#study : eden emerson / shingeki no kyojin.

[decimatlas]

thinking about those final moments where eden knew brock had made up his mind, that he was staying behind with hange… that she was going to have to go on without him.

josie lunges at him, tears in her eyes, asking him what the hell he’s doing. and brock tells josie, take care of eden, okay? she needs it more than she lets on. he bids farewell to the others with an upbeat, see you around, kids.

and then he’s left to face her. face eden. she has tears in her eyes, too. but she has something else on her expression now. understanding. she knows why he’s staying behind. loyalty. an oath. a promise. if it was levi in hange’s place, eden knows she would be doing the same. but hell, if this doesn’t hurt.

‘i hate you, you know.’ her voice trembles. her voice gives her away. but brock knows her, with or without the unsteadiness in her voice, he knows his sister. so he gives her that familiar, knowing smile. he says, no you don’t.

and she cracks. she throws herself at him, throws her arms around him with such force that it nearly takes the wind out of him. she buries her face in his chest.

‘thank you,’ for everything. for watching out for me. for believing in me. for standing by josie. for standing by me. ‘for being my brother.’

[decimatlas]

They are enamored with her. It's clear by the way they so desperately grab at her, breaths hot, shaky against Eden's mouth. Knees knock into each other as she tugs them further into her room, her boot pushing the door shut behind her. Fingers pull at harnesses, fumbling to unbuckle them – and Eden shoves them down, onto her bed. She brings her knee up as she crawls atop them ; she places it tactfully between their legs.

To them, she is a force of nature, akin to one of mythos – far beyond a woman. Bringer of Hell, bringer of death ; she has her claws dug deep in them now. Yet, they look at her as if she hung each burning star in the night sky – paradise, perhaps a god. This unattainable dream, and yet she is within reach. She's right here – their hands remove garments, revealing scarred, yet soft skin underneath.

She closes the distance again, hands wandering down and eliciting a groan from them – and she breathes it in. Eden is focused, but she never meets their eyes. Not really. Perhaps a glance, perhaps a read of their expression as she moves against them – but it's as if she sees through them. This god, this untouchable force. They wonder where her mind is – or rather : something is missing.

But they don't linger, they can't linger on it long... for she knows every button to press, every string to pull. Their nails dig into her skin, symphony of pleasure falling from their lips. She'll clap her hand over their mouth as they writhe underneath her, her head will roll back – but she never relinquishes control. And they're fine with that, they like that.

After all... how did the mythos go? Was the devil really an angel – or was it the other way around? Whatever it was, whatever she was : they're intoxicated by it. Intoxicated by her command, by the tug at their hair now leading them where she wants them. Intoxicated by the soft moans she lets out when they dip their fingers into her, when they dip down to taste her.

Yet they know – even now : they will never have her. They can never have her. Even as she unravels at their touch, her claws near drawing blood from how tightly she grips. Even if they do this again tomorrow, or the next night.

Damn her. And damn them, too – they heeded every warning, every, 'this means nothing,' and they fell anyway. So they'll pretend – they'll pretend for just a moment, as she arches beneath them. They'll pretend they can have her.

They'll pretend they do.

[decimatlas]

Post-series Eden vs. Marleyan fashion. A lot of the women wear long skirts and dresses on the daily. Not saying Eden wouldn't wear those things, but it wouldn't be every day. But how can she say no when Josie comes back after months, practically bubbling over – 'Let's go shopping!' Dragging her around. 'You'd look so pretty in this! Let me buy it for you!' It's a skirt. And Josie flounces around in hers. "Fine. I'll let you buy it." She brings it home. Hangs it up on her mirror. (Though she's getting better with mirrors these days. Maybe she doesn't have to keep covering it with things.) Stares at it. It stays there for days. Until one day... sigh. Fine, she'll put it on. But only because Josie leaves soon, and Eden knows she'd be sad if she didn't see it on her first. So she takes it off her mirror, catches her reflection before turning her back to it. Closes the door. Switches her pants for the skirt. And she finally turns around. She stares at herself. Her hands smooth over the fabric. It's airy. Might be nice in the warm weather, actually.

Maybe she'll step outside in it.

[decimatlas]

Just thought about Onyankopon showing Eden around Marley, giving her a tour of sorts. They walk through a little flea market. Oh, she knows what these are. They used to have them in Shiganshina sometimes. But — what’s this? Her eyes land on some shiny objects at a stand. ‘That’s jewelry.’ “I know it’s jewelry, I’m not an idiot.” Okay, he’ll back off. Sheesh. She walks over… there’s so many things. So many designs. And these rings… you know, they’d be kind of good for… “May I?” The woman running the stand nods. Eden starts putting rings on her fingers. Every finger. She pushes them down to her knuckles, stacks multiple on some of her fingers. Finally, she holds her hand back and admires her work. Nice. She flexes her hand, then balls it into a fist. Imagine the punch she could pack with this. Onyankopon steps up beside her. Looks at her hand with a raised brow. She looks back up at him. Slowly starts taking the rings off. “Lighten up. I was only looking.”

[decimatlas]

anyone from the 104th: eden, [name] hit me! eden: what am i, your bodyguard? hit them back

[decimatlas]

Let's talk about Eden and mirrors in SNK, since I've referenced it a few times now.

To start, Eden is attractive. I don't think I have to specify that. (I mean, look at her.) But her attractiveness doesn't really have anything to do with the reason why she avoids mirrors. No – she looks in a mirror and she sees her mother. Traces of her father. They aren't with her anymore. They're dead. Long dead. Shouldn't that make her want to look at herself? To remember them? Keep the features they gave her alive in her mind? You'd think. But no, she sees ghosts. They haunt her. They'll never return to her. No matter how long she stares at her face. No matter how much she sees her mother's eyes, nose. Her father's high cheekbones.

And even post-series, at the start of her retirement. She has trouble then, too. Because her brother is part of the collection of ghosts she wears on her face now. Forever.

But maybe... those wounds will heal. Maybe one day she can look at her face, see them... and feel... strangely at peace. Maybe they aren't ghosts after all. Maybe they're pieces of her now. Pieces of her heart, that she carries with her. And maybe the fact that she wears them on her face is a good thing.

And maybe... ghosts aren't all she is. Maybe Josie looks at her and sees their family, but she also sees her sister, alive and well. Not a ghost. Not a collection of ghosts.

And God, she didn't even consider that people might look at her face and see... Eden. Just Eden. And maybe they love that face. That tired, war torn face. Eyes much older than her face shows. Maybe they love that face.

Maybe she can too.

[decimatlas]

Eden and Gabi developing a special little bond. Two hardheads butt a lot, but they learn to care about each other. Eden's not good with kids, she says – but what's this? Eden is taking Gabi to the market today? Of course she is. Gabi thinks Eden is 'no fun,' but... 'Oh, that new museum finally opened. I bet Eden could take me.'

[decimatlas]

Something I love about Eden is that she can be loud. She can scream until you think her lungs are about to give out, she can bark an order that makes you jump out of your skin. And she doesn’t always yell in battle, but when she does… oh, it’s like she has emerged from the depths of Hell — a banshee, a demon, summoning death to the edge of her blade with the howl of a predator hunting its prey. She is a forced to be reckoned with — haunting, booming, rattling your core. Stuff of nightmares, really.

[decimatlas]

the scouts fucking around and goofing off. they hear footsteps. suddenly it's a chorus of "shit, it's captain levi" until someone peeks their head out the doorway to see who it is. "it's not levi." a sigh of relief. "it's eden." ... "you act like that's so much better!"

[decimatlas]

097. How well do they adapt to change? (for Eden) / 062. What sort of legacy does your character wish to leave behind? (for Zelda)

100 Random Character Development Questions

Eden | 097. As a soldier, Eden adapts to change quickly. She's very resourceful and sharp, so you could throw just about anything at her and she will be able to adjust. It's kept her alive for quite some time and made her a very valuable soldier. But as a person? It's a toss-up. She doesn't always adapt well to change. You'd never be able to tell by looking at her – unless you're close to her and you know what to look out for. Whether it's on a smaller scale (such as new soldiers being moved into her barracks), or on a larger scale (such as adjusting to life in Marley after the war) – she often gets frustrated and takes a while to properly adjust. But this is mostly just an emotional effect – she doesn't let her frustrations or other emotions impede on her duties as a soldier or to the people she cares about.

Zelda | 062. This definitely changes as Zelda grows. As a child, she wished to become the Armored Titan and serve her country – she wanted to be known as someone who was valuable to Marley. Not necessarily a hero, but useful. When she didn't inherit the Armored and that dream was crushed, she was moved to become a Drill Sergeant for the new Warrior candidates. When that happened, she at first wanted to leave behind a legacy that she trained the perfect soldiers. But as time went on, that wish changed. The hopes of leaving a legacy kind of faded away for a while; instead, she just wanted to be there for the children, in that moment. She wanted to show them kindness when most others did not. –– And post-war, she becomes a Peace Ambassador. In this role, she hopes to at least make strides to bridge the gap between Paradis and the rest of the world before history repeats itself.

[decimatlas]

What's Eden's hairstyle in SNK? Hair length, does she tie it up, ponytail etc.?

Eden's hair is on the longer side, but not super long – she cuts it herself and doesn't let it grow much longer than the length I have linked here. When she's not training or on the field, she usually keeps her hair down. (That gifset is the most accurate to her style in SNK that I can get, in length, style, and color. It's not perfect because she doesn't take extra time to style her hair or anything).

As soon as she means business, though, she ties her hair up in a ponytail or a bun (usually a ponytail because it's quicker). She doesn't like her hair to get in the way.

[decimatlas]

BREE WHAT ABOUT IF EDEN ACCIDENTALLY SEES HER REFLECTION IN WATER? HOW DOES SHE HANDLE IT?

I feel like this has happened. On the way back from an expedition. She's got a recruit draped over the back of her horse, unconscious. He lost his horse, and he almost lost his damn life. But she won't bury another body. She won't place him on a funeral pyre. So she carries him back, one hand extended behind her to ensure he doesn't move.

They ride past a river, and their flank slows down, to a stop. They see a smaller group in the distance. They'll wait for them to catch up. There's no titans nearby, anyway. It's actually... oddly quiet.

Suddenly, a gasp. A stir behind her. He's awake, and he's coughing. He's trying to push himself up. ❛ Are you stupid? Stay still! ❜ She barks. He looks over, his eyes a little wide. He's relieved to be alive, but seeing her face? He remembers it from his drills. He remembers she made him run extra laps, actually. Until he threw up from exhaustion. But she's... getting off her horse now. She's grabbing her canteen, heading to the river.

She leans down and dips the canteen in. This kid's lungs sound like they're about to deflate, with all the coughing he's doing. She pulls the canteen from the river once it's full, and in the moving water –– she catches a glimpse of herself.

It's the ghosts again. Her mother – she'd tell Eden to make sure she sits the recruit up before giving him the water. And her father would laugh at the way she yelled at him the second he had become conscious.

She doesn't look for long. She can't look for long. Her stomach twists. Turns. Churns.

She pushes herself up. Heads back towards her horse.

❛ Sit up. ❜ She watches him struggle for a moment. He can fly on wires, but he can't figure out how to sit up on the back of a damn horse? She hands him the canteen, practically shoves it at him when he finally sits up. ❛ Fischer, right? ❜ He's gulping the water down, nodding. She nods in return. Turns towards the front of the flank. They're about to get moving again.

There will be no more ghosts today. Not on her watch. No more ghosts.

[decimatlas]

Thinking about post-series. When Eden retires to Marley, and Josie becomes a Peace Ambassador. Both starting new chapters of their lives. Both chapters somehow equally as daunting as the other. Whew.

[decimatlas]

Josie being in the Garrison and then transferring to the Survey Corps. Yes, the Garrison still had their role to play, but Josie felt like she had to do more. And a lot of people were shocked by this, I think. She's not weak by any means, but she is certainly viewed as the softest of her siblings. And to put herself on the front lines like that? So willingly? Oh, she has guts. That determination must run in her veins.

[decimatlas]

if there's one thing about eden, she's gonna be standing there with her arms crossed