#kernel open i lab

[altocat]

What if Sephiroth was adopted by President Shinra? I know it wouldn't be the most caring environment, but what if Mr President decided "Hojo I'm afraid that your son is mine now because my son is a pussy" so now Seph is basically being raised as competition for Rufus in terms of who gets to run the company. Seph doesn't want this of course, but its not like there's a choice

President Shinra is NOT Father of the Year. And pitting Sephiroth and Rufus against each other is an extremely bad idea. But gradually, after settling in and realizing that he's NOT going back to R&D, Sephiroth is so in love with the idea of having an actual parent that he doesn't care. Plus it helps to no longer have to be abused and mistreated in a lab. He's still a weapon, yes. But now he gets to live large being pampered and spoiled by President Shinra's servants and attendants.

Growing up, Sephiroth seems to have a lot more confidence in himself this time around, dedicated and hardworking, while also feeling a greater sense of status and worth. He's a bit prideful from time to time, but still not arrogant. That tiny kernel of gentleness remains, and with less trauma from Hojo to harden his heart. He's blindly loyal to his adoptive father, always making excuses for his shortcomings, tailing him like a protective shadow and ready to give his life without a moment's notice. He loves President Shinra. Adores him. No matter how many awful, terrible things President Shinra does to the world, Sephiroth will stay by his side to the very end. And not out of a desire to one day assume the company for himself, but out of actual gratitude and devotion.

He and Rufus really do come to hate each other though. An undying loathing that has no rival. Rufus views Sephiroth as the unfairly favored son who has no right to anything, a loyal little boyscout with more loyalty than brains. Sephiroth, in turn, views Rufus as nasty and cruel, a grim reminder of Hojo. He doesn't even WANT to take over Shinra. He's totally fine with being his father's personal bodyguard for the rest of his days. But he's also very open and petty about his disdain for his brother so it's not like he makes it any easier.

[codingquill]

UNIX vs Linux

While studying my first lecture of the Linux course, I noticed that the lecture notes always referred to Linux (UNIX). This made me confused about whether Linux and UNIX are the same thing. After conducting some research, here's what I found:

UNIX was created before Linux. UNIX is an operating system that was developed in the 1960s and 1970s at Bell Labs. It was designed to be a portable, multi-user, and multitasking operating system. UNIX became widely adopted and influenced the development of many other operating systems, including Linux.

On the other hand, Linux was created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds as a free and open-source operating system. Linus Torvalds developed the Linux kernel, which is the core component of the operating system. Linux was inspired by UNIX and aimed to provide similar functionality and design principles while being accessible to a broader audience.

There are some key differences between the two:

Licensing: UNIX is a proprietary operating system, and its source code is not freely available. In contrast, Linux is open-source, which means its source code is available for anyone.

Kernel Design: The kernel design of UNIX and Linux differs. UNIX typically uses a monolithic kernel. Linux, on the other hand, uses a modular monolithic kernel.(I'll explain this in another post)

Command Line Interface: While both UNIX and Linux provide a command line interface, UNIX systems often have their own set of commands and tools, while Linux distributions commonly include the GNU utilities, which provide a comprehensive set of command-line tools.

Availability and Community Support: UNIX is typically associated with commercial offerings from companies . In contrast, Linux has a wide range of distributions that are freely available and supported by vibrant communities.

[alltheyearsblog]

Snack

Can also be read here on ao3

————

The flop Leonardo does on the couch is a glorious one.

It’s the kind where your full body weight just comes down and you feel every muscle just melt, and the air expels out of your lungs fully before taking in a fresh breath in the new found comfort.

It was an odd Friday night where absolutely nothing was waging for his attention. Earlier in the week there had been some chaotic patrols with the Purple Dragons, but in an effort to try to evade the turtles they had accidentally moved into a section of New York that the Mutanimals had just freshly relocated to. Slash was more than happy to take this off the brothers’ plate as it allowed them to get in some much needed exercise while learning the new terrain of their home base. Things had otherwise been quiet in their neck of the woods so it seemed as good a time as any to call an evening off from general patrol. Which of course meant that Raph and Casey went out anyway, just to find ways to fulfill their own agenda, while Mikey (and by extension everybody else) was excitedly starting cooking lessons with Murakami san. Donnie had invited April over, but they would be staying in, but had suggested maybe the three of them could crash together on the couch and watch reruns of whatever show.

Which quite honestly, sounded perfect to Leo.

Don’s lab doors slide open, and he hops down towards the tv area with laptop in hand . As he passes Leo, he grabs one of the many pillows and chucks it at his brother, toothy smile erupting when Leo makes a satisfactory ooof sound.

“Don’t get too comfy, April is going to be here in a minute.”

Leo grunts at his brother. “April lived here for close to three months, I will get as comfy as I please.”

The response makes Donnie roll his eyes. “Uh huh, but we’re supposed to spend time together. At least say hi before you pass out.”

Leo whips the pillow back toward Don, who bats it down with ease and a smile before settling his laptop down. “Alright, Leonardo, I’m going to the kitchen to grab snacks and drinks, want anything in particular?”

The Blue turtle smiles appreciatively “Thanks Dee. I think MIkey grabbed some bags of popcorn on his last snack run, and I’ll take whatever soda is in the fridge.”

“I’ll take one too if the offer is going around!” April’s voice floats in. The brothers look up and see her hopping over the turnstiles. She glides with grace over the pit and slides in the space next to Leo.

“Your wish is my command, Miss O’Neil.” Donnie does a little flourish and a bow before heading off to the kitchen. Leo reaches over to the pile of blankets on the end of the couch, tossing one to April and grabbing one for himself. He asks her how her day was and by the time Donnie returns with the tray laden with the goods, she’s deep in tell Leo about how insufferable fraternity rush week has been and she’s kind of glad Casey decided to do trade school.

“Either he would get wrapped up in the whole process, or he would be causing so much chaos for them. Probably the later.” April groans. Don places the drinks and a large bowl of popcorn on the table before turning and handing a smaller bowl to Leo.

“Probably the latter.” Leo agrees, accepting the bowl from his brother. Donnie, in his tendency to pay attention to every detail, had already placed a spoon in the bowl. Leo hums his appreciation as he uses the utensil to stir the kernels of fluff around before scooping a bite up.

“Uh, Leo?”

Leo, in a rare instance of getting to enjoy being a teenager, unceremoniously shoves a large spoonful of popcorn in his mouth. “Yussh, Aphil?”

“Are…” The red-head pauses for just a moment, a smirk just pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Are you eating popcorn with a spoon?”

Leo shoves another spoonful in just to make it clear that he is, in fact, doing just that.

“Don’t knock it until you try it April,” Donnie settles in the space on the other side of his brother, his own popcorn bowl with spoon at the ready. “It really is quite a genius technique.”

A giggle slips out from April. “But isn’t the whole point of popcorn that it's finger food?”

Leo swallows his current bite. “Yes, technically you are right. But I don’t like how greasy it makes my fingers feel. Or dusty in this case.” He holds up the bowl with the cheddar dusted kernels. “So, a spoon makes perfect sense.”

“Popcorn is a grain,” Donnie offers up, “So you can technically consider it a cereal.”

Leo snorts at that, and April levels Donnie a look.

“Mikey came up with that?”

“Mikey came up with that.” The brothers agree in tandem.

April rubs at her eyes. “Please don’t tell me he ate a bowl of it with milk.”

“Actually,” Donatello swallows, “It’s worse than that.”

“What could possibly be worse?”

Leo pulls a face. “He used queso.”

There is a quiet beat before April’s face twists in disgust. “I’m actually sorry I asked.” A long suffering sigh comes from their sister where she sits on the couch. “So, this has always been something you’ve done?”

Leo shrugs a little as he uses the spoon to push the fluffy, popped grain around. “I guess so? Mikey loves the stuff, and everytime we sit down to watch a show or a movie he absolutely insists on having it. But I would pass on it, which made Mikey pout and Raph give me grief for being so fastidious.” Leo waves the spoon at April. “So, I compromised.”

“Huh.” April responses. She adjusts her blanket and nestles down further. “Hey, whatever works to maintain the peace.” She lets out another little giggle before picking up the remote. “So, guys, what are we watching?”

It takes a bit of heated argument over their favorites, but in the end they settle on Crognard. The perfect kind of mindless tv to fill their evening, which turns out to be exactly what Leo needed. There isn’t a concern in the world, just snacks and family and dumb barbarians. The kind of night where his mind can be shut off but his spirit warmed with blessing.

And if the next time they have a rerun night that has April eating her popcorn with a spoon of her own accord, he won’t say anything about it.

[godlizzza]

If you still take prompt requests, I just finished reading The Couple Down the Street! Augh, it was so good!!! If possible, I’d love to see moments of Herb being caught acting like a (reluctant) father figure / guardian / mentor to Piper, and then denying he does so whenever Dan mentions it, I feel like that might happen every so often, especially with her father now in the state that he is 🥺

Dan's preferred strategy when Piper was around was to blend into the background. He would observe them from a distance, popping his head into the lab every now and then to ask them if everything was okay? Did they need some snacks? Maybe a lemonade? Oddly enough, it was Herbert who took Dan up on these offers more so than Piper. The young girl was always far too absorbed in whatever task she and Herbert were performing to be tempted by such trivialities as graham crackers.

Whatever cloth Herbert originated from, Piper was cut from the same one.

Dan had told himself he was fine with Piper's frequent presence in their home and lab. Herbert was just about the most stubborn person Dan had ever met, and he knew it was pointless to fight him on this 'apprentice' idea. So, he did what he often did to sustain his and Herbert's marriage: he compromised.

Piper could come over three days a week, never staying past 6pm, not for consecutive days, and she could only enter the lab after her homework was done. This last stipulation didn't appear to be too much of a problem, as she was always excited to show her work to Herbert, who would diligently check it over and give a firm nod if it met his standards. Dan didn't miss the way Piper's eyes sparkled when Herbert doled out praise to her, even if it was a curt, "Very good." She stilled beamed, nonetheless. He would always see Herbert pretend not to notice.

It was one such afternoon just after Piper had skipped out the door to make the short bike ride to her mother, Mandy's, house that Dan noticed the crayon drawing she'd left behind on the kitchen counter. He glanced down at two crudely drawn figures that could only be Piper and Herbert. They were standing in what looked to be the lab, little blobs of colour he took to be beakers of fluid surrounding them as they held hands, both smiling. She always drew Herbert with a smile, confirming her overactive imagination.

Dan stared at the drawing with an odd kernel of disquiet brewing in his stomach. It was one thing for them to have an apprentice, it was another thing entirely for a young child to be imprinting on Herbert like a lost duckling.

You just don't like kids, his mind whispered to him and he promptly shushed it.

"What's that?"

Dan turned at the sound of Herbert's voice, watching his husband dry off his hands on a rag and reach for the fridge with a tired sigh. Dan held out the paper and Herbert took it without question. He glanced at the page as he took a swig straight from the open carton of orange juice that had been sitting in the fridge door for the past two days. Dan didn't like how pulpy it was.

Herbert swallowed with relish and said, "Charming," in a straight tone.

"You're not put off by it?" Dan asked, and Herbert levelled a critical stare at him.

"She's not even seven, Dan. It hardly feels fair to judge her artistic talents too harshly."

Dan rolled his eyes as Herbert wordlessly pinned the picture in place on the fridge with a magnet shaped like an apple.

"That's not what I meant. I mean, don't you think it's weird that she's drawn more pictures of your than she has of her own father?"

"Given that her father currently possesses all the personality of a doorstop," Herbert droned, returning the juice to its corner of solitude, "I would have to say no."

Dan shook his head as he paced out of the kitchen and towards their bedroom. He began to unbutton his shirt, anticipating pulling his pajamas on and crawling into bed. He'd worked nearly twelve hours at the hospital that day and babysitting Herbert and Piper had taken the last of his energy.

"I should've known you'd love being the center of attention," he mumbled sleepily. "Even if that attention's coming from a first grader."

Herbert scoffed at his back but didn't offer up any kind of rebuke. Dan also didn't press him for one.

He simply changed into his night clothes and collapsed onto the plush mattress. Herbert had always been stingy when it came to furniture, arguing that with how often they moved, it was hardly worth investing in anything new and expensive. The one thing Dan had been immovable on was a good quality, comfy mattress, and he felt he could kiss his past self for that one instance of resolution.

Already, he could feel himself being dragged away into unconsciousness. He didn't even register Herbert sliding into bed beside him. Not until he felt arms wrapping around him from behind, pulling his back up against a warm body. He hummed in pleasure and shuffled back against Herbert's front, greedy for the warmth emanating off of him.

"I'm not teaching her for the attention," Herbert said into his ear and Dan nodded against the pillow.

"Mm. Whatever you say, Daddy."

He instantly felt Herbert go rigid behind him.

"Never say that to me again," Herbert said stiffly.

Dan bit down on his lip but the smile still bloomed across his face regardless.

"Okay, Mr. Teacher."

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s02ep08 “A Verne by Any Other Name"

Previous episodes linked here.

In this episode: Marty gets slapped by famous novelist Jules Verne and then has a terrible trip back to the Old West, and Verne hangs out with his parents on the night he's going to be born.

Wow, I haven't covered an animated series episode since September since I was so preoccupied with Doctober. I've missed this bonkers little show.

We begin in Paris (it's really interesting how we're hardly ever in the lab anymore this season). Doc is wearing a phenomenal floral-print Hawaiian shirt and talking about how much he loves visiting France.

He's taking a picture of Clara in that first one, btw. She's up in the Eiffel Tower :)

As usual, his trip has a connection to the plot in the cartoon portion of the show, and he leads us into it by mentioning that Marty and Verne once took a trip to France as well...

The cartoon opens up at Hill Valley Elementary school, where Verne is hiding out on the playground, waiting for everyone else to return to their classes before venturing inside. The reason? He's being teased by his classmates because of his name. While sneaking through the empty hallway, he's stopped by Biff Jr. and another classmate who appeared in a past ep but whose name I can't remember.

They call him "Verne the Worm" and "La-Verne," and then try to block his path down the hall.

When Verne gets home later, he immediately announces to his parents that he doesn't like his name. After failing to convince Verne that it's an honor to be named after such a great science fiction writer, Clara whispers to Verne that she wanted to name him after her uncle, but Doc won the coin toss, lol. And I just cannot get over the image of Doc and Clara settling on Verne's name via a coin flip. Ridiculous.

But you know what's more ridiculous?? What else is happening in the scene while Verne is talking to his parents:

That giant yellow thing behind Doc and Verne is CORN ON THE COB. Doc has created "super growth mondo corn." Because. Idk, we're not given a reason. And the thing on the left is a gigantic piece of popcorn that Doc made using just one singular kernel. When he calls to Clara that they're going to need a lot of butter, she drives into the workshop towing an equally large stick of butter.

This show is. It's a lot to process sometimes. Things like this just happen, and I have to go, "Sure, why not?" and keep watching.

Anyway, we cut to a new scene where bad decisions are being made. Verne has recruited Marty's help in dealing with his problem, and the plan is to go back in time and convince Jules Verne to change his own name. Even Marty thinks this is a silly idea, which is saying a lot.

Verne informs Marty that he's crucial to the plan because Marty speaks fluent French. Oohh, that's an interesting little tidbit, right? Except, no it isn't because, as Marty is quick to point out, he doesn't speak French; he's taking a French class. And he's failing it.

Upon arriving in Paris and tracking down where Jules Verne lives, Marty and Verne are very happy to discover that he speaks English. They exchange high-fives.

I have my criticisms of Cartoon Marty, but I do love his relationship with Verne a whole lot. They're such buddies.

Marty's list of friends:

His girlfriend (sometimes. Jen is angry at him a lot in the cartoon)

An old man

An eight-year-old

Posing as "Nerdy Names Anonymous," the boys tell Jules that they can help him pick out a new and cooler name. Verne offers a few suggestions: Hammer, Raphael, and Bart Simpson. To really drill in the point that Jules Verne is a bad name, Verne sings one of the taunting songs he's heard at school. Jules then slaps Marty in the face. When Marty points out that he wasn't the one singing the song, Jules says "A French man does not slap a child." He then slams the door in their faces.

Later on, Jules Verne is enjoying a meal at a cafe. Marty and Verne pose as waiters, and upon him telling them his name, Verne says, "What a doofus name. Why don't you change it?" J.V. responds to this by slapping Marty again. After a final failed attempt later in the evening, Verne decides it's time for Plan B.

The guys are heading to the Old West! Verne's new plan is to go directly to his parents and convince them to pick a different name for their second son.

And look! Look who we see! It's baby Jules!

While Marty goes to hide the DeLorean (he crashes it into some trees) Verne approaches the house. Just as the door opens, one of Doc's inventions goes haywire (because of course it does) and FLINGS Jules OUT OF THE CABIN. Verne manages to catch and save him just in time, and—after giving their thanks—Doc and Clara soon realize that Jules seems to love Verne. They invite their mysterious newcomer into the house.

And like. He introduces himself as Verne, and Doc and Clara don't bat an eye?? They don't even make a passing comment of, "Oh, that's interesting; our son's name is Jules, and we both love Jules Verne."

Anyway, I can't get over baby Jules. He's building a model of the Eiffel Tower. He is an INFANT.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on, Marty is stuck in the DeLorean on top of several very tall trees. His only way to get down is to jump, and after hitting the ground, he falls down an embankment, gets rolled into a giant snowball as he tumbles around, is then approached by an angry bear, and—in his attempt to get away—ends up running right into a tree. Typical day for Marty McFly.

ALSO! I just realized that this scene gives great insight into the amount of snow Hill Valley gets! (featuring Marty: the human snowball)

I'd been wondering how much snow they got. This could be helpful information for a future fic.

Back at the cabin, Clara is telling Verne all about the new baby she's going to have soon. She says the baby will be named Florence if it's a girl or Jehoshaphat (after her uncle) if it's a boy.

Verne is not pleased by this alternative name.

Doc steps in to remind Clara that he wants to name the baby Galileo, which Verne is also horrified to hear.

Doc and Clara then get into a full on fight over their inability to agree on a name, and it ends with Clara shouting, "Get out of my house you big eyebrowed slave to science!" They both then slam lots of doors, and Doc storms out.

??? Huh???? What is happening? Who decided that it was in-character for Doc and Clara to scream at each other like this? I don't like it!!

Clara then goes into labor, and tells Verne that he has to go into town to find the doctor and bring him to the cabin. Verne goes out into the horrific blizzard conditions.

It's up to the top of his head in that first pic. That is like four feet of snow!!

Using some ingenuity, Verne crafts a little snowplow and manages to brave the piles of snow all around. He locates Doc and the doctor, and leads them both back to the cabin.

We also return to Marty, who is continuing to have a great day.

The bear then shakes the tree, and the DeLorean (which is still stuck up there) falls directly onto Marty.

A short while later, Verne has the very odd experience of being at his own birth.

After tentatively asking if they're going to name the baby Jehoshaphat, Clara says that she and Doc have decided to name their new son after a brave young man: Verne.

And with that, Verne is now named after himself.

So. So though Verne was previously named after Jules Verne, his being named Verne now has nothing to do with that.

Verne and Marty (who is remarkably unscathed by his visit back to the Old West) return to the present day, where Verne now has a newfound appreciation for his name. End of cartoon.

Back in Paris with Real Doc, he informs us that he's going to read the entirety of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" out loud.

Unfortunately, he only gets a few words into the novel before a miniature hot air balloon interrupts his story.

The basket contains a note from Clara, informing Doc that he's out of time, and it's time to end his little science broadcast. He tells us to go check the book out at the local library and sends us off with his phrase that ends every episode, "See you in the future!"

Weird episode. Very weird episode. I don't like how Doc and Clara got so mean with each other and the fact that Doc WALKED OUT on his wife who was mere hours away from giving birth. That is not my Doc and Clara. Wish we could have had a super extended edition of the episode where Christopher Lloyd did read the whole 20,000 Leagues novel to us. That would have been nice, I think.

Also, what was with that gigantic cob of corn from the beginning of the episode?? It never came back into play at any other point. There was zero reason for that scene to happen. Cartoon Doc has problems.

Join me next time as the Brown family gets run out of town because Doc can't stop causing chaos.

[val-victory]

Part I

Today was a Day unlike any other. Today was the Day Vic could finally rid himself of his Human Imperfections. Free of Bones, free of Muscles, free of a limited analogue biological Existence. Finally he would fuse with Exa forever.

But the Lab would not open for another few Hours. He had some Time to kill, so why not start this unusual Day like any other: with Breakfast.

The Oatmilk and the Maize Kernels rotated for a few Minutes in the Microwave, eventually they started Popping. Warm Milk and Cereal, the only Breakfast that could satisfy someone as picky as him.

Taste, the Thought of that amused Vic, as a Porygon it would not have Tastebuds in the usual Sense, instead there would be Nutrition Sensors that would detect the Value of each Bite and then send a Report to it's seccondary Input Stream... that would feel so much better than throwing chewed up wet biological Matter down your Throat right next to your Airtube where you hope that the small Meatflap that seperates the two Tubes doesn't act up and makes you almost suffocate from a small Droplet of Water.

He still had Time after finishing his Meal. Enough Time to look at himself in the Mirror one last Time. He looked like he usually did, round Face, short blue Hair, almost unnoticeable Stubble. Not enough to get a full Beard, but also not so little that he could get away without shaving. Should he shave one last Time? Did that even matter at this Point, it was just another Reminder of how little Control he had over his Body. Every Cell and every Follicle doing whatever it was made to do, with no Way to change or reprogram it. At least his Hair Color was somewhat variable, blue suited him, it looked somewhat artificial. Was that the Reason why he dyed his Hair that Way? He could not remember, it just felt right.

After getting dressed, in his usual Clothes(which he would not need anymore), and his Labcoat, which he never forget to wear when having Lab Duty, because 'Labcoats are cool'. It was finally Time to leave his Dorm.

The Halls were as wide as ever, with a Conveyor Belt on each Side for Accessibility. But Vic liked walking, at least a Bit more than standing and waiting. But soon enough he wouldn't do either, he could just fly anywhere. And for longer Distances he would just need a Port of the Network, and go instantly anywhere on the Planet.

Lost in Thought he almost ran into one of the Guys from Engineering, Vic would be able to remember his Name, if remembering Names wasn't one of his biggest Weaknesses. (another Thing that being a Porygon could fix) The Guy had blonde Hair and was currently typing up a storm on his two Wrist Computers, criss-cross.

Vic was trying to remember his Name, but all his Mind could come up with were "Chromaton, Chromedome, Chromillion, Chromard and Chromateur." none of which sounded like real Names to him.

"Victor, good to see you, i wanted to commend you on your impeccable job of creating an operating system for my newest invention." Chromos(?) said with his usual calm and collected Tone of Voice.

"well, i wouldn't call it impeccable. i was thinking about my own project while working on it, i made a few mistakes. like, if i was you i would wait with the testing phase until i got it's personality matrix to connect with it's mainframe properly." Vic rebutted, despite being somewhat scared of the Guy.

"But Victor, we are both researchers you should be able to see the value in praxis before theory. It passed all of the tests with flying neutrals. why don't you see for yourself."

The Researcher procured a Pokéball and threw it onto the Floor. A small artificial Pokémon materialized in front of Vic, it just barely reached his Knees, but only if you included those stylized Loudspeakers on the Side of it's Head. It activated it's typical Idle Mode, just scanning the Area without a greater Purpose.

Chromatorium(?) exuded an Aura of Superiority. "You can see that this little prototype is totally harmless right?"

"well not exactly. just because it hasn't harmed anyone yet won't mean it will be safe in the future. i'll make you an offer, deactivate it for now, and i'll look over the code one more time. like in the afternoon, after i'm done with my research?" Vic argued, trying to be diplomatic.

"I will consider it, i'll put V-22 on hold, and as long as temporarily fusing with a Z-Version doesn't mess up your brain you can debug it."

Vic wanted to say something, especially after that last Comment, but all he could muster was a pathetic "ok... later..." Vic hated it when he didn't know how to counter an Insult. he was so much better at this online.

Chromatasio(?) and his little Gremlin left the Scene by sidestepping onto the Conveyor Belt and riding to what Vic hopes is the Engineering Workshop where Chromoze(?) would hopefully put the Project on hold.

Vic decided that running was no longer worth it and he stepped on the other Conveyor. slowly riding into the Direction of the Computer Lab.

[questforgalas]

Best Sniper in the Galaxy (An Uncle!Batch AU)

Summary: Crosshair bonds with his niece the best way he knows how

Notes: I'm not someone who wants kids, but I love my nieces and nephews like they're my own, and I know there are lots of Dad!Batch HCs, so I wanted to give us some Uncle!Batch antics. Crosshair being a softy for his niece :) I kept Hunter's partner g/n and Nina's birth vague because families are created in many ways so I wanted this to be able to relate to many. Nina is named after CT-99 :')

WC: 2.5K

Tags: AU, Order 66 never happened. Sheevy dies via Melroun fruit. Uncle!Crosshair. Dad!Hunter. Just fluff and soft family vibes. Shooting lessons so guns mentioned

Tay's Masterlist

On AO3

“Again,” Crosshair drawled, flipping his toothpick to the left side of his mouth, softly biting down to keep it in place. His knee was starting to go numb from being bent at the same angle, and he’d lost the feeling in his forearm a long time ago, but he remained by the prone youngling beside him, offering support to the DC-17 hand blaster in their hands.

The shade of a thick, tall tree protected them from the harsh sun of Takodana, and the dense part of the forest he and Nina were currently occupying protected them from the gaze of Hunter and his partner. Not that Crosshair and little Nina were doing anything wrong – it was important for a youngling to know how to protect themselves – but Crosshair wasn’t in the mood for one of Hunter’s over-protective-dad moments. Besides, it’s not his fault his niece possessed the ability of persuasion better than any Jedi mind trick. She may have been six years-old, but she knew the power widening her eyes and pouting her lips had on her uncles, especially the silver haired one.

30 minutes ago, Hunter and his partner left for the port 5 klicks away to retrieve supplies. Echo and Tech were busy, knee deep in ship repairs and diagnostics, and Wrecker wandered off with Omega, keeping an eye on her while she explored the new-to-her planet, which left Crosshair with his favorite duty – babysitter duty.

Little Nina joined their family a little over 6 years ago. Her first year was spent on Coruscant with Hunter’s partner since the galaxy was still plagued by the war, and the batch were in their usual routine of being off-planet for multiple months at a time. Crosshair gave it to Hunter. Fighting a war you were kind of just told to go fight in while your partner took on the burden of raising your first, and probably only, child as a solo-parent wasn’t easy. But they and Hunter touched base whenever he had a minute on the Marauder or at camp, trying to keep him included the best way they could.

One thing that helped keep his dad-itch satisfied was the little clone scientist that joined them after one of their breaks on Kamino. Omega, a pure genetic copy of Jango Fett and assistant in the Kamino cloning labs, was starting to drive Nala Se to insanity with her rapid, curious mind. So, after a series of brief trainings and a clear understanding of when she was to join a mission versus when she’d stay on the Marauder, the clone girl joined Clone Force 99.

Near the end of Nina’s first year, a kernel of hope planted when the Batch reported for their mission on Kaller, providing reinforcements to General Billaba’s forces, and Tech announced that General Obi-Wan Kenobi had engaged General Grievous on Utapau. When the mission was over and the batch received word that Obi-Wan had indeed defeated the last remaining Separatist leader, the Spotchka was broken out. They thought the war being over was going to be the only thing they celebrated that day, but then the news that Chancellor Palpatine had perished when he slipped on a Malroun fruit core and fell out the window of his office hit their comms. Turns out, he was a Sith trying to take over the Republic and kill the Jedi, if you can believe it. So, galaxy and Republic saved meant a lot of Spotchka was opened that night.

It was easy to predict that Hunter was going to spend the next few years on Coruscant with his family while Nina grew, but it shouldn’t have been such a surprise to him that his 4 other brothers and little sister followed right behind him. They found an apartment not far away so they could pop in to help out with the youngling when they could, but by Nina’s fifth year, the retired soldiers were getting antsy. Even Omega was starting to find the metropolis planet boring. The final push came from Hunter’s partner when they declared that if they had to look at one more durasteel wall as their view, they were going to need more than the Jedi Halls of Healing to fix their mood. So, the uncles and aunt loaded up on the Marauder, and Hunter and his family on their private ship, and the squad was off exploring the galaxy once more.

Cut back to Takodana, a quick rest while they resupplied and ran maintenance on the ships. Hunter wasn’t even past the tree-line before Nina was tugging on Crosshair’s hand, and the sniper looked down at her with a knowing smirk and a quick wink.

“Patience short stuff. Your father isn’t out of his earshot yet,” Crosshair cautioned. As if to prove his point, Hunter paused in the forest, giving a quick look back at the ship. The sniper rested his hand on Nina’s shoulder, gently nudging her into his side – more like his thigh because she barely came up to his hip – and gave Hunter a casual wave. The female replica of the sergeant took her cue from her favorite uncle – according to Crosshair – and gave her own enthusiastic wave. A distrusting, narrowed look was still on Hunter’s face before his partner nudged him along, forcing him to turn away from the very obvious duo.

Another impatient tug on Crosshair’s left arm had him chuckling. Just to tease her a little more, he casually took a toothpick out from his belt, and slowly placed it in his mouth.

“Uncle Crossy. Uncle Crossy. Uncle Crossy,” Nina started with insistent tugs.

“Yes, little Nina? Would you like something?” Crosshair played along. He knew exactly what she wanted, but what kind of uncle would he be if he just let her have whatever she wanted whenever she asked?

“Can we pleeeeeeeease go practice?” Her pleading neared top levels. Relenting, Crosshair looked down at his jewel in the galaxy. He didn’t want children, never felt the call to fatherhood like Hunter always had, but he thrived as an uncle, and he’s loved Nina as fiercely as her father has ever since he first held her. His normally snarky eyes melted once his gaze met hers. Using his exceptional eyesight, he gave one more glance through the tree-line to ensure that Hunter was out of enhanced-hearing range.

“Alright short stuff. We’re in the clear. Let’s go find a good spot.”

That was twenty minutes ago. Thanks to the forest covered area Tech found for the ships, it wasn’t hard to find a good spot for target practice that was far enough away to not get spotted incase the supply party returned early.

This little tradition of theirs started a couple months back when Crosshair was looking after Nina and she was especially restless. Nothing he tried kept her attention for more than a minute, and she was bored with all of her usual activities. As he was wracking his brain for how to occupy her, he noticed she took to picking up pebbles and throwing them at the leaves in the trees. Excitement overtook Crosshair when an idea came to mind.

Was his next decision the wisest he’s ever made? Hunter would probably argue no, Echo not far behind him, but when the sniper set up a tiny target range and handed Nina his DC-17 – supervising her the whole time of course – he’d never seen the youngling sit still for so long. Naturally, this became their little past time, one that Nina pleaded for anytime she realized Crosshair would be the one looking after her.

“I can do it, Uncle Crossy. You don’t need to hold the blaster,” his niece currently tried to bargain with him. They had the same discussion every practice, the mini-Hunter looking for independence wherever she could. Crosshair supposed she got that from Tech. He didn’t need to look far to figure out where she got her stubbornness from.

“You can shoot the blaster on your own when you can beat Uncle Tech at dejarik,” Crosshair compromised not taking his eyes off the blaster in her hands. He kept it to himself that it was impossible to beat the genius at the strategy game.

A small huff passed Nina’s lips, but she kept her green eyes trained on the target resting on a stump a few feet in front of them. Eyes narrowed and tip of her tongue poking out, she hit the trigger. Each shot reminded him how small she actually is as the minor kickback of the blaster forced his other hand to gently brace her back, keeping her from toppling over. This time she was only slightly wide on the target, a vast improvement according to the scorch marks on the trunks nearby.

“I hit it! Look Uncle Crossy! I hit it!” Nina cheered. Crosshair swiftly took the blaster out of her hands before she threw her arms up in triumph, and when she turned to him with eyes bigger than the sun shining above, he didn’t bother fighting the grin that overtook his face.

“There you go, short stuff. Told you you could do it.” The sniper lifted his hand which she enthusiastically hit with her own. “Do you want to try again?” Crosshair asked.

Nina looked to the ground for a moment, seeming to think hard about her uncle’s question. Her nose scrunched – another trait of his he smirked at – she came to a conclusion.

“I don’t think so. My arms are tired.”

Crosshair softly hummed in understanding, “Makes sense. Shooting’s tiring work.” He gave a playful squeeze to her bicep. “We’ll build up these muscles. Get you holding my firepuncher soon enough.” The promise of holding her uncle’s prized rifle had Nina’s eyes shining like gemstones, and before Crosshair caved and gave her the rifle now, he looked at his comm to check the time. They’d been out there for 45 minutes, and it was a 5 minute walk back to the Marauder.

“Alright ad’ika, time to walk back. Looks like the sun’s going down,” the sniper observed.

“Oh, can we have nerf nuggets for dinner!” Nina jumped up at the thought.

“You had nerf nuggets last night,” Crosshair countered. He knew it was useless.  

“Yessss, but I didn’t have nerf nuggets today.” How could he argue with such logic? Giving a non-committal hum, Crosshair flicked his toothpick to the side and slotted the blaster in his holster. With a hand on his niece’s back, he gently guided her back in the direction of the ship, and as they started walking, the little girl slotted a tiny hand in with his, holding onto him with a strong grip.

“Uncle Crossy,” Nina interrupted the silence.

“Yes, little Nina?” Crosshair drawled.

“Am I going to be able to shoot a rifle as good as you one day?” Big, green eyes looked up at him, not missing a step in her stride. Internally smirking, Crosshair made a mental note to make Hunter aware that his mini-me was showing more affinity towards the rifle than the knife, but that was for later.

“You have to keep practicing, but one day you might rival me,” He smirked down at her, laughing at her concentrated pout at his answer. She was as competitive as Wrecker.

After a few moments, her scrunched nose returned to its normal state, and a determined look took over.

“I’m going to be the best sniper in the galaxy and go on missions and save everyone!” Her statement was emphasized with an energetic jump, punching a victorious fist in the air.

“I’m sure you will, short stuff. Let’s not give your dad a heart attack just yet though,” the sniper playfully ruffled her hair, causing the little girl to giggle as she tried to swat him away. Soon enough, the Marauder came into view, and Nina went running towards Omega when she saw her aunt with a basket full of new treasures. Crosshair made his way to the ship intending to put the target away when Hunter walked down the gangplank.

“Where’ve you two been?” Hunter came to a stop at the bottom of the ramp, arms crossing his chest, standing with a lean.

“Forestry lesson,” Crosshair simply said, popping a toothpick in his mouth as he continued past his brother.

“Forestry lesson huh? Thought that was Tech’s thing?”

“Trying something different.”

“Oh really? And when did learning about nature involve blaster shots?” Crosshair felt Hunter’s gaze on his back, and he paused his stride to turn back towards his older brother. Guess the gig was up, but Crosshair never gave up that easily. Signature smirk gracing his lips, the sniper gave a nonchalant shrug while he met Hunter’s gaze.

“Hmm, couldn’t tell you. Couldn’t have been us. Nina was elbow deep in dirt.”

Hunter closed his eyes, took a deep inhale, and then let loose a giant sigh as he tilted his head up to the sky.

“Maker help me Crosshair,” Hunter gritted out. He took a beat before meeting Crosshair’s gaze again and pointed a finger at him. “Hand blasters only. She doesn’t go near a rifle ‘til she’s 13. Practice in view of the ship.”

Crosshair’s smirk was at full force. “Sir, yes sir.”  

Hunter gave him one more pointed look before shaking his head and letting a hint of a smile take over.

“She already asking for the firepuncher?”

“Our first session. Says she’s going to be the best sniper in the galaxy,” Crosshair answered with pride lacing his voice. Hunter groaned.

“Of course, she is. Maybe I should rethink delaying her knife lessons,” he muttered to himself.

“Don’t take it too personally, Hunter. She’s smart for her age. Recognizes talent easily.” His older brother openly glared as Crosshair finished teasing him with a pat on the shoulder. The sniper chuckled at his brother’s obviously bruised ego at his daughter choosing a rifle over his preferred skill set, but there was time. Nina’s desires changed as frequently as the wind.

“Dada, come look what Aunty Omega found!”

Both brothers laughed at Nina’s enthusiastic interruption when they noticed her hopping up and down, pointing at a basket of foliage.

“Dada will be right there, cyar’ika,” Hunter called. He turned back to Crosshair and clasped his hand over the sniper’s arm that was still resting on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Crosshair. She couldn’t have asked for a better uncle to keep her safe. Or me a better brother.” With that, he gave Crosshair a nod and made his way over to the youngling now rattling a hundred questions a minute at Omega.

Crosshair took in the scene, contentment washing over him. During the war, he didn’t think of what life could be like when it was all said and done because he never knew if he’d actually get there. Now, looking at his family, he didn’t question how he’d become so lucky to know peace like this. Per his luck though, the peace didn’t last long as he heard Hunter’s partner’s voice raise above the group.

“Crosshair’s teaching her how to WHAT?!”

[portlandwithyou]

"Wormhole X-Treme: The Lost City" for the WIP ask game please :)

Oooooo! I love this one:

“Easy for you to say,” Rodney said sorrowfully, “you get James Hawthorne playing you.” 

John flicked a piece of popcorn at Rodney, striking his cheek just below his eye, “I am not James Hawthorne or whatever his character’s name is. I’m not some ladies’ man romancing every woman I meet in the galaxy.” 

Next to him, Ronon stifled a laugh, throwing his head back with a wide grin. 

“What?” John demanded, offended. 

“It’s just,” Ronon grinned, “you know, I heard Larrin sent a subspace communication that she’ll be here next week.” 

The next kernel of popcorn hit Ronon’s forehead. 

“Stop wasting the popcorn, I had to bargain with one of the botanists for another box,” Teyla grabbed the bucket. 

They all focused on the television, the title sequence played, interspersing melodramatic photographs with the actors with pictures of sea life. 

Rodney couldn’t keep himself quiet for long, beginning his commentary again in a lower voice, “Why is she in a bikini? Why do they have to show Dr. Quiroga in a bikini in the credits? She has a Ph.D. in astrology and is the leader of the science division, she’s not competing for Miss Mexico.” Martha Santos, the actress playing Dr. Quiroga, dramatically tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder. The only thing covering her tiny blue bikini was a short, open, white lab coat. 

"Don't you mean astronomy?" John asked.

Rodney sighed, "No, I mean astrology."

“I like it,” Teyla ventured, “the color suits her.” 

A woman in flowy, linen pants karate-kicked a bad guy in the face. As she landed, the camera did a dramatic close-up on her face, the music swelling as she smiled and credit “And Erica Stillwater as Lavin” appeared. 

“That’s the closest to you,” John told her, “The actress is a big star in action movies, she’s won a ton of awards for her stunt work. I read that she’s the bad-ass of the group.” 

Teyla’s eyes lit up, “Oh yes, she was in the kidnapping movie we watched. She fought her way out of the cell against 50 men.” She was secretly delighted that John believed Lavin to be her and not Ronon. 

[codingnator]

What is Linux?

 

Linux (/ˈliːnʊks/ LEE-nuuks or /ˈlɪnʊks/ LIN-uuks) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which includes the kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name "GNU/Linux" to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

History

The Unix operating system was conceived and implemented in 1969, at AT&T's Bell Labs, in the United States by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna. First released in 1971, Unix was written entirely in assembly language, as was common practice at the time. In 1973, in a key pioneering approach, it was rewritten in the C programming language by Dennis Ritchie (with the exception of some hardware and I/O routines). The availability of a high-level language implementation of Unix made its porting to different computer platforms easier.

Due to an earlier antitrust case forbidding it from entering the computer business, AT&T licensed the operating system's source code as a trade secret to anyone who asked. As a result, Unix grew quickly and became widely adopted by academic institutions and businesses. In 1984, AT&T divested itself of its regional operating companies, and was released from its obligation not to enter the computer business; freed of that obligation, Bell Labs began selling Unix as a proprietary product, where users were not legally allowed to modify it.

Onyx Systems began selling early microcomputer-based Unix workstations in 1980. Later, Sun Microsystems, founded as a spin-off of a student project at Stanford University, also began selling Unix-based desktop workstations in 1982. While Sun workstations didn't utilize commodity PC hardware like Linux was later developed for, it represented the first successful commercial attempt at distributing a primarily single-user microcomputer that ran a Unix operating system.

With Unix increasingly "locked in" as a proprietary product, the GNU Project, started in 1983 by Richard Stallman, had the goal of creating a "complete Unix-compatible software system" composed entirely of free software. Work began in 1984. Later, in 1985, Stallman started the Free Software Foundation and wrote the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) in 1989. By the early 1990s, many of the programs required in an operating system (such as libraries, compilers, text editors, a command-line shell, and a windowing system) were completed, although low-level elements such as device drivers, daemons, and the kernel, called GNU Hurd, were stalled and incomplete.

MINIX was created by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, a computer science professor, and released in 1987 as a minimal Unix-like operating system targeted at students and others who wanted to learn operating system principles. Although the complete source code of MINIX was freely available, the licensing terms prevented it from being free software until the licensing changed in April 2000. Although not released until 1992, due to legal complications, development of 386BSD, from which NetBSD, OpenBSD and FreeBSD descended, predated that of Linux.

Linus Torvalds has stated on separate occasions that if the GNU kernel or 386BSD had been available at the time (1991), he probably would not have created Linux.

Creation

While attending the University of Helsinki in the fall of 1990, Linus Torvalds enrolled in a Unix course. The course utilized a MicroVAX minicomputer running Ultrix, and one of the required texts was Operating Systems: Design and Implementation by Andrew S. Tanenbaum. This textbook included a copy of Tanenbaum's MINIX operating system. It was with this course that Torvalds first became exposed to Unix. In 1991, he became curious about operating systems. Frustrated by the licensing of MINIX, which at the time limited it to educational use only, he began to work on his own operating system kernel, which eventually became the Linux kernel.

Torvalds began the development of the Linux kernel on MINIX and applications written for MINIX were also used on Linux. Later, Linux matured and further Linux kernel development took place on Linux systems. GNU applications also replaced all MINIX components, because it was advantageous to use the freely available code from the GNU Project with the fledgling operating system; code licensed under the GNU GPL can be reused in other computer programs as long as they also are released under the same or a compatible license. Torvalds initiated a switch from his original license, which prohibited commercial redistribution, to the GNU GPL. Developers worked to integrate GNU components with the Linux kernel, creating a fully functional and free operating system.

Naming

Linus Torvalds had wanted to call his invention "Freax", a portmanteau of "free", "freak", and "x" (as an allusion to Unix). During the start of his work on the system, some of the project's makefiles included the name "Freax" for about half a year. Initially, Torvalds considered the name "Linux" but dismissed it as too egotistical.

To facilitate development, the files were uploaded to the FTP server (ftp.funet.fi) of FUNET in September 1991. Ari Lemmke, Torvalds' coworker at the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT) who was one of the volunteer administrators for the FTP server at the time, did not think that "Freax" was a good name, so he named the project "Linux" on the server without consulting Torvalds.[56] Later, however, Torvalds consented to "Linux".

According to a newsgroup post by Torvalds, the word "Linux" should be pronounced (/ˈlɪnʊks/ (listen) LIN-uuks) with a short 'i' as in 'print' and 'u' as in 'put'. To further demonstrate how the word "Linux" should be pronounced, he included an audio guide (listen (help·info)) with the kernel source code. However, in this recording, he pronounces 'Linux' (/ˈlinʊks/ (listen) LEEN-uuks) with a short but close front unrounded vowel.

Current Development

Greg Kroah-Hartman is the lead maintainer for the Linux kernel and guides its development. William John Sullivan is the executive director of the Free Software Foundation, which in turn supports the GNU components. Finally, individuals and corporations develop third-party non-GNU components. These third-party components comprise a vast body of work and may include both kernel modules and user applications and libraries.

Linux vendors and communities combine and distribute the kernel, GNU components, and non-GNU components, with additional package management software in the form of Linux distributions.

Popular Linux distributions include Debian, Fedora Linux, and Ubuntu, the latter of which itself consists of many different distributions and modifications, including Lubuntu and Xubuntu. Commercial distributions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise. Desktop Linux distributions include a windowing system such as X11 or Wayland, and a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE Plasma. Distributions intended for servers may omit graphics altogether, or include a solution stack such as LAMP. Because Linux is freely redistributable, anyone may create a distribution for any purpose.

Linux was originally developed for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but has since been ported to more platforms than any other operating system. Because of the dominance of the Linux-based Android on smartphones, Linux, including Android, has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems, as of May 2022. Although Linux is, as of November 2022, used by only around 2.6 percent of desktop computers, the Chromebook, which runs the Linux kernel-based ChromeOS, dominates the US K–12 education market and represents nearly 20 percent of sub-$300 notebook sales in the US. Linux is the leading operating system on servers (over 96.4% of the top 1 million web servers' operating systems are Linux), leads other big iron systems such as mainframe computers, and is used on all of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers (since November 2017, having gradually displaced all competitors).

Linux also runs on embedded systems, i.e. devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored to the system. This includes routers, automation controls, smart home devices, video game consoles, televisions (Samsung and LG Smart TVs), automobiles (Tesla, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Toyota), and spacecraft (Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon crew capsule and the Perseverance rover).

Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open-source software collaboration. The source code may be used, modified and distributed commercially or non-commercially by anyone under the terms of its respective licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Linux kernel, for example, is licensed under the GPLv2.

Design

Many open source developers agree that the Linux kernel was not designed but rather evolved through natural selection. Torvalds considers that although the design of Unix served as a scaffolding, "Linux grew with a lot of mutations – and because the mutations were less than random, they were faster and more directed than alpha-particles in DNA." Eric S. Raymond considers Linux's revolutionary aspects to be social, not technical: before Linux, complex software was designed carefully by small groups, but "Linux evolved in a completely different way. From nearly the beginning, it was rather casually hacked on by huge numbers of volunteers coordinating only through the Internet. Quality was maintained not by rigid standards or autocracy but by the naively simple strategy of releasing every week and getting feedback from hundreds of users within days, creating a sort of rapid Darwinian selection on the mutations introduced by developers." Bryan Cantrill, an engineer of a competing OS, agrees that "Linux wasn't designed, it evolved", but considers this to be a limitation, proposing that some features, especially those related to security, cannot be evolved into, "this is not a biological system at the end of the day, it's a software system." A Linux-based system is a modular Unix-like operating system, deriving much of its basic design from principles established in Unix during the 1970s and 1980s. Such a system uses a monolithic kernel, the Linux kernel, which handles process control, networking, access to the peripherals, and file systems. Device drivers are either integrated directly with the kernel, or added as modules that are loaded while the system is running.

The GNU userland is a key part of most systems based on the Linux kernel, with Android being the notable exception. The Project's implementation of the C library works as a wrapper for the system calls of the Linux kernel necessary to the kernel-userspace interface, the toolchain is a broad collection of programming tools vital to Linux development (including the compilers used to build the Linux kernel itself), and the coreutils implement many basic Unix tools. The project also develops Bash, a popular CLI shell. The graphical user interface (or GUI) used by most Linux systems is built on top of an implementation of the X Window System. More recently, the Linux community seeks to advance to Wayland as the new display server protocol in place of X11. Many other open-source software projects contribute to Linux systems.

User Interface

The user interface, also known as the shell, is either a command-line interface (CLI), a graphical user interface (GUI), or controls attached to the associated hardware, which is common for embedded systems. For desktop systems, the default user interface is usually graphical, although the CLI is commonly available through terminal emulator windows or on a separate virtual console.

CLI shells are text-based user interfaces, which use text for both input and output. The dominant shell used in Linux is the Bourne-Again Shell (bash), originally developed for the GNU project. Most low-level Linux components, including various parts of the userland, use the CLI exclusively. The CLI is particularly suited for automation of repetitive or delayed tasks and provides very simple inter-process communication.

On desktop systems, the most popular user interfaces are the GUI shells, packaged together with extensive desktop environments, such as KDE Plasma, GNOME, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, Pantheon and Xfce, though a variety of additional user interfaces exist. Most popular user interfaces are based on the X Window System, often simply called "X". It provides network transparency and permits a graphical application running on one system to be displayed on another where a user may interact with the application; however, certain extensions of the X Window System are not capable of working over the network. Several X display servers exist, with the reference implementation, X.Org Server, being the most popular.

Server distributions might provide a command-line interface for developers and administrators, but provide a custom interface towards end-users, designed for the use-case of the system. This custom interface is accessed through a client that resides on another system, not necessarily Linux based.

Several types of window managers exist for X11, including tiling, dynamic, stacking and compositing. Window managers provide means to control the placement and appearance of individual application windows, and interact with the X Window System. Simpler X window managers such as dwm, ratpoison, i3wm, or herbstluftwm provide a minimalist functionality, while more elaborate window managers such as FVWM, Enlightenment or Window Maker provide more features such as a built-in taskbar and themes, but are still lightweight when compared to desktop environments. Desktop environments include window managers as part of their standard installations, such as Mutter (GNOME), KWin (KDE) or Xfwm (xfce), although users may choose to use a different window manager if preferred.

Wayland is a display server protocol intended as a replacement for the X11 protocol; as of 2022, it has received relatively wide adoption. Unlike X11, Wayland does not need an external window manager and compositing manager. Therefore, a Wayland compositor takes the role of the display server, window manager and compositing manager. Weston is the reference implementation of Wayland, while GNOME's Mutter and KDE's KWin are being ported to Wayland as standalone display servers. Enlightenment has already been successfully ported since version 19.

Video input infrastructure

Linux currently has two modern kernel-userspace APIs for handling video input devices: V4L2 API for video streams and radio, and DVB API for digital TV reception.

Due to the complexity and diversity of different devices, and due to the large number of formats and standards handled by those APIs, this infrastructure needs to evolve to better fit other devices. Also, a good userspace device library is the key of the success for having userspace applications to be able to work with all formats supported by those devices.

Development

The primary difference between Linux and many other popular contemporary operating systems is that the Linux kernel and other components are free and open-source software. Linux is not the only such operating system, although it is by far the most widely used. Some free and open-source software licenses are based on the principle of copyleft, a kind of reciprocity: any work derived from a copyleft piece of software must also be copyleft itself. The most common free software license, the GNU General Public License (GPL), is a form of copyleft, and is used for the Linux kernel and many of the components from the GNU Project.

Linux-based distributions are intended by developers for interoperability with other operating systems and established computing standards. Linux systems adhere to POSIX,[87] SUS,[88] LSB, ISO, and ANSI standards where possible, although to date only one Linux distribution has been POSIX.1 certified, Linux-FT.

Free software projects, although developed through collaboration, are often produced independently of each other. The fact that the software licenses explicitly permit redistribution, however, provides a basis for larger-scale projects that collect the software produced by stand-alone projects and make it available all at once in the form of a Linux distribution.

Many Linux distributions manage a remote collection of system software and application software packages available for download and installation through a network connection. This allows users to adapt the operating system to their specific needs. Distributions are maintained by individuals, loose-knit teams, volunteer organizations, and commercial entities. A distribution is responsible for the default configuration of the installed Linux kernel, general system security, and more generally integration of the different software packages into a coherent whole. Distributions typically use a package manager such as apt, yum, zypper, pacman or portage to install, remove, and update all of a system's software from one central location.

Community

A distribution is largely driven by its developer and user communities. Some vendors develop and fund their distributions on a volunteer basis, Debian being a well-known example. Others maintain a community version of their commercial distributions, as Red Hat does with Fedora, and SUSE does with openSUSE.

In many cities and regions, local associations known as Linux User Groups (LUGs) seek to promote their preferred distribution and by extension free software. They hold meetings and provide free demonstrations, training, technical support, and operating system installation to new users. Many Internet communities also provide support to Linux users and developers. Most distributions and free software / open-source projects have IRC chatrooms or newsgroups. Online forums are another means for support, with notable examples being LinuxQuestions.org and the various distribution specific support and community forums, such as ones for Ubuntu, Fedora, and Gentoo. Linux distributions host mailing lists; commonly there will be a specific topic such as usage or development for a given list.

There are several technology websites with a Linux focus. Print magazines on Linux often bundle cover disks that carry software or even complete Linux distributions.

Although Linux distributions are generally available without charge, several large corporations sell, support, and contribute to the development of the components of the system and of free software. An analysis of the Linux kernel in 2017 showed that well over 85% of the code developed by programmers who are being paid for their work, leaving about 8.2% to unpaid developers and 4.1% unclassified. Some of the major corporations that provide contributions include Intel, Samsung, Google, AMD, Oracle and Facebook. A number of corporations, notably Red Hat, Canonical and SUSE, have built a significant business around Linux distributions.

The free software licenses, on which the various software packages of a distribution built on the Linux kernel are based, explicitly accommodate and encourage commercialization; the relationship between a Linux distribution as a whole and individual vendors may be seen as symbiotic. One common business model of commercial suppliers is charging for support, especially for business users. A number of companies also offer a specialized business version of their distribution, which adds proprietary support packages and tools to administer higher numbers of installations or to simplify administrative tasks.

Another business model is to give away the software to sell hardware. This used to be the norm in the computer industry, with operating systems such as CP/M, Apple DOS and versions of Mac OS prior to 7.6 freely copyable (but not modifiable). As computer hardware standardized throughout the 1980s, it became more difficult for hardware manufacturers to profit from this tactic, as the OS would run on any manufacturer's computer that shared the same architecture. wikipedia

[cumulations]

Resonance Calendar for 2023-03-20

What got my attention last week?

As anyone with an internet connection knows, the country’s primary pastime of the past week has been writing explanations of LLMs and generative AI (when they weren’t explaining the SBV bank failure and weighing in on its implications). A good deal of the output was not worth the expenditure of electrons, but a few have been jewels worth reading.

ChatGPT and Generative AI

Ted Chiang has won a serious number of awards for his science fiction. What always knocks me out about his work is the breadth of his knowledge and the depth of his thinking. Last week, I read his February 9 article in the New Yorker, ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web. It’s brilliant.

Think of ChatGPT as a blurry JPEG of all the text on the Web. It retains much of the information on the Web, in the same way that a JPEG retains much of the information of a higher-resolution image, but, if you’re looking for an exact sequence of bits, you won’t find it; all you will ever get is an approximation. But, because the approximation is presented in the form of grammatical text, which ChatGPT excels at creating, it’s usually acceptable. You’re still looking at a blurry JPEG, but the blurriness occurs in a way that doesn’t make the picture as a whole look less sharp.

No less brilliant, and worth reading is What is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does it Work? by Stephen Wolfram. He introduces “reasonable continuation” as the principle that ‘drives’ an LLM like ChatGPT. And proceeds to discuss the voodoo of GPT’s “temperature” parameter that determines how often ChatGPT, rather than using the absolutely best word in its assessment, will use lower ranked words. From there, he goes into increasing depth like the statistician / mathematician he is. Again, it is really well done.

Neural Networks

I recently ran across 200-Year-Old Math Opens Up AI’s Mysterious Black Box from February 25. It describes the work of Pedram Hassanzadeh, a fluid dynamicist at Rice University, in Houston. He and his team are hoping that their use of Fourier analysis can lead to better neural networks and help them better understand the underlying physics of climate and turbulence. This work is worth following.

“For years, we heard that neural networks are black boxes and there are too many parameters to understand and analyze. And sure, when we just looked at some of these parameters, they did not make much sense, and they all looked different,” Hassanzadeh says. However, after Fourier analysis of all these kernels, he says, “we realized they are … spectral filters.”

Scientists have for years tried combining these filters to analyze climate and (atmospheric) turbulence. However, these combinations often did not prove successful in modeling these complex systems. Neural networks learned ways to combine these filters correctly, Hassanzadeh says.

“… a song of lamentation”

My friend Per Bergman recently sent me a post by Mark Johnson entitled Meditations: A Requiem for Descartes Labs. It was all too familiar, and heart-breaking.

… here’s the story of Descartes Labs, how a remarkable geospatial startup went from flying high in orbit to end in a fiery crash back to Earth.

[openartsptyblog]

No te pierdas la entrevista con Lyann Leguísamo, directora de Open Arts PTY sobre la “Reapertura de los Espacios Culturales”

Enlace a la entrevista:  

https://www.facebook.com/escenario507/videos/3564625763565073/

Mira nuestro proyecto relacionado: INVESTIGACIÓN PARA CREAR UNA NORMA DE BIOSEGURIDAD PARA LAS INDUSTRIAS CREATIVAS Y CULTURALES

[fanzineroso]

¿Y tú que haces en las aceras?

¿Y tú que haces en las aceras? Yo un Picnic Culturoso! 

Hace unos meses empece a ver la importancia de la cultura ciudadana en nuestra ciudad y al investigarla vi que era mínima. De allí nació mi proyecto de Cultura Ciudadana junto a Kernel Open Innovation Lab cuya base es mejorar la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos. 

En la ciudad tenemos varios problemas a los cuales no hemos dado soluciones sostenibles, encontramos problemas como la educación, salubridad, infracciones hacia reglamento o leyes, contaminación ambiental, entre otros más que abundan... Entre esos están los usos de los espacios públicos los cuales al no ser usados correctamente, están sucios o descuidados. 

Empezamos por el uso de las aceras, ya que la Alcaldía recuperó  para los peatones su pedazo de la ciudad, nuestra intención es acompañar ese proceso, porque la ciudad es pequeña, y de los espacios que hay se le ha dado prioridad a los carros y no a las personas, no es sorpresa que a muchos no les guste caminar, y que no usen las aceras que no había.

Quisimos darle poder al peatón en los espacios públicos y de allí nació el Picnic Culturoso, cuyo fin es que la gente le dé usos a los espacio y desarrollen un sentido de pertenencia con ellos, además esperamos que se respete el tránsito libre para los peatones. 

Hacemos Urbanismo Táctico creando ejercicios efectivos a bajo costo, para este caso quisimos que cada picnic tuviera un tema en relación con a las aceras o la ciudad, además buscamos una acera muy visible y nos decidimos por la de la de Vía España (frente Adam's) Esta acera tiene un espacio perfecto para un picnic, luego elegimos un horario justo, un sábado, pusimos un mantel blanco y rojo e invitamos a las personas a traer algo para compartir desde juegos, sillas, comida, etc. Y voilà.

¿Y cómo se siente el Picnic? Pues es muy genial. Al comenzar el proyecto teníamos que realizar una acción, organizando la actividad, me di cuenta que en definitiva quería hacerla, y que sí se podía. 

El picnic es la suma del uso de un espacio el cual siempre estoy y disfrutar del lugar. El primer picnic fue el 5 de agosto y si fué raro sentarse en la acera y poner las sillas.. pero el fresco de la tarde, la amena compañía, las conversaciones y habitar ese espacio fue algo inimaginable, muchos pensaban que no lo haríamos ya que no acostumbramos a estas prácticas en Panamá pero lo realizamos y hasta llegar al quinto picnic,de hecho esperamos hacer muchos más y en diversos lugares. 

Los peatones de alrededor nos llenaban de miradas confusas, otros se reían o simplemente pasan de largo, otros no pasaban sobre las aceras y preferían ir por el otro lado o pasar por el área vehicular. En sí, los vehículos se tomaban las aceras como parte del parking, otras cosas que pasaba era la falta de responsabilidad con el desuso del puente elevado o semáforo de cruce, muchos peatones cruzaban adonde necesitaban y no adonde deberían, era muy curioso.

Quisimos que los picnic tuvieran algo participativo además de asistir, en uno le pedíamos a los asistentes dibujar, lo que quisiera ver en las aceras, en otro invitamos a la Escritura con Poemas para las Aceras con el tema "Reclamando la Ciudad". 

Agradezco a aquellas personas que nos han apoyado en especial a esta portal web Fanzineroso a Kernel Open I-Lab y a todos los que asistieron al picnic y nos dieron sus apoyo y comentarios en redes sociales.

Si no lo usas lo pierdes 

- #PicnicCulturoso

Karen Cheong ( @missaceras)

Coordinadora de Cultura Ciudadana PTY

[levi-my-beloved]

Chapter One: The Ackerbond Begins

Pairing: Canon!Levi x F!Reader

Warnings: none for this chapter, canon typical violence

A/N: this is the start of something i'm extremely excited about, go thank @levmada for this entire mini series. AND PLEASE THANK @peace-for-levi FOR BETA READING FOR ME AND PUTTING UP WITH MY CONSTANT ADJUSTMENTS AND RANDOMLY ADDING SCENES. pls you deserve so much for this <3

It started with nothing but a kernel of anxiety. An instinctual glance on an expedition. Well less of an expedition and more one of Hange’s insanity-fuelled capture missions. They’d somehow managed to convince Erwin to try again, despite the losses of last time’s attempt. Granted, it had taken a few hours of begging and pleading, and maybe Hange called in a few favours, but the look on their face when they’d finally pried a yes from your commander really was priceless.

“Wait… he actually said yes?” you couldn’t tame the disbelief in your tone. How the fuck Hange had managed it, you would never know, but you were impressed with their powers of persuasion. You doubted the crazed look in their eye would have helped their case, and yet here you were. Your boots echoed down the hall in an uneven rhythm, Hange borderline skipping back to the communal lounge. “So, who’s the unfortunate squad then?” you asked, a small smirk playing on your lips.

Until Hange stopped skipping, and turned to you a little sheepishly. “I uh– about that…”

You gawked. “Hange… tell me you didn’t,” though you already knew the truth. You’d made them promise before they went to their meeting that they wouldn’t volunteer your squad. Though you were more than willing to help, you knew for a fact your captain would be less than pleased. “Hange you promised! I can’t believe you did that!”

“I didn’t have a choice! Anyway, Shorty will say yes, he always does to me!” You rolled your eyes fondly, that smile returning to your face. It was a fact that Levi often had trouble saying no to Hange, and even when he did say no, he would usually end up helping whatever they were trying to accomplish. You found it rather sweet honestly. 

“And how exactly do you plan on telling him?” 

Hange turned sheepish again, scratching the back of their head. “Actually, I was, rather hoping you could do that for me. You know, I’m always so busy with the lab and experiments and creating new gear and–”

“No. Do it yourself.” You folded your arms, tone flat as you watched Hange’s expression turn desperate.

“C’mon, please? You know you’re his favourite!”

“He doesn’t have favourites.”

“But if he did it would totally be you!”

“Hange, I’m not doing your dirty work, tell him yourself. And stop trying to sweet talk me!” you laughed in disbelief.

“Pleeeeaaaaase? I’ll do anything!”

You paused, raising a brow of intrigue, thinking for a moment. This kind of an offer didn’t happen everyday, and you briefly entertained the multitude of possibilities. “Anything?”

“Yes, anything!” 

“Take a fucking bath.” And with that, you turned on your heel, striding down the hall. It clearly took the madman a second to process what you’d said, before their loud excited shriek echoed behind you.

“YAHOOOOO! I OWE YA!” And despite the fact you’d given in, you couldn’t help your small chuckle at their antics. You could see why Levi’s will was often bent when it came to Hange. There really was something about them you couldn’t say no to. 

Rounding the corner at the end of the hall, you open the door to the communal lounge, expelling a heavy breath before looking up, and realising there were four pairs of eyes trained on you, clearly having been in the middle of a card game. A bottle of half-empty whiskey and four glasses told you they’d been waiting for your return. You gave your squad an apologetic smile, before locking eyes with Eld and gesturing for him to accompany you. Your squad eyed you both a little suspiciously, but it wasn’t uncommon for you to confide in the blonde. He was the only soldier who’d been in the Special Ops squad for as long as you had. He was always the first to make newcomers feel welcome, a stark contrast to Oluo’s ‘I’m better than you’ schtick. Level-headed and kind, Eld had always been a safe space for you. And honestly, if he wasn’t a taken man, you may have tried your luck. You’d wanted to in the past.

Slipping back out the door, you leant against the wall behind you, pinching your brow between your thumb and forefinger. The beginnings of a headache had started to throb at the base of your skull, your shoulders tensing and relaxing as if trying to get rid of the ache. 

“Oh, you don’t look great…” you raised your eyes to the blonde as he shut the door behind him, mirroring your stance on the opposite side. You saw him almost grimace at your appearance. Did you really look that tired? You blew out a breath. You would examine your dark circles later.

“Sooooo, we’re going to be accompanying Hange on their suicide mission.” You stated flatly. Always better to be blunt in the Survey Corps. A habit most soldiers pick up. There’s never any time to faff about on the battlefield, so conveying information quickly and bluntly was the best way forward. 

Eld baulked, eyes bugging at the mere suggestion. “Why haven’t we been told? And why are you the only one who knows? Doesn’t the Captain want us to– oh.” You watched his features slack on horrified understanding. “He doesn’t know… does he?” You shook your head, eyes now trained on the floorboards in distressed thought. Sure, you’d always been able to go to Levi for anything in the past, but you weren’t worried about yourself in this situation. You were more worried about him, and how he would most likely have to disinfect his foot after shoving it so far up Hange’s ass.

“And I'm the one who has to tell him.” You finished your bad news, picking at your lips until you felt the satisfying pull of loose skin. Eld grimaced again, before blowing out a tense breath and running his hand through his sandy hair. 

“Honestly, rather you than me. But I’m sure you’ll be fine, he’s never snapped at you before and you’ve been here longer than me.” You huffed a small laugh.

“Not that much longer, but it’s not me I'm worried about. He’s already got so much on his plate, Eld, I didn’t wanna add this as well. Do you ever see the man take a break? I had to take some food leftover from lunch today because he didn’t show up. He’s working himself to death and now he has to deal with this? I fucking told Hange not to volunteer us for this specific reason and now–”

“Hey, take a breath. You’re fine. Hange does what they want, there’s not a lot you can do now.” Eld’s reassuring tone put you at ease slightly, a hand on your shoulder sapping some of the tension in your muscles. You already knew there was nothing you could do, but it was still comforting to hear it from someone else. “Do you want one of us to tell him? I could ask Petra, she’s always on good terms with him. I don’t think Oluo would be a good idea though…” 

“Nah, it’s okay, I’ll do it. Besides, if I don’t, Hange won’t take a bath so-” you shrugged as if it was the most obvious reason in the world.

“Uh, what?” you laughed at your comrade’s quizzical expression, before patting his hand on your shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch up with you guys later, gotta march to my death. Ya know, ‘Dedicate your heart’ and all that.” You gave him a mock salute, a tired, lopsided smile. Eld laughed at your display, his brow raised in amused pity.

“Not sure this is what the Commander means when he says that but good luck soldier! And let us know what happens if you come out alive!” He called after you, before laughing heartily when you flipped him as you walked back down the hallway, back to the barracks and the superior’s quarters.

Levi actively couldn’t remember the last time he stood up today. Or walked anywhere. Or looked away from the stack of papers taller than wall Maria. Since the last expedition, he’d been caged in by the almost impressive amount of paperwork he’d been loaded with. Lists of damaged equipment and endless scrawls of the soldier’s they belonged to, as well as accounts of cargo and supplies lost, wagon replacement orders and some ridiculous request for more alcohol – why drink alcohol when tea tasted better? – He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of human life today, only a soft knock on his door which he didn’t hear, until his stomach growled so loud he swore the civilians in the neighbouring city would have heard it. Ah, that was the last time he stood up. When he left to grab himself some food only to find a tray at the foot of his door. Lukewarm rice, tea that was somehow still hot, and a small bread roll. 

He still didn’t know who to thank for that. 

So he almost didn’t know how to respond when there was another knock on his door, though for some reason he was stressed as fuck. It wasn’t like he had done anything other than sign his name a thousand times today, so why the fuck did he feel so goddamn–

“Enter.”

It was as if someone had just soothed a cooling balm over a throbbing welt the moment you stepped through the door. Your familiar presence drawing attention to his newfound longing for human interaction. Even Hange would have been a welcome sight, but you were a blessing. Even with those almost bruise-like circles beneath your eyes. “You look about as tired as I feel.” He commented flatly, resting his elbows on his desk. Levi waved off your obligatory salute, wanting to remind you that you never needed to be so formal with him after hours. Considering how long you’d known each other, it felt a little strange. 

“Trust me Captain, you look as tired as you feel.” You quipped, prompting a short huff of amusement, before he really looked at you. Shit, he could fucking smell the anxiety off you. Picking at the loose skin around your cuticles, shifting from foot to foot. Levi raised a brow.

“Well? I assume you didn’t come in here to insult my appearance. What’s going on?” whilst he enjoyed your company, your current presence was simply worsening his own stress. Seeing you fidget so much was… uncommon to say the least.

You took a breath. “I thought you should probably know we’ll be assisting Hange in their next attempt to capture a titan.” 

The room fell silent. Static.

“What?” It was less of a ‘what did you say?’ and more of a ‘you’ve got to be fucking joking.’ kind of question.

“Commander Erwin just approved it and uh, it seems your squad was somewhat volunteered… by Hange.” You braced yourself. Not once had you ever seen Levi blow up, but you know it was a possibility. Though he had a tight rein on his emotions, nobody was immune to this kind of thing. Not even him.

“So why are you in here telling me instead of Four Eyes?” Levi queried, his patience for today thinning. 

“A few reasons, I’d imagine. Most likely self preservation, but we struck a deal. I would be the one to tell you.”

“And in return?”

You flashed a small smirk. “They’d take a bath.” 

Levi nodded in approval, as if Hange taking a bath was the only thing that would have been an appropriate deal to make. Picking up his pen, he set back to the documents in front of him, mindlessing poring over the now amorphous ink stains. “You’re dismissed.” He left it as long as he could before dismissing you, though he didn’t really know why, or whether it was just subconscious. 

You nodded, eyeing the insanely tall stacks of paperwork haphazardly positioned on his desk. They were almost comically big, and you couldn’t help stifling a laugh at the thought of them actually being taller than your captain. But empathy opened your heart, watching him have to reread a few sentences before moving on with tired understanding. With a heavy sigh and one final thought to your waiting tumbler of whiskey with your squad, you pulled up the spare chair in his office and sat on the opposite side of his desk.

Levi glanced up, raising a brow of quizzical suspicion. Though there had been a few times before you’d helped him with his paperwork, usually it was scheduled, and he’d asked for your assistance. This just felt like you were either avoiding someone, or feeling some kind of guilt. And he honestly? He couldn’t think of anything worse.

“The hell are you doing?” He couldn’t keep the sharpness from his tone, eyes narrowing as you all but stole a pen from his stash.

“Literally? Committing major fraud by forging your signature on multiple legal documents containing sensitive information about Scout operations. Actually? Lessening your workload so you might actually get more than twenty six minutes’ sleep tonight.” You took the first document from the largest stack you’d split in half without looking up, instantly scanning the paper for a vague understanding of what the hell you were about to sign for him.

“Why…?” 

You paused, looking up from your first document of the night with a soft smile. “‘Because you look about as tired as I feel.’” You quoted, expression softening. Levi looked at you, his steel eyes widening a fraction as he saw no hint of deception. He’d lied to himself earlier, he could think of something worse. The slight suggestion that you actually wanted to help him, or worse still… that you wanted to spend time with him. 

“...It was thirty nine, actually.”

“Sorry?”

“Thirty nine minutes of sleep. Not twenty six.” Your laughter warmed his heart, and Levi found himself enjoying the sound far too much for his own good. That quirk in your lips, that soft pinch of your brow… He had to look away. This was extremely unprofessional of him.

“I wouldn’t say you’re a champion of sleep, even with those extra thirteen minutes. So let me help.” you implored, holding his gaze until he gave in. Which didn’t take nearly as long as you thought it would.

“Tch, do what you want.” Levi shrugged, going back to his own parchment that had been all but abandoned upon your sudden arrival. 

“Besides, since we’re helping Hange tomorrow, we’ll need our captain at his best.” You tried to sweeten the blow with a compliment, though it seems your efforts fell short the second he jerked his head back up.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah… didn’t I mention that?” you chuckled a little sheepishly, and suddenly you knew how Hange felt earlier.

“No, strangely enough, you failed to mention that.” Not that Levi could be mad at you. You would probably have to straight up murder somebody for him to be angry with you, and even then he would ask if you were okay first. Either murder somebody, or track mud through his freshly mopped floors. Levi sighed, accepting his fate. “Why do you enjoy hanging out with them so much anyway?” It wasn’t an insult, not that you could tell. More like genuine curiosity thinly veiled with slight disdain.

“They’re fun, I guess, despite them being borderline clinically insane. It’s a welcome change from the melancholic atmosphere after an expedition. They help chase the shadows away.” Your eyes emptied for a moment, a ghost-like expression haunting your features, and for a second Levi could see every friend, every comrade, every brother and sister you’d lost. Something in him shifted drastically, though imperceptibly.

“We need tea.” The life reentered your eyes as you huffed a laugh, quirking your brow slightly. You didn’t realise you would be helping him for so long, but now you’re here, you can’t say you were discouraged at the idea.

“That we do.”

“You’re doing it wrong.”

“No I’m not, I’m doing it exactly how you were doing it.”

“She says; not doing it the way I did it.”

“Do you want tea or not?”

“Not if you’re gonna do it so wrong.”

You huffed in irritation. When Levi suggested getting some tea, you did not expect it to become some kind of intensive training session where he taught you how to properly steep tea leaves for fuck sakes. Slamming the spoon down on the counter, you fixed him with a glare.

“Are you going to let me do this?”

Levi didn’t back down. “It’s going to taste like pig piss, you know that, right?”

“No it won’t! It’ll taste fine, I’m doing it exactly how you showed me, look!” What Levi saw was almost the exact opposite of what he showed you. It was borderline violent, thrashing the spoon around in the brew, dunking in the leaves like you were interrogating them. What he showed you took finesse, a delicate touch. Not… whatever the hell this was. He couldn’t help but flinch with each forceful tug on the silky bag. Though your determination was something to be admired. And he couldn’t help but admire you.

“Move, let me.” Levi moved to take your place at the counter, having to bite his tongue to stifle his amusement as you grumbled, clearly disgruntled with your tea making performance. Clicking his tongue, he surveyed the absolute massacre you’d made, and his heart clenched woefully at the waste of leaves. “This shit isn’t cheap, so quit wasting it. Now I gotta start again.”

You folded your arms in petulance, pouting an apology before actually feeling bad for wasting one of his few indulgences. You knew it was more of a comfort blanket for him than anything else. Sure, the flavour was good, but nobody could love tea this much, right? You’d rarely spoken about his past; he would simply say he didn’t remember much whenever the topic arose. And you could never tell if that was the truth, or simply an excuse. A defence mechanism. The only thing you knew was that it wasn’t pleasant, and it was nothing short of miraculous that he’d made it out. 

Making a mental note to pop into town and buy some more, you shuffled back over to the counter, resting your elbow on the surface and perching your chin atop the heel of your palm, now watching with renewed curiosity as Levi steeped tea like a craftsman. “See the difference?” 

You rolled your eyes at the slight teasing in his tone -still a little pouty from before -until he shoved the brew under your nose and you couldn’t help but be enticed by the flowery, bitter aroma. It reminded you of his office, you noticed. “Thanks.” You raised your eyes in gratitude, only for your expression to fall flat at the slightest smug pull to his lips.

“That is how it’s supposed to taste. Not like some diluted shit-water.”

“Okay okay I get it! I made the tea wrong.” You conceded, holding your hands up in cease-fire.

“You butchered it.” There wasn’t much Levi felt comfortable enough to tease you about. Your weird habit to talk to the inanimate objects around you was one thing, and now your utterly pathetic tea-making skills. So of course he was about to run this joke into the ground. 

“What do you want me to do? Go back in time and un-butcher it?”

“Pretty sure it was about to confess if you’d held it under a few more times.”

“Oh ha-ha, pick up a brush and paint me a landscape, then we’ll see who’s better than who.” You both stopped, frozen in your accidental slip up. Not a single soul in the Scouts knew of your little hobby, and you’d just fucking told your captain. You felt heat flood to your cheeks as you looked away, suddenly extremely interested in your drink.

Levi stopped to process his sudden, thundering heartbeat. How didn’t he know that about you? He made it his business to know everything about his squad, including Gunther’s affiliation for collecting the most cursed trinkets he could find in the marketplace and meticulously placing them around the HeadQuarters. But not once had this ever come up. “You paint?” 

The sound you made was like nothing he’d ever heard. Something akin to that of a small rodent caught in a trap as you still refused to look at him. “No…?” You sounded almost hopeful that he would believe you, but that sharp brow raise told you otherwise. “Uh, not really. Or not as much as I used to. So occasionally. When I feel like it. Which is sometimes. I, yeah, sometimes.” You cracked your fingers, not really knowing what to do or where to look or how to escape this godforsaken situation you’d stumbled ass backwards into.

The strangest warmth enveloped his chest, his heart fluttering in weird ways at how you suddenly became very humble and bashful. He’d never seen you ramble before, never seen you lose your composure like that. It’s why he trusted you with everything when he was away. Because you could keep a level head. But this was something he didn’t think anyone had seen before. He tried unsuccessfully to squash the privileged feeling, but he couldn’t help it. 

“You any good?” You exhaled an uncomfortable breath, chewing on your bottom lip slightly, still refusing to meet your captain’s curious yet sharp eyes.

“What? No! No, not really. Besides, it’s not like I have the time anyway. I usually paint most in the winter, when we don’t have expeditions to worry about. It does mean most of my canvases remain white but, ya know, less to do that way.” You joked awkwardly, finally gathering the courage to raise your gaze from your teacup, only to become trapped in his. Snared in a net of iced flecked steel, you’d never seen him look so at ease. So soft. No crease in his brow, no pout in his lips. He looked peaceful for once, and you found yourself quickly becoming addicted. 

“ ‘That mean if I was to pick up a brush, I would be better than you?” 

You huffed an incredulous laugh at the flicker of mischief in his eye, unable to stop your own honest grin despite your faux offence. “I wouldn’t say that…'' you folded your arms, fixing him with an accusatory glare that held no venom, but rather veiled enjoyment, almost daring him to quip back. 

But his eyes freely roamed your features, only now noticing the proximity. Everything about you seemed flawless. Everything apart from…

“You’ve been picking at your lips again,” he murmured, taking note of the slight raw redness to your lips, and the way your faux glare softened away to nothing. He knew for a fact that if he were to kiss you, he’d taste blood. Though he wondered what else he would taste. What did you taste like? Probably sweet, like the smell of orange blossom, or maybe something fresher, like dewy grass. Would he be able to taste the tea you just drank? Or would you–

Wait. What the fuck was he talking about?

“Uh, yeah, force of habit,” you looked away, and it took every fibre of self control Levi had not to gently grasp your chin and turn you back to look at him. Fuck, had his heart always skipped beats like this? It was racing so fast he felt as if he had two.

“You should probably get something on them, it looks sore.” Keeping his voice steady was no small feat. Not when he felt his very soul shake with your presence so near him. He was so close to running his thumb gently over your mouth, wanting to soothe the obvious discomfort.

And he would have done, had your little moment not been shattered by a throaty cough, and the arrival of a not so subtle Hange.

“Evening.” Never in your life had you been more conflicted. On the one hand, you were so glad that the conversation was over, and that your heart could stop exploding. But on the other hand…

You were rather enjoying it.

Levi, however, couldn’t have clenched his jaw any harder. For if he did, it was likely he wouldn’t have any teeth left. Shifting his eyes to the left, he had to physically restrain himself from not lunging to throttle them. Leaning up against the counter like that, who the fuck did they think they were? “You don’t smell like the stables, special occasion?” 

You snorted a laugh into your tea, jerking back as the liquid splashed slightly.

“Only if you count tomorrow’s big day! You better have told him, ``I don't want to have taken a bath for nothing!” Hange’s address turned to you, and you nodded with a sharp eye roll.

“Yeah, I told him, glad to smell you held up your end of the deal.” You raised your cup in appreciation, taking a large sip of your drink. Just as you’d suspected, it tasted exactly the same as when you would make it yourself. And you only just managed to stop yourself from bringing it up again. 

Hange paused, and from their eager, cheeky expression, you knew before they even said anything they were about to cause trouble. “What were you two talking about? It looked intense. Prolonged eye-contact and all that.” It was your turn to tense your jaw, though keeping your indifferent façade, you raised a brow.

“Squad formations and pair ups. Whether Oluo and Petra would make a good team or whether she would get pissed off with his pathetic flirting attempts. Since both myself and Gunther work so well with Eld, we were discussing whether it was worth starting trio attack training.” Levi’s eyes widened a fraction as you lied so effortlessly. He couldn’t help but wonder whether you’d ever lied to him, since you did it so smoothly. Maybe that one time he’d stumbled on you and Petra having a private conversation in the corner of the communal lounge. You’d told him then you were discussing gas saving tactics… Was that even true?

Hange visibly deflated, much to your shared relief. “Oh. Well I guess that is quite intense. Care to share?” Levi’s heart did that weird fluttery thing when your smile held very little genuinity. You looked satisfied, almost smug, and it did things to him. Things he couldn’t pinpoint. 

“No. You sprung the mission tomorrow on us, I think we’ll keep this til the last possible moment as well.” 

“Pleeeeeaaaaaase? Levi?” Hange turned to the raven next to you, only to find a similar answer.

“Don’t look at me, not my tactics. She’s the brains behind them, not me. I just approve them.” You had to fight tooth and nail to keep yourself from smiling at that, from smiling at him. 

“But I’m your favourite!”

“I don’t have favourites.” 

You barked a laugh. “Told ya. Anyway, Hans, shouldn’t you be preparing for tomorrow? Getting your equipment ready and maybe checking the failsafes…?” You watched Hange hop up onto the counter, much to Levi’s visible disgust. You assumed, no matter how many times they took a bath, they would never be clean in his eyes.

“Oh! Moblit’s on it. He didn’t trust me enough to make sure everything worked properly.”

“I wonder why…” Levi muttered sarcastically, prompting you to send a ‘be nice’ glance his way. Only to be returned with a glance of ‘piss off’. 

“Poor guy. You should probably buy him a drink or ten as compensation. Pretty sure he should be on some kind of medication for all the heart attacks you give him.” You leaned up against the counter behind you, resting your elbows on the surface. You kind of wished you were somewhere a little comfier but, it’s rare Levi ever joined you and your squad in the lounge, usually opting instead to hide away in his office. 

“He’s fiiiiiine, he just worries too much!”

“Knowing you, Hange, I think he worries an adequate amount for his situation.” Levi muttered, the lower half of his face covered by his obscure hold on the teacup. This wasn’t exactly the evening he had planned, and despite feeling as if something had been ruined earlier, he couldn’t deny he was secretly enjoying himself. When else would he get the chance to just, spend some time away from his work… with you… and Hange, of course. 

“It’s his job to worry so I don’t have to! Don’t you worry for Levi so he doesn’t have to?” they asked you, eyes wide with genuine curiosity.

“I worry about him, there’s a difference, Hans. This doesn’t lead to heart failure.”

“Just headaches and lack of sleep,”

“Pretty sure Moblit suffers from that as well.”

It was almost as if he wasn’t in the room anymore. Levi barely managed to stop his head snapping in your direction. You worried about him? How long had you done that? Why the hell did you worry about him? Did you know he worried for you too? All the damn time? And especially when you looked like you hadn’t slept in the last twenty years and your lips were bitten to shit?

“Anyway! We should really get back to work. Was nice talking to ya, Hans, even if you betrayed me today.” You narrowed your eyes in playful irritation, grinning when they shrugged with indifference.

“Come on, you would have helped out anyway, neither of you can ever say no to me. I’m just that great!”

“Great pain in my ass.”

You laughed at the quiet comment from Levi, draining your cup of tea before placing it back on the counter with a soft clink. Without having to look to your left, you knew Levi had done the same. The original plan was to take tea back to work with you, but this had been a welcome change. You would never get tired at the banter between Hange and Levi, and you completely understood why there were so many rumours about them. Hell, even you were starting to suspect something deeper ran between them. You would even believe it, if not for the fact  Hange was usually tied to Moblit’s hip. Now there was definitely something going on there.

“See you tomorrow! Bright and early, I want this over and done with in the morning so I can get started on the fun part!” Hange’s eyes seemed to glaze over with some kind of deranged excitement, and you were half expecting them to start drooling.

You shivered despite yourself. Sometimes they really were terrifying.

Saying your farewells, you prepared yourself for another few hours of paperwork, stretching your fingers as you walked side by side back to Levi’s office. The silence wasn’t tense, but instead static. Like he had something to say but was holding off for one reason or another. You wanted to pry it from his lips, but you also knew that would simply discourage him from saying anything.

It took almost the entire walk back to his office for Levi to finally speak up, quelling the irritating stuttering in his chest. It was becoming really fucking annoying. “You worry about me?”

You stopped just short of his door, tilting your head with a quirked brow. “Yes? Why do you sound so surprised? Of course I worry about you,” you spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. But of course, to Levi, it wasn’t, and after his prolonged silence, you started to worry you’d overstepped a boundary. “I worry about everyone.” It was a quick fix, but believable enough. You did have a tendency to stress about your comrades.

It wasn’t that Levi was disappointed. No, that couldn’t have been it. It was natural for you to worry about everyone. It was in your nature. It was just a testament to how much you cared about everyone. So why the hell did he suddenly feel weirdly hollow?

“I see.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

“It’s fine.”

Now, this was an awkward silence. You shifted on your feet slightly, having absolutely no idea how to proceed from here. Levi’s hand rested on the door handle, but he made no move to push it open. He just stared at you, scrutinising. And shit was it uncomfortable.

Levi found himself stuck in a strange limbo, so caught up in his head he didn’t realise how fucking weird he was being. He was trying to decipher you, like some impossible enigma. Trying to see your hidden messages in the valleys and hills of your face, in the confusing, swirling smoke of your eyes. It was only when you cleared your throat did he blink back to reality to see you awkwardly looking around.

What the fuck was he doing?

“Ah, we should probably get on with–”

“Get some sleep.” He said your name harsher than he meant to. He didn’t mean for that to sound like a thinly veiled ‘fuck off’, but from the way you looked like he’d just struck you, he could safely assume the real message of ‘I can’t worry about you tomorrow so I need you rested and ready’ was lost in translation. Levi didn’t know why he was surprised.

You saluted stiffly, gritting your teeth against your confused hurt. You knew later on tonight, most likely when you were in bed and couldn’t sleep, you would be going over this conversation over and over again, agonising over the exact moment you fucked up and pushed him back into his shell after working so hard to coax him out of it.

“Yes sir.” Unable to think of anything else to say, you turned on your heel and strode back down the hall, not wanting to think about this exchange until you were at least out of eyesight. 

Your smooth transition from your softer, more domestic self, to the soldier he knew he could always rely on gave him whiplash. He couldn’t help but wonder whether everything that had happened this evening was either a manifestation of his own lack of sleep, or if he was seeing some kind of link between you two that simply wasn’t there. But he couldn’t explain, or shake, the stabbing twist in his chest. 

Levi was no stranger to pain, but this was another breed of hurt altogether. One he’d never experienced before.

And one he hoped he would never experience again.

Hange wasn’t kidding when they said bright and early. You guessed it was sometime near 4:30 in the morning when a sharp knock rapped on your door, jolting you awake. You heard the groan of your disgruntled roommate below you, and two groggy curses from your other two roommates opposite. Swinging your head down, you saw the slightest tuft of ginger hair from beneath clean linens. 

“I guess I’ll get it, shall I? We all have to be up anyway, lazy sods.” You grumbled amicably, clambering down from your bunk. You had half a mind to tear Nifa’s bed cover off her sleeping form, spill water over Petra’s submerged head and rip Nanaba’s pillow from under her. But, you decided to be nice this morning. You loved these girls dearly. Though most of you came from separate squads, you’d formed a tight knit bond with each other, and one you knew wouldn’t so easily be broken.

Padding over to the door, you cracked it open to see Eld’s own tired visage. Hair loose dishevelled, sleep still plaguing his eyes, you just managed to stop yourself from laughing. 

“Mornin’ you. Ready to go catch some titans?” You wiped the sleep from beneath your eyes, sighing a long, heavy breath of discontent. 

“No, and from the sounds of it, you aren’t either. How long do we have?” You asked, casting a glance back inside your room only to find all three girls, now wide awake, grinning at you slyly.

“About half an hour. When Hange volunteered us for this gig, this was not what I was expecting.” Eld ran a hand down the side of his face, before sliding it back up his cheek and through his sandy locks. You always forgot just how long his hair was when it wasn’t up in a bun. He looked strange with it down, though oddly refreshing.

“Tell me about it. Alright, we’ll be out in fifteen max. No doubt the Captain wants to brief us quickly.” You were surprised at your own venom when you said that. Even Eld looked a little taken aback, eyeing you with suspicion. You hadn’t meant to spit his name like that, it was sort of an involuntary response to the way he treated you last night. You had, of course, mulled it over time and time again before you finally managed to get to sleep, and you still couldn’t figure out where you went wrong. So you were safe to assume you didn’t. And he’s just an asshole. Yeah, that must be it.

“Gotcha, Gunther and Oluo are already up too so we’ll see you in the courtyard in fifteen, yeah?”

“Sounds good. Cheers for the wake-up call.” You slowly shut the door, turning back to the three pairs of eyes all trained on you. Even Petra - sleepy, ‘don’t wake me up or I’ll murder you’ Petra - was wide awake, as if she had been for hours. “What?”

“Just fuck him and get it over with. We could smell the sexual tension from here.”

“Gross, Nana.” Petra quipped.

“Really, it’s just embarrassing at this point.” She continued, clambering down from her top bunk.

“Even I can see there’s something between you two. Hasn’t he made any moves yet?” Nifa asked innocently, curiously tilting her head from the comfort of her blankets.

You folded your arms a little defensively. Sure, you used to have a crush on the man, you’re not immune to charm and good looks, but that was an extremely long time ago. Before you actually knew him. That wouldn’t stop him from being one of your greatest friends, but any romantic feelings you may have once felt had been squashed. He simply wasn’t your type. 

“No, strangely enough, because he’s engaged and we’re also nothing but close friends.”

“Strange how you mentioned him being engaged first.” Petra wiggled her eyebrows, retrieving a shirt from your shared chest of drawers. 

“You’re acting like you having been fucking Oluo on the sly. It’s normal for her to be out late, she has more duties than the rest of us,” –you nodded in mock gratefulness to Nanaba’s reference to you as her– “but for you, Pet? Yeah, obviously you’re out fucking somebody, and the only one who’s interest you’ve entertained is Oluo. So, I deduce–”

“Well, what about you and Miche? Huh? What’s going on there?” Petra fired back, not letting Nanaba finish her sentence. Honestly, you were just glad the attention was off you for a second.

Nanaba held her hands up in honesty. “What can I say? His sense of smell isn’t the only thing superior about him.” You cackled wickedly, drowning out Petra’s disgusted groan and Nifa’s quiet retch.

“I think I’m gonna throw up.” 

“Don’t you have the hots for Hange?” You asked the poor girl, who instantly turned a dark shade of red.

“N-no! I just- I admire their conviction, that’s all! Besides, Moblit’s always hovering around them like a lost puppy, so there’s not much I can do anyway. I-if I liked them, that is! Which I don’t!” You exchanged knowing glances with Nanaba and Petra, wry smiles pulling at all your lips.

“Sure Nifa, we believe you.” Nanaba grinned, only to receive a pillow to the face from the blushing girl.

“It’s not like that! You’re all awful.” She huffed, finally dragging herself from her bed to start getting ready. 

You were already halfway through putting on the lower half of your harness, still needing to retrieve a hoodie from your drawer. You didn’t know how Petra wore a shirt all year round. You found yourself freezing your tits off in the winter, and sweating like a pig in the summer. Your outfits usually fluctuated between thin tee-shirts and hoodies. Sometimes you would wear both, if it was a particularly cold day. You let the loose straps of your harness dangle around you whilst you started rifling through your drawers for the specific jumper you wanted to wear today, before another knock on the door interrupted you all.

“I got it last time.” You stated bluntly, but none of your roommates were as dressed as you were. With a heavy sigh and multiple middle finger flips, you pulled on your tight breast band and crossed the room again. “Eld, I thought we agreed we’d see you in fif…teen…… minutes……” you instantly regretted speaking before you even looked up to see who it was. It wasn’t Eld. Oh shit, it wasn’t Eld.

Levi found himself unable to do anything but stare blankly at you, his face betraying none of the short-circuiting his brain seemed to be doing. Why the fuck weren’t you wearing a shirt…? Why the fuck weren’t you ready yet?

And why the fuck did he find his mouth suddenly dryer than dirt parched of rain. Keeping his head seemed impossible in this situation. He’d only come to make sure you were getting ready. He found what he was looking for, sure, but why like this?

“Captain.” You felt extremely silly saluting only half dressed, but it wasn’t like your squad hadn’t seen each other before. Admittedly, Levi had never joined your games of strip poker, not even when Hange begged and pleaded, but as a result, you didn't really think much of it. 

“Could you shut the fucking door maybe?” Nanaba called from behind you, clearly trying to slip on the uniform pants without a spectator. But for all the grief she gave you this morning, you were half tempted to open it wider, just to piss her off. But a sharp call of your name made your decision for you. 

“Alright alright, sorry.” You called back, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind you. You felt strangely exposed now. Maybe that was because your retreat had now been blocked off, but goosebumps littered your skin from an invisible wind. The situation was disgustingly similar to last night, where he did nothing but stare at you for a good few minutes. It wouldn’t have made you so uncomfortable if you knew why he kept looking at you like this.

“I thought you would be ready.” Fucking hell, it had taken every fibre of Levi’s control to rein himself back from wherever he’d lost himself to. His heart was doing that irritating stuttery thing again, the one where he couldn’t think straight and his palms started to sweat. He must be coming down with some illness. That had to be the reason. 

“We were only woken up seven minutes ago, Sir. Apologies.” You kept with the formalities, too confused by his behaviour last night to slip back into your informal addresses. This was so much easier anyway. He didn’t look like he noticed, or even care anyway. Though that idea felt strangely… hurtful. 

Levi stayed silent for a moment, collecting himself and running through the best ways to end this conversation. He’d found himself in a conflicting paradox. On the one hand, he wanted to talk to you. But he also wanted you to put some goddamn clothes on. He would never admit to himself that he didn’t mind the view -actively enjoyed the view, even- because that would be vulgar and despicable.

Even if it was true.

“Be in the courtyard in three minutes. Petra too. I want to brief the squad on today’s mission.” You saluted again in response, nodding once before he turned and marched off. You guessed whatever sweet domesticity you’d shared yesterday was nothing but a one time thing. Or maybe nothing happened at all, and you’d imagined the whole thing. But you had grown closer last night. Admittedly you were always close with your captain, but yesterday was different. You shared something with him, and in return, he shared something with you. It was all just… so confusing.

You watched him stride out of sight, before slipping back inside your room. And you were once again greeted by the suspicious gazes of your three roommates. “Oh for god’s sake.” You chimed in, before they started singing their questions at you.

“Both of them? Isn’t that a little greedy?”

“Damn, didn’t think you could pull one, let alone both at the same time,”

“Wait, are you uh, having sex with Captain Levi as well?”

You held up your hands for a cease-fire, looking incredulously between them. “Girls, girls, please! You can’t assume I’m fucking every man and woman I happen to be in a conversation with. I’m not even fucking one of them, let alone both!” You let out an exasperated sigh, the three women still eyeing you suspiciously, before turning to Petra specifically. “Hurry up, we have three minutes.” 

“I still think you should at least try. I mean, the chemistry between you two is like something you would find fizzing away in Hange’s lab!” You were barely listening to Petra’s crazy ideas as you walked. You hadn’t realised she was this desperate for you to get laid. It would have been amusing if it wasn’t so early in the morning. 

“Petra, in the nicest way possible, shut the fuck up. We’re not dating, I’m not going to try and date him. He’s not my type, engaged, and we’re. Just. FRIENDS.” You didn’t know what else you would have to say or do to make her shut up about this ridiculous idea. You managed to finish dressing in one minute, and join up with your squad in the following sixty seconds. You’d just batted away her expressive hands before crossing the courtyard, your squad looking mildly irritated. 

Your eyes flicked between the three men. “What’s up with you guys? Other than getting up at this godforsaken hour to catch a titan?” It was at that your companions all turned to you.

“Except that’s just it. It’s not just a titan.” Gunther lamented, fixing the clasp of his cloak tighter around his neck. You looked for further explanation, finally given to you from the less than pleased looking Oluo.

“Crazy bitch wants us to catch two. ‘Compare and contrast’ they said. ‘Measure twice, cut once’ they said. They can measure how far my blade can sink into their–”

“Shut up Oluo, we get it,” –you turned to Eld, ignoring the indignant huff from your comrade– “Does the Captain know?” you asked, but already knowing the answer from his sheepish grimace.

“Ah- we were rather hoping actually, you would tell him?”

“...you cannot possibly be serious. Isn’t it someone else’s turn?” You tried desperately to sway each of your friends, but they all looked away pretty swiftly. “Oh for fuck’s sake, you’re all a bunch of cowards. You fight titans for a living, and you’re scared to tell your captain that–”

“Tell your captain what?” Your blood quite possibly froze over at the familiar cadence and tone from behind you, and the pale faces of your comrades. You mouthed the world’s quietest ‘shit’ before turning to face him, exercising your chipper façade. 

Levi instantly raised a brow of suspicion. He’d seen that look before, at winter balls when you would be cussing out some noble prick, only for them to walk up behind you and ask for a dance. It was a cover, albeit an incredibly good one. But one he’d seen far too many times before. And he saw your smile falter the moment you realised he could see right through you. At least you were clothed this time. “Something to say?”

You huffed, folding your arms. “Only because nobody else has the fucking nerve to say it. Hange wants us to grab two titans, not just the one.” Levi visibly tensed. He thought this would have all been over by lunchtime, but it seems Hange had gone a little overboard with their demands for this. The freedom to even attempt had gone to their head. 

“Damnit Four Eyes…”

“Tell me about it. Not too thrilled ourselves honestly. Will it affect the briefing?” you asked, the rest of your squad gaping at you from behind whilst you proceeded to have a seemingly perfectly normal conversation with him after delivering such devastating news. 

“I doubt it. We’ll just rinse and repeat for the second one, assuming we’re all still alive. It’ll just take out more of the day.” ‘That I could have used to get my paperwork done.’ You finished his sentence for him in your head, once again that stab of empathy impaling your heart. As strange as he had been acting, you still worried about him. Your expression softened slightly. 

You understood.

“Guess we’ll just have to get it done quickly then. I’m glad Miche squad is joining though, that’ll cut the time in half at least. And if we work efficiently enough, then this shouldn’t take as long as we’re thinking. I’d suggest finally pairing Oluo with Petra,”

Levi nodded thoughtfully, considering the option carefully. “That’s assuming they manage to work together without slicing each other up, but it’s a solid idea. I’m guessing that would put Eld and Gunther in their usual pairing?” It was about as subtle as he got with wanting to keep you in sight at all times. On most expeditions, he didn’t even need to make sure, because you were always paired together, but on missions like these…

“Actually Sir, I’ve been working well with Gunther in training recently. We’re coordinated enough to know each other’s movements. Plus I think it would be good for him to work with someone else other than Eld or yourself.” You suggested, and your eyes must have been playing tricks on you, because there was no way Levi would have looked deflated at that idea, right? This was the best opportunity to see if you and Gunther worked with the same efficiency as you did with Petra or Levi himself. You doubted it, but it was worth a shot.

‘Absolutely fucking not.’ Is what he wanted to say. ‘The hell are you thinking, not sticking by my side?’ is what some fucked up instinct was telling him to say. Some part of his brain that seemed focused on pissing him off by filling his head with these thoughts and making his heart stutter whenever you so much as breathed in his vicinity. “Fine. But don’t fucking die on me.” 

You knew that was about as good as you were going to get. Still, your very soul sung at his words. Reading between the lines came with Levi’s personality description, and over the years you’d become quite good at it. A warm, kind smile pulled at your lips, the first he’d seen on you since yesterday evening. 

“Who’s worrying about who now?” you couldn’t help but lightly tease, your smile widening at his dismissive scoff. But you’d caught it, the slightest hint of amusement etched deep within his features. 

If only you knew. If only you knew that he constantly worried about you, and had done for the last however many years he’d been blessed with your presence. 

Levi mentally shook himself. Where the fuck did that come from? When had he started thinking like that? Certainly before yesterday, but his thoughts had never been so damn vocal about you like this. He wished more than anything he could just turn them off. 

“Besides, strategically speaking, this is the best course of action. Gunther’s still fairly new, he has the skill yeah, but lacks the experience to follow through.” It seemed you had continued talking even after his mind took a short wander, and he hadn’t realised he’d been staring rather blankly at you the whole time. Did you notice he wasn’t listening? Or were you so focused on your strategy that you barely noticed him? You weren’t even looking at him…

And had either of you noticed that your squad had slowly backed away from the entire conversation and were now in a small group of their own, whispering to each other in hushed, secretive tones. 

You sure as shit didn’t, at least not until Levi cleared his throat rather obviously, and you looked up, shaken from your thoughts, to find Levi looking over your shoulder, a brow raised in irritated disinterest.

You turned to find yourself alone, save for your comrades now metres away. How had they left you without you even noticing? Were you really that wrapped up in the conversation? You were strategizing, something you would get carried away with, but even so…

Sneaky assholes.

Eld shot you an apologetic look as they shuffled back over, one you responded to with an obviously faux smile, the same smile you gave Hange yesterday. Levi felt his stomach clench slightly.

But it was Petra’s expression that had you nervous. She looked innocent. Too innocent. Like she was trying way too hard to appear inconspicuous, which of course, made her look much more conspicuous. She raised her thin eyebrows to you, daring you to ask her. You grit your teeth and held your tongue instead. 

“Alright, we’re pairing up. Petra and Oluo will work together, Eld you’re with me today.” Both Eld and Gunther gave you a strange look. Everyone in the squad knew it was you who would usually put together strategies and training regimes, alongside your Captain, of course. So they knew who to turn to if something didn’t make sense.

“Gunther’s with me, yeah. Thought we’d switch it up a bit.” You added, shrugging indifferently to Eld’s confused head-tilt.

“Works for me, we’ve been training a lot together recently, so this should be fun.” Your entire squad shifted to look at Gunther in morbid awe. You definitely had a different definition of fun…

“Petra, keep Bozado in order. Try not to kill him, as tempting as it often is.” Despite the surprisingly grating words, Oluo straightened and saluted Levi. You couldn’t help checking his nose for any brown staining, considering how much of a kiss-ass he was.

“I won’t let you down sir! You can count on us!” Levi winced slightly at the explosion of dedication from the man, glancing at your ever-so-subtle quirk of amusement, hidden by a strategic scratch of your eyebrow. Why did everything you do today cause his stomach to practise gymnastics? It was really getting on his nerves. Not you, just his own reactions. 

“Well, you all look ready to go.” You knew that voice without even having to turn around, though you did anyway. You threw a bright smile in Nanaba’s direction, watching her wince as if you were burning sunlight directly into her eyes. “Put that away, would you? We’re not all early risers.”

“No, because I do all the early rising for you.” You muttered, rolling your eyes at her flat stare. Anyone looking in from the outside would assume you hated each other, it was only those in your current circle who knew the truth. You would do anything for each other. All of you would. 

“Wasn’t it you who woke us up?”

“Take it up with Eld, I had nothing to do with it.” You shrugged, nodding your head in Eld’s faux grateful expression. 

“Don’t blame me, Gunther wakes us all up with his monstrous shi–”

“Alright that’s enough. Be ready to move out at a moment’s notice, disgusting lot.” You didn’t know if it was a product of proximity to Levi as a person, or because you were literally standing so close to him, but you could have sworn he was trying his best to hold in some show of amusement.

He absolutely was. And he could do nothing but walk away, making sure the rest of the group couldn’t see his face, before he released his amused smirk. 

If this was ‘everything going according to plan’ you would hate to see what it looked like when Hange’s plans failed. It was chaos from the get-go. They didn’t even stay in the formation they’d decided upon, instantly racing ahead of the rest of the squads. Poor Moblit galloped behind them, trying in vain to catch up, but whatever fucking science Hange had done on their horse, it seemed to travel much faster than any of the rest of them. You heard Miche swear under his breath, heard Levi’s cursing as the three squads tried vehemently to catch up, inevitably splitting up in the process.

And by the time you got there, it was already utter chaos. Frantic shouting from Hange with immense detail as to what titan type they were looking for, not knowing if they wanted to go for a fifteen metre or the five metre first. Not knowing what fucking hair colour they wanted. You almost screamed in frustration as you went to slice the nape of a stout five metre, only to be called back by Hange. 

Irritation flared in your gut. Especially after they then proceeded to tell you to ‘actually kill that one, its nose is wonky’. It took every fibre of self control not to comment on the crookedness of their nose. But you felled the monster anyway. There wasn’t time to argue. 

You’d just managed to mount your horse again, Gunther doing the same, when Nanaba called your name, racing toward you at full gallop and waving frantically. You glanced at Gunther who nodded in silent confirmation, before you both galloped to meet her halfway.

“What’s the situation?” You asked, barely slowing to a canter.

“”Miche squad’s surrounded, it’s a bloodbath out there. We need as many soldiers as we can find.” You’d never seen her look so wild. So wracked with untamed fear. Whatever the hell was happening over the hill, it wasn’t good. You turned back to your squad, the barrage of hoof-fools alerting you of their presence. 

“Miche’s surrounded.” You cut to the chase as Levi and Eld were the last to join the throng, Eld exchanging a concerned look with you. But there was nothing to be done, no way to reassure him you were alright. Not whilst there was still so much going on.

Levi thought for less than a moment, before addressing the rest of his team. “We lend a hand. Quick in and out, we don’t have time to be dropping in and saving every team that lands in shit. Do what you can and leave the rest to his squad.” 

You nodded in agreement when he looked to you for confirmation. The moment you set off, your squad instantly fell back into formation. You rode alongside Eld, behind Levi and in front of Oluo and Petra, Gunther took the rear.

“You alright?” you knew the question was coming.

“Yeah, as alright as one can be during one of Hange’s suicide missions. Still can’t believe they fucking volunteered us for this shit.” You grit your teeth, crouching low over your horse’s neck.

“Stay sharp, we’ve got company.” Eld nodded to his right, and you looked past him to three grinning titans. There was something about the ones that smiled. The ones who looked genuinely pleased to be devouring humanity. Their giddy delight always made you want to throw up. 

“Two this side as well.” Your head whipped to your left, Petra’s voice behind you calling you back. At least those two weren’t smiling. You looked back to Levi, who stayed staring straight ahead.

“Captain?” It wasn’t like you to prompt orders, trusting him with your life. But the closer the five came, the more your nerves buzzed. But still he kept his silence. You didn’t know what was happening. He’d been off today, and you’d never known Levi to be off. Something had happened, it must have. Or he was sick… yeah, that could be it. He was just coming down with a cold. Not that you’d ever seen him sick but that was the only logical explanation.

Minutes seem to stretch for eternity before he finally spoke up. “Eld, Gunther, take the three on the right. Petra, Oluo, take the left. You, stick with me for now. We’ll regroup after Miche squad is safe.” You met Levi’s eyes as he looked over his shoulder to you, and you tried to keep the fear from your gaze. Though you didn’t know why you were afraid. You’d worked with Levi for nearly all of your Scout life. But he was off his game, he was distracted, he was–

You noticed his expression soften ever so slightly, and all doubts ebbed away. This was Levi you were talking about. When had he ever been off his game? You returned his expression with a confident nod, determination sparking back in your eyes. He seemed satisfied with your reaction, and turned back just as the rest of your squad separated. A few seconds passed before you, too, had abandoned your horse in favour of ODM gear, being much better suited to the village terrain. A lot more to grip onto than out in the open field. 

It was a wonder why you ever diverted from working with Levi in the first place. You flowed together like joining rivers, movements matched, manoeuvres coordinated. Distract and dispose was your game. Though it was dangerous, you’d worked on it for so long it came like second nature.

You zipped past the eyes of a fifteen metre, feinting as it quickly grabbed for you, before allowing yourself into a freefall. It was a common manoeuvre you used, Levi showing up right on time. You held out your arm, wincing slightly as Levi used his momentum to grab it and swing you back. Titans had grown accustomed to the achor firing and usage of gas to change direction, but this always caught them off guard. They couldn’t anticipate the swift change. 

You felt your entire centre of gravity shift as you were swung back, Levi’s grasp on your arm releasing just as you fired your gear into its nape. With one swift slash, the beast fell on its front, and you landed on a nearby rooftop, panting slightly. Your arm throbbed a little where Levi had grabbed you, for some reason so much harder than he usually would. 

The titan count had dropped considerably since your squad had arrived, freeing Miche’s squad from the clutches of extinction. You knew your current partner was safe by the sounds of his footsteps beside you.

“All good?” You asked, turning your head to greet him as he came to your side, nodding in answer.

“Let me see your arm.” You blanched at the order, subconsciously moving it out of sight. How the fuck could he possibly know…?

“Which arm?” Now really wasn’t the time to be stalling, but you just really, really didn’t want to see his inevitable look of guilt if there was any bruising.

“The one you just hid from me. Let me see it.” Your eyes fell in acceptance, sheathing the trigger handle of your gear and holding out the arm that currently felt like it had been wrapped in tight string. 

With a gentleness you’d only seen a few times, Levi rolled up the sleeve of your jacket and jumper, bunching it uncomfortably at the crease of your elbow. You couldn’t look at him as his fingertips traced the discolouring on your arm, goosebumps raised in his fingers’ wake. 

But there was nothing you could do to stop the guilt he felt. Levi’s own arm pulsed in retaliation, almost as a punishment for hurting you. 

“It’s fine, Levi.” You murmured lowly, as if talking any louder would break him. 

You’d never been so conflicted. On the one hand, you knew him. You knew Levi better than anyone, though that may surprise a lot of people. Neither of you made it obvious that you knew each other so well, mainly because if Hange caught wind, they’d never stop crowing about it. But just because you knew him, doesn’t mean you could always decipher how he was feeling, or predict how he was going to react. Last night made that incredibly clear. You still don’t know what you did wrong, and asking him now just felt like an unnecessary, awkward conversation that you knew he would avoid at all costs.

It was a ridiculous paradox. You knew him, but because you knew him, you didn’t know him at all. 

“Get some salve on that the moment we get back. Let me know if it starts to bruise.” Something cracked in your chest at his quiet tone, remorse lacing his words, dripping in regret. It was impossible, it seems, to live with no regrets. You couldn’t deny he’d done well though, but there were some things that seemed impossible to move on from. “Join up with Gunther and get this over with. I’m sick of today.” There was no further exchange before ran and jumped, gear hissing as he sped back into the much smaller fray. 

You sighed heavily. Everytime you grew closer to him, he always shields himself from you. It had been a vicious cycle for a while now, and it was starting to get on your nerves. He really was impossible.

Levi’s head pulsed, aching waves of nausea hitting him periodically, throwing him off his rhythm. He could barely concentrate. Everytime his squad split up to take down the surrounding titans, his head would throb. Definitely sick, he decided. He would have to take the next few days off to recover from whatever illness had struck him. Though it was strange. He’d never been sick. Not since he was brought above ground. He had not once caught a cold, a disease, a virus -nothing. So it was odd that, now, he would be coming down with something. Not only that, but his arm ached like shit, and he was more than positive it was a punishment for hurting you earlier. At least, he hoped it was.

Not that he had the time to even contemplate these things. He wanted to throttle Hange. Again. The sheer lack of preparation was going to cost them so many lives. He knew Hange was rarely careless with human life, but it seemed that the freedom had gone to their head. Erwin had given them the go-ahead, and it had driven them wild. 

“Hange!” he called, briefly breaking off from formation to catch up with the wildly galloping scientist. They’d been flitting from squad to squad, assessing the surrounding titans, sizing them up and mentally weighing their value to her experiments. They appeared to not even hear him. “Hange!” he called again, this time a little more agitated.

Hange’s head whipped in his direction, a grin of deranged delight almost toppling him off his horse. “Didn’t see ya there! How’s your squad doing? Anything exciting to report? Oooooo, maybe an abnormal?” The way Hange’s eyes flashed eagerly made him want to kick them off their own horse.

“No, but you need to fucking choose. People are dying for this, Hange. Get your shit together and–” Levi couldn’t finish his sentence; his hand quick to cushion the side of his head. His skull was splitting apart. There was no other explanation. His skull was cracking and shattering and–

Everything beyond his own head silenced into nothing. His eyes widened, but he wasn’t looking at anything. But if he wasn’t looking at anything… then how could he see you?

You and Gunther, both looking incredibly co-ordinated. What the fuck was going on? You were nowhere near him. He’d broken formation away from you to talk to Hange, you were across the field behind him… how the fuck could he–

His heart lurched into his throat. One second you were performing flawless manoeuvres with your partner, the next you were silently screaming his name, becoming a comet as you changed trajectory and swung back to him. The impact had his jaw tensing as if he himself were bracing for pain. You’d careened directly into him, the reason unknown until the giant hand swiped down and obscured you from his vision. 

When he saw you again, you were struggling. Struggling and writhing in the suffocating grasp of a twenty metre. Your arms pinned to your side, you could do nothing but twist in vain. A whip cracked inside Levi’s head.

He had to go.

He didn’t even register Hange had been calling his name until he was racing in the other direction. Hundreds had died. Hundreds upon hundreds of people he’d known by name, had died, and he’d moved on. He’d had to.

So why the hell would he race so hard for you? He asked the question as if he didn’t already know the answer.

His headache was getting worse. The splitting pain had stopped, but it was a growing ache now. A sand-timer. He was acting on instinct. He knew it was a timer to your death. Whatever the fuck he’s just seen, it hadn’t happened yet. He could still get to you. He could still save you. He could still–

“GUNTHER!” Your panicked scream shattered his spiral, but he was still too far away. Everything unfolded before his eyes, your manoeuvres a mirror to what he’d just witnessed. Your swinging trajectory changed. Your cracking impact, the clanging of metal as your partner was shoved clear of the giant hand. 

Levi urged his horse faster, digging his heels into its flanks. He had to make it. He didn’t have another choice. He felt winded, like fingers were pressing into his lungs as you were caught, arms pinned by your sides. What he hadn’t heard was Gunther’s scream of your name. Not until now, and it was haunting. Whether it spooked his horse, or the beast simply recognised the desperation of its rider, he didn’t know or care. A reward was in order for its final burst of speed. 

He also hadn’t heard his own desperate roar of your name in his vision. It had ended before this. 

Anchors fired, gas pressed, Levi’s stomach met his throat as he whipped between the titan’s head and shoulder, twisting impossibly to re-aim his gear straight for its nape. He had to kill it and catch you after. If he freed you first, the risk of being caught again was too high. And though every instinct screamed at him to tear it to shreds, he didn’t have time on his side. 

His internal organs lurched as he pressed the gas again, a feeling he was too used to now. One anchor released, adjusting his arc as steel sliced through flesh and muscle, cleaving a valley through the titan's nape.

Instantly he felt the press on his lungs release. He chalked it down to relief, though it wasn’t over. You were now released.

And falling. 

Levi performed another seemingly impossible twist, and there you were. 

With no obvious anchor points, this was why ODM gear was so dangerous in open field combat. With no trees to hook on to, it was incredibly difficult to land without damaging anything, or at least ending up with a sprain. But once again, no other options presented themselves to him.

You turned at the familiar hiss, wind whipping your hair, but only for a second before you were sheltered by body mass. You didn’t need to look to tell who it was. You recognised that smell. 

“This is going to hurt.” He told you, a hand bracing the back of your head.

“Don’t let go.” You pleaded, gripping the sides of his tan jacket.

Levi drew back, looking at you briefly in a way you’d never seen before. You didn’t realise he would hit the ground first.

“I won’t. I promise.” There was a brief moment where you regarded each other, before he brought your head back into his chest.

And you struck the ground.

[wolveria]

Crucible - Ch 19

Pairing: Link x Reader

Series Warnings (18+ only): Eventual smut, slow burn, violence, mild body horror, lots of whump, angst with a happy ending

Chapter Summary: Why must the Champion be so infuriating? Not that you care. You're just trying to keep him alive, a task he insists on making exceedingly difficult.

AO3

The Sheikah made good on their promises to poke and prod you, and you made good on your promise to allow them to do so.

You endured it, and you weren’t pleased by the discomfort and pain it brought, but at least the scientists were quick, and it was easier to bear with Link nearby. He was also poked and prodded, not having much of a choice while he was in the infirmary, and the Sheikah were accommodating enough to bring their instruments all the way from the labs. They were most likely glad to do so, knowing you would be more cooperative in Link’s presence.

The Champion couldn’t be confined to a bed for long. Within two days he was up and about, and worse, insisting this would be a good time to train you in combat.

You considered arguing just on principle, but when you thought about it, you concluded that this was in alignment with your goal of keeping Link’s head attached to his shoulders. You couldn’t very well defend him if you didn’t know how to defend yourself.

Plus, there had been no news from the Sheikah regarding your tests. It was better to keep yourself occupied than allow your nervousness to consume you.

So that’s how you found yourself on the training grounds, facing off against Link for the third day in a row, a wooden sword in your hands and his. You were sore and bruised already in several places, while the only marks he had were from his battle with the skeletal undead.

He knocked the training sword from your hands for the dozenth time that day, and you let it lie in the dirt.

Link dropped from his ready stance, glancing from you to the fallen sword.

“It’s all right,” he said, as if that could make it so. “It takes time and experience before you’ll see marked improvement.”

“What would you know of such things?” you snapped, your irritation getting the better of you. “You were chosen to wield a legendary sword.”

You looked away as soon as you said the words, regret warming your cheeks, but the Champion’s tone was much kinder than you deserved.

“I was,” he admitted, drawing closer. “And once the sword chose me, I had to learn how to master it. I may have been born to wield it, but that didn’t mean I knew how to use it. That took training, and a lot of time.”

Link picked up the discarded wooden sword, holding it by the blade just above the hilt, then he opened his hand and it balanced perfectly across his palm.

“Whatever our talents or destiny, it takes effort and wisdom to improve ourselves. Those things aren’t given to us, no matter how much we wish them to.”

He tossed the sword up and snatched it from the air, and then he held it out to you, hilt first. You eyed the sword before taking it from him, eyeing him just as dubiously.

“In other words, I’m not allowed to give up?”

His expression brightened, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Nope.”

“Great.” You gripped the hilt and held up the sword into a ready position. “I suppose if I can’t best a knight who was battered into a coma just a few days ago, then I still need improvement.”

Link also moved into a battle stance, his smile curving into a mischievous tilt.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be besting me soon enough.”

Despite the teasing, a small kernel of warmth formed in your chest. You didn’t know if his words would come to pass since you’d neglected to master swords, axes, or pikes, but his confidence in you was… appreciated.

Before you could launch yourself at him for what was probably another failed attempt, you came up short. A soft sound filled the air, a low rumble until it rose into a crescendo of cacophony of flapping wings and crying birds.

Above you the sun darkened as hundreds of birds filled the skies, all different shapes and sizes. Sparrows and larks and crows, all of the flocking together towards the same direction.

No, not towards. Away. They were all fleeing the dark horizon to the north. The Great Hyrule Forest.

The Champion’s brows were furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, though when you met his gaze, he attempted to lessen the severity of his expression.

“I think that’s enough lessons for today. Why don’t you wash up and meet me in the dining hall for dinner?”

Your eyes narrowed. For the Champion of Hyrule, he was a terrible liar.

“All right,” you answered with a lie that was more convincing. You both put your training weapons away, and when Link disappeared from sight within the halls of the castle, you followed after him, keeping to the shadows and treading on the balls of your feet to mask your footsteps.

It didn’t matter; you lost him sight of him too soon and he seemed to just vanish. Huffing out a frustrated breath, you returned to your room and washed your face and the back of your neck, not having accumulated enough grime for a bath.

Hoofbeats drew your attention, belonging to one horse and moving at a gallop. You raced to the window and leaned over the sill just in time to catch sight of a black-and-white beast disappearing around the curve of the road from the stables.

“Idiot,” you hissed between your teeth, grabbing your pack from beside the bed and running out the door. You didn’t head to the stables or the east gate, but instead ran to the lower levels of the castle as far as they would go, down to the caverns that held the docks.

You knew exactly where Link was headed, and in order to catch up, you’d need to take a shortcut. Hopefully, your study of the local maps would come in handy.

You found an empty rowboat and threw your packet inside, the small vessel jostled from the movement and causing the inky black waters to ripple, reflecting the torchlight.

You were in the process of untying the line when someone shouted, “Hey!”

Bracing for a fight, you were instead confronted with a guard glancing between you and the boat with a worried expression, and he tipped his helmet nervously at you before stating, “My lady, you can’t go out on your own.”

You floundered for a moment, and then fixed him with a smile, hoping it didn’t come off as a grimace.

“Then perhaps you could be my escort.”

“Uh…”

“What is your name, sir knight?”

“Ewan,” he said, rubbing the back of his head with an unsteady smile.

“Ewan,” you repeated, your smile still holding. “I would feel safer with a member of the guard by my side. Would you accompany me?”

Against all proper expectations, the guard answered, “I… yes, of course, my lady.”

You made room for him in the boat, which could barely hold two people, and then he cast off the line and grabbed the oars. You watched his every moment, reflecting on how easy it had been to command him. Perhaps the princess had told her men to obey your wishes, though you were certain she wouldn’t be happy with this particular demand.

He guided the boat out of the cavern dock and out into the moat. The sun was setting behind the ridgeline surrounding the back of the castle, and you had to fight to not snap at him to hurry up. You were much more likely to lose Link after night fell, and you didn’t want to be caught out in the dark. Not after the last time you’d been outside the castle walls.

The oars dipped into the water and pushed the craft along, the small waves of the lake licking at its sides.

“Where would you like to go, my lady?” he asked, his smile nearly shy.

You pretended to think for a moment, casting your eyes out along the moat until the settled on the distant bridge.

“Over there, I think.”

“Helmhead Bridge?”

“Yes, that’s it,” you added with a bright smile. “It looks like it would have a nice view of the area.”

In fact, it would, but that’s not why you wished to go there. The guard, unaware of your true intentions, rowed the boat across the moat to the northeast. Green scales flickered under the water, following the wake of the passing boat, and curious eyes stared up at you from underneath the water. If the situation wasn’t so urgent, you might actually enjoy being out here, but there wasn’t time to enjoy the peaceful scenery. Not when the Champion was, in all likelihood, running headlong into danger.

Shadows passed over you as the guard Ewan rowed under the stone bridge, once a solid piece of architecture, it had partially crumbled, and its stones lined with moss and lichen.

The guard indicated the bridge with one armored gauntlet, his expression pleased as he prepared to show you the sights. It was almost a shame you wouldn’t be there to see them.

“Helmhead Bridge was named after a monstrous creature that—my lady!”

The guard cried out as you vaulted over the side of the rowboat, plunging into the cold water. You sank under the surface, forcing your limbs to push you forward until you broke through to gasp at the air, and then you continued to the shore only a few feet away.

“My lady, come back!”

There was a splash behind you, but you were too far ahead and without the burden of plated armor you easily reached the shore. You pulled yourself onto land, your soaked pack heavy in one hand, but you waited until the guard bobbed to the surface and grabbed onto the boat with desperate flailing.

“Don’t fret, Guard Ewan!” you called to him. “I’ll return to the castle soon!”

I hope.

With a backwards glance to be sure the knight hadn’t drowned himself, you ran up the road, not stopping until you reached the settlement of Rauru. The homes there were new, built within the last years since the Calamity, and with the sun setting most of the people were heading indoors and most ignored you, only a few glances shot your way at your drenched, breathless state.

You paused only long enough to get your bearings and to empty your boots of water before continuing northeast, cutting through the forest until you found the road heading proper north.

On horseback, Link would have to go south in order to circumvent the moat, and then take the long way around to head north along the road. You’d cut that journey by at least three-quarters, and even on foot you should be ahead of him.

Your hope faded as the sun set, still no sign of him or his horse. You continued north, walking in the forest alongside the road rather than on it, and you were forced to switch to the other side of the road to avoid the old training camp. It had been restored, and even though most knights-in-training were gathered around bonfires and eating supper, you had to be careful not to be caught.

Unfortunately, this put you in the woods between the road and the mountains, and you didn’t have many places to run if you were trapped. You weren’t sure who or what would want to harm you, but you couldn’t get the thought of those skeletal monster out of your head, especially as the sun was setting.

A horse nickered from somewhere up ahead and you picked up your pace, trying to keep quiet, but the weight in your chest lightened at the noise. You’d found him.

Or… you thought you’d found him. That was definitely his horse you spotted through the trees, a black steed with a white mane, but her rider was nowhere in sight.

You frowned as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving a blue twilight in its wake. The horse was nearly invisible in the dim surroundings, only the swish of her white tail giving an indication of where she stood, grazing on the grass next to the road.

You moved at a crouch, the silent woods forcing you to cover your footsteps as much as you could, but there was still no sign of the Champion. Surely, he wouldn’t have continued on foot and left his horse—

A rough hand grabbed your arm and yanked you backwards, spun you around, and shoved you against a tree trunk.

The air was knocked from your lungs, you couldn’t cry out, and your arm was twisted up behind your back, a warm weight keeping you pinned to the tree as something sharp and pointed pressed under your chin.

There was a soft, surprised noise, and then the cold pressure of a blade was removed from your neck. The grip on your wrist, however, was still firm as your assailant once again spun you around and pushed you flat against the tree.

Link stared down at you, his fingers holding your wrist at your side, and even in the darkness his surprise was visible.

“Blue?”

You tried to free your arm, but his hold was like iron.

“Let me go!”

His surprise folded into the beginning of anger.

“No. Not until you tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Following you, obviously,” you responded, lips pulled back into a grimace.

“Why?”

His questions were irritating, his nearness even more so. Half his body was pressed against yours, and you could feel each breath he took , and even through the layers of tunics and underclothing, he was warm. Very warm.

“Because you’re traipsing off into danger again, that’s why.”

Instead of further angering him, the crease between his brows deepened as he slightly tilted his head.

“You thought… I left you behind and wouldn’t be returning to the castle.”

You huffed out a frustrated breath. Wasn’t he paying attention? You weren’t worried he’d abandoned you; you were worried that he… that he would…

Turning your head aside, you stared off into the darkness, trying not to fidget from his weight against yours, or how pleasant it felt, heightened by your cold, wet clothing.

And of course, he chose that moment to notice that fact.

“Why are you drenched?”

“Took a shortcut.”

He huffed, a sound that was more amused than irritated, and blessedly he let you go. You rubbed your wrist, not because he’d hurt you, which he hadn’t, but because you wanted that lingering warmth off your skin. Even through his gloves you’d felt it.

“Through the moat?”

You nodded, shoulders hunched as a chill crept through the forest. It was going to be a miserable night in wet clothes, so you were surprised when Link walked ahead of you and said over his shoulder:

“Come on. I’ll light a fire, and we can get you dry before continuing.”

You perked up, quickly following after him.

“You’re not going to take me back to the castle?”

“I should,” he admitted in a low voice, “but unless I lock you in the dungeon, there wouldn’t be much point. Even then, you could probably find your way out.”

He eventually slowed his pace and paused once he’d realized you’d stopped following. He looked over his shoulder and then fully turned to face you, his smile fading as he examined your face, or what little he could in the dim light.

“You wouldn’t…” Your voice was brittle, the exact opposite of the hard accusation you’d wanted to voice. “You wouldn’t… really lock me away, would you?”

“No,” he answered immediately, approaching you with his hands slightly held before him. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

You didn’t meet his eye.

“Never mind.” You walked forward again, brushing past him. “It’s not important.”

A hand on arm halted your steps, and you were too weak, too pitiful to shake it off.

“If it troubles you,” he softly said, “then it’s important.”

You balled your fists but didn’t move, a war waging inside you to remain quiet and keep your own affairs to yourself.

But that hand didn’t move either, and the battle within you was lost.

“The first time you saw me,” you began, halting and quiet, “I was… stealing. It hadn’t been the first time either. There was a reason the guard recognized me when we arrived at the Akkala Citadel. I’m very well-acquainted with their dungeons.”

There were several heartbeats of silence before Link finally said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do.”

You shook off his hand, and he didn’t reach for you again.

[wisehq]

Mission Debrief: Chapter Forty-two

...It's all coming together.

I'm just going to come outright and say it; I had no idea what to write for this review- not because there wasn't anything to discuss, but rather this chapter gave us so much that I didn't know what to focus on first. Chapter forty-two has single-handedly thrown open the doors to a hundred different theories, and believe me when I say that after a whole night of redbull and theorizing I couldn't come up with any clear answers (the folks over at the Strix discord group can attest to that).

So here's what we're gonna do; I'm not going to focus on the chapter itself.

It was cute. Cardshark Anya is hilariously awesome. Damian is a little shit (whom I adore), and the chapters where the kids can just be kids are- in my opinion- the best.

That's all I'm going to say on the matter. For the rest of this review, I want to go over all the facts we know so far about the story and setting. All of the things Endo has been slowly building up in the background and the pieces that we can stitch together from them, starting with this chapter. Two key things stuck out to me.

In the entirety of the story up till this point, this is the first time we have heard mention of a royal anything- and not only that, but this chef is a former royal chef. This of course implies that a) said chef was fired (not likely given that Eden wouldn't likely associate with someone who was disgraced like that) or retired, or b) that there is no royalty anymore. Ostania is a totalitarian state and the main power of the government- from what we've seen- lies with the ruling political party, i.e the National Unity Party, a.k.a Desmond's party. Such a political structure would have no room for royalty in a governing capacity, and therein begs the question; is there still a royal/noble class- albeit in a non-governing sense- or was it abolished sometime in the recent past?

Classical language is not proper speaking and diction like I had originally thought. Classical language is a specific term typically used to describe a dead language or dialect (think Latin, or Hebrew before it was revived). I find this particularly interesting because under no circumstance would a child as young as Anya know anything about a dead language unless- as Loid points out- she was exposed to it as a toddler. It would have had to have been when she was very young, as she herself doesn't realize she knows this information. This would mean she likely learned it from her birth family; Anya was old enough to remember the lab and scientists, meaning she became Subject 007 later on in life- otherwise she would have remembered knowing classical language.

These two concepts are incredibly important to keep in mind, both now and later on as the story progresses. We now know that a royal class plays a factor in the political game that Twilight and everyone else is playing, and we know that Anya knows information that she shouldn't know otherwise (even with her mind-reading powers). So where does that leave us?

Honestly, for the first time...I'm kind of stumped?

Let's look back at the story and see what else we can piece together- maybe there's something in there we can extrapolate for our purposes. Another clue to point us in the direction that Endo is seemingly funneling us towards.

From chapter forty-one

Franklin Perkins was a man who believed in making his country a better place to live. In his eyes and from what he saw, Ostania wasn't going in the right direction- but why? He blames his lack of money for his mother's death, and we see him hold resentment towards the government over socialistic policies. Wealth is something to be shared with others, not hoarded for ones self. That seems to be where Ostania's moral compass is pointing towards, but is that really the case?

From chapter 39

Mr. Green mentions that people have been fleeing to Westalis; from the way he says this it sounds like this is happening currently- not in the past- and people are going so far as to travel through a third country just to get to Westalis. Such a journey isn't without its perils, so anyone attempting to crossover from Ostania would likely be taking a huge risk in doing so. Not only that, but most of what we've seen in the story is Ostanians loathing Westalins...so what would compel people to do this in the first place?

From chapter three As Anya reads the minds of people gathered at a politcal rally near the start of the manga, we see their disgruntled thoughts behind her. There's multiple mentions of losing jobs and not having enough money- some people are even hungry. Most of these people blame Westalis for their troubles, though not the leader of the rally, ironically.

Also from chapter 3

We find out (and often forget) early on that there are multiple political parties in Ostania. Donovan leads the National Unity Party, whereas the political rally we see here is hosted by the Nationalist Party. The latter preaches peace with the west, but many of the people gathered reject this outright. This is important; the N.U.P is the most successful political party in Ostania, which means a majority of the country's citizens approve of their platform. If we're to assume the Nationalist Party's platform is to advocate for peace with Westalis, then we must also assume that the N.U.P stands for the opposite; direct aggression with the west.

From chapter 31 The Zacharis Dossier, though ultimately a bust, hinted at rumors that have permeated East and West since the start of the cold war. We know for a fact that human experiments did indeed take place in Ostania, so it also stands to reason that there is at least a kernel of truth to the claims of P.O.W (prisoner of war) massacres conducted by the west. It's a heinous crime, and also one that leads to another question; why would any country go through with it in the first place? In addition, piggy-backing off the former point;

From chapter 19 While Loid details Project Apple, he uses the word 'regime' to describe the former Ostanian government. The literal definition of a regime is a government, especially an authoritarian one (Oxfrod Dictionary). I won't highlight all the specifics of what is and isn't authoritarianism, but essentially the point I'm trying to make here is that the current Ostanian administration is still very much a regime. Donovan acts as the authoritarian ruler (or would-be ruler; we don't know if he's actively in charge or is looking to usurp power for himself) and continues on the legacy of the former government. We know for a fact that this is the case because Anya is only at most 6 years old, likely even younger. That would mean the experiments being run on her had to have been recent, which fits with the time frame that we established at the beginning of this rabbit hole- it also aligns with what we know about what Donovan has been doing on the back end of things. Those who have kept up with my reviews know what I'm talking about; gloom pharmaceuticals, the truth serum, OSO-R, etc. All of that, which then leads us to...

...right back where we started. So...what then? What can we conclude from all this? At least a few things;

Anya is tied to Desmond- either directly or indirectly.

Anya's past is also Ostania's past; she's familiar with a dead language that's no longer spoken, and there's definitely a reason why no one speaks it anymore.

Ostania is in a period of political and economic turmoil. This also comes on the heels of a (possible) former monarchy, and the struggle of a country willing to embrace authoritarianism so long as it means staying alive.

WISE and Westalis are not innocent in this game of chess with Ostania and the SSS, and more than likely have committed atrocities that may or may not be directly tied to Ostania and- possibly- Anya's past.

And...this is as far as I can go. I've hit a wall, as have other people I've talked to. We're still missing pieces to the puzzle. Endo will of course provide us with more clues and theory fodder as the weeks and months progress, but for now this is as far as I can go on my own. On the one hand I feel defeated because I can't come up with a meaningful explanation for everything and present it in a neat little bundle for you all to read, but on the other hand I'm thoroughly enjoying this. I'm more engaged with this manga and story than any other I've read before; I'm at the edge of my seat every week, and I'm sure most of you are, too. For now, I'll leave the review here. I find it fitting to leave it open ended, just as Endo did with Loid's self-imposed question. Hopefully, like him, we can find answers in the near future.

Also, BONUS...

...No fun panel with a snappy comment this time. Instead, I’m going to humbly ask for your help.

If you have any ideas about where you think the story is going, theories as to how everything fits together, or just really want to discuss the manga with other fans- please check out our forum and share with us. We’d love to hear what you all think; not only that, but a lot more heads makes theorizing both more productive and a whole lot more fun. Check it out if you have the time, or- if you don’t feel like clicking on any links- you can always leave a comment either on this post or send us an ask or message. Anytime, any reason, we’d love to talk SxF.

Again, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you all next chapter!

[milfglupshitto]

Get to Know Me

tagged by: @suborbitalrailgun and @its-captain-sir

rules: tag ten people you want to know better!

relationship status: single and not looking (I’m aroace lmao)

favorite color: maybe a dusty blue or dark green? it’s not easy for me to pick

three favorite foods: cornbread (NOT the kind with actual corn kernels in it), mango spears, the sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese takeout place back home (I eat it sauceless though)

song stuck in my head: expectations by bondage fairies

last song I listened to: well-dressed by hop along (currently listening to my spotify discover weekly)

last thing I googled: “vtsgw additive parallel capacitor”. I have a physics exam tomorrow, vtsgw = voltage I just can’t type

time: 10:16 PM

dream trip: not sure about this one! I don’t really want to travel anywhere until I speak more languages, I like going places on public transport but I don’t really like the being somewhere else part of traveling if that makes sense

anything I really want right now: to do well on this exam tomorrow (although I’ve got another later this week, projects, a lab practical, etc… the hits really do keep coming). also, sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese takeout place back home (I shouldn’t have thought about it)

can’t think of anyone to tag so open tags for this one!