggest fucking heart and his arc’s honestly so underrated

edit 13: aot moms are awesome as fuck. mikasa’s mom fought with everything she had to protect her daughter from intruders. eren’s mom told him to runaway instead of helping her escape because they were both going to get eaten. levi’s mom did everything she could to keep him fed, even if it meant she went days without eating or taking customers when she was sick. connie’s mom, even after turning into a titan, used her last moment of clarity to welcome him home. jean’s mom, even tho he’s an ass to her at times, personally delivered homemade food to him at the base and pleaded with everyone to be understanding of him if he ever got hot headed. i love aot moms sm.

except for historia’s mom. she sucks ass. historia deserved BETTER.

edit 14: levi trying to stop a wounded erwin from going into battle bc he didn’t want to lose another friend,,, :^(

edit 15: ERWIN NOT EVEN SAYING LEVI WAS BLUFFING WHEN LEVI SAID HE WAS GOING TO BREAK ERWINS LEGS ALSJDKDK erwin knew it wasn’t a mfing threat it he knew levi would’ve ACTUALLY done it lmaooo

edit 16: NOT FAIR NOT FUCKIN FAIR I STILL HATE MARCOS DEATH IT WAS TOO EARLY MAN

#boop! talks

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peachymess · 5 years ago

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Narration in SNK

Strap in for my longest and most magnificently boring meta yet.

TL;DR at the end.

After the unnerving thought struck me a few days ago, that Armin’s days as narrator may be over, I decided to do some further digging into the narration of SNK over all – to see if my initial theory had any reason to continue haunting me or not (thanks to @holly-wee for putting me on the track on this not being as clear-cut as I thought). While I can’t say I have a clear yes or no for you even now, what I found is still surprisingly interesting. So I’m going to give an overview of the narration, and from there, you can all make your own guesses. I’m gonna give mine at the end. I can spoil as much as to say I lean clearly towards one certain answer, even if it’s still very up in the air.

To start with, there are several narrative stories going on throughout SNK, not just the overarching exposition narrative; aside from several voices, there are also several degrees/types of voices throughout the entire work! And I might just be slow, but to me, this all… sort of surprised me; I hadn’t put much energy into giving narration an attentive eye past “it’s probably Armin”, and appreciating whenever his soothing, overlapping voice would grace the anime episodes now and again. It’s on me that it took me this long to realize the rules around narration were as lenient as they are. So,… different types? Yes. So far, I’ve counted 7 types of explicit narration (a voice relaying information, versus contextual narrative):

1. The formal informant This is the narrator we’re all aware of. It’s the one that opened the story with “On that day-“, voiced by Armin in the anime. Presented in square speech bubbles*.

2. The emotional informant This narrator is also presented in square speech bubbles, and is thus the second of only two “standard” narrator types. Type 2 is different from type 1 in the way that it’s used by several characters (Armin, Eren, Ymir, Reiner, Mikasa), whereas type 1 is so far only done by one entity (Armin’s voice in the anime, but not necessarily him). Type 2, as opposed to 1, address smaller matters, gives more personalized reflections, has shorter running time, and uses “I” more liberally (an informal narrator, in other words; I’ve chosen to call it emotional, because this version is largely driven by emotion and/or has clearer indication of personality). Used by: Mikasa, Hanji, Kenny, Eren, Armin, Reiner

3. Extra information Additional information presented in form of dry text. Mostly the kind of information that in the anime has been turned into half-time text cards, because it seems to be voice-less; “by the way, you should know this”. Other times it’s woven into the monologues of Type 1.

4. Speech overlapping This is a verbal speech given by someone in the present time (or present time of a flashback), often done to drop smaller doses of information/exposition, or to retell a past event. It’s presented in round speech bubbles that overlap panels depicting something pertaining to the theme of the speech. It differs from regular speech-giving in that it 1. Is more informative, and 2. Is more frequently detached from the point in time or physical place it’s spoken from; the speech may start, middle or end with shots of the speaker, but will waver in time by visiting panels of events from the past and/or time-neutral symbols and scenery shots. This is a very liberally used method by Isayama, and sometimes it’s hard to separate this as narration from just larger spans of info-dump monologues. I’ve mapped some of the instances I feel it’s used as narration, but there are many more instances in there that’s on the fence and thus left out. Identify them yourself, if you want. Used by, among others: Teacher, Armin, unnamed soldier, Erwin, Mike, Ymir, Reiner, Hanji, Pixis, MP man, Rod Reiss, grandpa Ackerman, Kenny, Historia, Floch, Grisha’s dad, Krueger, Zeke, Willy, Pieck.

5. Retelling This is a mix between type 2 and type 4: it’s an informal standard narration (2), but being spoken by a character in present time within the story (thus narration inside the narrated story). It’s similar to type 4 in that it’s verbally shared in the present, and is majorly detached from the speaker. Unlike type 4, however, type 5 is usually situated within the mentioned flashback; the speaker is talking in real time, but the scene is set to the past. It’s presented through hovering black text (same as type 6), to symbolize that it’s narration given to in-verse listeners as opposed to type 1 and 2’s time-suspended audience.

6. Internal monologue This is internal thoughts presented in the same way as type 5: with hovering black text (or, for the first third of the story, interchangeably with rounded speech bubbles with fuzzy/spiked edges, as per type7). This borders on non-narration, as it’s unintentional as such. However, it’s often used for exposition and contextualizing drive, and thus serves largely the same purpose as narration. Used by, among others: Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Ian, Jean, Sasha, Connie, Mike, Gelgar, Reiner, Ymir, Sannes, Levi, Nile, Pixis, Historia, Traute, Keith, Marco, Marlowe, Zeke, Falco, Magath, Gabi.

7. Echo dialogue This is also unintentional narration: it’s dialogue from the past, echoing half- or fully detached from the speaker, (usually) over shaded flashback panels to indicate it coming from the past. It’s narration in the sense that the author – Isayama – has chosen to do callbacks to them in order to further contextualize the present time scene (in other words, it has the same function as type 6). Echo dialogue is presented in rounded speech bubbles with fuzzy/spiked edges.

Despite these categories, several instances of hybrids have occurred – or places where one type leads into another. The provided categories will help map narration for the sake of this analysis, but are a quickly thrown together attempt at such, and will unbeatably be flawed. Take them for the general overview they are.

Narrating voice Now, that’s a lot of different types of narration, isn’t it? Yeah... But while they all have some significance, 4-7 are a lot less important for this analysis than the first three. Though, here’s some foreshadowing for you: get yourself acquainted with type 5.

Before I move on to 1,2 and 3, I want to say a few things:

a) The reason 1-3 are more relevant than 4-7, is that 1-3 are narrating voices directed (on purpose or indirectly) at the reader (or a reader/listener that is situated outside the ongoing story narrative; if not a real life reader, then someone in-verse being told the story after the fact) – while 4-7 are narrative voices inside the story itself. “Maria told Benjamin ‘I love you’ yesterday”: Maria is the 4-7 voice that said “I love you” yesterday, while the person telling the entire story of Maria telling Benjamin, is the narrator – the 1-3 voice… I hope I’m making sense, haha.

b) When we look at the chart (provided below), we’ll see that while 1-3 thus are the only official narrative ROLES in SNK, we’ll see that for the majority of the story, the in-verse voices, are the ones carrying the story. This way, we can say that SNK is – without a doubt – told from an array of POVs; while there are few narrating roles, the story does not want to be strict with who can talk, have focus, etc. The 4-7 voices jump back and forth between players very liberally; SNK is in a way a story about people, told by people. The 1-3 seem to serve as the wrapping that keeps it all together within a structured frame, on top of this.

But not only the in-verse (4-7) voices are many… Also the type 2 narrator role has been shared by several people. Among those: Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Kenny and Reiner. There’s also Hanji – when talking about Sawny and Bean, Ilse Lagnar, and Ymir’s letter to Historia. The latter three are hybrids that, while not directed at the same listener as 1 and the aforementioned 2’s, are still presented in square speech bubbles, to indicate written and/or verbal distinct narrating role. (Although, I’m using the scans provided on the website kissmanga, which provides varying quality, chapter to chapter. Thus, it looks like Ilse’s chapter and the second part of Reiner’s story might be type 5s, drawn over in white squares by the translator. Either way, included or not, there’s enough material without this that the above reflections still stand).

1,2,3 Now to the narrator ROLES. Let’s be unconventional and start with type 2. Type 2 chapters are the digression-esque narrations that add an emotionally important piece to the greater story puzzle. They’re told by an identifiable in-verse character, and have both a clear beginning and end; whether abrupt or phased out, we can always tell when it’s over and slips back into general story mode. These narrations are not all told to the same receiver – and sometimes they seem to be mere musings with no direct recipient at all. But all of them are elevated as voices that transcend the reach of in-verse. Kenny’s piece is a perfect example of this. After the cave collapses on him and he’s sunken down against a tree to die, his backstory with Uri starts. Nobody is around, and he’s not casually type 6’ing it by just thinking about it to himself; he starts to muse. Cue the magical wavy “back then” segue into a flashback. Perhaps the difference between type 6 and type 2 here is that, while 6 is internal thoughts popping up while the story progresses, type 2 musings take over the drive; in Kenny’s case, the rest of the story goes on hiatus as we delve into his digression. Kenny proceeds to think his way closer to present time, where he eventually wraps it up by wondering if he finally had his answer “or what”.

The story then uses this newfound context, to wrap up the theme, and find its way back to a more general POV. Kenny’s type 2 starts and ends here, at chapter 69. (Here’s my own digression: since he ends up asking Uri this, one could argue that he’s addressing his type 2 to Uri, but since the man is dead, I’m more inclined to believe it’s a general musing, where relevant players are sometimes brought to the forefront because they’re the ones they would talk with if anyone. Standard “deadman talking”).

The purpose of the type 2 narrator role may be debatable, but here’s my take on the matter: the purpose of there being a type 2 narrator popping into the story from time to time, on top of type 1 and in-verse narration, is that of a theme and relevancy compass. Sure, there are many more ways theme is stated, and MPVs highlighted, but these digressions oftentimes seem to enter at times where the story events are very broad– where the current timeline can be seen in many different lights, through many different POVs. The story can at these (though also many other) point(s) develop in a heap of directions, all equally plausible and logically relevant – especially with such a big cast. With these narrative digressions, a theme and temporary MVP can be naturally presented. With this compass, we’ll see which of the many plausible paths ahead, we’re meant to focus on and pay extra attention to. Like in Kenny’s case, we’re invited to put aside any “what if there was some additional spinal fluid left on the floor and a wounded MP licked it”, “are we gonna flip out about Eren’s new titan skills right now” or “Annie when”s; right now, we’re supposed to indulge in Levi and Kenny’s dynamic, and how Levi is about to develop as a character (which later will have an effect on the serumbowl). Now… up until now, Armin has explicitly only had one such type 2 piece (chapter 106). He has had four smaller origin dumps: one in chapter 5 on how he was bullied, one in chapter 11 on how he was always a burden to Eren and Mikasa, a flashback through Eren in chapter 4 on how they bonded over the book, and a flashback through Eren in chapter 83 on how they first met – but none of these were told through a time-suspended type 2 narration. There are a lot of things pointing to Armin being the type 1 narrator, or in the very least someone whose POV we’re meant to keep in mind – and I’ll get to that when I talk about type 1 – but for the time being, can we be sure he’ll be type 2 narrator again? … It can only be speculated on, but to me, the odds are 50/50. Mikasa had a hybrid turned type 2 early on in the story (chapter 6), and another one in the newest chapter (123), so we know repeat narrators is possible. Armin is thus eligible for a type 2, a prominent character who’ll undoubtedly have something relevant to provide, but there is no guarantee that it will be necessary. Thus, we can only speculate.

But I’ll tell you this: even though Armin’s origin pieces weren’t type 2, I think they were meant to parallel Mikasa’s origin pieces going on at the same time. See, after Eren “died”, the POV toggled quite evenly between Armin and Mikasa, back and forth: we got Armin’s origin story pt1, then Mikasa’s. We were in Armin’s head, then Mikasa’s. Then Armin’s head again – then we were served a small continuation of Mikasa’s origin – because yes, she had a pt2 that was in the same style as Armin’s (type 6) – then Armin’s pt2. Over all, at the beginning of the story, Isayama’s use of the types was a lot less polished (something I’ll have to do a callback to later) than they eventually became; looking away from type rules, it’s in other words quite clear that we were being introduced to the two friends Eren left behind in equal tandem, priming them to take on roles as mains alongside him: we got to know their backstories, and how their internal voice sounds. I’m saying this because I think this kind of paralleling happened again: I believe Armin’s type 2 in chapter 106, is meant to parallel Mikasa’s type 2 in chapter 123. Just like the first round was about both their origins, this time, it’s about their reflections around Eren’s actions from chapter 90 until present time. Let’s have a look at their pieces:

Armin’s type 2: “I know that… you wont like it… But I need you to hear this. At that time, three years ago… It might have still been possible… To change something. I liked it, back then. We Eldians were hated and feared by the rest of the world, by people from way across the sea who had never seen our faces. But… not only enemies came from across the sea. The world was a complicated place. And there were many things we didn’t know about. I’m just saying… that maybe… there is another way… I can’t get that thought out of my head.”

As his type 2 is a direct verbal narration to Annie, his type 2 turns into type 4 as his narration catches up with real time, where he goes on to say:

“[...] I want to understand Eren more than anybody… Even more than Mikasa does… But… I just don’t understand him anymore… Eren was going to go through with his plan, with our help or without it. Whether we decided to cooperate, or turn our backs, was a terrible decision we had to make[…]”

Mikasa’s type 2: “Everyone ssays Eren has changed. I thought the same. But maybe that was wrong… Eren has never changed from the start. If that was Eren’s true form… I wonder… what part of Eren I had been seeing. We… didn’t notice. Or… perhaps we didn’t want to notice. Since that day… Eren disappeared from us. Afterwards, he wrote that he would entrust everything to Zeke. Next time our faces met, it was already too late. I wonder… if there ever really was a better choice. Perhaps everything was decided from the start. Regardless… I can’t help but think, if back then, I had… chosen a different path.”

Do you see the similarities?

a) They both present us with what’s on the line for them: their heartfelt connection to Eren. For Armin, it’s their shared dream that faded, for Mikasa it’s her romantic feelings that never came to fruition.

b) Both of them express a reluctant re-evaluation of their view on him.

c) Both chapters cover the same storyline of an emotional separation and Eren’s eventual run-away, albeit with different personalized backdrops; they both directly parallel each other about Eren writing home.

d) Both narrations feature Sasha as a symbol for how they feel like the path they took, felt “not right” to them.

e) They both express feeling like they had no say in the matter; that they had no choice...

f) .. and yet, they both express a nagging, lingering thought that maybe... just maybe, there could have been a different path.

If we agree that these similarities point to the chapters paralleling each other, it would stand to reason that they’d both need the same kind of treatment going forward. Both chapters put something on the line, and both open up the theme of “was this inevitable, or was there another path we could have taken?” They’ve presented a problem, which in fiction needs solving. The problem belongs to both chapters, and thus the answer also does. Now, perhaps the upcoming chapters will show us in convincing details how there was indeed no way to avoid this, because Eren was always headed down this bleak, hate filled spiral. In that case, neither chapter might need a follow-up, as Eren can indirectly answer that through theme and we’ll have our answer in his actions. But! If the coming events will provide us with this elusive “other path”, and the conclusion becomes complex to the degree that these chapters need a follow-up, I believe they’ll both have one.

So, is Armin an eligible type 2′er? Yes. Is he likely to have another type 2? ... It’s 50/50. Personally, I believe we’ll see another type 2 from him. But as type 2 isn’t the over-arching narrator, and the story can end properly without another type 2 of any kind, it’s not a given that we’ll see another one. If the narrator of type 1 is nobody - just a voice without a body - then it may indeed be true that Armin has narrated his last chapter. I don’t think he has. But it’s possible. ... If he’s not also the type 1 narrator.

Type 1: THE narrator. I said at the start of this that my aim was to find out whether Armin would narrate again or not. My initial worry was that since Mikasa was narrating the newest chapter, this meant she was the new narrator. It caught me off guard; I hadn’t been paying attention to the fact that there had been several type 2 voices – even less so that the type 2 voices were different narrators from the type 1 voice; I wrongfully assumed that the overarching story narrator, and these personalized digressions, were the same voice. Now that I know that type 1 and type 2 are separate roles, should that not answer – without a doubt – that type 1, remains the same: Armin? Well… With the narration discourse flaming back up, I’ve taken notice of some claims that Armin isn’t conformed as the type 1 narrator to begin with. As a matter of fact, @suniuz – someone I know to be a well informed and reliably source critical gift to our fandom – recently mentioned having remembered an interview with Araki, where the man gave an explanation for why he had chosen Marina Inoue for the voice of narrator. In other words, it may seem as though the identity of the narrator hadn’t been decided by Isayama, until the anime adaptation needed someone to voice the text. And even then, a) does this mean the choice of voice actor doesn’t have anything to do with the identity of the narrator; aka, the narrator is Marina Inoue, not Armin? And b) even if Araki’s choice influenced Isayama to decide it was Armin, does the fact that Isayama hadn’t already decided on this, mean that the identity of the narrator isn’t meant to play an important part to the story?

Now, I don’t have time to dig for this interview myself (if anyone knows of it, I’d love a source), but I want to address these arguments all the same. Because while “Armin voices type 1, hence Armin is narrator confirmed” could easily settle my question of “will he narrate again” (now that I see that type 1 and type 2 are separate, and that the type 1 narrator never did - nor likely ever will - pass hands), I still want to combat the obviously relevant argument that the type 1 doesn’t belong to anyone. Obviously, as Marina is cast to give voice to the type 1 text, we will at the very least, indirectly, hear Armin’s voice narrate again. However, I both want and believe that it’s not only Marina, but Armin, who is this voice. Here starts my analysis of why.

Armin as THE narrator: In SNK, there is a distinct “I”; a person, as type 1. The narrator, despite being mostly formal, does have a distinct emotional presence ala type 2: on several occasions, the narration includes unnecessary and/or subjective observations, such as “… the flowers had begun to bloom as the butterflies danced” (ch. 90), and poses questions (indicating a consciousness capable of wondering and/or rhetorical thinking), such as: “how did the humans who saw that sight feel?” (ch. 73).

Not to mention, there are explicit pronouns used: “we’d have four people ready with enough horses for everyone” (ch. 58), “the precise location was the Shiganshina district, south of wall Maria, where the titans broke through five years ago, and where the three of us had lived” (ch.12).

The instances where pronouns are used, the narration borders on type 2. Especially in chapter 50 (“…we didn’t know what Ymir’s actions meant”) and 58. It borders on type 2 to the degree that it’s questionable whether this is still the type 1 narrator at all. However, these instances stick out like a sore thumb, if they were to be placed in the type 2 category: unlike all the other type 2s, these are not explicitly attributed to one character, they don’t digress from the ongoing story drive, and nor do they have concrete beginnings and ends. In other words, they are injected into the story in the same kind of hovering, sparse POV as the type 1 narrator. Given that this happens several times throughout the story, I feel confident stating that this does not come across as unrefined narration that fell between two types before Isayama knew how he wanted type 2 digressions to work – but instead seems to be the type 1 narrator. After all, it cannot be explicitly attributed to any other role, nor would it have a strong place or point, if serving as anyone’s momentary additional voice NEXT TO the narrator.

This appearance of a personal “I” in narration, happens as early on as in chapter 12. SNK started its serialization in the monthly Bessatsu Shounen magazine in Semptember of 2009. If we consider SNK from then on being published monthly, this means that chapter 12 would have been published during fall of 2010 – almost two whole years before WIT studios was founded (June 1st 2012, according to Wikipedia). See where I’m going with this? Well: to me, this is a strong argument in favor of the narrator having been a specific person long before Araki decided whom to cast for the voice. Thus, him giving an explanation for casting Marina, other than “Armin is the narrator”, seems obsolete. My guess would be that it was an intentional avoidance of spoiling the fact that Armin is the narrator, without technically lying; for example: if his argument was that her voice was soothing for such a role, it wouldn’t be wrong – she does, after all, make for a comfortable narrating voice, generally speaking – it’s just not the only reason/whole truth.

Saying this, I believe that there has been a concrete identity for the narrator from the start. Furthermore, I believe that the identity of this periodical “I” speaker, is the identity of the narrator. So, who is the “I”? If it’s indeed an unchanged “I”, it’s either Armin or Mikasa: knowing from chapter 12 that the narrator is one of the EMAs (“where the three of us had lived”), it can be narrowed down to the two of them thanks to chapter 58, where the narrator expresses being part of a plan that only Armin and Mikasa from EMA, took part in. Other arguments aside, Araki’s own casting, will in this moment be reversed from an argument against Armin, to one in favor of him: why cast Armin’s voice actor, if the “I” is Mikasa? He wouldn’t.

I feel like I could close my little analysis here and sit comfortably on my beliefs – at least for the time being – but I want to keep going with some less concrete, more circumstantial evidence that, without being hard proof, perhaps still helps to swing the pendulum further in the favor of my above conclusion:

1. Armin phases in/out like a narrator. This is perhaps the least waterproof of my observations, but nonetheless the one I’ve been leaning on the most: Armin gives off the “feel” of a narrator – or more precisely: the one whose POV we’re meant to take. You may find everywhere, what you look for, but consider these:

a) Unlike in the anime, the manga doesn’t show the 104 bootcamp years until after the battle for Trost is won. The trainee years are a sudden re-winding in time – a big positional move in the story. So far, the story has been linear. Chapter 14 closes with the narrator taking over (the “end scene” being one where Armin is present) wrapping up how the battle for Trost was humanity’s first win against the titans… and the next thing we know, we’re sent back in time, to a scene where EMA are working in the fields. The scene’s main purpose seems to be that of showing how Armin’s upset with the MP’s population management. In other words, the scene is entirely Armin centric. It furthers his drive, his POV. From this scene, we’re segued into a wide shot of Armin presenting at bootcamp. In addition to this contextualizing why specifically HE (of all people) took the path of joining the military, this is also our introduction into this 4 chapter long bootcamp side-story; Armin’s the one we’re entering it through. If there is indeed a conscious narrator, it would make sense that the narrator is the one deciding where, how and when to jump in time, story-wise. They are the one telling it, after all; they’ll know when a jump in time and additional digressions is necessary for the context. Even more: would it not make sense that, with such a jump – given that it’s chosen by the narrator – the starting point of such a reposition, would be through the POV of said narrator (if not a type 2, which this wasn’t)? There is nothing concrete, like I said, but… it FEELS like Armin is the one whose eyes we’re seeing this transition and opening through. Aside from Eren opening several of the bootcamp scenes that follow, Armin is the only other lead who does this: in chapter 18, he’s the one who opens the last flashback scene: the jog-scene. Here, he’s the first one to be monologued about by Keith, and is thus furthered as an MVP.

b) Perhaps the most remarkable of these transitions, though, is the one in chapter 73: EMA are making their way back to Shiganshina – RTS to follow. At the end of Armin and Eren’s talk (the one about his eyes), Mikasa joins in about how she recognized the area, and Armin makes a comment about how “We’re back here…” Right here, the speech bubbles do something interesting: they go from regular dialogue, move into type 4, and then end on a type 5. This is yet another “feels to me like” example, but if you’ve gotten yourself acquainted with the types, perhaps you see it too: the way Armin talks, starts to sound a little synthetic if it’s supposed to be seen as regular dialogue, when he says “for the first time… since we ran away that day.” Eren and Mikasa both know it's the first time they’re back and that it’s the first time “since that day” specifically; telling them this in the way he does, feels redundant. This could be the mark of meaning lost in translation, but reading the entire work translated, Isayama isn’t USUALLY this synthetic, in my opinion. What more, this isn’t all there is to it: the redundancy is expressed in a scenery panel, removed from the speaker and carried away to a bird’s eye view. In other words, despite this initially seeming like regular dialogue spoken to two people right next time him, Armin’s words start to detach from him, and turn into type 4: informative monologue. This isn’t necessary, nor natural, unless the audience broadens; he’s talking to Eren and Mikasa, but we get the feeling that the words are starting to transcend into narration that we, as readers, also are hearing. We could still be on the fence about that, however, until the wide shot of Shiganshina, and the words “back to our home town” is presented as a clear type 5, in big letters, over it. Type 5 is a style Isayama has used explicitly for conscious narration. Thus, as these words - in this example - are either spoken by Armin or by the narrator, this cannot be type 6, which looks the same, but is subconscious thought. No, this is a clear indicator that Armin’s words turned into narration. Whether the narrator of the story chose to highlight what Armin said, for the sake of his (the narrator’s) own use or not, can be debated, however, the fact that this is supposed to be a narrating technique, is clear.

To me this is, therefor, another indication, that Armin is the narrator. 2. Armin journals We’ve all seen the picture. Armin taking notes in Eren’s cell. What, exactly, is he writing? The only time Eren type 2s, is when he’s talking about his father’s journals, at the end of chapter 85. It’s brief, and then the next chapter opens with Grisha’s journals narrating. The way Grisha’s type 2 phases out, is by the story returning to present time, where Eren is discussing Gisha’s memories with Armin, who’s writing something down. It’s clear to me that, in the very least, Armin is taking notes on Eren’s memories and how they correlate with what’s written in Grisha’s journals. Eren type 2ing in chapter 85, is apparently, the opening of him talking to Armin about all this, in his cell.

So what? Well, seeing as Grisha’s journals are already written, there is no need for Armin to re-write all of the information they already have gathered in Mr. Yeager’s notes. Armin is thus - like I already mentioned - AT LEAST, making original notes on Eren’s memories; how they support the claims of the journals, and expanding on the knowledge where Eren’s able to see more. A more creative take would be to say Armin’s writing his SNK narration right now, but even without that take, there is definitely something to take away from this: we’re being explicitly shown that Armin is either appointed, or voluntarily record-keeping. That’s a role he’s now explicitly shown to have. Let me reiterate: he is canonized as someone who naturally fits the role of re-teller.

3. Is this story oral or written? *It’s time for me to make a callback to this very early asterisk: “Type 1 [...] Presented in square speech bubbles*”. Above, I talked about how Armin’s words turned into a type 5 in chapter 73. So what? Well, aside from it being one of the types that are unmistakably conscious narration - making this an instance of narration, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say this is THE narrator, because: at the beginning of SNK, the narrating voice, was not presented in its now iconic square bubbles: the beginning was, like the instance in 73, type 5:

This will have to be a wild guess - especially since Isayama’s narration types were a lot less refined in the beginning (though type 5 has been the most unwavering of the types), but I believe that the story of SNK is narrated, specifically, orally. The narration starts out being told in the type that throughout the story has been specifically spoken narration. More so - if connected - it has another instance of this use late into the story (73), which at this point means Isayama knows his types too well for it to be a mistake. This does, however, not discredit the argument above that Armin keeping records is a point towards him, because you’d likely need to keep things on record in order to remember the kinds of details that the narrator has been able to pull up anyway (not to mention that Armin still, with that chapter, is pointed out as a natural narrator type person). So while irrelevant to my initial question, I find it interesting to theorize that the story is being told verbally. I’m looking forward to see if it’s right or not. A second narrator? “God, will it never end? We get it, Armin’s the narrator”. Yes, yes, at this point, I don’t have much more to add. I’ve given my musings and then some. But I wanted to bring up one last point of interest before giving you some rest from this long ass meta: type 3. Thought I forgot? You see, type 3 is the dry information bit. I believe that in certain instances, where all the narrator says, is “Stohess district” or the likes, might actually be type 3 instead of type 1; especially when the narrator doesn’t add anything else. But in this case, where does this type 3 information come from? Is this a second, identity-less narrator (more like the author himself)? If so, what does that mean for the personalized type 1er? I don’t know... it’s worth comment on the varying degrees of personality the type 1-presenting pieces have. Especially when chapter 73 and chapter 90 are concerned; while the narrator becomes more personal in chapters such as 12, 50 and 58 - in 73 and 90, he becomes... more linguistically embellished. So while the first bunch can be challenged as perhaps type 2ers and not the main narrator, the second two (73/90), can - with their strangeness - perhaps point towards further proof that Armin is the narrator. namely, 73 is the chapter that opens up the Return arc - the arc in which Armin plays a big role and eventually gives his life. it would not be surprising if the narrator - if Armin - would have a more personally emotionally affected approach to this part of the story. The same goes for chapter 90 - the chapter in which Armin reaches his life long dream of seeing the ocean. In this chapter, the narrator remarks on things like how the snow falls and melts, and how the flowers bloom and butterflies flutter. In other words, the narrator seems more sentimental, or even enamored with the upcoming segment. What this has to do with type 3 is that, looking closely, we’ll see just how varying the type 1 narration is. So... is it possible that the instances of the narrator being more flat, is a different narrator altogether? If so, that opens up the can of worms that is: “the overarching narrative isn’t tired to one single entity at all, and is just a culmination of important contextual information, small clarifying comments, musings to spark curiosity, etc. Because there’s also this:

As well as:

... which almost seems to indicate Erwin and PIxis narrating these particular instances of the narration. It’s all up for debate - although, given all the evidence I’ve provided in Armin’s favor, I personally wager that these are casein in which the narrator summarizes information that Erwin and Pixis are talking about in such detail that it’s better to have a summary and jump in at the end of said speech, rather than having to sit through half a chapter worth of unnecessary details. There’s a couple more points of interest what type 1 is concerned, but at this point, there’s nothing concrete in either camp, and this thing is getting entirely too long. So I’ll leave you with this:

TL;DR: Will Armin narrate again? As an emotional narrator, not necessarily, yet it’s plausible. As the overarching narrator? If he is the narrator, yes, but... is he? I still don’t know. In conclusion, I don’t god damn know. I think so, but I don’t know.

#Armin Arlert #snk #snk 123 #snk meta #loooooooooong post #I had so much more to say but I'm so fed up with this now *sob*#If anyone actually reads this all the way through please time it and tell me how long it took you to read because holy hell

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writingwordsanddrawingpictures · 5 years ago

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NaNoWriMo - Day 10

Still fighting with my sinuses today, so I’m happy to have another scene (1,021 words) done and to raise my total to 12.2k (or a tad under 50 pages in a standard novel).

Yes, at this rate I’m not going to win NaNo this year, but you know what? I don’t care! Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to win it at my first attempt, but that’s not what this is about. This, and my aborted Inktober attempt are about me getting back into the creative habit and writing / drawing again on a regular basis and improving my skills. Heck, I might even get a half decent novel out of it!

To those of you who are struggling, I’d suggest you stop focusing on the goal of 50k and start enjoying the journey instead. You may not hit 50k, but whatever you do get, you’ll be that much closer to having your own novel in your hands - and that’s the real aim here!

And before I get off the pep talk, I have to say a huge thank-you to @bookishdiplodocus. Sanne, without your posts on plotting and combining it with the ideas from Save the Cat Writes a Novel, I don’t think I’d be where I am now. Thank you, so, so much! The approach of dividing the book up into discrete scenes instead of larger chapters is working so much better for me than any of my previous approaches. So truly, thank you! (and hopefully I’ve not embarrassed you too much!) <3 <3 <3

Anyway, today’s excerpt is under the cut along with the tag list. Let me know if you want on or off the list.

Also, let me know if you want me to do a link post containing all of the posts I’ve done so far on Scrappers.

Trigger warnings: Some blood, mention of a knife.

Context: This is after Sarah’s transport has had its tyres punctured and is currently lying crashed on its side...

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Two figures crawled into the back of the van, one holding Paul’s upper body free of the van’s ‘floor’ and the other holding his legs while working on the cuffs. Once he was freed, Sarah could see that his nose had broken when he slid off the bench into the van and he left a trail of blood behind him as he staggered out of the doors. “You next. Watch your eyes.” The familiar voice said. Sarah couldn’t make out much of the person even now, except for a couple of stray wisps of red hair, as they were wearing a face mask and what looked like ski goggles, topped off with a helmet of some description. She heard a brief hissing and then felt her leg restraints fall away allowing the blood back into her feet. That was followed by the relief of blood returning to her thumbs as the zip ties were cut by the second figure. She went to stand, but the figure stopped her, motioning to Sarah’s wrist. “Need to do something about that first.” They said, reaching into a leather knapsack they were wearing and bringing out a thick bracelet of some description. “This will block the GPS function long enough for us to get back and do something more permanent about it. It’s not painful, just maybe a little tight, okay?” Sarah nodded in response, her head still spinning slightly although she wasn’t sure if it was from the crash or the speed with which this was happening. The figure unclipped the bracelet and then clipped it around Sarah’s wrist - damn, they weren’t kidding about it being tight. She winced at it pinched uncomfortably at her skin. “Sorry, hen, it’s either this or we have to dig it out with a knife.” “I’m fine. It’s not for long, right?” “Right. Now let’s get out of here before someone notices you’ve just disappeared.” She allowed herself to be led out of the van and blinked in the low autumn sun. There were more storm clouds gathering in the distance - fitting, really. Now she could see them a little better, Sarah could distinguish that two of the figures were female - the two who’d been in the van sorting out their restraints - and the other figure she could now see looked to be male. There was something odd about all of them, the way they all acted as a unit with minimal talking, almost… military for want of a better word. The woman with the wisps of red hair placed her hand on Sarah’s arm. “Come on, we’ve got to get off the road. We’ve got a safe house nearby where we can stop briefly to get you both checked out and into some fresh clothes.” She said, leading Sarah off down a side street. Sarah glanced behind and saw Paul trailing after her with a blood-soaked rag held over his nose, which made her wince, and their other two rescuers following behind.

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Hmmm... Now are things improving for our Sarah, or is she heading from the frying pan into the fire... Stay tuned to find out!

Tag list: @themerrywriter, @contes-de-rheio, @soul-write, @roselinproductions, @kira-desomma, @farrradays, @elaynab-writing, @stephrawlingwrites, @madammuffins, @pheita, @bexminx, @therska, @paperplaneshift, @adie-dee, @bookishdiplodocus, @nirvhannahcornell, @ijustchangedmyname, @siarven, @aeschknight, @love-by-the-moon, @cawolters.

#writeblr #nano 2019 #nanowrimo 2019 #ww&dp: scrappers #day 10 #excerpt #12.2k #does a happy dance #things are moving #for better or worse?#we'll find out #and in case you read these #bookishdiplodocus #I meant what I said #I owe you soooo much for this #I really do #Thank you Sanne! <3

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ninatheauthor · 5 years ago

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Challenges

In this post, I’ll explain how Basima was created, the biggest problem I faced and how I tried to resolve it.

Background

When I made headcanons with canon characters in summer 2016, I created a new character during that period. I found a name, described her appearance and ethnic origins. I had vague ideas about her purpose in the canon universe ; she was a soldier and Squad Leader in the Survey Corps for no particular reasons.

Two years ago, I’ve developed Basima for another story. I wasn’t interested anymore in SNK, therefore I wrote nothing concerning the manga and its canon characters.

Then, I’ve had a sudden rush of nostalgia about SNK just few weeks ago: I fell in love again with the story and my favorite characters. For the first time in nearly four years, I thought seriously about my OC within the canon universe. I’ve done research to fabricate a profile for Basima. It’s not easy to fill in but I’ve been doing my best. The profile is still in progress as I’ve not published yet the second second part with Basima’s history, her relationships and a trivia.

Pairing an OC with canon characters without making them act OOC

While writing Basima’s backstory, I imagined a sort of love triangle evolving into a triad between her, Moblit and Hange. The love triangle plot is cliché but it I kept the idea. Basically, it went like this:

Moblit and Hange are close - they aren’t dating but they have a close bond

Moblit and Basima are in an intimate relationship (friends with benefits)

Everyone except Hange knows about it

Hange discovers the relationship a year later

They’re jealous about it, tensions arise between them and Basima

Basima confronts them after they overstep her boundaries

Moblit explains he cares about them and Basima

Hange apologizes, Basima accepts their apology

Basima is harassed by MP soldiers, Moblit and Hange rescue her

Hange and Basima get closer after the incident

The triad is formed

My reaction after I realised how awful this scenario was:

I had to take a step back, ask myself “What should I do?” and correct my mistakes.

1. Develop Basima’s personality

Once I did it, I could imagine clearly how she would react in various situations. I tried to have the same amount of strengths and weaknesses.

2. Don’t forget about Moblit and Hange’s own personalities

According to Attack on Titan Wiki:

“Moblit came across as an intelligent and responsible person, which may have been the reason he was tasked to keep his overzealous and eccentric superior out of trouble. Much of the time, this left him in a state of near-panic, having to constantly remind Hange to be more careful or yanking her to safety. That he remained at her side constantly suggested he was a loyal person, regardless of the stress involved with being under her command. However he was able to show signs of a serious nature when it came to missions, such as the time he twisted Peaure's hand when he was taking notes[4] or when he held Djel Sannes' chair down when he was being tortured.[5]”

This is a good description. I came across this interpretation from snkirschtein, which I find very interesting:

“Moblit is very meticulous, and very observant, which translates to his work as well as his everyday life. He picks up on the smalls things, which can help him decide if someone is trying to get one over on him or if someone is trying to manipulate him or another. He is good at reading people. He’s also very careful with his words. He’s very smart, especially with people, and knows what to say or not say. It makes him charming in a way people often have trouble understanding.”

Imo Hange is probably one of the most stereotyped and misunderstood characters in this manga. A lot of fans tend to only view them as a “crazy researcher who loves Titans”. They forget about other aspects of their personality:

“Hange is a genius, using her brain to create weapons, tactical plans, and inventions for the benefit of humanity. As a leader, Hange is thoughtful of her comrades, and can easily figure out complex problems in order to create plans for her teammates to carry out. On a less cheerful note, she can use this genius anyway she can, being able to easily manipulating people to do what she wants in order to benefit humanity (...)” (source)

“Though Hanji loves titans, they also love and care about their comrades/humanity. They can be vengeful, and willing to do what it takes in order to protect someone they care about. They also take threats to those they care about very seriously. So all-in-all, let’s not forget about that serious and protective side that Hanji also has.” (source)

3. Don’t erase the canon relationship between Moblit and Hange

“To Hange, Moblit was her right-hand man and went everywhere with her on almost all of her business, an important friend, and comrade. Even though he was under constant stress, Moblit fulfilled his duty to keep Hange out of trouble to his last breath.” (1)

“(...) Even so, he cared about her and in his final moments, put her safety over his.” (2)

In this post, Anon asked “what Hange would want/need in a romantic partner” (who’s also an OC). The description also reminds me of a certain canon character:

“Hanji is definitely someone who needs to be taken care of. Though they can be independent, their regard for their personal safety is kind of nonexistent, what with the way they recklessly get close to titans and etc. So someone reliable (makes sure Hanji takes care of themselves), caring, level-headed, and/or quick-minded would go really well with Hanji.

“(...)The OC just needs to know when to relent, but at the same time keep a close eye on Hanji in case they need to step in and get them out of trouble.”

“(...) If anything, I could see someone who doesn’t mind letting Hanji talk their ear off while they focus on other things at the same, grunting and humming every now and then to let Hanji that they’re still listening or etc.”

“When asked what type of partner they’d be interested in, Hanji said “Someone who is fine even if I can’t pay attention to them, I guess”. Which, in my opinion, means someone who isn’t very needy or clingy, and needs attention constantly.”

4. Write about the polyamorous relationship in a realistic way

Basima was a comrade of Moblit and Hange. Through the years, she became friends with them. Hange thought she was an attractive lady ; it didn’t surprise them when Moblit told them he wanted to get intimate with her. Contrary to what people thought, they totally approved his relationship with her.

It looked like this: Moblit and Hange are close - Basima and Moblit are close - Hange and Basima are good friends

After the passing of her best friend, Moblit and Hange gave Basima moral support. They helped her to regain self-confidence and believe in her abilities. At some point, Hange really wanted to kiss her lips, do inappropriate things with their subordinate and friend. That’s when they realised they were screwed up.

The trio discussed over the matter: what would happen? How do they qualify their relationship? Eventually, they decided to keep the relationship secret. Friends and comrades - basically everyone within the Survey Corps - noticed that something happened between the three of them. Hange nicknamed their subordinates Habibi and Habibti. Basima kissed them both on the cheeks when nobody was around. Moblit often drew the Captain and Officer together. They quarreled, disagreed on certain topics. Sometimes, they were fed up with each other. They always made up after having an argument. In a nutshell, the triad lasted several years.

Hange and Moblit were shattered by the deaths of their fellow squad members. They lost comrades, long-time friends and a significant other.

#snk oc #moblit berner #hanji zoe #mobuhan x oc

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i-mybrunettelady · 11 months ago

Note

2-4 for ask meme, your choice of character :>

let's go for sanne, bc i miss her :>

2. Do they distance themself from their background or embrace it?

oh she embraces it fully. she embraces being norn, her status as what can be said is norn nobility (even tho they have no traditional concept of nobility as we know it) she embraces her culture and her role in it as a skaald and a shaman, as well as a person who was offered a chance to be a havroun by bear herself. she wears her hair in the way of the norn; she has tattoos - her bear shaman runes on her neck, and her upper arms are covered in scarification tattoos of similar design and similar purpose. she looks very norn-y at first glance and she likes it that way.

3. Are they an outsider? Do they feel like one?

nope! she feels right at home. she's never really felt like an outsider in her life, nowhere she went. even in the vigil, she's forgal's niece, so she felt right at home there too.

4. How do they feel about their past/younger self?

her younger self is what made her be what she is today, and while she thinks she was a little young and stupid sometimes, she doesn't really harbor any negative feelings towards her younger self now in her early 30s; that being said, she did cringe so hard at certain things she did when she was in her early twenties, like get so drunk she fell out a window and broke her arm (she also still bristles at the name it earned her, windowbreaker)

#gw2 #ask meme #aisanne bjornsdottir #gw2 norn #dropping norn lore on ya lmao #enjoy some norn i love norn sm

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omgthinkinghardworld · 6 years ago

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About SnK chapters 107, 108 and 109

I get busy a few days and suddenly 3 chapters are already out jajajaja.

As always, I will just make some very subjetive comments, about scenes or situations that caught my interest on these chapters.

Historia

First of all, I want to say that I believe in Historia. I believe on her strenght, on her interest for the people (the real one, not the forced one from when she was “Nice girl Christa”) and on her wish to live in a way she can be proud of herself.

I think that, beside whatever has been told to her about Zeke and the inheritance of his titan, Historia has a plan. I don´t know which is it yet, but I refuse to think that she is having a child just for following orders (from whoever). She said she was willing to inherit the beast titan, but it was with conditions, she was negotiating, not submitting. If somewhere along the way, she thought that inheriting the beast titan was not the best way to protect the people, I am not surprised about she changing her strategy. She certainly doesn´t look happy about her situation, but we haven´t heard a word from her since that flash back on chapter 107. I am looking forward to know about her thoughts.

I found this to be an interesting turn. In the last month, there has been a lot of discussion about the issue of abortion in my country. Traditional rooted conceptions about female´s wish, motherhood and life where mobilized. I couldn´t help to see Historia´s pregnacy from this perspective, and asking myself what is the meaning she is giving to that child, what do they mean for her. As far as we know, this pregnacy seems to be carring a very rebellious imprint: royalty has tradicionally have the duty of producing offprings to carry on the lineage. But this process, or at least the one which decides who will inherite the crown power, is mostly mediated by political terms. Historia would have none of that: she choosed a random man (as far as we know), got pregnant in a crucial time and gave no explanation at all. I don´t see this pregnacy as a weakness.

Nikolo and Sasha

I reckon this is my first time having a ship on SnK. And I wonder why, oh why, it has to be one with such a sad ending. It´s practically restrospective.

My headcanon is that Sasha´s last words, about if dinner is ready, was her way of asking for Nikolo.

Because, apparently, the canon was not sad enought for me.

Mikasa´s headache and the “time travel”/”fake memories” theories

I´m not a fan of things like “time travel” when it seems to be an abrupt twist to close a story that is taking the author too much time to end or, on the contrary, to extend a story for more than it should be.

That said, I think that none of that situations is the case of SnK. In fact, that kind of twist would make me think that Isayama actually knows where the story is going and he has known it from the begining, thing that I have been doubting about since a long time ago.

9 years old Eren brutally killing two grown up criminals, never made sense to me. But I just accepted that fact as part of a classic shounen kind of narrative. In the same way I accepted, for example, Victor Nikiforov becoming Yuuri´s coach out of nowhere. It was extrange, but I just took it as floppy writing (I considered many other parts to be very good written, so I didn´t care much about that, which I saw as a narration flaw). I was super, and nicely, surprised with the plot twits in chapter 10.

I would love to see a plot twist like that here. Because we have been watching Mikasa´s headache since the begining and now the meaning of it could change and with it, the whole meaning of the story. Things that didn´t have sense could suddenly become clear, and the things we thought we knew could become uncertain.

Hanji

I love Hanji. My opinion about them is totally biased, I admit it. But I really don´t see anything that makes me doubt them, so far.

They are listening to Floch and company, even when they could have chosen just not to and send them straight to prision. Hanji even accepts that they have a point.

Hanji feels guilt, tiredness and loneliness. They wonder if Erwin made a bad decision by putting them in command. They think about Sannes´s words and wonders and despairs.

As I see it, Hanji´s ethic is as clear as always. It is just an extremely shitty situation, where there is not a correct answer. And the veterans know a lot about that kind of situations. From that point of view, Hanji is the most appropiated person to be in that position. SC´s previous commanders were either eaten or resigned. Erwin´s last action as the SC´s commander was to lead his soldiers to a horrible death. I repeat, this is not an easy position. I trust Hanji to find, if not an answer, at least a path for the ones who come next to follow.

Inspirational ladies

I liked how on chapter 109 we get to know about how Mikasa´s and Sasha´s actions influenced on the lives of Louise and Kaya.

Kaya grow up looking up to the girl who saved her, and took in not only her strenght but also her kindness and bravery.

I´m somewhat troubled about Louise. She seems a little too much on the fanatic side for my taste.

We will have to see.

#snk thoughts #snk 107 #snk 108 #snk 109 #Historia Reiss #hanji zoe

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fanmoose12 · 4 years ago

Text

Partners

Characters: Petra Ral, Levi, Hanji Zoe x Levi Genre: Action / Mystery / Romance Rating: T

Detective!au

Summary: when Petra was promoted to a detective and partnered up with legendary Levi Ackerman, she felt like the happiest person in the world.

Chapter 9/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Сhapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Сhapter 7

Сhapter 8

"Have you lost your goddamn mind?" Levi paced around Erwin's office, his face dark with fury and his hands clenched into fists. "Erwin, since she won't listen, never listens to me!" he sent a sizzling gaze at Hange. "You tell that idiot that she lost her mind!"

"Levi—"

"Don't fucking Levi me, four-eyes!" he cut her off harshly. "What the fuck is wrong with you? That fucker ruined your life, and now, what, you're defending him?"

"I'm not—"

"I don't understand it! Just a few days ago you wanted to catch him. You were ready to sacrifice your own life to get that bastard. What the fuck had happened since then? Why are you trying to save him?"

"Levi." Hange’s voice was quiet, low. So unlike her usual one, it made shivers run down his spine. Levi knew that voice, Hange reserved almost exclusively for the worst, most despicable criminals and greedy snobs from the brass. She used this voice with him only once. And it was one of the most unpleasant moments of his life.

Hange slowly rose from her seat at the sofa and came to stand in front of Levi, looming over him. In the semi-darkness of Erwin's office, her eye was burning with fury.

"Shut up and listen. Stop focusing on your desire to avenge Zeke. Believe me, I can't wait to get him behind bars, that's the only thing that got me through these past two years, but can't you see it? Someone's obviously trying to set him up."

"So what?"

"So what?" Hange repeated, disbelief and irritation painting her voice. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? If you let Zeke go to prison for someone else's crime, then the real criminal won't be punished for the death of two civilians. Is that what you want? Have you forgotten about your duty?"

Fuck.

Levi took a step back from Hange, lowering his head and hiding his eyes from her. She was right, of course, she was right. He was too blinded by his hatred to see it.

"Besides," Erwin spoke up, reminding them that he was still there. He was sitting at his desk, hands folded beneath his chin. Levi looked up, staring at him cautiously. When Erwin wore that particular expression – brows furrowed and lips pressed in a line – it always meant bad news. "Zeke is not the only one who's being set up."

"What do you—"

"I've been thinking about this too," Hange agreed.

Levi let out a low growl. He hated when these two did it. Kept him in the dark about their genius revelations.

"So? Fuckling enlighten me then."

"Think, Levi," Erwin said, his frown deepening. "What would have happened if you try to tell anyone that Zeke is the real murderer?"

"I—"

"They'd call you insane," Hange answered for him. Despite her sympathetic tone, her face showed the same graveness as Erwin’s. "For everyone else, Zeke had been dead for two years."

"Yes, but—"

"You could prove that he's alive," Erwin agreed with a small nod. "And that may even work. But if you don't," he shook his head. "They'd kick you out. Sannes has been trying to find the excuse for a long time now."

"What?"

That was news to him. Sure, he knew that he had somewhat tense relationship with Sannes. But to go as far as to try to fire him? What a fucker.

"He had been complaining about your work for a while," Erwin explained. "I do what I can to protect you, but Sannes got almost every captain on his side. I thought that if I make you agree to accept another partner, he'd stop, but—"

"He didn't," Levi guessed. "What did that asshole do this time?"

"During the brass's meeting this morning, he raised the issue of your discharge once more. I managed to convince a couple of captains—"

Dawk and Pixis, Levi realized. And if he could somewhat understand why Pixis would vouch for him, the man looked like a goof, but always had some hidden motive, what Erwin could have promised to straight-laced, bullheaded Dawk? Levi refused to believe that he agreed to help simply out of the kindness of his heart.

"But others still push for your dismissal,” Erwin continued, his clenched jaw showing all of his disapproval and annoyance. “This case will be decisive. If you find the killer, you'd keep the job, if you fail—"

"They'd kick me out," Levi realized. Fuck. He didn't want that to happen. He liked his job. A lot. He wouldn't know what to do with his life without it.

"Now you understand why you can't just go around, claiming Zeke is the killer."

"Because that's what Sannes wants me to do," Levi agreed.

Scheming bastard.

"Fine," Levi announced. "You won, I agree that turning Zeke in isn't the best course of action. But," he leveled Hange with a fierce glare. "I still don't understand why you would want to tell Zeke about everything."

"We might need his help. Besides," Hange shrugged, her motions easy and careless. "He'll find out anyway. I want it to happen on my terms."

"There is nothing I can say to change your mind, right?"

Hange shrugged again, grinning lopsidedly.

Levi sighed. "Fuck. Alright, tell me about you plan again."

*** "Are you kidding me?" Oluo took a step back, shaking the hand Petra wrapped around his wrist to drag him here.

She brought him to a hallway at the east wing of a precinct. Old and unused, it was one of the most secluded areas. No one ever walked in here. It wasn't even properly lighted, and Oluo's irritated mien disappeared with each flicker of a pale fluorescent lamp.

"Please, tell me you're kidding."

"I—"

"Are you seriously asking me to spy on deputy police chief? What the fuck, Petra? Is your partner's paranoia contagious?"

"What?" Petra blinked a few times, mimicking the flickering light above them. "Levi is not paranoid."

"Sure," Oluo drew, following it with a short huffed laugh. "Everyone knows he's got a few screws loose."

"No," Petra argued with a confused frown. "You're wrong. You've said it yourself, Levi is a great detective."

"He was a great detective. Until his partner died. His success rate dropped and he became even more secluded than usual. Did you know that there are talks about his discharge?”

No, Petra didn’t know about that. Why didn’t she know about that? Did Levi know?

“I didn't tell you, because I know how much respect you hold for the man. But it's not a secret to anyone that he's obsessed with conspiracy theories. And the fact that you want to spy on freaking Sannes only confirms it. He's lost it and now he's dragging you along with him as well."

"You don't understand—"

"Of course I don't," Oluo said, sarcasm dripping from his every word. "I'm such a fool after all..."

Petra drowned out the rest of his blubbering. She heard something, just a second ago. She closed her eyes, straining her hearing. Oluo's voice was severely distracting, but it seemed like...

Without thinking more about it, Petra acted. She needed to create a diversion, she needed to make their little meeting look less suspicious. So she grabbed the back of Oluo's neck and dragged him down, pressing her lips to his.

The moment stretched on, as she listened, with her eyes still closed. She was sure she heard someone's steps. But now the hallway was silent, save for the quiet sound of Oluo's moan?

Right, Oluo. Oh god, Oluo.

Petra jumped back from him, mortified and embarrassed. Her cheeks were so red, she felt like her skin was going to catch on fire.

She kissed Oluo. She kissed him on the lips in the dark, deserted hallway.

Her father didn't raise her like this.

And, sure, she kissed him just yesterday, but it was a very different kind of kiss. That kiss was innocent, chaste. There was nothing chaste about their second kiss.

"Sorry!" she squealed, covering her face with hands. Embarrassed, she was so embarrassed.

"Huh, Petra," Oluo's lips curved into that irritating smirk Petra hated so much. "You've come up with all that nonsense just to get me here and steal a kiss? I'm flattered, really."

"Shut up," Petra whimpered, still hiding behind her hands. "I thought someone was coming and I panicked, and, hey!" She glared between her fingers. "I was being serious! I need your help, Oluo. I know that Levi doesn't have a very good reputation but—"

"He thinks his dead partner is alive," Oluo said in a grave voice.

"Oh," Petra dropped her arms to the side, looking up at him. "But she is alive."

Oluo's face fell. "Petra..."

"No, no!" she shook her head. "I know how it sounds, but detective Zoe is actually alive, I've seen her with my own two eyes."

The hallway was silent for a long, long moment. Oluo kept staring at her, searching for something on her face.

Then he raised his hand to rub his forehead and let out a long, tired sigh.

"...Oh. Um. Okay, yeah, alright, I believe you,” he didn’t look utterly convinced, but he stopped looking at Petra like she had gone insane, and she counted it as a win. “Maybe, detective Ackerman isn't a complete lunatic after all. But... How is it connected with deputy chief Sannes?"

"He's crooked. He's been working with criminals and I know it. I just need a real, substantial proof."

"Sannes is crooked, oh god,” Oluo closed his eyes. “Another big revelation, alright. Let’s not focus on it right now, or I’ll have a panic attack. Do you know who he’s working with?”

Petra pursed her lips. “I’m not sure yet, Levi doesn’t tell me much, but I think he might be working with Zeke Yeager.”

“Yeager?” Oluo repeated. “I’ve heard this name.”

“Yeah, Zeke Yeager, he was a notorious criminal back—”

“No,” Oluo shook his head. “Not Zeke. I’ve heard the name Yeager before. Read it in one of the reports, I just can’t remember what the case was about. Maybe, it’s a just a coincidence, but it was about Grisha Yeager. The name was so strange, that’s why it stuck with me.”

“Hm,” Petra frowned, tapping her chin. “Grisha Yeager… No, I don’t know that name.”

“Doesn’t matter then,” Oluo shrugged. “Better tell me - how you're intending to get your proof?"

"I don't know," Petra hanged her head, fidgeting with a sleeve of her blouse. "I've thought about following Sannes home…"

"What?"

"But later I realized that it won't produce any results, because I doubt he has frequent meetings with his allies. Then I thought that getting inside his computer might be a good idea—"

"What?"

"But then again, there's no guarantee that he keeps important data there. And it would be pretty hard to get past his password. I wasn't able to guess Levi's password after all. But!" Petra looked up, a smile present on her face. Oluo didn't like that smile. It wasn't Petra's usual warm and pretty one. This one had a weird, almost feral edge to it. "I've come up with another plan, and that's why I need your help!"

"What do you need me for?" Oluo asked slowly, eyeing her carefully. He was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"You have keys from a depository, right?"

"Right..."

"And you're friends with Dita, the janitor, yeah?"

"Yep..."

"So!" she clasped her hands, looking unusually delighted for a person who was in a middle of plotting a very dangerous and definitely illegal scheme. "I need you to go into repository and took a wire from there, and then I need you to go to Dita and—"

"And ask him to give me keys from Sannes' office?" Oluo guessed. "We'll be discovered in no time, Petra. Dita and I aren't that close of friends."

"I know," Petra rolled her eyes. "That's why you'll steal them!"

"Petra!" he exclaimed with a scandalized expression.

"Shh," she smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine, I promise. You'll get a wire and a key, we'll get inside Sannes' office and plant the wire. I'll be able to listen in to his conversations, and no one will suspect a thing. Oluo, please?"

It was a stupid and extremely daring plan. If it failed, they'd be kicked out of force immediately. In the best case scenario. In the worst - they'd go to jail for breaking and entering the policeman's office.

But Petra's smile was really nice, her hand on his shoulder was so warm, and she looked right at him, batting her long and pretty eyelashes.

He was never a man with strong will. Oluo’s resolve crumbled.

"Fine," he sighed, refusing to even think about possible consequences. "But you owe me, Petra. This whole scheme is worth two dates. Minimum!" he finished, raising a finger.

"If we manage to succeed, we'll go on as much dates as you want."

"And kisses? Will you give me more kisses?"

"Of course," Petra murmured, leaning in to give Oluo exactly what he wanted.

***

"Call me when you finish with this, erm, meeting of yours," Erwin said, when Hange and Levi were ready to leave the office.

“Will do, captain!” Hange saluted, giggling.

Listening to the sound of her laughter and staring at Erwin’s smiling face, warmth spread through Levi’s chest as he was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Just a day ago, he would have never thought that he’d get to experience this. His two best friends, laughing together, as if nothing had changed. As if these two years, filled with grief and misery, had never happened.

The warm and familiar atmosphere enchanted Levi. The corners of his lips slowly lifted into a smile.

“Come on, four-eyes,” he turned to the door, hiding his joyous expression. His soft voice treacherously betrayed his feelings anyway.

"Wait!" Hange called the moment they left Erwin's office.

The hallway around them was dark, deserted. It was almost ten pm, so it wasn't a surprise that the precinct was so quiet.

Leaning against the wall, Hange took off her backpack and started rummaging through it. "Wait, wait, wait, I've got something for you. Here!" she announced with a proud grin, presenting Levi with his own coat.

Levi hesitantly accepted it, arching an eyebrow. "How did you manage to fold it so neatly?"

"It's one of my secret powers, of course!" Hange fixed her glasses with a cheeky grin.

"Hm," he narrowed his eyes. "Did you take it to the laundry?"

"Um, no," Hange answered, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "Didn't have the time to do that."

Good, Levi almost said. He wanted Hange's scent to linger, he hoped it did.

He carefully unfolded and put the coat on, lifting the collar. It was faint, but Hange's scent was present. He pushed his hands inside the pockets, feeling strangely content.

Still, something gnawed at him.

"Hey," he glanced up. He tilted his head to the side, giving Hange's dark green blazer a critical look. "Is that shitty jacket of yours warm enough?"

A soft, gentle smile bloomed on Hange's lips. Just the sight of it made Levi's breath catch in his throat. His recently discovered feelings made themselves known again. Goddamn it, she was beautiful. How he had never seen it before? He was a fool.

"I'll be alright, shorty, don't you worry. Your concern is touching, though."

Levi forcefully tore his eyes away from her face and tsked, trying to fill the sound with as much annoyance as possible. Hange's smile didn't even falter, and it meant that he wasn’t too successful in hiding his true feelings. That, or Hange just knew him all too well. It was probably both.

"Just don't want you catching pneumonia or some other shit after you just got back from the dead." He grunted, dead set on keeping his aloof demeanor.

"Touching," Hange repeated in a singing voice.

"Shut up," he groaned, fighting a smile that threatened to appear on his face.

He shook his head and headed to the elevators.

"Hey," Hange touched his sleeve. "Can we take the stairs instead?"

"Are you restless?" Levi asked, as he turned around, leading Hange to the stairs just like she requested.

"A little," she chuckled awkwardly. "Not exactly afraid, but, um, nervous. And excited. I can't wait to see Zeke's face when I tell him the truth."

As that image entered his mind, Levi let out a soft chuckle as well.

"Thanks for bringing me with you then. I'd like to see it too."

They couldn't get Zeke in jail right now, and as much as that knowledge pained Levi, there were other ways to make his life a living hell. He couldn’t wait to exploit some of them.

"Wait," Hange suddenly raised her arm, stopping him. Her face became sharp, focused, as her gaze was trained at the dark hallway in front of them.

"Hange?"

"There is someone there," she whispered, taking one cautious step forward. Instinctively, Levi mimicked her soft stride. "I heard some muttering."

"Sannes' office is that way," Levi whispered back. "You think it's him?"

"Only one way to find out," Hange said with a rueful grin.

Before she could take another step, Levi wrapped his fingers around her wrist.

"You shouldn't go in here,” he said, his voice urgent. “Let me handle it. We can't let Sannes know you're alive."

"I disagree. The cat is almost out of the bag as it is. Let him know who he's up against."

"You're too reckless," Levi scolded with a shake of his head. He didn't try to stop her though.

They went ahead, each move slow and deliberate. The muttering became louder and when Levi and Hange turned the corner, they saw two figures, standing next to the door to Sannes' office. Levi narrowed his eyes with a frown.

One short figure seemed strangely familiar.

He cursed under his breath.

"Petra!" he shouted.

The woman whirled around, pressing hands to her chest with a shocked gasp.

"Levi!"

Levi strode closer, his scowl deep and dark.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he hissed.

"I wanted to know more about Sannes' intentions, so... We broke inside his office and planted a wire there."

Levi cursed again, more creatively this time. Beside him, Hange started laughing.

"It’s not fucking funny, four-eyes," he glowered, not taking his eyes from the young woman in front of him.

Petra stood with her head bowed and her eyes cast down. Her fingers were playing with the ends of her skirt. She looked like an abashed student who was scolded by her teacher. That thought chased away some of his anger.

Levi let out a tired sigh.

"Take it easy on her, shorty," Hange leaned over to murmur in his ear.

"I'm trying," Levi answered in the same quiet voice.

"Are you finished already?" he asked Petra. He decided to follow Hange's advice and make his tone a bit softer.

"Yes," Petra nodded, still avoiding his gaze. "We planted the wire inside his chair."

"Huh," Levi blinked. It was a pretty creative hiding spot. "Not bad."

"Good job!" Hange congratulated, raising her thumbs. "You did great!"

"Oh, detective Hange, you're here too..." Petra mumbled, finally lifting her eyes.

"Detective Hange?" the man behind Petra gulped. “So you’re actually—”

“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” Hange snickered.

Levi rolled his eyes at her silliness and then took a step closer to the man, looking at him intently.

"Bozado?" he asked. "And what are you doing here?"

"You know my name, sir?" Oluo's looked up, his eyes bright with hope.

"It's written on your badge," Levi pointed at his breast pocket with a bored expression. "And you didn't answer my question."

"I— I was helping, Petra, sir," Oluo said, scratching the back of his head. "I got the keys to the office and took the wire from the repository."

Levi bored his eyes into the man. Oluo swallowed, squirming under his heavy gaze.

"And why did you decide to help?"

"Levi!" Hange pocked him in the side. "Don't be so insensitive. It's obvious he has feelings for her."

"How is that obvious?" Levi argued, turning to Hange. "And who is being insensitive now, four-eyes? You brought up the subject of his feelings!"

"I was just trying to save the poor man from your fearsome glare," Hange huffed. "And unlike you, I actually know what feelings are."

"Just what are you trying to—"

"Levi?" Petra interrupted softly. "Can we— can we go? It's late already."

Levi looked at Petra, his eyes widening. He almost forgot they were still here.

"Did you take care of everything? Did you make sure that you won't get caught?"

"Yes, sir!" Oluo answered, straightening out and doing a quick salute. Levi scoffed at the gesture. "I'll return the keys to Dita next morning and since I'm in charge of checking the repository, no one will know that something is missing."

"Okay," Levi nodded, his scowl almost disappearing. They really did a good job. He was proud of Petra. And he couldn’t wait to hear what kind of results this scheme would achieve. "Then you can go. We should go too, Hange.”

"You're right, we should hurry," she agreed. "Goodbye, guys!" she waved at Petra and Oluo and then took Levi by the sleeve of his coat, dragging him away.

*** "What the hell just happened?" Oluo asked, when Levi and Hange left.

"Detectives Ackerman and Zoe happened," Petra replied, feeling just as confused and bewildered as Oluo.

"The legendary duo, huh?" Oluo scoffed, thrusting hands into the pockets of his pants. "They definitely have some issues they need to work on."

"Yes..." Petra agreed, remembering the expression Levi made when Hange said he had no feelings. Her statement confused him, it was obvious, but Petra could swear she could see a flash of pain in his eyes. There was an apparent tension between two partners. She shouldn't pock her nose into it, though. She learned her lesson already.

"I'm so tired," she yawned, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. It was a stressful day, and, now, as the adrenaline rush was over, she was left utterly exhausted. Petra looped her arm with Oluo's, leaning slightly onto him. "Let me buy you a dinner and then let's call it a day."

"Forget the dinner. Maybe, I should just take you home?"

"No," Petra protested, brushing her nose against Oluo's shoulder. "I want to thank you first. You really helped me out today, Oluo. You're the best."

"I think your exhaustion makes you exaggerate," Oluo snorted. With a soft expression, he lifted a hand to brush a lock of hair from her face. "But I'll take the compliment. Come on, let's leave this place already."

Petra silently nodded in agreement, letting Oluo lead her outside.

***

"Tell me again," Levi asked, as he parked the car near their meeting place with Zeke. "Why did you choose this place?"

"It's public, for starters, and I hope that would be enough to quell Zeke's murderous intents. And it's pretty inconspicuous."

Levi narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the carelessness in Hange's voice at all. Inconspicuous? What the hell did that mean?

"What the fuck did you tell him, four-eyes?"

Hange shrugged, getting out of the car. "I told him it's a date."

Levi, who was in the middle of closing the car’s door, stopped. He froze, then blinked a few times. He stared at Hange intently trying to see if she was joking.

She wasn't.

"What the fuck?" he whispered, completely shell-shocked.

"Hey! Don't look so scandalized!"

As he continued to further contemplate this whole thing, his eye began to twitch. He forcefully shut the door closed.

"Are you actually serious?"

"Um," Hange deflated slightly. "Yes, I am. I just thought it would make him less suspicious. And, well, convince him to come alone."

"So," Levi croaked, finding his throat weirdly inoperative. "Did you and Zeke—"

"Levi." Gone was the easiness of Hange's tone. As she stared Levi down with hands on her hips, her voice was rough. And displeased. She usually used it on him whenever she thought he was being extremely irrational and she was done with him, pestering her about such illogical requests like eating her lunch, sleeping for more than two hours a day and washing her hair at least once in a week. "Are you seriously asking if me and Zeke - the jerk who had ruined my entire life - had hooked up?"

Well, now that Hange had put it like this, he did feel kinda stupid. And more than a little embarrassed.

Fuck. He really was an insensitive jerk.

"Sorry for bringing this up," he grumbled, pushing past Hange and continuing to walk down the street.

"Oi, Levi, wait!" grabbing his sleeve, she quickly caught up with him. She fell into step with him, and for a moment, she was silent.

Their conversation was far from being over and Levi knew it. He didn't have to raise his head to see the pleased smirk on her face. Smugness was practically radiating from her.

"So did I just witness the jealousy of great Levi Ackerman?"

His cheeks burned. Levi kept looking straight ahead. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing his discomfiture.

"No."

Hange chuckled. "Just so you know, Zeke isn't my type."

"Cool. I don't care."

"Do you want to know what my type is?"

"No." Yes. "Can we have this conversation some other time?"

"Sure." A pause. "So you are interested what my type is."

Levi groaned.

"Oh, we're here!" Hange said flippantly, like she wasn't mercifully making fun of him just moments ago. "Are you ready, shorty?"

"Yes," he answered, putting their previous conversation to the back of his mind. He fixed his hair and clenched his jaw. "Let's do this, four-eyes."

"Alright," Hange stopped to take a deep breath. She looked more than a little uneasy and, acting on a sheer impulse, Levi took her hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze.

"I'm with you," he reassured. "I've got your back, Hange."

She smiled, relaxing ever so slightly. "Thank you. There's no one else I could have done it with. Well," Hange tapped her chin with a finger. "I could do it with Erwin too, but—" her smile turned into a playful grin. "His face isn't quite as scary as yours."

Levi rolled his eyes, glad that Hange was back to her insufferable self.

He pushed the door open, still holding Hange's hand in his.

The café, when they entered it, was mostly empty. There were only two people inside - a girl and a boy probably in their early twenties. They were lounging side by side in the corner of the café, but when Levi and Hange appeared, one of them – a blonde boy with big blue eyes - jumped to his feet and hurried to approach them. The girl with the hair as dark as her expression followed, hovering over boy's shoulder.

"Welcome to Dorothy's corner!" the boy squealed with a nervous smile. "What would you like to order?"

"You didn't give them the menu, Armin," the girl reminded softly, nudging him in the back.

"Oh, right! I'll bring it immediately, just—"

"Relax," Hange advised softly. Her words, coupled with that sweet smile worked like a charm. The boy chuckled sheepishly, scratching his neck with an apologetic expression.

"Sorry, I'm kinda new here."

"New?" Levi repeated. "And for how long have you been working here?"

"Almost a month, sir. Why are you asking?"

"Simple curiosity," he murmured. So it was just a coincidence. The boy wasn't a replacement for the dead waitress.

"And you?" he nodded at the gloomy girl. "Are you working here too?"

"No," the boy smiled, affection lightening his features. "Mikasa just worries too much about me. There was a murder recently and, well, she’s here to look over me."

"Oh, she's a good friend,” Hange praised. “We're actually here to meet our friends too. There they are, by the way!" she pointed her finger at the booth near the window.

Levi followed it, and, now he could see Zeke's blonde head sticking out too. And from looks of it, he wasn’t alone. The rage started boiling inside of him just at the sight of that bastard. Hange squeezed his hand again, offering his silent support.

"Can you bring a cup of green tea for me?" Levi asked, turning to the boy.

"S-sure!"

"And a black coffee with three sugars for that weirdo," he added.

"Still remember my order?" Hange wondered, as they walked towards the booth where Zeke was sitting.

"Focus, four-eyes," he scolded sternly, before coming to a stop in front of the needed table.

With a toothy grin, Hange slide in the booth, taking a seat opposite from Zeke. Levi sat down at her side.

When he saw them, Zeke's eyes widened and his mouth hanged open in silent surprise. That expression was gone way too quickly, however, not giving Levi enough time to savor it.

Zeke clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowed and his face sharpened as he glared at Hange.

"You have the gull, Zoe," he sneered. "You fuck—"

"Oi." Levi interrupted. His voice was quiet, but filled with so much fury and hatred. Zeke visibly shuddered. "If I hear another shitty word about Hange from your dirty mouth, you'll be missing some teeth, you asshole."

"Um." Someone above Levi cleared his throat. He looked up, meeting the scared gaze of the waiter. "Y-your order," he said, his eyes darting nervously between Levi and Zeke.

"Thank you," Hange smiled.

"We'll call if we need refreshments." Levi grunted with a nod.

"Charming as always, detective Ackerman," Zeke scoffed, when the boy left. He pushed the glasses up his nose, and Levi noted with no small amount of amusement that his fingers were slightly trembling.

Zeke turned to Hange. "I thought you wanted to meet me alone."

"I told you to come alone," Hange corrected. "You didn't though."

"I thought you'd like to have a double date," Zeke smirked. The arrogant expression disappeared the second he met Levi’s dark eyes.

"Oh, right!" Hange slapped her forehead. "Where are my manners! Levi, this is Porco and Pieck," she gestured to a man and woman, who sat at the either side of Zeke. The man - Porco - gave Levi a small nod. Pieck waved at him with a grin, tilting her head and staring at him curiously.

"And this is Levi," Hange said. "My partner."

"Partner?" Pieck raised an eyebrow. The grin on her face grew broader.

"I meant, colleague," Hange clarified, clearing her throat.

"I'm curious," Zeke said, not taking his eyes off Hange. "What are you trying to achieve with this stunt? It’s true I can’t do anything to you right now, but what do you think is going to happen afterwards, Hange? Do you think I'd let you go? Do you think your boyfriend,” he looked pointedly at Levi. Levi stared right back, his face blank. “Can protect you? You were too valuable to me, you know too much,” Zeke shook his head, his voice disappointed. “I thought you were smarter than this."

"What makes you think I need protection?" Hange leaned over with a smile that looked just a little bit feral. "Maybe, I've already told everything to the police."

Zeke returned her smile, lifting his hands. "Then where are my handcuffs, detective?"

"If you wanted to imprison me, I'd already be behind bars," he continued, remarkably relaxed. "No, you want something from me, Hange. But for the life of me, I can't understand what exactly."

"Like you said, Zeke," Hange's eye glinted wickedly. "I know too much."

"Wh—"

"Levi has brought you something. I'm sure it'd be quite a thrilling read."

Following the cue, Levi took the file out of his pocket and threw it on the table.

Reluctantly, his eyes shifting from Hange to Levi, Zeke opened it. A confused crease appeared between his eyebrows, as he looked at the first page. Nevertheless, he fixed his glasses and started reading. His two companions joined him, leaning over his shoulder.

It was quiet for a long moment, and Levi used this time to drink his tea. It was good, he was quite impressed.

"Is tea here still up to your standards?" Hange asked in a whisper.

"Mm," he nodded. "Definitely not as shitty as the tea you used to make, four-eyes."

"As shitty as it was, you still drank it."

Yeah, he did. Actually, Levi kinda missed that awful, bitter taste. Maybe, once it was all over, he could ask Hange to brew him tea again. Just like in the old times.

"It's the case you told me about," Pieck concluded, when she finished reading the file.

"Yes," Hange nodded.

Levi tilted his head, looking at that Pieck curiously. Hange trusted her. Why?

"I hope you don't think that I did it," Zeke scoffed. "I was out of country. I couldn't kill these women."

"I know," Hange agreed.

"Believe me, if I had even the slightest doubt that you did it, we wouldn't be sitting there, chatting," Levi added menacingly.

"What do you want then?" Porco spoke up, glancing between Hange and Levi.

"Cooperation." Hange answered. "Whoever committed these murders is close to you, Zeke."

"Or tries to get rid of you." Levi said.

"And why do you care?" Zeke asked. "Why would you decide to help? After everything I've done to you, don't you want to take your revenge?"

"You can't even imagine how much I want this," Hange told him fiercely. She moved her face closer to Zeke, putting her elbows on the table. A wide, crazy grin spread on her lips, and Zeke recoiled as though in fear.

Levi relaxed in his seat, watching their interaction closely. Seeing the panic reflect in Zeke's eyes put a satisfied smirk on his face.

“And I promise you, Zeke," Hange continued. "I will get my revenge and I will make you pay for everything you put me through. But," she chuckled, easing her expression into her usual friendly mien. "As it is now, a criminal, who killed two women, is on the loose. And I consider it my duty to catch them. My retribution can wait for a while."

"Do you have any suspects?" Pieck asked, making Hange look at her and giving Zeke a much needed moment of respite. Levi continued to watch him, though, enjoying the slight fear that painted his features. The sight was all the more pleasurable for Levi, because Hange was the one who made the bastard feel this way.

"Zeke is not the only one who's being targeted. Someone tries to harm Levi too." Hange replied. "I'm pretty sure that Sannes is on it."

"Sannes?" Porco frowned. "Isn't he one of yours?"

"We all know that he's one of yours," Levi's face twisted in grimace.

"Why would Sannes go against me?” Zeke wondered. “We've been working together for years."

"Maybe, someone tries to take your place," Pieck speculated. "If that's the case, Sannes could agree to betray you. He's not loyal to you, but to your influence after all."

"Sannes can't be the only one, though," Hange went on. "His main goal is to get rid of Levi, and he could have come up with something less complicated to achieve it. So," Hange kicked Zeke's leg under the table. "Spill it out, Zeke. Who hates you so much?"

Zeke scowled, irritated by her cheerfulness. He opened his mouth, and Levi was sure that nothing nice or useful was going to come out of it. He kicked him under the table too. His kick was much stronger than Hange’s. Zeke yelped, bending down to rub his leg. Levi almost smiled.

"I think Floch is the betrayer."

"What?" Zeke snorted. "Floch is the one who had come up with that plan? Don't make me laugh, Hange."

"I didn't say that he was the one who had come up with it," Hange argued. "I said that it’s possible that he had betrayed you."

"So you think Sannes and Floch are the one to blame?" Porco clarified.

"No," Hange shook her head. She tapped her fingers on the table, biting her lip. "I think... There is a third party involved. Floch would never act on his own volition. But he's easily influenced and if he encountered someone charismatic enough, he wouldn’t think twice about betraying you. But why would they need such an elaborate plan?" Hange wondered. "If they wanted to take control of your gang—"

"Criminal organ—"

"Shut up!" she barked, glaring at Zeke. "You're making it hard to think. Where was I?"

"If someone wanted to take Zeke's power, why not simply kill him?" Pieck said.

"Exactly!" Hange snapped her fingers with a grateful smile. "Whoever is against you, Zeke, doesn't want to simply kill you. They're trying to put in prison. We don't know who that is and I'm pretty sure you don't know it either. I don't think it's someone from your gang, Floch doesn't respect anyone but you. So that leaves with one possible explanation - it's someone from outside. Maybe, a partner you've fucked over."

"Does anyone come to your mind, boss?" Porco asked.

"There is someone," Zeke mumbled, his eyes cast down. "But he already took his revenge on me."

"Hm," Hange scratched her chin. "That complicates it."

"If someone wants to get rid of Zeke," Pieck spoke up. "Then how is your partner involved in this?"

"Through Sannes." Levi replied. "Sannes wanted to get rid of me. He couldn't find a reason to fire me, so he decided to exploit my only weakness."

"Your weakness?" Hange repeated, confused.

Levi sighed. "You, Hange. Everyone at the precinct knows that I..." he cleared his throat, shifting his eyes to the side. "That your death hit me hard. And Sannes decided to use that. He wanted me to stop thinking rationally, wanted to me to lose my cool. He almost succeeded." He added softly.

Under the table, Hange took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Levi looked up, meeting her gaze. It was full of sympathy, regret and something else. Something unreadable, something fierce. Something that made it hard to look away.

"Could you please stop this?" Zeke groaned. "I believe we were in a middle of a serious discussion."

Hange was the first to look away. She continued to hold his hand, however. Feeling bold, Levi intertwined their fingers.

"You were saying?" Zeke prompted with a roll of his eyes.

"Um, yes, right," Hange nodded. "There a lot we don't know about our enemies, but I theorize that something like that happened: someone - a past ally, or, maybe one of your victims - approached Floch. They convinced him to betray you and probably shared with Floch their desire to take you out of the picture without murdering you. We don't know their motivations and why they couldn't just kill you, since whoever they are," Hange's face twisted in disgust. "They are more than okay with murdering innocents. Floch then goes to Sannes, and Sannes decides to join on the plan. They devise some sort of a gamble – either Zeke goes to prison or Levi gets fired."

"Sounds far-fetched," Zeke scoffed.

"Maybe," Hange shrugged. "There is a lot we still don't know. Would you help us, though?"

Zeke sighed, covering his eyes with a hand. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" Hange clasped her hands with a wide grin.

"Don't forget that this alliance is temporary," Levi added.

"I would rather die than continue it for a second longer than absolutely necessary." Zeke snarled.

"Good," Levi retorted. "Then die."

"What Levi wanted to say," Hange corrected with a chuckle. "Is that we're hoping for a fruitful cooperation. But for now, we should go our separate ways. I'll contact you if we discover something."

"We'll do the same," Pieck smiled, ushering Porco and Zeke to get up from their seats. "Enjoy your evening," she added before the three of them left.

The moment the door of the café closed behind them, Hange exhaled in relief. Levi sighed too, slumping in his seat.

"Pieck is nice, isn't she?" Hange asked softly.

"Are you two... friends?"

"Sort of," she replied. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Levi assured. "It's just, well, a bit weird."

"She helped me," Hange confessed. "When Zeke—" she made a vague gesture with her hands, pointing to her lost eye. "You know."

"We'll make him pay," he promised.

"I know," Hange leaned against his shoulder, yawning. "Can I stay at your place tonight?"

"Of course," he murmured. "Grim would love to see you. I don't have anything to eat at home, though. Want to order something here?"

Hange looked up at him, blinking sleepily. "You'll make me have dinner no matter what I say, right?"

He lightly flicked her nose. "What's the point of asking if you already know the answer?"

"You don't change," she whispered fondly. "It's good to be back, Levi."

It's good to have you back, he thought, admiring her peaceful expression. ***

One foot in front of the other, Petra slowly made her way up stairs to her apartment. She was exhausted, tired to the bone and the only thing she craved was to get into her cozy and warm apartment and then fall face-first into her soft and comfy bed.

But as her luck would have it, the elevators were broken and now she had to climb all the fifteen flight of stairs that lead to her apartment.

Heaving a sigh, she looked up. She was already on thirteenth floor.

Just two more, she thought grimly. Petra grabbed the railing tightly and pushed herself upwards.

Finally, when she was almost at the brim of exhaustion, Petra climbed up to the needed floor. She breathed out in relief and her lips curved into a small, satisfied smile.

She was almost home, the only thing she needed to do was to walk up to her front door, unlock it, took off her coat and shoes and change into pajamas. Then, she could get some rest at last. After that insane day, she more than deserved it.

As she neared the door to her apartment, Petra caught a weird scent, hanging in the air. She stopped for a second, sniffing. It was a strong, bitter and unpleasant. The scent of a cigarette smoke, Petra realized. She had never smelled it there before. As far as she knew, her neighbors didn't smoke. Then where the scent had come from?

A bit wary and alert, she continued her way. She was tired, maybe, she just imagined the smell. Or, maybe, one of her neighbors started smoking. It wasn't a big deal. Definitely wasn't illegal.

With a reprimanding shake of her head, Petra willed herself to relax. She took out her keys and approached the door. She touched the door handle.

And the panic nearly overwhelmed her.

Her front door. It wasn’t locked.

Staring at it in confusion, Petra searched her mind, trying to remember if she had forgotten to close the door when leaving in the morning. She always locked it. Could it be that she had forgotten about it today?

She was a creature of habit, she always made sure to turn off the lights and lock the front door before leaving the apartment. On the other hand, however, a lot happened this week. She wasn't sleeping enough. She wasn't getting enough rest. She was constantly in the state of worry and anxiety. Locking her front door was at the very bottom of her list of priorities. She could very easily forget about it.

Right?

She was probably just getting too paranoid. It was probably caused by exhaustion and emotional distress. She was worrying over nothing.

Petra took a deep breath. She was worrying over nothing. She kept repeating this phrase like a mantra in her head. She slowly pushed the door open.

The apartment behind it was silent. And dark.

Petra exhaled in relief.

She chuckled softly, scolding herself for being a scaredy-cat. She closed the door - making sure she locked it this time - and took off her coat and shoes. She draped the coat on the clothes rack and then entered her bedroom. She touched the switch, turning on the light. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden brightness. She swept her eyes across the room—

And then gasped, the fear gripping every part of her body.

There was a man sitting in her armchair near the window. The same man that she saw in the precinct today - the one with eerie smile.

That same unnerving smile was spread on his lips once again.

"Detective Ral," he murmured softly, rising to his feet. "Did you and your partner receive my note?"

#i have love/hate relationship with this chapter #so i'm very curious what y'all think about it #:)#levihan #levihan fanfiction

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albino-whumpee · 4 years ago

Text

Love

I´ve been so self indulgent during this week, thanks for your patience. I went overboard with this @whumpmasinjuly ´s prompt for day 3, “Love”. (2020)

CW// Slavery, ´pet whumphuman trafficking, referenced conditioning and past dubcon/noncon, trauma survivors navigating relationships and recovery. Slightly Stockholm syndrome affected whumpees.

It was snowing slightly outside the supermarket. Sann had waited outside the house with his brown coat and muted blue sweater, when they came back home from work. Pushed Albus towards the snowy street to buy ingredients for dinner.

It was odd, because they had enough food for Christmas, which would be next week, but he couldn´t say no to Sann. Much less when he looked so happy going outside whenever he could. Stopping a few times to play with the snow. One of those Sann slipped and fell on his butt, making Albus jump to see if he was alright, right after he snorted and broke into laughter.

“I’ll get you some cream for it later yeah?” The freckled boy´s jeans were still a bit wet when they went inside the store. Sann patting it with a pained frown on his face.

“Hey Sann, look” Albus called when they were passing by the clothes isle. The other boy’s hand passing over the clothes like always before he turned. Sann´s face went from interested to a pout, noticing the other was holding anti-slip snow shoes with a shit eating grin. “Could´ve come handy earlier, maybe we should buy them” Sann hit his shoulder as the other snickered.

A few steps away Sann took something from the book isle and trotted back to hand him it with that bratty smile he had.

“Merry Christmas then” Sann signed when Albus pulled his eyes up, away from the “comedy for dummies” book on his hands.

“Ha, you think you´re so funny don´t you?” he said pulling him closer from his coat. “I know how to shush my favorite comedian though” he quickly inhaled before he kissed the corner of his mouth, just a little peck on the lips that left Sann looking for more as he pulled away. Just staring into each other´s eyes for a moment.

Sann gave him another quick kiss before he smiled and grabbed softly Albus´ chin. Shaking it a bit before he stepped away. “You should shush me more often” Sann signed, walking backwards to the cash registers extending his hand. Albus took it without thinking. Bringing it to his lips to give it a swift kiss.

On the way back home, it was Sann who laughed at him when he slipped on the icy floor. The little groceries they had bought, flying in the air to land on the snow. Even though, as they were holding hands, Sann fell too.

“We should have bought them!” Albus shouted as the other helped him pick up the things, giggling at the way he patted his own butt.

Walking in a bit of pain, they saw the lights flicker inside the house. Just before Albus turned to Sann shrugging, acting as if he hadn’t gone to the supermarket just to make time. Hiding his smirk from the boy as he opened the door with reddened fingers. Watching how his eyes turned from suspiciousness and wariness to shock.

It was certainly a surprise to give him a party.

He stared in awe at the “1 year” sign hanging from the ceiling with small triangular papers as Sann pushed him inside. Passed his eyes around the faces that had become his world, not a single trace of lies, of hidden intentions behind their smiles. Just genuinely happy about having him there.

Tony and Sasha bathed him in hugs and Jeremy pulled him to sit on the table with delicious food on it. None of it spicy, which he knew was even a bigger gift. As he was the only one there who didn’t love spicy food.

“Hey, I´m the mute one here, say something!” Sann signed next to him.

“I…Just don´t know what to say…Thank you is too plain” his cheeks went red, pulling his eyes back to Zarai. In a silent question, pleading for instructions.

“Don´t look at me, it was Sann´s and Sasha´s idea” The albino looked at the two with not-so-guilty grins on their faces. He suddenly felt a need to jump and hug Sasha and shower Sann in affection. Proud of him for making a party, even if it was small, it had been hard to make him feel comfortable in that setting.

“Well a thank you is more than enough” Claude said putting a cup with mulled wine on his hands, like everyone had in front of their plates. They lifted their cups, waiting for him to join. He pulled it up with just the biggest smile anyone had seen on him “Cheers!”

They stayed playing something called “guess” until very late into the night. A simple game where a player had to think of a movie, series or famous person and the others had to ask things like “is it an action movie?” “Animated?” “Are they gay or European?” to get to the answer. Obviously, Sann, Sasha and Albus weren’t really good at it, but it was a fun way to learn about the world they had forgotten. The pain of remembering, kind of soothed by the wine.

To which by the end of the party, Albus couldn’t carry himself to the room and had fell on the sofa telling Tony he was just fine, didn’t understand why he was so worried if he felt so good! Jeremy and Sann bonded over animated films (which were Sann’s favorites) and some math thing used in economics Sann always tried to explain to him but never could quite understand. But whatever concept he could wrap his head around had helped him to land a project with a great commission all by himself. He was really happy Sann had a friend outside of their circle now. How he seemed to enjoy it too leaked on to his own mood.

“Having fun?” Sasha tucked some of his hair behind his ear. He gave her a few nods with shut eyes. A wide smile had been there since the very beginning.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. Maybe even before” he told her in a daze. “Thank you Sasha”

He couldn´t believe it sometimes. How different his life had become since a year ago. If it hadn’t gone this way, he would still be in training, maybe just waking up from an endurance test, or maybe on a cold isolated cage. Hungry, alone, but safely away from other handlers. His body aching, but just desperate enough to be obedient and stay quiet behind the bars.

This honestly felt like a dream he didn’t want to wake up from.

“Your welcome, Al” she smiled at him before pulling him up “You will get used to this after a while. Trust me. It was difficult for me at the beginning too”

“Parties?”

“Freedom” the boy hummed as reply “Alex wasn’t a bad person. Just in need of some help, until they didn’t” she stayed quiet for a second, rubbing her wrist “It was scary to hide it, that someone would call and I would go back even with my papers in order and all, but. I guess, people also helped with that” she said looking at Tony. “Made it easier to trust” Albus knew for a fact they would marry someday. Maybe sometime on May, if Tony finally showed her the ring, so he smiled at the love-struck look on her eyes. “And maybe not forget, but keep going despite everything”

“I hope Sann feels like that someday too”

“And you too, Al. Someday” she said pointing to his neck, where the collar still stood. He let out some air. A heavy sigh, one he didn’t show the real weight of. Putting a vague smile instead.

“If you need help with that, give me a call. I will help you find them”

Albus frowned “Who?”

“The people who helped me. You called me once to ask me about them, but you never brought it up…You don´t remember?” she asked him when he only ket looking at her with a tighter frown.

“When did I do that?” Albus asked, but he never got his answer as his attention quickly sled to the boy walking their way with a large shy smile.

Sann walked to them with a guitar on his hand before he sat in front of him. Other people taking out their phones to catch the moment Sann signed this was his present for him. That he would find a way to get him what they saw at the store, making the albino chuckle, lifting himself up to be sit upright when Sann inhaled deeply and put his hand over the strings.

It was a soft tune, wrapping him in the warm feeling of a rhythm that carried you like a butterfly on the wind. Playfully doing tricks as it went higher. Having a rustic touch to it that made Albus imagine a valley of wheat swaying with a soft breeze. At the middle of it Sann’s fingers moved slower, low tones in quick succession that gained speed, Sann’s fingers moved swiftly down the strings. Squinting his eyes to try smoother down the migraine trying to come for him. Slightly pulling him out of the roll before he finished in a twist, a combination of the butterfly and the low tones that made him think of stone alleys and high windows.

When Sann lifted his eyes to see his reaction, He had to be quick to put the guitar away to receive him on his arms. Clapping and cheering, slightly drowning the messy praise the boy gave him. Mixed with a few curses followed of I love you. Low enough only Sann could hear them.

After a while, he was clinging to Sann on the sofa. His legs over his lap and his arms around his shoulders. Foreheads touching each other. Whispering little things as Sasha and Tony said their goodbyes from the door. Jeremy long gone after a friendly hug and congratulations were given.

Sann wasn’t a light drinker. He was perfectly fine while listening to a drunk and affectionate Albus, with a grin on his face. Nodding whenever the other asked a question. However nonsensical it was.

“You’re so nice, Sann” he said. Face warm and flushed. Eyes glassy like he was about to cry “You with me when you’re so great….” he pressed his forehead against the other. Slightly nuzzling. “I don’t know what I did to have you in my life, but whatever it was, it must have been very good” it became Sann’s turn to get flushed red. He suddenly pulled away and with a very serious face he stared into Sann’s gray eyes. “I love you”

Sann was frozen on his place. But he pulled up his hand, keeping his middle and annular down. Albus didn’t took long to imitate the sign.

It was a bet, but he leaned on. Sann closed his eyes, checking if there wasn’t a voice telling him if it was the right thing to do, and pressing a bit with a little smile when he found none. Soft lips meeting his and pulling apart in a quick inhale. He was surprised, however, when he tried the tip and was met with a bold reply. A hand on his hair and a twist in his mouth. Even then, careful to not let slip his hands to his bare neck. Delicious and at the same time amazing as he knew the person it was coming from. Despite that, it didn’t feel forced, or practiced until mastery. It was messy but engaging, it felt genuine. So when they pulled away with a pop, Sann was wide eyed at the albino.

“Is that a good shush?” He smirked, red eyes glittering under the moonlight.

“Dunno” Sann’s dimples showed on his cheeks “I need a second try” he signed before putting away his glasses. Feeling the boy’s hands pass to his back and pull him closer.

“Sann…” he suddenly went in the middle of the twist. Pulling away “thank you”

“…For what?”

“For everything. For…this” he said putting the same sign he did before. Pulling it down and sinking on the other’s chest “I hope you’re happy forever, however it may be” he said before Sann’s face pulled into a slightly confused frown and lulled him to sleep. Carrying him back to bed after a while.

In their room, Zarai slept soundly on his chest. But Claude was troubled. Ever since he had shifted jobs, he couldn’t fall asleep easily. Tonight, it was the celebration stuck on his mind. He remembered the boy’s bloody papers. So he knew the day he had arrived, was the same as his birthday.

That’s why they had made him the surprise party.

But even when Zarai had widened her eyes, even when she had found herself angry she was even more shocked to not tell him. And Claude couldn’t know if it was the right decision or not.

As he woke up with a migraine and looking overall destroyed, letting Sann prepare breakfast for all of them and feeling slightly guilty for taking a pill, but exuding a joy that couldn’t really fit on the doctor’s head. As he saw him thank Zarai for letting him rest, Claude tried to think, to believe it was for the best.

I actually based Sann´s guitar thing on this thing my dad did. You can hear it here.

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animaanimewizard · 6 years ago

Text

SNK AU

Synopsis: ???? None. Nope. Blank.

Original Idea: Levi was in foster care system where he met his best friends and got introduced to his future and he never really left the system. Eren is has been foster care system since the earthquake that killed his mom. His time is almost up, though. He looking forward to finally getting away from they system and traveling the world. Unfortunately after getting involved with his new case worker, Levi, he finds himself mixed up in world of conflict bigger than himself.

Ch 1 plot-Levi is working expecting the house of Dimo Reeeves. His past is told in flashback. He tells Dimo to expect someone call about within the week. Back at the office he is called by Erwin that his uncle is in hospital and is asking for him. Levi goes to him and ask why he never fought for him in court. Although Kenny is surprised to see him, but answers he saying that he was truly unfit, that he taught him all he could ever learn from him and with that he knew he’d survive. Kenny says that knowing that is all he need to know he done his part. Levi doesn’t hold a grunge or resentment towards him. Kenny starts telling Levi about the people he was working for but his breathing fails. Levi leaves as the nurse rush in. At the hospital Levi runs into Isabel, who a nurse. She said that she and Farlen were reunited, but since they never knew Levi’s full name they couldn't find him. Levi tells her his full name “Levi Ackerman” and she realizes that man that just died was related to Levi. She gives her condolences and promised to get into contact with him soon. At the office Levi is assigned 3 new cases by Erwin. Saying together they are really just one. He was assigned Eren Jaeger, Krista Lenz and Armin Arlet.

Back Stories:

Levi was in foster care because his parent died when he was young. His uncle was left to take care of him, but was declared unfit by court of law. After bouncing through a lot of homes he finds one with little girl named Isabel. Soon after he meets Farlen. They become close quickly. After Isabel was attacked they ditch the system and live on streets. Making a living by being a gang of thieves. When they get pretty infamous Erwin finds them and brings back to system. They get put in separate homes. Since Levi was the oldest Erwin makes him a special offer. Erwin is actually in charge of special government program that finds its recruits in people of the public assistance system with aptitude for it. Levi agrees to join for Isabel and Farlan. Although his day job is being a social worker, he is recruiter of the program since Erwin was moved to Head Director SURVEY.

Eren’s mom died in giant earthquake that killed thousands in the Shinganshina district and left Maria county in disaster. His dad when crazy afterwards and Eren kills him by accident. Due to acute stress disorder he doesn't remember this and thinks he father is missing since the earthquake. The Yeager name was changed when moved into the country making the Y a J. His street fighter name is Rouge Titan. His greatest rival is Annie. Eren’s has a key that he believes that is from his old home as a keepsake. Eren fights to earn money so they can travel the world. His past foster homes were with Armin’s grandpa, Shadis and Hannes.

Armin was left in care of grandfather when his parents disappear. His parents worked for the Reiss company. Even though his grandpa survives the earthquake he dies of old age soon after. Armin is highly intelligent, but doesn't keep himself taking action when it necessary. He manages Eren’s and Mikasa’s fights.

Mikasa lived with parents until they died trying to protect her from a kidnapping attempt for human trafficking. Eren saves from her kidnappers and she kills one too. Annie isn’t a rival but more of competitor. She was adopted by Jaeger’s afterwards but always kept her name the same. She no longer in the system, but stay close by for Eren and attends all of his fights. She goes to community college studying the world and lives in studio apartment working part time a model.

Historia Reiss/ Krista Lenz. Historia lived with mom who a prostitute until she was until she was murder. This happened sometime after the earthquake. Her father was contacted but couldn't keep her, because he was married. He changed her names and made sure she got place with good foster family. Pastor Nick is her foster father. Either way he abandoned her with no further contact after said arrangement was made.

Plot stuff:

Ymir is Krista’s girlfriend and knows her whole story. She was a run away that couldn't go home, but since then turned legal.

Kenny was contract/serial killer. Was hired by Uri Reiss and became friends with him. Kenny killed Historia’s mom, because while being at Reiss household one night she overheard talk of how the company’s dam in area caused the earthquake. After his death he stayed with the Reiss company. When heard of the experimental drug, he became very interested and though of taking it, because of his Pulmonary edema. Sadly his dream slipped away, because he learns of possible negative effect.

Historia’s mom left a tip with govement that the Reiss company was cause of the shingashina earthquake. An investagtion is opened bur left untouched for years. Until Erwin finds it. Looking into the company he finds some foster child that’s biological pararents worked for the company. Also see Historia’s file, but the next day finds a file on Krista Lenz. The following day Levi is unawarely assigned the 3 cases of Krista Lenz, Eren Jaeger and Armin Arlet.

Grisha killed Reiss family in insane rage. He worked in Research and Development department of the Reiss. Worked on producing the drug’s formula.

Petra is regular social worker with Levi. Aurou is her husband and he is cop like Farlen.

After getting Krista’s case Levi goes to inspect the home. Nick is Pastor and acquaintance of Hanji. He tells Levi that Nick took her as a favor for someone in church, but doubts the child's sanity. Because Krista sometimes calls herself Historia and is rebellious and stubborn while usually as Krista she is sweet angelic girl. Also tells Levi that she is lesbian and currently out with her girlfriend.

Hanji is psychiatrist for the government and does evaluations for the program. Mike also works with her on this, but mostly he works with Erwin. Hanji is married to Moblit

Annie and friends are poor. She is street informant and fighter. She gets information from Hitch and Marlo. Who are dating and children of officials. Marlo doesn't like any of this shady business and is determine to changed it. Annie supports it, because people like her have no other choice. She also help Armin when he needs stuff. She is good person to you, but a bad person to others. She is emancipated from her parents and is living with Berlhot and Reiner. They all when to school together. They want to gain enough money to support themselves and their families. Annie goes to Armin to ask for his genius help and in return she’d give him a percent of her cut.

Erwin believes there is connection between his father’s murder and the Reiss company. He father worked a tutor for the Reiss family until his death.

Armins parents where killed by Djel Sannes, same as Erwin’s father. Erwin found the retired Djel Sannes and brought in for questioning. He told them about illegal actions of company, but without evidence there wouldn’t be case to hold in court. He told his predecessor was Kenny Ackerman that he might sell out the company for right offer. Erwin looks for him and he finds out about his hospitalization. Erwin realizes that his Levi’s uncle that he had met once before, but Levi still underage when accepted into the program. When he goes to see him, he ask about Levi and refuses to say anything to him about the company. Erwin leaves thinking about what would be the right offer to Kenny.

Other Plot Stuff:

The earthquake was caused by Reiss Company, because they built a dam in area with stressed the land and cause the earthquake. The official story was there was a large undiscovered fault line running though the area. This worked out well. The Reiss company bought up the destroyed land and most of surrounding area to use for fracking, coal mining, logging and and energy plant. Most of this keeps the land unstable supporting that there now a highly active fault line there.

Ymir is meets Rod Reiss. He says he is curious of who his daughter was dating. He takes back to company and shows her the experiments. When Ymir ask why he says its because she about to become one. Rod Reiss didn’t not like that the only living heir of the company was dating a “an uneducated lesbian run away” when she could do so much better. When Annie, Reriner and Berholdt show up to steal the drug they find her. All sweaty and tied up to hospital bed. Eventually getting caught they too are forced into human trials of the drug. The effect of the drugs help them escape, but Berholdt has the negative effects and becomes sick. Ymir later goes berserk and kills their neighbor. Only they don’t have time to go and find her, because Berholdt is also freaking out.

Historia goes looking for Ymir after she goes missing. She finds out that picked up by limo. Then she goes to father company demanding to know what he has done to her girlfriend. At that same time Erwin is there visiting to further his investigation.

At Eren’s fight a Reiss company worker witness Eren’s rapid healing. Rod get to get his arrest for street fighting and goes to talk to him while he is in holding, but is cut off by Levi paying bail. After that he tries to get him by going through his current foster family. The Reeves. Rod threatening to demolish their small business. Fortunately by this time Eren is 18 and is taken by Levi.

After Rod ultimately fails to capture Eren he does to hospital to get Kenny. Says he was actually worried about him, that he can give a drug to hold back his ednma. Kenny responds in a scoff saying he rather not take it is going make him a sh*t brain. Rod growls in respond say the he is having discharges in hour, because he still has work for him to do. Kenny’s task is kill the Reeves and take Eren.

More Plot Stuff:

Ewrin is investing the Reiss company. Armin parents stumbled upon illegal bio-experiments and try going into hiding. Eren’s key is really opens a hidden lab where Grisha worked from home. Kenny left information on the USB that could ruin the Reiss company for the serial murder, capitalizing the natural resources of Maria County and causing the Shingashina earthquake. When Annie hears about the experimental drug and tells her friends about it. They are interested in stealing it and selling it to the highest bidder.

Eren is first successful human to take the drug. His father was just trying to make sure Eren lived a long life, unlike his wife. Its what she wanted Eren, for you to live a long time. Sadly Eren thought he was trying to kill him and while running away from the him set the house on fire while his father was still inside. This how Grisha Jaeger died.

When Kenny is dying after Rod’s failure and demise, he gives Levi the usb with the evidence of company’s crimes. The company which has a lot of influence on government and press, so it was never trialed for these crimes

Levi recognized that Eren and Armin have serious potential as candidates for the program but knows they wouldn’t join. He tell Erwin that they have their own dreams and don’t need a future to save them. He also tells Erwin about Eren’s rapid healing, which he learned of after going to one of his fights. Light bulb goes off in Erwin’s head that this might be due to his father work at the Reiss company. Erwin request to meet with Eren anyways.

Eren says that he recognizes Levi as the person who saved from some bullies a long time ago. Saying he looked taller to him back then. This before Eren knew Mikasa. Eren’s where Levi’s fosters before he got moved to place where he meet Isabel. The bullies were picking on him about Armin. Calling them fags. Levi stands up form him and chases off the bullies. Levi was around 14 and Eren was 7.

The Drug:

The experimental drug promotes longevity and youth. Even causes rapid healing. Making people almost immortal. But in other/most it causes mutation that turns people into mindless cannibalistic monsters with high body temperatures. People like this only need sunlight to basically function. The drug was made before the Shingashina earthquake, but after was shutdown by pull of government funding and pharmaceutical companies found it to be dangerous to competition refusing to invest further. Development stopped after Grisha killed the Reiss family, but samples were never destroyed. Rod Reiss began the re-development of the drug after learning he has cancer to save his own life. Almost 7 years later. Due to the profits gained from monopoly of natural resources on Maria County’s land he is able to fund research without investers.

AU Stuff:

Current ages; Historia is 17. Eren is almost 18. Mikasa is 19. Armin is 17. Levi is 25. Annie is 17 going in 18. Ymir is 19.

Facts: Eren was 9 when the Quake happened. Levi was 16. Levi has been in foster care of unspecific amount of time. Although he meet Isabel and Farlan when he was 14. They ran away at 16 after the quake. It took a year of Erwin to find them and bring them back.

Timeline:

Research for the drug started 4 years prior to earthquake. After the earthquake funding was pulled and program was abandon. 5 years after the shut down Rod Reiss restarted it, because he found out he had cancer. Copy of serum where made but no progress with eliminating the negative effect, because original research belong to Dr. Jaeger where completely lost. After 2 years of this Rod starts looking for Grishsa, but finds out he had died. He turns to Eren and starts having thoughts about his own living child. His only heir to the Reiss legacy. He incognito visits her and learns of that Ymir is he girlfriend. He then visits Ymir and invites back to office to talk. Ymir agrees to knowing he his Historia’s true father and that how he successful kidnaps her and forces her in unofficial human trials for the drug. This makes rumors and whispers spread around the company. Eventually Marlo and Hitch hear about from there parents and trade that information to Annie for drugs. Annie tells Reiner and Berholdt about this drug and start planning to steal it. Rod places people to spy on Eren. Levi becomes aware of people watching Eren while hanging out with him. Rod learns of rapid healing and then tries to kidnap him at jail, but fails. Levi tells Erwin about this and Erwin brings into the loop of the investigation. Levi gets mad about this, but trust Erwin to do make the his own decisions. He tells Levi to take Eren in hiding. Levi leaves immediately and takes Eren to his place. Then he goes back to Erwin to tell him about the things Kenny told him at hospital. Erwin calls the hospital to see if Kenny left anything there, and learns he was discharged by Rod Reiss. Realizing Eren is in danger they go for him, but him missing.

Elsewhere Historia finds Ymir in middle of break down, because she ‘ate’ someone. Once she gets her calm down Ymir explains to her what happened. Historia gets mad and calls her father. Having gotten his office number from the internet. Rod tells her they should meet and sit down to talk about this. Meanwhile he has got Eren strapped down to medical bed for examination. Historia agrees to go meet him to help Ymir. Following this Erwin and Levi prepare to invade the Reiss company to find Eren. When Historia gets there she finds her father is glad to see her and is even crying. This all an elaborte lie to manipulate her. He tells her that cure for Ymir is in Eren. This convices her that they should dissecte him. Then Kenny comes in calling Rod out on his BS, because he is only trying to save his own life and company. Rod is enraged by this and tries to kill Kenny. Rod explains to Historia that his drug can save millions of lives, but she is doubting him.

In the end Eren is saved by Levi, kills Rod Reiss with permission from Historia and Kenny is found dying. Within the USB there is document talking about an separate laboratory where the drug was conceived. This is the lab that Eren’s key unlock. Inside they find the original research and cure for the negative effect. Historia is given her father shares and hold on too --% of the company executive power. She destroys all research and development of the drug within the company. Everything else is saved in hidden lab and dedicates the company to restore the Shingashina and surround lands that they were using.

#long post

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