#ok but levi do be one of those characters that once you start writing angst for its um

[leyyvi]

aaa are you. ready for a sad Levi headcanon.

basically, Levi hates taking photos. Sometimes the survey corps members have to pose for official portraits (perhaps one for all the leaders and one for all the recruits/cadets); Levi absolutely detests these moments and refuses to even look at the finished result. It’s because he can’t stand to see the way his eyes look; all he sees is a tired, broken old man. Someone so angry and battered and scared; forced into the cage that is the title of “Humanity’s Strongest”. He also sees the photos his recruits are in, sees the innocence and dedication in their eyes; he wonders how many more of them he’ll fail to protect, and he hates himself even more.

I’m sorry idk why I’m so mean to Levi I swear he is my fav

Bestie I had to take the whole day to process this and i might need an extra business day to recover. 

Are you sure he's your fave??? ARE YOU SURE???

Though your VERY PAINFUL headcanon reminded me of part of this post-manga ending fic in my wips. It's very angsty but  I'm just returning the favor :)))

It’s silent for a moment, the two of you pausing to take a sip of the tea. He observes you intently for your reaction. You exhale a satisfied sigh at the taste, immediately raising the cup back to your lips for another drink. A small wave of pride washes over Levi, knowing he picked a flavor you’d take a liking to.

“They’re very well-mannered,” you praise, “You’ve taught them well.”

He scoffs lightly, “Only around guests, after business hours they’re a pain in the ass.”

You’re giggling at his remark, it’s a soothing sound, Levi decides. His lip twitches upwards hearing your laughter. You lean back against the countertop across from him, taking another sip.

“How long has your café been around?”

“Just a year, haven’t been here for long.”

You brush a few strands of hair behind your ear in thought.

“What did you do before opening it?”

There’s a long pause before he answers your question, his brow unconsciously furrowing as he carefully considers his reply. “I was a soldier.”

You don’t look surprised. Probably obvious considering the state he’s in, completely fucking battered. A scarred face, nearly wheelchair bound, missing fingers, shit, even an eye. A small part of him grows self conscious when he remembers just how much of him has changed on the outside. 

He’s used to people being afraid of him, shying away from him. He’s well aware of the aura he’s given his whole life. But now, it’s different. He can’t distinguish if it’s fear now, or pity. If it’s the latter, he feels pathetic. Humanity’s strongest soldier reduced to a broken mess.

He knows you’re uncomfortable now, as you’re shuffling your feet and tapping your fingers on the counter as your gaze moves everywhere but him. Maybe he should’ve lied to spare you of the sadness that’s crawled into your eyes.

[koulakoukoula2003]

hello again, rivetra anon here

that sounds like an interesting angst too! like levi and petra were able to patch their relationship but this time its them vs the world (not really the world but like someone whose not them that is trying to break them apart haha) so yeah i think that's a great idea too. but personally I would like to see levi actually make an effort and fight to keep petra in his life. I mean ever since, petra was the one who made the effort in their relationship and now that she's had enough of it, I'd like to see her going away from Levi and so he's gonna be the one to make an effort now. Like I was thinking of this scene when Petra hands in her resignation letter or something and Levi asks why, then Petra just smiles with sad eyes saying 'I've had enough of war' and slowly she takes off the ring and puts it on Levi's table and says as she looks at him one last time 'and pain' then she leaves and Levi will like idk um desperately try to apologize and make her stay (we don't usually see levi breaking down so i think it would be nice to see him break down for a woman) but Petra is like she can't take it anymore. So she leaves and um maybe goes back to her father's house and then weeks later, Petra's dad will be banging on Levi's door asking him for help because something bad happened to her like he knows that Petra and Levi are through anymore but he doesn't know where to go and ask for help since the MPs are not really reliable lmao and so yeah we go to the scene where Levi finds Petra in the underground, a victim of human trafficking and prostitution and lying in her own blood because she was actually pregnant with Levi's child and after seeing that state of Petra, Levi goes berserk in the underground. Then maybe after that, after all that has been said and done they will be able to fix their relationship but Petra isn't anymore how she used to be like she was once full of life and vigor but now she has become an empty shell of who she used to be but despite all of this Levi vows to love her no matter what and yeah happy ending ಥ‿ಥ

but there's a part of me that wants to see petra die hahaha and break levi hahaha but i think its too cruel and they deserve a happy ending too

Whatever you decide to write, I know it's gonna come up great <3

BRO LMFAO I THOUGHT ABOUT KILLING HER TOO AHAHAHAHAH but then i realised, you can't have angst and suffering if you don't have people to inflict that suffering upon MUAHAHAHAHAHA

ok yeah your idea is kinda better, I'll totally write it like this, and mksdnjrbheuijw I LOVE writing PTSD and Petra's gonna have lots of it later on like imagine Levi's tryna touch her and she's flinching away like mdkenjrhiw I LOVE WRITING THAT SHIT, MAN, angst is what I write best. Or she can even have nightmares in the nights and eating problems and sudden moments of crying that literally come out of nowhere.

Like she can be just sitting, doing nothing and suddenly, she's crying (it's totally a thing when you've been through that kind of trauma) and Levi's losing his mind cuz he knows what she's been through - he knows it first-hand because his mom went through it and it's a nightmare to go through this again.

And since u agree with them losing a child Imma def do it, I love writing Levi who's going feral and losing his stoic and calm behaviour.

I've noticed all snk fans just want to see Levi at his worst and at his best at the same time because he is a man that in the series and the manga barely shows any emotion so we fans really want to explore how angry, sad, happy, in pain, heartbroken Levi looks and sounds like. And honestly the same stands for Erwin and Zeke and all those characters that hide what they think and feel all the time.

I was thinking Miche helps Levi find her (cuz Miche is everybody's best bro) so they go together in the underground and start looking because before she left, I wrote a scene of Levi asking Miche to be his best man in his Petra's wedding

Funnily enough he's gonna be the best man at Erwin and Nat's wedding too (if it ever happens eheheheheheheh) MICHE IS EVERYBODY'S BEST BRO OK?

here take a sneak peek, anon

“For fuck’s sakes, I miss for two months, and Captain grumps is fucking engaged, AND MY BEST FRIEND IS FUCKING MARRIED AND HIS WIFE GOT TAKEN, like I just missed two months how did you guys manage to fuck everything up without me in such a short time��”

Miche continued his long, long, long monologue. Erwin was by his desk, reading through the notebooks that they had recovered from Dr Yeager’s basement.

Levi rolled his eyes. “Are you going to be my best man, or not?” Levi interrupted Miche’s long monologue, but he kept going.

“Wait, wait, I haven’t finished talking, and what about the state of the world like is it-” Miche cut himself when he realised that Levi had just asked him to be his best man?! Levi???? Levi hated him, didn’t he??? “Me? You want me to be your best man???” He must be joking.

“I could ask for Hange, but I don’t want them to set my wedding on fire.”

“So, you trust me not to set your wedding on fire?”

Levi looked at him for a moment. Contemplating this. “This is a terrible idea, isn’t it?” He wondered out loud and Miche laughed.

“Fine. I’ll be your best man, and I’ll make sure to set your wedding on fire.” Miche said sarcastically.

Levi rolled his eyes. “Fuck off.”

“I love you too, buddy.” Miche scratched his head. “Damn, I’m gonna have to ask Nanaba for the wedding rings. I’m clueless when it comes to that stuff.”

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

Open Heart: Second Year

I don’t think I’m saying anything that hasn’t already been said before but this is bugging me like crazy. I don’t use Tumblr very often but I don’t know anyone else who plays Choices, so here I am (I guess spoiler alert for those who haven’t played Open Heart).

Open Heart book 1 is one of my favourite books, possibly even my most favourite. I genuinely couldn’t decide between Bryce, Raf and Ethan. I switch between the male and female MC and I’ve been able to give them different personalities. The book had strong writing and a coherent plot with probably three main storylines: Patient X, Panacea Labs, and Mrs Martinez, which all tied together beautifully at the end. Even all our patients came back in the last chapter.

And then Open Heart: Second Year. Where to start.

Obviously Ethan is our boss, mentor and colleague so he will have a vital role in the story, but why push the other LIs aside? Why can’t Bryce romancers steal a few minutes in the hospital corridors where Bryce gives you a flirty wink and a pat on the butt? Why can’t Jackie romancers sneak into her room every so often?

And let’s get started on Rafael. First of all....what the fuck?

I love a little bit of angst so I wasn’t initially too mad when Sora was introduced (actually I think it made me want Rafael more, because apparently I only like men I can’t have...and I’ve gone off Ethan because he would be too easy). But there was none. Sora appeared in chapter 2, where it’s described as ‘stings a little to watch’, but doesn’t appear again until the baseball game in chapter 8 where they cheer for Edenbrook a couple of times. The only kind of ‘angst’ Rafael romancers got was dancing with Raf at the music festival where Sora is briefly mentioned and MC closes their eyes and listens to Raf’s heartbeat (which was a sweet moment, to be fair). Are you seriously telling me that none of their friends acknowledged that he and MC used to date? That they wouldn’t have asked if MC was OK at least once? That they would have invited Rafael over to the apartment without giving MC a heads up? And when PB was asked about this they gave some crap about making things realistic and exploring the mature themes of a medical drama. If Open Heart were realistic, MC would have been fired halfway through book 1 (one of the dialogue options with Ethan in book 1 chapter 6 actually leads him to say ‘consider yourself lucky you’re even getting a next time’) but NO, we get ‘realism’ by losing a beloved love interest and character that people have grown invested in and spent money on, and then completely waste the opportunity for drama.

And then there’s chapter 10.

And going back to realism, they couldn’t think of anything else apart from vengeance and terrorism? Not, I don’t know, just a highly infectious patient which is probably more likely to happen within a hospital?

I do think that chapter 11 is one of the strongest chapters of Second Year, and the book has got stronger since then. But knowing that it might have ended with the death of Rafael leaves a VERY bitter taste. I’m very glad they rewrote it...but what on earth was the thought process behind that?!? Going back to realism again, if they wanted drama and emotions, why not have Kyra die of surgical complications? At least we’d have been somewhat prepared for that as she was introduced as being a cancer patient, and there would have been more angst (especially for Bryce romancers) as he would have had the guilt of not being able to save her when he promised MC he would, even if it was out of his hands. But sure, have Rafael caught in an assassination attempt, that makes sense. And it still doesn’t really excuse Sora, I mean, imagine the pain if he was still an LI and he and MC were saying their last goodbyes in that room??

I was happy with the rewrite to chapter 11 and the kiss between Raf and MC in chapter 12 was beautiful. And PB have actually made something of an effort to include Raf in the rest of the story; I was half-expecting to not see him again until the obligatory 30-diamond scene in the last chapter.

Chapter 12 was so emotional and it was so clear that each character and LI was struggling with the events. And the end of chapter 12 and the beginning of chapter 13 made it very clear that MC was terrified of returning to work. MC has butterflies in their stomach as they walk in to Edenbrook and then...nothing. That was that. As if they just needed to face their fear and they’d be alright again. Now I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure PTSD isn’t as simple as that? It would go far deeper than ‘Oh, I’m alright, just taking it one day at a time’. And the narration specified that MC was uncomfortable at the idea of going back into the diagnostics room where the attack happened, but chapter 14 we’re back in there without batting an eyelid.

Someone (I don’t know who...if you’re reading this let me know!!) pointed out that Danny and Bobby could have been mentioned at the gala...there could have been some kind of ‘in memory’ and donors could have been guilt tripped by MC. But no, not a peep. I keep thinking that we could have had Baz, Zaid and Inez (I miss her) catching up with MC and asking how they’re doing and how worried they were. If you’re going to the gala with Raf there could have been a highly emotional scene between them about what happened in the room. Raf alludes to it in a line of dialogue but there was potential for so much more.

And how about the fact that a group of doctors cured the incurable OVERNIGHT and it worked without proper testing? NO ONE has mentioned that since! Surely there would be papers being published and deeper research being conducted now that lives aren’t on the line? We had a whole chapter about how a research grant would save the hospital but now...nothing?! Ed Farrugia hasn’t been mentioned since chapter 12. No one in the team is talking about how it was June’s idea to convince him to switch to Edenbrook. Surely that would be a huge elephant in the room? Wouldn’t she at least say something like ‘I never wanted this to happen, we went too far’? Something?!

The fact that there has been no follow-up to the attack suggests to me that it was purely for shock value. They just wanted drama and didn’t care about keeping it grounded. And assuming that Rafael died in the original, that’s more upsetting. I can’t believe that he was the least profitable character in the history of Choices ever. And even if he was, was it because no one bought his diamond scenes, or because he didn’t have diamond scenes to buy? I romanced Bryce in my first playthrough, but I remember choosing to assist on his surgery without even thinking about it, I didn’t even look at the diamonds it would cost. So a beloved character would have been killed, and it would have brought nothing to the story.

Furthermore, Sora would never have been explained. Rafael almost explained in chapters 2 and 12 but both times MC cut them off. If Rafael was originally going to die in chapter 11, Rafael romancers would never have got that explanation, unless they were to hear it from Sora themselves afterwards (doubtful). And it’s highly unlikely it actually will be explained. PB will probably say ‘it’s up to you what happened!’ like they’re doing us a favour by creating our own headcanon, but to me that’s just lazy writing; they wanted to write off Rafael and they didn’t care how they did it.

If Second Year hadn’t opened with a funeral scene we might never have been clued into what was going to happen and demanded a rewrite.

Aside from that, there’s Esme. She’s introduced as breaking Dr Thorne’s hand and then has to diagnose and treat him in chapter 10. Depending on your choices, he gets surgery and thanks Esme for saving his life and apologises for the bar incident. Otherwise she doesn’t run further tests and he messes up a surgery which eventually forces him to resign. And then Esme gets her plotline with Levi. If Dr Thorne wasn’t her main plotline, what was the point in introducing him? It’s another storyline that had huge potential--sexual harassment in the workplace, for example--but had little to no payoff and fell off the radar. If PB wanted to introduce MC and Esme the night before they both started working then MC could have just literally walked into Esme and either apologised, asked if she was OK, or told her to watch where she was going, and that would have affected how she greeted you in the hospital the next day. But no, we get this storyline hinted at which is then written off and replaced. Maybe it was a rewrite, I just don’t see why it would have been.

Like I said before, the main storylines of book 1 all tied together in the end, but the storylines we’ve had in book 2 have just felt like completely separate events, just a bunch of stuff that happens and is quickly forgotten. I think the balance of the LIs has been better since chapter 11; even when the gang went to Vegas, Raf romancers got a quick phone call with him. As a Raf romancer, I appreciated that, and it only goes to show how PB could accommodate for all LIs whilst having Ethan integral as our boss (see before, bonus scenes for Jackie romancers sneaking into each others rooms, bonus scenes for Bryce romancers having flirty interactions in the corridors). 

There is such a difference in dialogue if you’re playing Ethan’s romance route or not. I had him stay behind in chapter 11 and I thought it came across as a sweet conversation between a mentor and his protégée. But the other LIs don’t have anything close to that level of detail. Ethan romancers get pretty close to being official in chapter 17 but I’ve heard Jackie and Bryce didn’t get that. And Raf romancers didn’t even get caught sneaking back into the gala. I’m still holding out hope that book 2 will end with all LIs saying ‘I love you’ and being official with MC, but the inequality makes me sad.

I might have had some more to say, but this post has been longer than I intended and I don’t remember what that might have been. I really wanted to like Open Heart: Second Year. Book 1 will always be a favourite, but book 2? It’s like going from the classic era of The Simpsons where Homer was a lazy dumbass but genuinely loved his family, to the modern era of The Simpsons where nothing makes sense and Homer is a straight-up jerk. I just hope that, if we get book 3, they would have learned from their mistakes and Open Heart can be saved. It doesn’t deserve this.

Well, that’s my two cents. Sorry for the long post. If you got this far, thanks for reading.