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bellshells · 5 years ago

Text

Nobody Can Know

REQUEST: Maybe something with George Weasley and a slytherin reader? He has a crush on her and Fred teases him for it, they start dating in secret but Fred tells their siblings and they all disapprove because they think she's evil (maybe because she's friends with Draco,Blaise etc) but she's actually quite nice but still a proud slytherin and fits all their attributes? If you even write for George that is?:)

For @hinagiku0 x

Summary: This one got away from me. Reader and George enter a secret relationship that threatens the relationships of everybody close to them. Warnings: Language, Fluff, Angst, Smut, slight praisekink!George. Everyone is of age. If the smut isn’t your thing, just stop reading at the bold text :)

Pairing: George Weasley x Slytherin Fem!Reader Word Count: 9k+ Part Two

This is my first reader insert, and I hope you enjoy it. Requests are open!<3

“That pathetic Weasley is staring at you again, (Y/N),” Draco whispered from his seat next to you. You whipped your head round in the direction that Draco was looking and saw the usual gaggle of Gryffindor girls fawning around the infamous Weasley twins as they tried to eat their breakfast. Although Fred was clearly enjoying the attention, balancing his spoon on his nose and earning laughs from his adoring crowd; George sat quietly by his brother’s side. His attention fixed quite intently towards the Slytherin table to where you sat sandwiched between Draco and Blaise, the latter’s interest quite firmly placed in conversation with Pansy Parkinson- but Draco noticed, and so did you. You offered George a small smile and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear as, with pink cheeks, George returned your smile. Draco looked incredulously between the two of you. “Are you mad, (Y/N)? What do you think you’re doing?” He pinched your arm and you rubbed it with a groan. “What?” You snapped, “I was just being friendly, a quality you clearly don’t possess.” Draco rolled his eyes and returned to his breakfast in silence, you continued to rub your arm as you shifted your gaze to once more meet with George’s. He was still smiling as Fred tapped him on the shoulder to leave, he stood and gave you a small wave. You were accustomed to feeling butterflies in your stomach whenever you looked at George Weasley and they fluttered with gay abandon as you watched him shoulder to shoulder with Fred leave the Great Hall with long strides.

Nobody knew the way you felt about him and in truth, you had tried to tell yourself otherwise also. You knew if you were to tell any of your friends, your pureblood Slytherin friends that is, you would be met with nothing but disdain and you feared being lonely. The thought of being excluded from your friendship group was enough to keep your secret longing for George just that, a secret. Whilst you were a proud Slytherin and proud of your heritage and family name; the way your friends; especially Draco spoke about your classmates made you feel uncomfortable. You didn’t see anything wrong with being friends with half-bloods and muggleborns, hell, you wouldn’t be averse to being friends with a muggle themself if they were a nice person. But that too, you kept to yourself. You hoped that this prejudiced front Draco and the like portrayed was something he would grow out of, you knew that alone, he really was quite lovely. Having spent summer after summer visiting the Malfoy estate with your parents as a child, you came to realise that Draco’s parents buried him under a lot of pressure. The Malfoy name was weighted enough, and you knew Draco weathered his days carrying around his privilege like a heavy burden, terrified of putting one foot wrong. It was easier for him to act the part of willing crusader for the purification of wizard blood, than to actually think about the alternative. Your parents had instilled in you as you entered your third year that it was important for you to look out for Draco, keep him on the straight and narrow so to speak. That being said, you took silent solace in the time away from him. You were two years older than Draco and cherished your classes away from your childhood friend. But as the years had gone, you now in your seventh-year, and Draco in his fifth, you still felt compelled to stand by your promise to your parents. But being away from him meant you could interact with whomever you wished to, and for the most part that was George Weasley.

You wondered whether he could hear your heart thundering in your chest as you took your usual seat next to him in Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall in her genius had chosen to separate Fred and George during their OWLs, so the seat next to George at the back of the classroom was always free, and you always took it. You reached into your bag for your parchment and a quill for George as he produced an ink pot and placed it in between the two of you. Another of your unspoken rituals, George never had a quill and in return for your consistent generosity, he shared his ink. He smiled in thanks as he took it from you, his fingers barely grazing yours in the exchange, yet it was enough to make your skin burn under his slight touch. You swallowed and shrugged your robes from around your shoulders, suddenly feeling very warm.

Throughout the lesson, you exchanged few words with George. He knew you were struggling with retaining everything McGonagall was whizzing through, and you were grateful that he tried not to distract you. You were so worried about passing your NEWTs and you felt supremely out of your depth. With an exasperated sigh, you threw your wand onto the desk and thrust your head into your hands. You could feel George’s eyes on you and sure enough as you peeked through your fingers, he was frowning sympathetically as he poured a glass of water from the pitcher he had transfigured from a large leather bound book. A similar book sat on the desk in front of you, un-transfigured and mocking you.

“Are you okay (Y/N)?” George asked softly. He offered you the glass of water and sat back in his chair. “I’m never going to be able to do this.” You moaned and took the glass from George’s hand and took a tentative sip. “Tastes like Shakespeare.” “Well that’s no good, it was bloody Marlowe!” He joked and picked up your wand and passed it to you. Begrudgingly you took it, but George didn’t remove his hand. Instead he placed it on top of yours and slowly guided your hand in the correct moment. You couldn’t keep your eyes from his face as he faltered in his slightly as his breath hitched in his throat. “Well, something like that anyway.” George whispered, there was barely any space between you, and you were painfully aware of how close his body was to yours. You could feel the heat his embrace would offer if you were to lean back only slightly. Your chest heaved quickly as George’s gaze left your eyes and flickered down to your lips. You licked them subconsciously and George’s frown appeared again as he swiftly brought a hand to the back of his head with an exclamation of pain. You tore your gaze away from George as you both looked to the front of the classroom as Fred sat with a bag of boiled sweets, his arm raised above his head ready to launch another in your direction. “Mr. Weasley!” A stern Scottish voice from somewhere near the front of the classroom brought every head in the room to attention. Professor McGonagall emerged from behind her desk and with a swish of her wand summoned the bag of sweets from Fred’s hand and clasped it in her own. “If you have transfigured your book into a pitcher, you can change it back again.” Fred groaned as he turned his back to you and George but not before shooting a wink in his brothers’ direction. George muttered under his breath as he relieved his grip on your wand and shuffled away from you. You could feel your cheeks warm as you took another sip of George’s water. After a few minutes of silence and you trying and failing to transfigure your book, George cleared his throat. “(Y/N),” He began, “Would you like to meet me in the library before dinner and I can help you with transfiguration?” “You want to help me?” You asked, he looked at you expectantly and nodded. “More like I just want to put you out of your misery.” You giggled and gave him a wide smile. “That would be wonderful, thank you George.” “Shall we say five?” “Sounds perfect.” “Okay, brill.” “Yeah, cool.”

You paced back and forth in the Slytherin common room at quarter to five. Pansy eyed you suspiciously over a copy of The Daily Prophet and as you clocked her gaze as you paced towards the fireplace, she snapped it shut and threw it to the side. “What’s the matter with you?” She muttered as she examined her fingernails. “Nothing,” You replied checking your watch for the umpteenth time. “Just need to be somewhere soon.” “Well piss off then, you’re doing my head in.” You threw Pansy a sarcastic grimace and picked up your discarded bag and made your way from the dungeons up the stairs towards the library.

You were out of breath when you reached the large wooden doors and checked your watch, five minutes to spare. You looked at your reflection in the panes of glass and straightened your green and silver tie. You knew you were pretty, but at that moment you couldn’t help but pick out features of your complexion that suddenly filled you with loathing. You hoped George wouldn’t notice the spot forming on your chin, or the tuna you had for lunch, or the fact you had forgotten to run a brush through your hair before you left. You were too busy pacing. You pushed the heavy door open and began to search between the long lines of shelves to find a suitable place to meet with George. You began to move down a row of book lined shelves when you spotted two redheaded boys conversing in hushed tones. You inched closer towards them, careful to not let yourself be seen.

“I’m just saying Georgie, of all the girls in school you had to pick her.” Fred whispered, George scowled and shook his head. “You don’t understand, she’s different-” “She’s a Slytherin, mate. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I swear she’s best pals with Malfoy!” “Grow up, Fred. You don’t know anything about her!” “And you do?” Fred countered coolly, he frowned at his brother and stood. “All I’m doing is asking you to consider all your options before you make any big decisions. Imagine what mum would say.” With that, Fred clasped George on the shoulder and went to leave, he caught your eye as you peered around the corner of the bookshelf and your heart froze as you knew you’d been caught. “Alright (Y/L/N)?” Fred said cheerfully as he sauntered passed you. “Fred.” You nodded in acknowledgment, your cheeks burning with shame. George pursed his lips as you approached him. He drew his fingers though his hair with a sigh as you perched on the edge of a nearby table. A heavy silence fell between the two of you as you waited to see if George would break it. You bit down on your lip. You shouldn’t have heard what you did, and you felt an immense guilt wash through you, but deep in the pit of your stomach was a little fire fuelled by hope. Does this mean George feels the same way you do?

“George-” “Did you hear much of that-” You and George said at the same time, you gave him a weak smile and he chuckled softly. “(Y/N),” George began, he moved swiftly to sit alongside you on the table. His brown eyes searched your face intently. “I’m sorry if you heard- I mean, what Fred said…it’s just…” He fiddled with the frayed edge of his jumper; you had never seen George like this before. He was flustered and bashful and it made your heart swell. “I don’t really know how to say what it is I want to say.” He said finally. George stood and walked towards the big window that overlooked the courtyard. He placed an arm on the windowpane and leaned into it, his head flopped forward. You wondered whether you should say something, it didn’t seem like George was finished and in truth, you weren’t sure whether you would be able to articulate anything.

“If I tell you something, will you promise you wont laugh at me?” George said, his shoulders slumped forward. “I thought you loved to make people laugh?” You said casually, his head twisted in your direction a sly smirk nestled on his lips. He sighed once more and turned to face you. “Yes obviously,” George said sarcastically, “But just for this one time, I need you to listen and not laugh. Okay?” “Okay.” You agreed. George took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “I like you. A lot.”

You felt like you had had the wind knocked out of you. George looked at you sheepishly, his hands once again finding the hem of his jumper. You blinked slowly, surely you were dreaming. You would wake up at any minute, the familiar sight of the green canopy around your bed would greet you and you would desperately try to return to your dream. And yet, you didn’t. No abrupt awakening, no fade to black, just George, lovely George waiting for you to say something. “(Y/N?)” “Yes. Lovely. Thank you.” You managed, you instantly cringed as the words left your mouth. Why did you say that? You had waited for as long as you could remember to get to this point with George, and instead of telling him you were completely in love with him, you thanked him. George’s hesitant smile began to fall, and your heart ached. “What I mean- George, is I-” “No, it’s okay. Cheers for letting me say that.” George replied, he rolled the sleeves of his jumper up over his arms and stepped past you widely, his back to you in two short steps. Panicking, you grasped onto his wrist and stopped him short. “Wait! Please wait!” You pleaded; George looked from your face down to your grip of his wrist. You let go immediately but moved rapidly to meet him. “I hadn’t finished.” George shifted his weight awkwardly from foot to foot, he crossed his arms over his chest in anticipation. “You really like me?” You asked softly, you hoped your face did not betray the sheer pandemonium happening inside your mind. George scoffed. “Don’t take the piss out of me, (Y/N).” “I’m not!” You protested. “I’m just a bit shocked George, that’s all-” “I don’t think I could have made it any more obvious, and, not forgetting the fact I just said the words out loud. To your face.” He snapped. “George, can I get a bloody word out please? Merlin, you can be so frustrating when you want to be.” You sighed; George raised his eyebrows. “It’s quite lucky that you like me really, because it turns out that I…like you…too.” You bit down on your lip, slightly anxious as to what George would say. The taller boy just stared at you, unblinking. “Sorry, what?” “I…like you, George? And I’m happy that you like me?” “Right…well, okay then.”

A laugh of pure elation fell from your lips as George’s bewildered look turned into one of joy. He embraced you in an instant, his hands found your hips as he pulled you close into him. The contact surprised you, it took you a moment to react, but soon enough you brought your arms up around his broad shoulders, reaching up on your tip toes. You couldn’t supress the grin that was so wide it made your cheeks tingle as George surrounded every part of you. His arms tight around your back and his chin brought down to rest against your head. You didn’t want to pull away, but the sound of a throat being cleared somewhere behind you caused the pair of you to spring apart. Madame Pince removed a book from a far-away shelf and raised a knowing eyebrow in your direction. You covered your mouth with your hand to conceal an involuntary giggle. George flashed you a brilliant smile and exhaled jubilantly. “So, I suppose it’s time for the cheesy bit.” George smiled, his hand found yours with ease and he entwined his fingers with yours. “(Y/N), would you like to be my girlfriend?”

“I would genuinely like nothing more, it’s just…” You averted your gaze, your cheeks growing warm once again. You contemplated your options, the boy you were absolutely mad for had just asked you to be his girlfriend and you were happy, of course you were. But you couldn’t shake the lump that appeared in your chest when you thought about having to tell your friends that you were with a Weasley. Not only that, the conversation you had overheard between Fred and George signalled that perhaps his friends held the same apprehensions. “What?” George asked earnestly, he rubbed your knuckles with his thumb. You smiled at his touch and swept your eyes over his sweet features. “I don’t think people would be very accepting of our relationship, George.” You said quietly, unable to disguise the trepidation in your voice. George smiled sadly and gestured for you to return to your perch on the table. “I hate to say this, but I have to agree with you.” He said. “Not that I have anything against Slyth-” “No, I understand. Believe me, I do.” You recalled all the tedious conversations with your Slytherin peers about the blood traitors that were the Weasleys. You shook your head to free yourself from the memory and sighed. “What do we do?” “Well, I do have an idea…” George whispered, he wiggled his eyebrows at you suggestively and you laughed heartily at him.

George held your hand as you walked briskly down the seventh-floor corridor, you threw a look behind you to see if you were still being pursued. Professor Umbridge stalked your trail, followed by members of the Inquisitorial Squad namely Crabbe and Goyle. Draco had begged you to join his fifth year friends in becoming member of Umbridge’s little crusade, but you couldn’t find it in your heart to agree. You had bullshitted an excuse about needing whatever spare time you had to study for your NEWTs and Draco, although suspicious, had accepted it. George tugged on your hand as he quickened his pace, your robes flapped behind you and you couldn’t supress your grin as you once more looked behind your shoulder. Professor Umbridge raised her hand and opened her mouth to speak just as George whipped you round a corner and shoved you into an empty classroom. You laughed headily as he pointed his wand at the door and locked it with a muttered spell. You smoothed your hands over your skirt and waited for George to approach you.

“We really must stop meeting like this, Mr. Weasley.” You smiled, George wrapped his arms around you tightly and lowered his lips to meet yours. It had been three months since he had asked you to be his, and yet you still weren’t accustomed to his touch. It still sent electric pulses coursing throughout your body with every deft movement of his fingertips, and you shuddered as he moved his hand over your rump and gave it a hearty squeeze. George, who was always the more dominant one out of the pair of you nearly always arranged your meetings. While it had been three months since you commenced your relationship, it had been three months of scurrying around in secret and lying to your friends, and in George’s case, lying to his family. George deepened the kiss, his tongue pressed against your lips requesting entry, which of course you granted. Your hands found their way to George’s soft hair and you pulled on it slightly, eliciting a groan from him. You smirked into the kiss as George walked you backwards and hoisted you up onto a vacant desk, you wrapped your legs around him instinctively and he pushed his hips into you. He pulled away from the kiss breathlessly and grasped either side of your face in his hands. He studied you intently as he rubbed his thumbs over your cheeks. “I love you, (Y/N). You know that, don’t you?” You pulled him into you again and ravished his neck with feverish kisses. That was the first time those words had fallen from his lips, you felt like you could melt at the sound of this boy telling you he loved you over and over again. You nipped at the skin there, feeling emboldened by his declaration of love. You didn’t know whether it was the excitement of getting caught or whether you were running on sheer elation, but you couldn’t get your fill of George. “Georgie,” You whispered into his shoulder as his hands gripped onto your thighs tightly as he pushed his groin against your core. “You make me so happy.” “I want to make you feel more than happy.” George winked as he grabbed a fistful of your hair and pulled your face towards his and crushed his lips against yours.

“George! What the fuck?!”

A voice from behind you startled the pair of you as you immediately pulled away from George, instantly missing the contact. Fred stood agape in the open doorway flanked by Ginny and Ron each looking equally shocked. You looked at George who had flushed scarlet and had his gaze trained intently on the floor. Ginny let out a stunned gasp and turned on her heel and exited swiftly out of the room. Ron shook his head sadly at his older brother and followed Ginny, calling after her as he went. Fred remained still, his hands balled into fists and his knuckles white with fury. “I thought we agreed, George.” Fred spat. He made a step towards his brother and squared up to him, their faces inches apart. “No. We didn’t.” “You lied to me. You said nothing was going on.” “Fuck off then if you don’t like it. I don’t care anymore, Fred.” You watched in horror as George pushed Fred away by his chest, but quick as a flash, Fred caught George’s hands in his own and pushed him back harder. “You’re a mug.” Fred muttered as he rolled his sleeves up and looked you up and down before chuckling darkly to himself and leaving, slamming the door behind him. A heavy silence descended onto the room as you shuffled down from the desk and chewed on your lip. You couldn’t help but feel guilty as you watched George sigh and run his hands over his face. You bent down to retrieve your bag and haphazardly threw it over your shoulder, you felt your stomach flip on itself as George looked at you tearfully. There was nothing you could do. George said that he didn’t care, you knew it wasn’t true. You were a Slytherin, a pureblood from a long line of wizards with dubious intentions and had long been affiliated with controversial families. There was nothing you could do in this situation to make it any better for you, or for George. You took George’s shaking hand in yours and gave it a tight squeeze before you let it fall back to his side. You quietly made your way out of the room and descended the many stairs towards your common room, the quiet of your dormitory offered you a much-needed solace. George made no attempt to speak or to come after you, and you were glad that he didn’t. He needed to speak to his family, he needed to speak to Fred.

You tried not to worry about him, but that was easier said than done. You hadn’t told him you loved him when he had said it to you, but it seemed inappropriate to say it now. You hoped he already knew.

Draco was waiting for you when you entered the common room. He stood with his arms folded over his chest with an impatient tapping of his foot, he reminded you of his mother. Narcissa was always scolding you as children for dilly-dallying, and with Draco’s long features, he looked just like her. “Where have you been?” He snapped. You tried to move passed him, you averted your eyes to the floor. Draco caught your arm and pulled you backwards. “Where have you been?” He demanded, “And don’t lie.” “Why? Are you spying on me now?” You countered, you shrugged out of his grasp and narrowed your eyes. He looked at you dumbfounded. “Spying on you! I’m looking out for you, (Y/N). Or had you forgotten that we’re supposed to be friends?” Draco thundered, he inched closer to you, his grey eyes alight with anger. “Friends don’t ambush friends when they’ve had a really shitty day.” You spat, you tried once more to move round Draco, but he blocked your path. “Goyle saw you with the weasel, holding his hand. Do you not have any shame?” Draco paused as he tried to gauge your reaction. He hesitantly placed his hands on your shoulders. “(Y/N),” He said softly, “Tell me you’re not seeing him.” “Move aside, Draco.” “(Y/N) please, this is for your own good. I’m trying to-” “Move aside.” “I shall not. I demand you tell me everything that’s happened between you and that horrid muggle-loving traitor-” You snatched your wand from your robes and held it up to Draco’s throat, his eyes widened in fear as he instinctively took a step back. “Not a single person in my family has ever taken orders from a Malfoy, and I don’t expect to start doing so now.” You said venomously. “I asked you politely to move aside, yet you feel compelled to irk me further on a day when you really don’t want to piss me off.” You stood unwavering, wand raised and watched unblinking as a bead of sweat trickled down Draco’s forehead. “Now, fuck off.”

Draco nearly fell over his feet as he scurried into the shadows of the dark room. You continued your journey into your dormitory and pulled your jumper over your head as you flopped backwards onto your bed. Thankfully, the room was empty. You rolled onto your side and pulled your knees up to your chest. You felt peculiar, like you needed to cry and yet no tears came. Instead, you stared blankly off into the middle-distance, replaying the moment you were found by George’s siblings in your mind. The looks of abject horror etched on their faces. You wanted to find them, to try and persuade them that you weren’t the person that they thought you were. That with each passing day spent with George made you feel lighter and unburdened, that you thought that you maybe had a chance at real happiness. Not tainted with the pressure set upon you by your parents to find a nice Slytherin boy, maybe someone who graduated a few years ago and now has an up and coming job in the Ministry. His family name would be one rolled around with mentions of the Dark Lord, of course, and you didn’t want that. You were a proud Slytherin yes, you were cunning and ambitious and every other cliché; but your ambition wasn’t to marry a boring man who would more than likely be sent to Azkaban; your ambition was a tall redheaded boy from Devon who made you laugh and filled your days with joy. You wanted lots of little George’s running around in a house with an abundance of windows that the sun could shine through. You wanted a large, comfy sofa that you could curl up after a hard day and know that the arms surrounding you belonged to him. You wanted a bed that could be the setting for endless nights of pleasure and a dining table scratched and wonky, that the family you made could sit and talk freely, not even sparing a thought as to who might be listening.

You didn’t know you had fallen asleep until you were awoken by the sound of your dormitory door opening, and the two girls you shared with piling in after dinner. Almost comically, your stomach grumbled as you sat and rubbed your eyes wearily. You exchanged polite pleasantries with your dormmates as they started to change from their uniforms. You threw your cloak over your shoulders and pulled the hood up over your head. You ignored anybody that tried to accost you as you left the common room and crept to the kitchens. You had only done this a handful of times, you didn’t know the names of the House Elves that worked tirelessly in the kitchens, but you were always polite, and they seemed to appreciate that. You had tried to ask where the bread was kept so you could make yourself a sandwich, but with a few protestations from you, the little creatures had prepared a lovely supper for you. You wrapped your sandwiches and slice of Victoria sponge securely in a piece of delicate cloth, cradling the pear they had forced you to take in the crook of your arm. You thanked them warmly and hurried through the now darkening corridors. You knew if you were to be caught by Filch or Umbridge, it could spell a horrendous amount of trouble for you. Thankfully, you arrived back to your dormitory unscathed and now ravenous. You got into bed and closed the curtains that surrounded the frame and settled in.

It was difficult for you to relax. You continued through the motions almost on autopilot, you undressed for bed and shuffled to the loo to brush your teeth before climbing heavily into bed. You scrunched your eyes closed and willed sleep to come, the steady breathing of your dormmates tormented you as you tossed and turned. Your concern for George was like a dripping tap, it vibrated in your head with every breath you took. You had waited so long to reach the steady happiness you had with him, and in one afternoon it had potentially been taken away. You tried not to be selfish, you tried not to think about your loss; the way Fred had looked at you both was an image you knew you wouldn’t forget in a hurry. But, you wished for nothing more than to be with George. You wanted to feel his sturdy embrace, his gentle kisses against your head and to hear his heart beating rhythmically in his chest. You simply wished for things to be different.

Three days. Three days it took to receive word from George. The weekend trundled by slowly, with Professor Umbridge’s ever increasing list of banned activities; there wasn’t much left to do. You spent much of your time in your dorm reading, you emerged for mealtimes but kept to yourself, ensuring you were seated far away from Draco. Your seventh-year friends pleased that you had managed to shake off the younger boy. Embarrassed to speak to Draco after you had pulled out your wand and embarrassed that he knew about you and George, you were grateful for the space. You always kept your eyes on your plate or on whomever was speaking to you in the Great Hall, not daring to look over to the Gryffindor table, no matter how much you wished to. You could feel George watching you, it was almost like you had a sixth sense, you were constantly aware of his presence in any room you shared. But you didn’t look. Monday night, after a disastrous day and a near silent Transfiguration lesson, George slipped you a note as you went to leave.

(Y/N),

Please meet me after Quidditch practise this evening. I think it would be good to have a chat.

George

So, that was it. Three days of radio silence for twenty words. You tried not to be annoyed, and quite successfully really, as your annoyance gave way to anxiety as you imagined the inevitable conversation that you would have with George. You couldn’t blame him for choosing his familial relationships over the one he shared with you, but you had began to think that if the time ever came for you to ever make that decision; you would perhaps choose the opposite. You loved him. But you wouldn’t be a point of contention. You prepared your gracious acceptance for his words, confident that he was going to end the relationship. Making it anymore difficult than it needed to be was the last thing you wanted to do, you craved a little normality. The only trouble was that George had become your new normal.

You cursed to yourself as you wrapped your scarf around your neck as you made your way to the quidditch pitch. The Gryffindor practise was just about to finish, and silently you waited on the other side of the players entrance, partially concealed by a tall beam of timber. You chewed absentmindedly on the inside of your cheek, it was cold, and you felt very conflicted. One by one the players descended from dizzying heights and dismounted their brooms. Angelina Johnson gestured for her team to leave the pitch and you tried to hide further behind the beam until you could get George on his own. The redheaded twins were the last to pass you by, they spoke brightly to one another. You strained to hear what they were saying.

“…promise you.” George said to his brother. “…not going to regret this.” The boys moved swiftly through the covered walkway and you hurried after them, your steps muffled by the grass underfoot. “…must be amazing, eh Georgie?” Fred joked and wiggled his eyebrows, George threw his head back in laughter and out of the corner of his eye, caught sight of you. “(Y/N)!” He exclaimed; George flung his broom over to Fred as he rushed to meet you. He seemed to struggle with what to do with his hands, they had reached out to you on impulse, but you stood unwavering. George’s arms dropped back to his sides. He cleared his throat, his brown eyes seared into yours. “Can you come with us, (Y/N)?” George gestured to Fred and he pointed through the players entrance into the direction of the changing rooms. “Why?” You scrunched your face in confusion, “I’m not that kind of girl, George.” George’s face turned a very flattering shade of beetroot and Fred snickered, he reached for your arm and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. “Merlin, no. Nothing like that.” George snapped; you fell into step with the twins as Fred pushed open the door to the male changing room. Inside, like a frightening family portrait sat Ron and Ginny, both stone-faced and waiting. You froze as you took in the scene, Fred moved to sit next to Ginny and Ron shuffled in his seat. George placed a hand on the small of your back and ushered you into the room, closing the door behind you.

You stood awkwardly, every pair of eyes burned into each inch of your skin and you felt like you were on fire. “Right.” George began, he offered you a quick smile as he pulled up two stools for the pair of you to sit on, opposite where the other three sat. “My brothers and sister have agreed to have a chat with you- with us, I mean, so they can see what you’re- I mean, we’re like. Together.” He gave you a pained expression, and you could see his pulse throb in his neck. He was nervous. Why was he nervous? “Why don’t they just ask me?” You stated, your resolve hardening as you knew they were here to interrogate you, not to get to know their brother’s girlfriend. “I’ve never known Slytherins to be that forthcoming.” Ginny said raising an eyebrow. “Maybe you’re not asking the right questions.” You countered and the younger girl scoffed, she crossed her arms over her chest and eyed you suspiciously. “I don’t think we need to ask any questions at all,” Ron said quietly, “Slytherin, friends with Malfoy in this day and age, all these rumours of dark wizards in well-known families coming out of hiding…says it all really. What else could we possibly need to know?” “You know nothing about me and what? You assume I’m a Death Eater because of my house and my family name?” You spat, you stood to leave but George grasped hold of the sleeve of your robe and pulled you back to your seat. “I’m asking you to please just get to know (Y/N). I’m not asking you to be best mates with her, none of us like Fleur, but we all just get on with our lives.” George tried to level, Ginny just rolled her eyes and Ron tapped his foot impatiently. “(Y/N), why don’t you tell them one thing about yourself, that they might be surprised to hear.” He put an arm around your shoulders and brought his lips to your ear and whispered; “Please darling, I really want this to work. It’s taken me ages to get them to agree to do this.” He paused. “I don’t want to hide anymore.” The earnest look in his eyes made your heart flutter and you sighed deeply. You nodded. “Um. I’m crap at Transfiguration.” You murmured half-heartedly and Fred chuckled, smacking his knee with his hand. “That’s no secret, (Y/N). Tell us something we don’t know.” He said boisterously. You racked your brain for anything you could say that might endear you to them. They didn’t have to like you, just tolerate you. “My parents want me to marry as soon as I leave school. They’ve already started looking for potential suitors for me.” You said quietly, you felt George stiffen beside you and his arm tightened around your shoulders. “Is that true?” He said softly, “Why didn’t you tell me?” “I don’t like thinking about it.” You shrugged. Ginny leaned forward in her seat; her hand covered her mouth concealing any emotion she might be feeling. “Why are you friends with Malfoy?” Ron probed; George hastened to shut his brother up when you placed an arm on his. “No, it’s fine. I can answer, it’s fine.” Ron looked smugly at George before he returned his attention back to you. “My parents asked me to look out for him when he started school. I know he’s a bit of a knobhead, but when he’s by himself he’s actually quite sweet.” “Bollocks!” Ron exclaimed loudly. “He called Hermione a m-” “I know.” You interrupted, there was no need to be reminded of the awful words Draco had used toward Hermione Granger. You had heard all about it after the first time it had happened, and you didn’t speak to him for a week afterward. You hoped it might help him re-evaluate some of his choices, but alas, it did not. “I was really annoyed with him about it, and please understand, I would never use a slur like that.”

Ron smiled at that. You had often wondered whether Draco perhaps held a deeper interest in Hermione Granger, of course he would vehemently deny it whenever the idea was brought up. Ron Weasley on the other hand, made his feelings abundantly clear. If not to himself, but to everybody else. “Why should we believe you?” Ginny pressed, “Why should we think that you’d be a good match for George?” “You don’t have to believe anything, Ginny.” You said softly, your gaze drifted to where George sat at your side. You felt tears prickle your eyes as you thought about how much he meant to you; how much you were willing to sacrifice for him. “I don’t have any ulterior motives for wanting to be with George. I’m actually endangering the standing I have within my family by being with anyone other than a pureblood Slytherin,” Fred winced at your words. “But it doesn’t matter to me. I hope you come to realise that I’m much more than my house. I’ve long lived by the mandate of if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you; it’s really as simple as that.” The three siblings seemed to take in your words in silence, George gave your shoulder a squeeze and gave your cheek a chaste kiss. You frowned as you looked between the Weasleys, your heart pounded in your chest. Fred crossed his arms and sat back in his seat. “Do you love him, (Y/N)?” He asked, it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room as Ron and Ginny inched forward in anticipation of your reply. “With all my heart.” You answered and placed your hand on George’s thigh. “I love you, George.” You said with the most earnest look you could muster, George beamed at you.

“Well isn’t this something…” You turned your head in the direction of the voice which came from behind you, Draco stood in the doorway of the changing rooms flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. The badges for the Inquisitorial Squad glistened at their breasts, the three Slytherins raised their wands slowly and pointed them in your direction. You stood immediately and faced the intruders with a hateful glare, removing your own wand from inside your robes and aiming in their direction. “Following me again, Goyle? Crabbe?” You snapped at the two idiots, they exchanged uneasy glances and looked to Draco for reassurance. Draco only smirked at you; he extended his hand to you. “(Y/N) come, you don’t need to be here when Professor Umbridge arrives.” Draco said slyly, you felt George tense next to you. “No thank you, Draco. I’m quite happy here.” You levelled; you kept your wand trained intently onto Draco. The blonde boy scoffed and stretched his fingers out as though to reach for you. “I’ll not ask you again, (Y/N), come here.” His smile appeared strained as once again he offered his hand. You looked between your housemates and George and his family and knew what you needed to do. “I have no idea who you think you’re talking to, Malfoy. It certainly appears like you’re trying to command the last daughter of the (Y/L/N)’s, and I know you’re not that brave. Your pathetic little family means nothing to me, no matter how much money your spineless father throws around. So no, I will not go anywhere with you and your mindless goons.” You were breathless. You heard Ron behind you mutter a bloody hell and Draco’s face contorted into one of rage. “Crabbe, Goyle.” Draco ordered, with a nod the two idiots lurched towards you. “Impedimenta!” You cried with a flourish of your wand, like a shot Crabbe and Goyle were knocked off their feet with groans of pain as they hit the stone floor. George was by your side in an instant, wand raised toward Draco. “Expelliarmus.” George disarmed Draco with ease and caught Draco’s wand in his free hand as it flew through the air. Goyle stood unsteadily on his feet and caught Crabbe by his robes and hoisted the smaller boy to his feet. They scurried out of the room and dragged Draco with them, the blonde-haired boy’s startling grey eyes didn’t leave yours.

When the room was still and the sound of heavy footsteps disappeared, you turned to face Fred, Ron and Ginny. George’s arm snaked around your hip as you stood and bit your lip. Ginny was the first to step forward, she looked at you sadly and put her arms around your shoulders and pulled you in for a tight hug. You were surprised by the contact and it took a moment before you wrapped your arms around her back and embraced the hug. Ginny pulled back after a moment and turned to face Ron, who smiled at you and gave your shoulder an awkward squeeze. “Bloody hell, (Y/N). I’ve never seen anyone stand up to Malfoy like that.” Ron said and looked between you and George. “That can’t have been easy.” Ginny added, “We should leave though, if Umbridge is coming that is.” It was unanimously agreed to return into the main body of the castle, Ginny and Ron left first, you remained where you were. George still held fast to your waist and Fred stared at the floor. “So? Freddie?” George whispered. “Come on mate, don’t tease me like this.” “You were right.” Fred said, he brought his gaze slowly from the floor until it settled on your face. “She is different. And I’m happy for you.” George beamed brightly at his brother as he gave his consent. You couldn’t help but exhale and grin at the twins, George pulled Fred closer to the pair of you and pulled you both in for a crushing hug. You laughed as you were thrown about by George’s jubilant swaying, George kissed the top of your head and then kissed the top of Fred’s. “Oh look, my two-favourite people in the whole world.” George laughed, Fred pulled away and offered his hand to you. You shook it with a smile. “Suppose I best send an owl to mum, get her to knit another Christmas jumper.” Fred winked at you before he shook his head and exited the changing room. You looked up at George’s face with a confused expression and he simply shook his head. He turned you to face him and clasped your face in his hands. “You love me then?” He said, his gaze dancing from your lips up to your eyes and back down again. “I always have,” You answered, closing the distance between you and brought your lips to meet George’s. He accepted your kiss hungrily, not wasting any time in exploring your mouth with his tongue. “I love you so much, (Y/N). The air I breathe wouldn’t matter to me if you weren’t by my side.” His hands drifted down your back and travelled under your skirt, taking firm hold of your bum. He squeezed it and gave it a playful slap; you felt a stirring deep in your stomach as George’s hands roamed over your body. Your hands tangled in his hair as you kissed along George’s jawline and down his neck. Feeling brave, you moved your hands under George’s quidditch robes and pushed them from his shoulders. He shrugged his arms free and let his robes fall to the floor with a thud, your robe was next, it joined George’s on the floor as he tugged at your jumper. You pulled it over your head quickly and connected your mouth with George’s for another searing kiss. “I could be homeless,” You said kissing George’s neck, “Penniless,” Another kiss, “Hungry,” A bite, “And cold.” You trailed your tongue along his bottom lip. “But none of that would matter as long as you were mine.” He growled as he kissed you passionately, he pushed his hips into yours and you groaned.

George broke the kiss suddenly; you were panting and the heat in your knickers was becoming to powerful to ignore. “Fancy a shower?” He asked devilishly.

The water ran hot over your shoulders as you kissed George desperately. He palmed at your breasts as you ran your hands down his shoulder blades, your fingernails scraped their way down his back, and he shuddered under your touch. His mouth kissed down your chest as he took your nipple in his mouth, he rolled his tongue over your stiffened peak and grazed it with his teeth. You moaned at the sensation and rubbed your thighs together, desperate for relief. His hand wandered down from your breast and fluttered over your core, your head rolled back as you whispered his name. ��God, I want to touch you so badly.” George growled, you smirked down at him. His hair now sopping from the water and fell into his eyes, you deftly moved the heavy red locks out of his face. “Then touch me.” That was all George needed. He dropped to his knees in front of you, kissing down your chest and your stomach as he pushed you backwards until your back hit the cold tiled shower wall. George had charmed the door of the changing rooms and the communal showers now acted as your own sanctuary, you watched as he lifted one of your legs over his shoulder and buried his face into you.

He licked your clit gently, and you hissed at the much-needed contact. His hands found their way around your thighs and held you steadily in place. He suckled on your raised nub and waves of pleasure coursed through you. You bucked your hips against George’s mouth, and he gave a throaty laugh which vibrated through you deliciously. He flattened his tongue against you and shook his head, the friction on your sex was almost more than you could bear, but George continued relentlessly. He pulled you even closer into him, his tongue following the shape of your folds until ultimately, it was inside you. He fucked you with his tongue as his nose brushed against your clit, he quickened his pace to match the gyrating of your hips and hummed into your centre as he worshipped you. You guided his head with your hands, sticking it in place as you felt your orgasm build. “Georgie,” You breathed, “You’re going to make me cum.” He didn’t respond, he just continued in his devotion of your cunt. Pulse after pulse of pleasure electrified your body as you came hard and loud. George lapped at you like he couldn’t get his fill, allowing you to rub yourself on his face as you rode out your high. When he stood, you were unsteady on your feet and George grasped hold of your waist and grounded you. You lazily swept your gaze over his lean form; he was surprisingly muscly, and his toned abs glistened under the running water. George was painfully hard, you could see his cock twitching, like it begged to be played with. He kissed you then, full of the same hunger as before and you returned his desire by taking hold of his member in your hand and giving it a hard squeeze. George spluttered and thrust his hips forward into your hand. You looked up at him innocently as you smirked at him, his eyes half closed. “Would you like to fuck me, Georgie?”

He moaned into your shoulder as he lifted you up by your legs and wrapped them around his waist. George again pushed your back against the wall as he lined himself up with your centre. He looked into your eyes and gave you a gentle smile before you nodded, and he pushed himself into you. You both let out moans of pleasure at the sensation of him filling you to the hilt, George’s legs threatened to buckle as you adjusted to his length. This wasn’t the first time that you had been intimate with George, but this time felt different. He gazed into your eyes as he thrust into you, his brow furrowed as you moaned. He felt so good inside you, he filled you to the brim and then some and there was pain, but the pain was so delectable that you cherished it. “Such a good girl,” George cooed as he thrust into you. “Such a good girl taking my cock.” With each delicious thrust from George, you could feel him as he bruised your cervix, he rutted into you shamelessly, a string of curses fell from his lips as he tried to silence himself by biting down on your shoulder. “Oh God George, I love you.” You whined, you felt like you were on fire. “I love you; I love you; I love you.” You eyes fluttered closed as you bounced on his cock, you felt that same stirring in your stomach start to build, George could sense it too as his thrusts became more desperate. “The way you stood up to Malfoy really turned me on.” He grunted. “Such a good girl standing up for your man.” He suckled on your neck, no doubt marking you. “Good girls get rewarded.” His hands around your thighs would leave marks, you knew, but you didn’t care. Your orgasm built steadily, the sound of skin slapping against skin filled the space and echoed around you, wet and hot. You came at the same time, he moaned loudly as his cock twitched inside you and filled you deep with his hot load. Your walls tightened around him with your orgasm, milking him to utter completion. George breathed heavily as he gently set you down. You captured his lips for a kiss, different than before, more tender.

You dressed hurriedly and scurried through the castle careful to not be seen by Filch or anybody else. He walked you down the steps to the dungeons, stopping only when you came to the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Elated, you threw your arms around his shoulders and kissed hm deeply. George chuckled and pulled back to look at you, his thumbs stroking your cheeks. “Goodnight darling, I hope you dream of me.” He said softly, in the near blackness of the dungeons you could barely make out his features. You pecked his lips once more and turned to enter the common room, you stopped just before you stepped over the threshold and turned back. “George?” You whispered into the darkness, you hoped he was still there. “Yes?” His unmistakable voice replied. “I love you. You mean everything to me. I know there’s nothing that we can’t do if we’re together.” You whispered, you could feel a tear threaten to fall as you thought of all the people that were going to find out about your relationship and what you had to tell them, what you stood to lose. “Exactly my darling, I’ll be there by your side. Forever, I promise.” You heard him chuckle, “Well, maybe not in your Transfiguration exam. You’re on your own with that one, I’m afraid.” You rolled your eyes and took one last look into the blackness, just about to make out his figure. “Goodnight then, I love you.” “Goodnight, (Y/N). I love you too.”

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley x y/n #george weasley x slytherin!reader #fred weasley #Ron Weasley #ginny weasley #draco malfoy #reader insert #slytherin reader #order of the phoenix #Harry Potter #harry potter reader insert #requests #nobody can know

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koulakoukoula2003 · 4 years ago

Text

Winter on Paradis

Pairings: Levi x y/n x Erwin, Hange x Moblit, Eren x Mikasa, Marlowe x Hitch

Genre: Fluff, Comedy

Summary: (AU where nobody dies in the Battle of Shiganshina) Everybody is more than excited to find everything covered in white outside the Survey Corps HQ. The Winter Holidays are closer than ever, and you can't wait to spend them alongside your husband, and your brats in your Special Operations Squad.

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: This takes place after the Battle of Shiganshina. Moblit and Hange are married. You and Levi are married. BASICALLY EVERYBODY'S HAPPY, WE NEED SOME HAPPINESS IN THIS FANDOM GODDAMMIT😭😭

Enjoy! 🥰

The next morning, everything was white outside. Everybody was way too excited. It was the 24th of December. And tomorrow was her beloved husband’s birthday. (Y/n) had to think of presents, but all she could look at now, was the whiteness that spread all around them. The snow looked puffy. Only for Connie and Sasha to step right in and destroy it's immaculate beauty. They dove right into the snow, throwing snowballs at each other, and Jean soon joined, playing like five-year-olds.

A snowball landed on Marlowe’s back and he turned, only to be met with an even larger one landing on his face and Sasha with Connie laughed their asses off.

“Aw man, look at that mess,” Hitch approached her boyfriend wiping the white snow off his face. They were all dressed in their pyjamas. They hadn’t even bothered to throw on a cloak or a jacket. Armin had barged right into the barracks, notifying them all that everything outside was covered in a thick, beautiful veil of white and everybody just had to run outside right away.

“No worries, Hitch. I’ve got this,” Marlowe cracked his fingers before he leaned down, picking a large handful of snow and tossing it in Connie’s way. Connie’s laughter ceased as the throw was so powerful, it knocked him down on the snow and Sasha only pointed down at him laughing even more.

Hitch threw another snowball, knocking Sasha down beside Connie. Hitch laughed throwing a fist in the air. “That’s what you get for sneak-attacking my boyfriend!”

Meanwhile, Jean and Eren had been glaring at each other with snowballs in their fists, waiting for the right moment to throw them. Mikasa and Armin were just watching as Jean and Eren did nothing but stare intensely at each other as if they were trying to curse at each other with just one look. Armin raised an eyebrow. Wait a minute…

“Are you guys making a staring contest?” Armin pointed out but the two didn’t answer. They were too busy with trying to keep their eyes open.

Mikasa groaned. “Seriously?! What are you guys? Five-year-olds?!”

The two ignored her and tried to keep it up for as long as they could manage. Eren was the first to give in. “AAH! MY EYES!”

Jean threw a fist in the air. “FUCK YEAH!” And then he tossed the melting snowball that he had in his hand towards his friend. He grabbed another snowball tossing it at him, and another. “Can Mikasa stop me from turning you into a snowman?!” Jean cried out.

“SHUT UP, JEANBOYYYY!” Eren launched at him and they both came crushing down on the snow, beating each other up.

By the time the veterans walked out, it was a mess. (Y/n) had chosen to put on that one thick coat that she had for such circumstances. It was brown, way too big for her small body, but quite cosy and warm due to the fur embroidered on the inside of it. Of course, she had hurried to the barracks to catch all those coats of her squad’s stuff that she recognised. She had washed those coats before. She passed all six of them around her arm and she hurried outside.

Connie, Sasha, Marlowe and Hitch were locked in a thunderous snowball fight. Mikasa and Armin were cheering for Eren whilst he fought with Jean. (Y/n) sighed and she just shook her head. Those kids were going to catch a cold, that was for sure.

“L- Lieutenant (Y/n)-” Marlowe tried to say as he stopped throwing snowballs and turned at his superior, only to be knocked down by a powerful snowball from Connie.

“HELL YEAH!” Connie cried out.

“High-five!” Sasha raised her hand only for Connie to give it a smack.

Hitch growled as she gathered all the snow she could. “You little-”

“Time-out! Time-out! Unarmed person passing by!” (Y/n) cried out as she walked between the two groups. She caught Marlowe’s hand helping him up.

“Thanks, Lieutenant,” Marlowe said as he dusted off the snow from his shoulders. (Y/n) passed his coat around his shoulders and she messed his hair pushing the snow away.

“What have I asked you to call me?” (Y/n) grinned as she settled the coat closer around him.

Marlowe started giggling like an idiot. “(Y/n)?”

(Y/n) gave him a smile. “There, there, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She handed Hitch her own coat. Hitch had just joined the Survey Corps, and she with Marlowe were making a pretty good team already.

“Thanks, Lieu- er- (y/n)!”

Connie let out a loud sneeze as (y/n) approached him and she cringed. “Oh dear,”

“It’s nothing, (y/n), seriously,” Connie said as he rubbed his red nose.

(Y/n) raised an eyebrow “Sure,” as she passed his own coat around him, and then she did the same with Sasha. “You guys continue,” She grinned. “The team who wins gets to share an entire tray of cake,”

Sasha’s eyes widened. “IT HAS TO BE ME!”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Hitch growled as their hands reached for all the snow she could get.

“SO BE IT!” Connie cried out and the fight continued. (Y/n) giggled as she watched them. She’d never get to make that cake. Those kids would be bedridden by afternoon with an unbearable fever and an undoubtedly sore throat.

Erwin let out a sigh as he watched (y/n) scolding Jean and Eren to death before tucking them both in their coats and then setting over to do the same with Armin and Mikasa. But then he realised he wasn’t the only one staring. An invisible smile spread on Levi’s lips as he tucked his hands in the pockets of his black, thick trench coat, and then another contented sigh came from Moblit. All three men stared at that wonderful woman whilst she mothered the fifteen-year-olds that were making a mess of the street.

Moblit received a painful smack on his shoulder, and he knew of only one woman whose hand was so damn heavy. He turned and he saw his wife. “I get it for those two idiots, but why are YOU SIGHING AND STARING AT HER?!” Hange cried out furiously and Moblit cringed.

“I- I- I wasn’t staring at her!”

“YES, YOU WERE!”

“NO, I WASN’T!”

“FUCK YOU, MOBBY! …and then fuck me too,”

Those two were kissing and making out before they knew it. Levi groaned and rubbed his forehead and Erwin rolled his eyes. Both men turned their attention away from the loudly kissing couple, and they tried to ignore Hange’s moans and Moblit’s groans. Levi clicked his tongue in utter annoyance.

I’m never standing around those two ever again.

Time Skip

“H- Hey, (y/n)?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Y- You don’t happen to have a... twin sister, do you?”

(Y/n) choked back a laugh. Connie’s fever was bringing the wildest hallucinations she had ever seen in a patient with fever. “No, darling,”

“Who brought that goat in here?” Sasha mumbled as she pointed at Hitch who was lying on a bed across from her. No matter her fever, Hitch’s eyebrow twitched in frustration.

“I know for a fact that Sasha’s not hallucinating!” Hitch growled.

“Jeez, can y’all like… shut up?" Jean cut in. "And no, Sasha, that’s not a goat, that’s clearly a unicorn,” Jean pointed out in as-a-matter-of-factedly tone in his voice. (Y/n) cringed. Oh boy. Jean was hallucinating too.

“Speaks the horse,” Eren’s voice came from the bed across of Jean’s and Jean shut his eyes and groaned. Eren was the only one not hallucinating and maybe his titan-shifting abilities had something to do with that. Still, Mikasa was beside him, tending to his fever, and Armin was all around trying to help (y/n) all he could.

“You… son of a b-” Jean tried to say but (y/n) cut him.

“Guys!” She said strictly, catching everyone’s attention. “Let’s just deal with your fever and then you’re all free to skin each other alive, how about that?”

Eren sighed as he let his head roll back on his pillow and Jean groaned. “Fine!”

(Y/n) reached Marlowe. He wasn’t hallucinating either, or at least she thought as much. He was sitting there, quietly on the bed across Connie’s dealing with his fever.

“Hey, honeybun,” Hitch caught Marlowe’s attention. His bed was beside her own. “Do I look like a unicorn to you?”

Marlowe looked at her for a moment. His own fever-induced hallucinations weren’t helping him form an honest answer. “N- No, my sweetiecake,”

“Those are like… the lamest pet names I’ve ever heard of,” Jean commented.

“It’s not like you have a big experience with the ladies and pet names,” Connie grinned. (y/n) couldn’t understand how he was able to tease even though he was in a very high fever.

“Me?” Jean chuckled. “If anybody’s got experience in here, it’s me,” Connie, Sasha and Eren started laughing and a bright blush graced Jean’s cheeks. Jean frowned deeply. “YOU GUYS, SHUT UP!”

“Oi, Jean… I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to your twin brother,” Connie said as he let his head roll back on the pillow. (Y/n) tried her best not to laugh. There he is.

“Ooohhh," Jean nodded casually. "Alright, dude, no problem,”

A/N: Thanks for reading!!! Lemme know if you like it!!! Feel free to reblog and comment below!!! 🥰

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flailingkittylover · 5 years ago

Text

Voices

Summary: Annie had a spotlight in the dark, even if she couldn’t see her. Takes place between Ch. 125 -127.

Rating: T

Characters: Annie Leonhardt, Hitch Dreyse, Armin Arlert

A/N: Happy Birthday, Annie!!

To be back in this setting brings a strange comfort to Annie.

It’s not that she enjoys an ounce of the havoc around her or doesn’t feel pity for the people trapped under their toppled houses. The sight of the world being catapulted into hell is nostalgic, reminds Annie of when she was a child.

Blood is nectar to the soil and ripped muscle will feed the creatures who prowl the devastation. It’s a cyclical and mechanical process Annie understood at a young age and perhaps she is more messed up in the head than she thought if destruction and the wails of widows brings an odd sense of ease. She’s always been morbid but being outside beats being stuck in a sea where her limbs are stiff and all the space around her is bleached black.

Annie remembers it all too clearly as she rides on the back of Hitch’s horse out of Stohess. She hovered for so long and a sound which had a gurgling thickness rumbled everywhere—Annie is still unsure if the noise was her own imagination or her being pulled closer to the magma rivers of hell.

Faint voices in the distance were her only distraction.

“If you die in there, I’m going to make sure you’re even more dead when I join you.” Hitch seethed on a particularly bad day. “You haven’t explained yourself to me yet.”

“I admit, something about you being stuck in there and being forced to hear all my bitching is kind of satisfying.” Hitch had snorted at her on another day. “The fact that there’s nothing you can do about it is the cherry on top of it all too. Ha!” Hitch paused. “But still, sometimes I wonder if you’re even alive in there. What a downer thought, huh? I must be hanging around you too much.”

“Hitch…you’ve got something on your neck.” The new voice which Annie deciphered as Armin pointed out a few days later.

“It’s called a hickey, Armin.” Hitch huffed all too similarly to an irritated older sister. “Do you not know what that is?”

“…You do know which regiment I came from, right?” He combated.

“Is that you admitting that you’re a permanent third wheel? Or you trying to use some weirdo innuendo talk on me? Orrrr?”

“You’re very street savvy, Hitch. I trust that you’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Exactly and my super-smart diagnosis is that you’re the shy, quiet type who fakes innocence—a.k.a, you’re a pervert.”

“H-Hey!”

The pair’s antics are always either amusing, boring, or so frustratingly irritating, Annie resents how she can’t maim her ears to block out their noise. But she’s connected to things outside this nighttime void where the only chatter is the whispering of past horrors. They include her, pretend she can see what they see by saying “Look!” and she hears a thump, probably them shoving what they’re looking at against her crystal so she can “see”. It’s futile and stupid but funny, especially when Hitch uses her to act as a “two-against-one” tally when she and Armin fight to win an argument.

But their moods were never consistent.

“…. It’s the anniversary today.” Hitch said bleakly. “Marlowe would have been eighteen if he made it. He might have even stopped being such a brain-dead idiot and learned how to be a normal person. Might have learned how to not be an even bigger idiot around women too.” Hitch stopped. A sharp hiccup and sniffle left her and Annie had wished then that her crystal had broken sooner. “You know, it was a real dick move on both of you for leaving me all by myself…”

Annie hugs her knees tighter. Hitch sleeps now and Annie worries, stares at the stars glinting outside the window. What she aims to achieve is at the end of a perilous path and Hitch doesn’t belong in a battle. She’s proud that her nail-polish obsessed roommate flipped her, of all people, and Annie’s confident her frequent visitor can fend for herself. But Hitch has no place on the front lines.

So when Armin and Connie make their case on the urgency of stopping Eren, Annie is reluctant but agrees.

She leaves behind a note for Hitch, the human anchor who steadied Annie when the darkness and nightmares swam too close.

She joins a group which has her senses prickling her skin, tells her to keep an eye out for them—there might be ill will and lies lingering here.

But careful hope finds bravery to grow and the emptiness honeycombing Annie’s chest doesn’t feel so bottomless as it had before.

Annie doesn’t believe this plan will work but as the cart pulls all of them to the harbor, she accepts this group is the only shot she has. Her promise is not far away from being fulfilled and if she fails—if Father dies and she’s left all alone—…she’s not sure what to do with herself.

Annie stares into the wood boards of the cart’s floor.

Maybe—regardless of whether or not life will gift her with or strip her of Father—Annie can find Hitch again and she can say thank you to a person she didn’t mean to leave behind.

Inspired by Sweet Night - V

How could I know?

One day I’d wake up feeling more

But I had already reached the shore

Guess we were ships in the night, night, night

#hitchani #snk #annie leonhart #Annie Leonhardt #Hitch Dreyse #aot #armin arlert #can be seen as romantic or platonic #I love these girls so much ;-;#annie week

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ohgodwhy151 · 5 years ago

Text

Ereannieweek2020!

You’d think being in quraentine would give you plenty of time to write but alas I was wrong. Either way, enjoy day one!

----------------------

Birthday/Celebration

“What do you mean you have no idea? It’s tomorrow!” Ymir scoffed. “How does this happen every year?”

Annie swallowed the anger and embarrassment that rose in her throat and sighed heavily. “I’m asking for your help, if you’re gonna be an ass I’ll go ask someone else.”

Ymir leant back in her chair and threw her arms up. “Okay, okay. Since you asked so nicely. So. What did you have in mind?”

“Nothing,” Annie groaned. “That’s the problem.”

Resting her head on her hands Ymir hummed loudly. “Couldn’t go wrong with dinner, a movie and some drinks.” She shrugged.

“It’s not exactly a good birthday present is it.”

Ymir furrowed her brow. “I thought it was your anniversary.”

“It’s both. We got together on his birthday.”

“So it’s doubly important.”

Annie nodded. “So I want to make it… special.”

“Special or special?”

Blood rushed to Annie’s cheeks. “S-special I guess.”

“You’re not giving me a lot to work with.” Ymir sighed. “If it were Historia I’d walk up to her, pick her up and-”

Cutting her off Annie got to her feet. “I get it.”

“Just saying, some people like it when the other one takes charge.”

“That’s what you get for going to Ymir for advice.” Jean said as he cleaned the counter of his bar.

Annie let her head fall on the counter. “I just thought since she always does those big romantic gestures for Historia she might have some ideas.”

Jean shrugged. “She probably wants to keep those ideas secret. Besides you don’t need to do anything big like that. Eren’s head over heels for you.”

“I just don’t want him to think I don’t care or whatever. I want to do something nice, something really nice.”

“Knowing Eren,” Jean smirked. “He’d be happy spending an entire day sparring with you.” He scoffed. Taking a moment Jean stood to his full height and looked around the bar. “Listen, if it means that much to you then I can close early on a ‘random’ night for ‘maintenance’ or something and give you two some space.”

Picking herself up Annie shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

With crossed arms Jean offered her a warm smile. “The offer’s always there, I know you’re not a massive fan of big parties so this place is all yours if you need it.”

“Why are you being so nice?” Annie asked with narrowed eyes.

“It’s Eren’s birthday,” Jean shrugged. “Consider it me being nice.”

As she gathered her things Annie mirrored Jean’s smile. “Thanks, I’ll make sure not to tell Eren.”

-------------------

“So let me get this straight. You want me to plan a special not-party for Eren.” Reiner gawked as he sat down at his kitchen table.

Annie rubbed her eyes. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m asking for… advice.”

Ignoring his friend Bertholdt cupped his chin. “You have a venue, so to speak, so what did you have in mind.”

“I’m not sure, Ymir usually does these big gestures but that isn’t me.”

Bertholdt smiled. “How many years have you two been together now. Five years?” Annie nodded. “I think this is a good opportunity to have a talk.”

“A talk? Are you pregnant?” Reiner interrupted.

Doing their best to ignore him, Bertholdt and Annie sighed. “I’m talking about your future together.”

“F-future? We already live together.”

“I’m thinking a little more in the future.”

Reiner groaned. “Are you talking about kids or not?”

“I’m talking about marriage!” Bertholdt snapped. “I think you should propose.”

Annie’s cheeks turned a deep red too fast for her to hide the rising blush. “Propose? What are you talking about?”

Reiner hummed. “No, he’s right. You should. It would be a great birthday surprise.”

“We’re not talking about a birthday surprise, we’re talking about marriage.”

Standing tall Reiner grinned. “You’re not saying no.”

Annie looked between her two friends. “Getting married I… I never really thought about it.”

Bertholdt shrugged his shoulders. “Think about it now then. What do you think?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Do you love him?” Bertholdt asked.

Annie nodded.

“Do you like living with him?”

Annie nodded again.

“Do you want to be with him long term?”

Once again Annie nodded.

“So,” Bertholdt said with a deep chuckle. “Do you want to marry him?”

And Annie nodded.

-----------

Annie stared at the rings in front of her with no idea what she was looking for, she was surrounded by shelves stacked with gold and silver, she was flanked by rows of gemstones to the point where Annie could feel herself getting dizzy. She was silently begging for someone to come and ask her if she needed help.

“Annie? What the hell are you doing here?”

Turning on her heels Annie felt relief immediately flood through her body. “Hitch,” She sighed. “I’m… shopping.”

“For what? You getting married or something?” Hitch snorted.

Annie shrugged. “Maybe.”

Hitch froze in place, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. All she could muster in response was a stuttered, “W-what?”

“I’m going to propose to Eren.”

“You?”

“Yeah.”

Hitch pushed her hair back. “Like down on one knee and everything?”

“That’s the thing,” Annie shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”

Before answering Hitch pulled out her phone, typed a number and held it to her ear. “Marlow, we’re gonna have to cancel lunch,” She paused. “Something came up, something big.” She paused again. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

“What are you doing?”

“Dropping everything to help you get married, isn’t that obvious.”

After that Hitch attached herself to Annie, together they scoured each and every ring, band and stone. Annie was worried that she would quickly become overwhelmed and exhausted but Hitch’s seemingly endless supplies of energy and optimism kept them both going.

“See, I think you want to go for a green stone, it’d match his eyes. Then you could get a blue one for you.” Hitch explained.

Annie blinked back her surprise. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this haven’t you?”

“Of course I have! If I plan my best friend’s wedding it’s perfect practise for when I get married. And I want you to have a perfect moment.”

“Thanks, I think.”

Hitch shook her head. “You can thank me by making me the maid of honor and throwing that bouquet my way.” She said with a wink.

The two of them spent what felt like hours going around various stores with Hitch taking the lead while barraging each and every employee with a seemingly endless list of questions. During one of Hitch’s interrogations Annie’s eyes wandered to a shimmering, icy blue stone fixed between two weaving silver bands. Reaching over she grabbed Hitch’s shoulder.

“I think I found it.”

Following her friend's gaze Hitch hummed. “I thought you were going to get him one that would match his eyes.”

Annie shook her head. “I’ll get him one that’ll match my eyes and I’ll have one that’ll match his.”

For a moment Hitch was stunned silent. “That's… actually a really good and romantic idea. Who are you?”

Annie couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she looked back to the topaz stone.

-------------

After buying the rings Annie could suddenly feel the weight of her decision looming over her shoulders with each step. As she walked back to the bar a seed of doubt planted itself in her chest and with each step it grew and spread through her entire body.

“What if this is too much?” She whispered to herself. “I’m just assuming he’ll say yes.”

For a moment she considered returning the rings and calling the whole thing off. As she was about to turn back Annie allowed herself to think of the future, of her future with Eren. When the two of them were together Annie felt like she could do anything, her insecurities and worries vanished in his warmth and confidence. As hope swelled in her heart Annie took a deep breath and reached for her phone.

“Eren, are you busy tomorrow night?” She asked with all the strength she could muster.

“I mean it’s our anniversary so not really.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “And your birthday.”

“Yeah but that’s not as important.”

Eren could hear her smile as she responded. “Either way, be at Jean's bar tomorrow night at seven.”

“Have I done something wrong? Why are you taking me to Jean’s?”

Annie bit her lips as she calmed herself. “Just be there. I’m staying with Hitch tonight. I’ll see you there.”

Once she hung up Annie let out a shaky sigh before making her way to Hitch’s home.

-----------

“So what’s your battle plan?” Hitch asked as she handed Annie a steaming mug of coffee.

After thanking her friend Annie hummed. “I’m not sure, getting down on one knee seems-”

“Cliche, I get it,” Hitch interrupted. “Given your… attitude I’d go for something straightforward and simple.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. “Simple meaning?”

“Take out the ring and ask him to marry you.” Hitch shrugged.

“Very simple then.”

Hitch shrugged. “You gotta think about Eren here as well so yeah. Very simple.”

“Doesn’t sound very romantic.”

“It doesn’t have to be romantic,” Hitch explained. “It just has to be special and that’s different for everyone. If you open up to him then I’m sure he’ll understand what you want.”

Annie sighed. “That sounds difficult.”

“With other people? Sure, you struggle,” Hitch said as she sat next to her friend and rested a hand on her shoulder. “But Eren’s different. Normally I wouldn’t say this to you, but be yourself.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“You’re welcome!”

----------------

The wait outside the bar felt like it would last forever as Annie poorly attempted to calm her shaking hands. She wasn’t sure if it was the cold, nervousness or excitement but Annie knew she was ready.

“Ann!” Looking down the street Annie watched as Eren ran towards her. “Sorry I’m late.”

Annie offered him a thin smile. “You’re here now,” She said, pulling him down by his collar to kiss his cheek. “Happy birthday.” Taking his hand in hers she led him inside while clutching the rings in her other hand.

--------------

Once inside Annie reminded herself to thank Jean once she got the chance. The place was completely empty, the normally bright lights were dark, replaced by a series of candles that spanned the length of the bar and around each table.

“I… like what Jean has done with the place but don’t tell him I said that.”

Annie giggled. “Don’t worry, he’ll never know.” She said, taking him to the bar and sitting down.

“So what are we doing here?” Eren asked as he sat next to her.

Still holding his hand Annie took a deep breath “I wanted to go somewhere quiet. Somewhere we could talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“Our future.”

Annie felt Eren go tense. “Good future or bad future?”

“Good, I hope.”

Eren sighed. “Okay, since it’s my birthday could you be a little more clear, you had, or still, have me kinda worried.”

“I’ve been talking to everyone,” Annie explained. “I was wondering what to get you for your birthday and our anniversary. I wanted it to be special. Ymir said I should take charge, Bertholdt and Reiner helped me figure it out, Hitch helped me plan it out and Jean gave me a venue. They all helped me figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“What I want. From you, from this relationship,” Annie said as she reached for the ring. “I want to marry you,” Once again Eren tensed up, as if his blood and frozen in his veins. He remained still as Annie revealed the shimmering blue stone and woven metal band. “Are you going to say anything or have you finally run out of things to say?” Annie asked with a nervous laugh.

Eren swallowed the lump in his throat. “You asked first?”

Annie nodded. “Yeah, like I said everyone helped me figure it out.”

“I guess I should thank them.” Eren said, his eyes still fixed on the ring.

“Even Jean?”

Eren’s eyes widened. “Yeah,” He sighed. “Even Jean.”

“You know you still haven’t technically answered.”

With shaking hands Eren held out his hand as Annie put the ring on his finger. “Is that a good enough answer?”

Annie felt her heart swell as she nodded. “Although I have one last question.”

“Anything?”

Annie laughed. “Are you okay with Hitch planning our wedding?”

#Ereannieweek2020 #ereaniweek2020 #Eren Jaeger #Annie Leonhardt #eren x annie

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thedyingmoon · 6 years ago

Text

💜 This I Promise 💜

***

LIV. Advice

***

"What the hell are you doing there?"

"Sorry?"

"Why are you sitting on the floor?"

(F/N)'s eyes widened at what Hitch just said. She looked up from the papers she was reviewing and glanced at the floor beneath her. For some reason, she was so used to sitting on the floor, and she didn't even know why.

"So, you gonna use the desk, or not?" Hitch asked, hands on her waist, eyebrows raised.

(F/N) reluctantly stood up, the feeling of blood rushing back to the veins in her legs stinging her like heck.

"I'm finished, anyway,..."

"So, are you coming with us?"

"Where?" (F/N) asked, rearranging the documents on her uncle's desk.

Hitch's eyes rolled in utter irritation. "The party, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot."

"What are you waiting for, then? Change out of that stupid uniform and let's go!"

It was then that (F/N) found herself stuck between a very drunk Hitch and some other Military Police girls at the city bar that night. She knew she must help her aunt and uncle locate for their missing daughter, but a promise is a promise. Somehow, her stupid self had let Hitch to convince her to come to this party last Monday, telling her that it was for some sort of celebration. But, for what, anyway?

"Hey, Hitch? Hitch!" (F/N) screamed, avoiding the projectile of vomit that came from the girl on her left.

"W-wut?" uttered Hitch in a very slurred voice as she scanned the room for cute boys.

"What are we having this party for?"

"Oh! Haven't you - hick - heard? Me and Marlowe just - hick! - broke up last week!"

"Oh. Okay,..." (F/N) said, then pondered for a while. Wait! She and Marlowe - ?! "What?! I didn't even know you were in a relationship!"

Hitch only giggled at this. She gestured for the bartender to bring her another drink. "Well, now you - hick! - know."

(F/N) suddenly became embarrassed of the situation and just focused at the glass of champagne on her hand, hoping that Hitch would not notice her reddened cheeks.

"S-shouldn't you be celebrating right now? I-i mean, you just broke up with someone you love,..."

"Love? Hahaha! Come on, (F/N)! Do you think that love really exists?"

She looked up at Hitch, startled and surprised at what she just heard from her.

"Well, yes, I do!"

The look of amusement from Hitch's face suddenly vanished to be replaced by sarcasm. "Oh. I almost forgot. You finally got engaged with the man of your dreams." she said, then started clapping her hands. "Bravo, (F/N). Bra - vo!"

(F/N) looked away from Hitch. She didn't want to show it to anyone, but she was trying too hard to hide her disdain about her engagement. She had no feelings for Erwin. She even agreed to elope with Elvis tomorrow night, and she knew it was very, very wrong to be involved with a man who was committed to someone else. Who could blame her, anyway? She was positive of her feelings for him, and she knew that Elvis felt the same. He even convinced her that everything would be fine. They would live a humble life in a secluded village in the north of Wall Rose and start a family of their own. Well, she knew it would be a very hard life, but together, the two of them could make it through any hardships.

But, what about Erwin? He loved her, as well. He offered her everything he had, luxury, safety, happiness. He's willing to give her anything she would ask for, and, above all, he's not committed to any woman, but her, and her alone.

Deep within her heart, she knew the right answer to her dilemma. She chose to follow her true feelings, and that was to go with Elvis.

But, why can't she have the courage to refuse Erwin, or even remove her engagement ring?

Why?

"Anyway, you shouldn't be drinking too much. We have combat training tomorrow. Captain Ackerman would be teaching tomorrow. We wouldn't want to disappoint him with our conduct." she just said, hoping to change the subject of love to work.

"Huh!" Hitch just muttered and took a swig of her beer. "Tell that to him! HE even joined us here."

"What are you saying?" (F/N) felt her hackles stood at the mention of the eccentric Captain.

Hitch did not answer, instead she just gestured with her head, tilting it slightly to the left. (F/N) awkwardly turned towards the direction that Hitch pointed, and sure as daylight, she found Kenny Ackerman sitting solitarily at the far end of the noisy bar. The man was about to drink when he noticed that she was looking at him. He raised his glass at her and smirked with that familiar devilish look of his on his face.

"Hey, Hitch, you said that this is an all - girls' party. Why did you even invite him - "

But, Hitch never heard her question. She turned back to her, only to find her meeting with an equally drunk boy and started dancing with him to the beat of the country music that was being played by the bar's musicians. She only sighed as the other girls looked for their own partners and started dancing, as well, leaving her alone on the long bar table.

(F/N) shrugged her head and took a sip of her now warm champagne. Now, she could hear all the other customers of the bar, particularly the perverts, cheering for the girls as the situation was going wilder by the second. She was about to quietly leave the place, hoping that she would go unnoticed by anyone, when she felt movement on her left side. She turned and found Kenny, himself, taking a seat on the bar stool beside her.

"Okay, that's perfect." muttered Kenny to himself as he settled down comfortably on the chair. Then, he turned towards (F/N) and waved a hand in a greeting. "Hello, Princess."

"G-good evening, Captain Ackerman." (F/N) answered awkwardly, embarrassed by that pet name he gave her. Hell, he even called her that in front of other people. He was so used to it, but she sure wasn't.

Kenny glanced at the glass on her hand and snorted. "I see you've taken a liking to that stuff."

(F/N) blushed and looked at the champagne, recalling her own drunken antics at the ball last 25th. That's when she remembered -

"Captain?"

"Yes, Princess? I'll have two whiskey, please." said Kenny, gesturing for the bartender to bring him his request.

(F/N) gulped, mustering all her courage to speak freely to the man who always made her nervous. "You said at the ball last time that you - wanted me to meet someone,..." she finished, unsure whether the man was still annoyed at her for what happened the last time they met.

"Oh, that. It was nothing. Forget about it." he simply said and received the glasses from the bartender. "Here, try this." he offered her the other glass.

"Oh! Thank you, Captain, but I don't drink whiskey,..."

"You are in a bar, Sweetheart. Not in Madame La Belle's mansion."

"But - "

She had no choice but to accept when Kenny just snapped her a very authoritative look . She nervously took the glass and stared at it for a few moments, its awfully pungent smell trailing blazes on her untrained nostrils. She took a sip, and immediately puckered. It was too strong, but, somehow, it brought warmth to her stomach. She carefully drank the liquid and instantly felt its relaxing properties miraculously working its way on her tired body.

Kenny smiled, seeing the reaction on her face. "Good, isn't it?" He was about to look away when he noticed the sapphire on (F/N)'s left ring finger.

"I see you're engaged. Congratulations." he said to her.

She stopped drinking and looked at the jewelry on her hand. All of a sudden, all her worries came back to haunt her.

"Oh, I see you're not happy with it. How very,... unusual."

"Captain?" (F/N) suddenly said, looking at him with uneasiness. "Do you think it's possible to,... refuse anyone who loves you?"

Kenny's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. He carefully looked at her, scanning her face like she was some painting.

"Are you already drunk?" he asked her in a really somber tone.

"I'm not! I - "

But, (F/N) was interrupted when the Captain started laughing uncontrollably at her, holding his stomach and slapping the table at the same time.

"I didn't say anything funny,..." (F/N) uttered, embarrassed of what she just said.

"Hahaha! No! That's the classiest, cheesiest thing I've ever heard!" Kenny said through his fits of laughter.

"Captain Kenny, I'm serious! I wouldn't say this to you if I'm not! I seriously need your help here,..."

"Hehe, so, you want my advice, then?"

"Well, yes."

"Why me of all people, Sweetheart?"

If (F/N)'s face was red earlier, it was even redder now, like the color of wine. The man was right. Why would she ask someone like him? They were not related in any way for him to give her any kind of advice, unsolicited or not.

"Because, I trust you,..." Well, it was the truth. She trusted him. She couldn't even begin to explain the familiarity she always felt about him whenever she's near him, like she knew him for a very, very long time. But, seeing that her own faulty memory could not be trusted, she couldn't know why she felt that way for a very suspicious man who suddenly came to her life like a storm.

"Really?"

"Yes, and,..."

"And?"

"You seem like a man who is so used to refusing many women."

"Is that so?"

(F/N) simply nodded.

Kenny finally calmed down and sighed. "Why would I refuse them? They're afraid of me to begin with."

"I don't know. You just seem like it, sir,..."

"Well, for one thing,..." Kenny said and downed his whiskey in one single gulp. "She's the one who refused me. Secondly, I don't go to any brothels to meet that many women. It's not like I would go offering for any brainless, unexperienced chits in balls. I'm not that stupid. And thirdly,..."

Kenny gave her a very solemn look that was so unlike him, it didn't even suit his mischievous face.

"And thirdly, why would you refuse someone who loves you and is willing to give you everything? Are you fucking insane?"

"I'm not insane,..."

"Oh, yes, you're not insane. You're confused, am I correct?"

(F/N) just looked down, unable to look Kenny in the eye any longer, confirming what he said.

"Okay, now, tell me. Was it because of Shunerman?"

(F/N)'s eyes snapped wide open. She looked at Kenny, unable to fathom how the man knew about her affair with the engaged man.

"How did you know about that?"

"I just know things. So, what are you gonna do about it?"

"We were, wait,... I can't tell you that, can I?"

"No use for that, kid. You chose to talk to me about that."

She sighed. Again, he's right. She was the one who chose to confide in him and not in anybody else. There's no use going back now.

"You're not going to tell anyone of this, right?" (F/N) asked.

"Wouldn't dream of getting involved with that."

"Okay. We are going to run away from here."

"Eloping, eh? What are you gonna do with Smith? Are you going to just leave him like that? He deserves to know if you are still willing to step on the altar with him."

"I know that. I' am planning to tell him. Tomorrow, when he visits me."

"Goodluck with that, then." Kenny said, then gestured for the bartender to bring him another glass of whiskey.

"Wait, aren't you going to stop me? To tell me it's all wrong and that I should not get myself involved with a committed man?"

"Committed man, eh?"

Kenny took a cigar and a match from a tiny silver box from his pocket. He ignited the cigar and started smoking, the sight slightly unnerving (F/N).

It was as if she had seen the same scene before.

"You know, the only advice I could give you is this: decide for yourself. Will it do you any good to run away with a committed man? Will it be alright to leave a man you'd have an ensured and safe life with for many years to come? Can you take the risks that would come after you've made that decision of yours? May I remind you, Shunerman would no longer have the benefits of an Honorary Noble should he choose to run away from the King and Wall Sina in general. Plus, your whole reputation would be in shackles once word gets out that you have an affair with him. Not only Smith, but the Dawks, as well, would have to face utter humiliation, not just you. Now, I'm not saying that you must definitely marry Smith. I'm just saying that with each decision you make, you must think of the consequences thoroughly. And, of course I'm not saying that you should not listen to your heart. What I'm trying to say is, think with heart, and feel with your brain."

For a few moments, (F/N) was dumbfounded. Of course, the answer's simple. It's just staring at her in the face, she just didn't realize it.

Kenny helped her realize it.

"Of course." she simply answered.

"Of course what?" he said, taking the glass of whiskey from the bartender, who gave Hitch and the other patrons a disapproving look, for they really were getting rowdier by the second.

"Of course, I haven't thought about it. I think it's possible. We can be together without humiliating anyone or ruining anyone's reputation!"

"How would you do it?"

"I have an idea. It might be ridiculous, and would take much effort and time. But, I know it would succeed."

(F/N) smiled and took a swig of the whiskey. All the heaviness in her heart were all but gone, thanks to the eccentric Captain and his advice.

"Thank you so much, Captain. I know you have the right answer."

"I didn't. I just helped you decide, is all."

"So, will you go to my wedding?"

"It depends."

"Aww, come on! You'll be the Godfather."

Kenny just rolled his eyes and wore his hat even lower that it almost covered his forehead. "It depends on who you want to marry, Princess - "

It was Kenny's turn to be interrupted as the girl threw herself at him in a very sudden, yet warm, hug.

"Thank you so much for the advice, Captain. I'm so glad I have this talk with you."

Kenny's mouth slightly gaped open, his eyes getting glassy. He looked down at the (H/C) - haired girl, deciding whether to hug her back or not.

"Come on, promise me, you'll be the Godfather of Elvis Junior."

Oh, so that's who she chose, after all!

"I think I - "

"Say you will, please."

Kenny's shoulders dropped even lower. He sighed and just patted her head.

"I'll see to that."

"Thank you! Thank you - "

"I hope you never get your memories back."

"What did you - ?"

"Okay, someone's coming!"

Kenny pried (F/N) lose as he faced her to Hitch's direction. The girl had stopped dancing and was going towards them.

"Hitch, are you okay?" (F/N) nervously asked the girl, seeing that she had a very strange look on her face.

"You are the reason he left me."

"Sorry?"

"It's because of you that he left me! It's because I couldn't stop thinking about you that he left me!"

"Me? I didn't do anything! I - "

"And now, you reappeared after months of long vacation! Where have you been all this time, huh?"

"I never took a vacation, Hitch. I'm still here,..."

"I hate you, Annie! I HATE YOU!"

"Wait, Hitch! I'm not Annie! I - "

But, (F/N) could no longer react as Hitch threw herself at her and crushed her lips against her in a very sloppy kiss. (F/N) tried to pry her lose from her, but she just wouldn't budge. Her pungent scent and the mixed reactions of everyone in the bar has led her to finally push Hitch to the ground, where she lay motionless, thoroughly knocked - out because of the amount of alcohol she drank.

Everything magically went back to normal like nothing happened, and as she turned back at the chair on her left, she found out that Kenny was already gone.

***

Jonas was about to settle down on a chair in the kitchen later that night when (F/N) suddenly opened the door, startling him and almost making him spill the cup of lavender tea he was holding.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?!" Jonas asked her as she sat on a chair opposite him. He could see that she had a blank expression on her face.

"A girl kissed me because she thinks I'm someone called Annie." she said in a monotone.

"Oh. Who's Annie?"

"No idea."

Jonas didn't say anything else. He was about to offer her a cup of tea when he finally remembered something.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I think this belongs to Lord Shunerman."

(F/N) turned to Jonas to see him holding a little leatherboud book.

"How did you know that was his?"

"Well! I - " Jonas stuttered. She can't know that he saw them making out in the library yesterday. "J-just take it, okay? You give it back to him."

The teen shoved the book towards her. She couldn't do anything, but accept.

"Okay, I guess I'll give it to him,..."

"Yeah, you should."

"I'm going to sleep."

"Alright."

She stood up and left her cousin in the kitchen, making her way towards her room. She took a shower and brushed her teeth thoroughly, making sure to remove the scent of whiskey on her. She carefully wore her nightgown and climbed to her bed, feeling her tired bones complaining. She lied down and closed her eyes, but something made her open them once more. She sat up straight and turned towards her right where her bedside table was and saw Elvis' journal. She took it and stared at it.

"Hmm, what have you been up to, Elvis?" she said, then opened the book, eager to know his secrets. Well, there's no use for secrets with soon - to - be married couples, right?

She took a match from her drawer and lit the candle on top of her table. Then, she took the book once more and comfortably settled on her bed.

She turned the book, and saw,...

***

~ @levi4mikasa , @chocolate-mmilk , @nerdyphantomlady , @shewolfofficial , @unhappysap , @super-peace-fangirl , @yepps , @fangurl-ontgeside , and @emilyackerman78 . 💜

***

💜💜💜

***

#shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #levi ackerman #captain levi #this i promise #levi x reader #levi x you #chapter 54 #advice

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snkpolls · 7 years ago

Text

SnK S3E04 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 407 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that this is the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

Rate the episode

Overall, respondents gave the episode high ratings, with 90% total feeling that it was at least very good. The pollsters are very happy to see these ratings improve!

The episode felt short. I wanted more after watching it :)

The pacing of this episode was much better than the first two

We're only on episode 4 and about to enter the climax of the arc, not sure how I feel about this.

Very good. I hope that the skipped scenes appear in a later episode.

It was pretty neat. Sometimes stuff is a touch slow, but I know it’s all a lead up to what’s to come, and like, it’s important to have stuff that is slow sometimes so the big stuff feels even bigger.

This recent episode found a little boring to me. I feel like there's wasn't much action less Levi

Bruh I need the next episode like rn

Did you notice the subtle changes made to the animation in the OP this week?

Less than a quarter of respondents initially noticed that there was something different about the OP this week. However, just over half noticed them upon a second watch or seeing it pointed out by others.

I didn't notice the changes in the opening because I always skip it.

Which of the following scenes were your favorites?

Hange and Moblit taking out the MP’s won by a good margin. The runner up is Spider-Hange. Levi and Mikasa reacting to Kenny’s last name, Levi interrogating the Central MP and Jean testing Marlowe and Hitch were also very loved moments!

The moments between Jean and Marlowe is one of my favorites. That was really fantastic and Marlowe is going to be a wonderful SC member. Too bad he will die later. I was really upset about it while reading the manga. He was such promising and brave guy.

I enjoyed the moment when Erwin asked Nile about Marie. It felt like he still had some feelings to her. I wonder if they're going to go back to this topic later (in flashbacks). Probably not.

This episode was so fucking amazing after the exposition heavy episode 3! I have literally waited years to see Hange taking down that MP animated, shit, the way she just casually like ducks away from the bullet... I used to keep staring at the badassery in that manga panel and now I am watching it on repeat, Wit got that scene so perfectly right!!

My whole life has lead up to this moment with Hitch and Marlo!!! Bless WIT for doing so good by my precious MP!

It was hilarious when 3MPs ran on the ground to chase Flegel while they are equipping ODMG. It was even funnier when one of them cried for joy catching Flegel without using ODMG.

Faithful to the manga with a healthy combination of action and world-building. LOVED Flegel's "I'm the boss" scene.

Erwin’s VA was superb! I was close to tears during the scene when he and Nile were talking.

Who made the best face when ambushing the MP base?

Connie won by a landside! There was no contest here, folks.

How bangable was Levi this episode on a scale of 1-5?

As expected, over half of respondents would love it if Levi totally wrecked them. Although there are still quite a few of you who would rather he not.

LEVI DADDY PLEASE STEP ON ME!

Levi in the moonlight was everything I never knew I needed.

Levi cutie crazy ass bitch

Levi. Le-vi. LEVI.

On a scale of 1-5, how distressed were you to see Erwin beat up and chained?

More than half of respondents are anxious to see Commander Handsome out of chains and cleaned up!

How Erwin can kneel before them on his own? When he knows how horrible they are that they made decisions that killed his father? How can he be like that? Oh just take my heart away already! It's not that I need it…

Also, seeing my husband all beat is tragic and seeing him hanging was far too distressing and I know what’s going to happen in this season, but I want to pretend it isn’t happening and that he might be happy when he reunites with Levi

Erwin also manages to look hot not matter how beat up he is, which isn't even fair.

I love Erwin and he deserves the world. That is all.

Are you feeling better or worse about the season so far?

Most voters either felt great about the season from the beginning or have started to warm up to it a lot more! There is still a small percentage of those who are still unsure or unhappy, however.

Feeling alright overall about it but disappointed about some parts being rushed/skipped

I did not like the first two episodes, but now that the pacing has slowed I’m starting to like the episodes better. Still salty about the first two though.

I knew I was going to love it just because it's AOT, but I won't know how much I love it until I've seen how they handle the RtS arc

I havent feel good, still dont feel good but its better than before, so a combo of the 2nd and 4th option

I'm loving the episodes, but I'm still unure about some of the removed scenes, specially the ones involving Historia and Levi COS i swear to dead Marco if they do not animate Levi's smile im gonna riot

I'll wait until this arc is over to cast any judgement. However, I do wish they would've expanded the Reeves' storyline. It kinda fell flat for me in the anime.

Was unsure at first with all the changes from the manga, but have come to accept that some things are gonna be different so I'm just gonna enjoy it as it is. At the end of the day, it's still Attack on Titan so I'll always enjoy it.

I’m just happy we’re getting this season at all

I never thought they could make the uprising arc funny and interesting

Instead of attacking the Centrap MP HQ, Squad Levi ambushed a small outpost on the outskirts of Trost instead. Did you like this change?

Nearly half of respondents were okay or even preferred this change. 36% are let down that there was no slicing and shooting though. Chin up guys, the cave is coming soon!

I always thought it was a little confusing that squad Levi would go all the way out to the central base, so I think this made more sense because of how they're still on the run. The anime version feels a lot more like they could be caught at any second, which is great!

I was looking forward to the 104th's subtle distressed reactions after having done what they had to do. But I guess the anime is not for subtle.

I'm not sure if replacing the newfound edge from the SC by a lulzy moment was a right choice. I feel like we're losing the grim aspect of the SC not being good guys anymore.

I didn't even remember how the manga handled that, so I didn't notice the change.

I honestly like both situations

While i did want to see the gang cut up peoples legs, the anime version made more sense and I'm down for any Springlestein.

While the cart charge was hilarious, I'm not sure why a small outpost would know anything about Eren and Historia's location.

I quite honestly didn't notice the difference, the real attraction was Levi fucking the old boy's shit up

While I hopedd they'd make it bigger, after watching the episode I grew to like it, it makes sense both geographically and in terms of the scale of the event.

Oh lol I totally expect them to go ahead and get the Central MP HQ next. I mean, didn't they also do that so that the MP's couldn't mobilise and come to Kenny/Rod's defense later on?

Were you expecting there to be more focus on the press?

Most respondents were expecting to get Hange’s talk with the press prior to exposing the Military Police. A few are certain it’s lost not, while a good 30% are hopeful that we’ll still get it in another way.

By making the newspaper Trost local, their presence didn't need to be explained, and some aspects from their talk from 60 can be merged with the little moment from the Rookie from 61 after Erwin's trial so as to not be redundant.

The talk with Hange and the press will no doubt happen next episode.

Having a flashback would be good, but I don't have much faith in them doing it

Indifferent to it, doesn't make much difference to the overall plot.

we will get them though not in a flashback half the arc has been rearranged remember.

I NEED Hange brooding on a desk in the press office, it's an important part of my spiritual development

I hope we get more Peaure :(

Which scene from the PV are you most looking forward to next week?

At 41%, the largest group is most anticipating getting a flash of Frieda in the mirror. It’s about time we get to see her in anime form after all these years, right? The remaining three scenes are at an even split.

Since we’re getting Frieda in the mirror, do you think there will be a flashback to the conversation about Eren’s experiments?

To build off of the previous question, over half of respondents are anticipating the potential for the bedside flashback to happen after all. 35% are optimistic that it will definitely happen, while 11% believe we’re getting Frieda flash in another way.

I'm hoping the Frieda content doesn't come across as too rushed in the next few episodes. In the manga, almost a year passed between the first Frieda flashbacks and Rod's full story in the chapel underground, but it seems Frieda's anime debut will be only an episode or two before the story. Still looking forward to how it all plays out!

Where do you primarily discuss the series?

Additional thoughts on the episode?

*chanting* STICK! STICK! STICK! STICK!

the changes are fine, doesn't stray too far from the manga. Maybe also makes the anime less of a drag.

Connie had goofy hat. All my stanards has been pleased.

Finally the pacing slowed down to a human level. I'm happy to see so much of Erwin, but it still pains me how he is characterized.

HITCH WITH THE STICK HOLY HELL. Honestly that whole fight scene between Hitch, Marlowe and Jean exceeded my expectations (hopefully not sounding too much like a worshiper). I just love it (probably too much).

Hanji can punch me and I’ll thank her

I MISS EREN AND HISTORIA

I can't believe Flegel sat on the dude's face lol.

Why did Not!-Marco not look like Marco at all?

I don't have a great memory of manga events but I'm feeling shocked - as though the anime is really rushing through events, so I feel worried now!

I love it. The animation when Hanji and Moblit attacked the MP was spectacular. The animators have continuously outdone themselves this season so far.

I'm not sure about my feelings and impressions about this season so far. I got disappointed before with other mangas adaptations, and now, I don't feel like trusting WIT for the moment, until I see some logical modifications.

When it was announced that there would be changes made I was skeptical and thought that the manga was perfect the way it was. Oh boy was I wrong. While I am still angry about some scenes, others just make more sense. I think wit is doing a great job.

Only thing that makes me sad is that Armin's glorious gesumin expressions weren't animated till now.

Honestly so excited to 24 episodes this time not 12. But still proper sick episode.

I've mentioned it on Tumblr before, but while I like how things have been centralized around Trost in this version of Uprising, it does cause an issue. How did Erwin, his captors, and Nile all get from Trost to Mitras in the space of a single morning? They military police either has teleporting tech or an underground bullet train. Or Isayama really wants to replicate S7 of Game of Thrones with characters teleporting all over.

NEXT EPISODE WE’L GET OUR ACKERTALK!!!!!! Eeeeek!!!

No Kenny?! So what kind of episode was that?!

I enjoyed this chapter a lot. Can´t wait to see Eren again.

Well fuck. Manga readers, we know what happens at the reiss chapel

Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again on Monday!

#snk poll #snk polls #snk spoilers #snk s3 #poll results

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perfectackeracy · 8 years ago

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Why do you ship reibert? i mean, maybe there are some hints about reiner sexuality, but him thinking about bertholt in a romantic way? i don't think so. As for bertolt, the same. The only romantic interest we have seen from bertholt is for annie, so we know what isayama ships

Well I’ve been at it since 2013. Not only I liked the context of the ship but also their difference in personality: two boys sent to destroy Humanity for obscure causes, forced to do it and finding the ultimate comfort in the other once they’ve pitted the world against them. The ship also invokes the “childhood best friends to lovers” trope, something I’m fond of if done correctly: they’ve been getting along since a tender age, then puberty and teen problems come and the relationship feels weird. Add Reiner’s sexuality to the mix and have him wonder if it’s normal he sees Bertolt as something more than a friend and vice-versa.

The two have opposite and complementary personalities as well: the outspoken, leader-like Reiner is in fact crippled with issues and the meek, introverted Bertolt has some hidden will. Physically, it’s two tall people with big hearts, a big blonde hunk with sharp hazel eyes and a slender, brunette one with soft eyes. With the Marley arc exploring this childhood, it made me like the pairing even more, and although they have a mission to fulfill, they obviously care about the other.

What I love is their relationship was first brought to light at the same time than Ymir and Historia’s. That’s also one of the main reasons why I loved the Utgard volume, alongside of all the big revelations surrounding the characters.

I’ll leave the rest to your taste and colors. Now for the other statements in your ask...

“What Isayama ships”, clearly not Reiner third-wheeling every ship and Bertolt/Annie. How Isayama nails relationships between characters are obvious enough and Reiner and Bertolt always stuck together since childhood and are portrayed together, down to the official highschool AU:

The Jock and his Gofer - Vol. 21

Under Eren’s perspective, he held them both responsible for the destruction of Shiganshina and made their cases more personal than Annie’s. Hell, even Annie herself uses plural when she talks about her companions getting too friendly with the 104th and them screwing up in front of Marco.

“You two caused this mess. Get Bertolt to do it for you!“ - Ch. 77

The duos with a romantic spark are elaborated upon enough to end up in a tragic and ironic way, sometimes leaving the other component emotionally down. Historia lost herself when Ymir died and only found the courage to act under her promise, the Ackerman lose their will to life and function when their liege die, Hitch was right about Marlowe till the very end and learning that downed her, etc... In Reiner’s case, losing Bertolt before the Marley arc begins degraded his mental health and made him more distant and suicidal, his only rock being the kids.

As for Reiner and Bertolt’s relationship, I summarized it briefly in this post. They have something mutual which can’t progress further because of Reiner’s issues and Bertolt’s unwillingness to upset Reiner. The hints Reiner cares deeply for Bertolt to the point of sacrificing his sanity are present throughout the manga (making Annie do the dirty job with him, softening when he reproaches Bertolt something, waking him up like a princess, sharing the same tent and bunk beds, etc...). From Bertolt’s point of view: he tries to alleviate Reiner’s self-esteem as much as he can, to the point where he seldom contests Reiner’s decisions. He knows Reiner isn’t the cool big bro everybody in the 104th thought he was, he knows Reiner isn’t Marcel II and he still follows him despite that.

If Isayama really supported Bertolt/Annie, he wouldn’t content himself from a wild assumption from Reiner and a single remark about her charm, which is in the same level of relevance as Erwin’s crush on Marie or Reiner commenting the Female Titan’s ass. He would’ve made Bertolt follow Annie from the beginning and made him try to understand her, instead, all his attention and focus is laid on Reiner. Finding someone attractive =/= being in love with them. Going with what everything we know, the probability of Bertolt being honest when he told Reiner he’s mistaken is higher than ever, because clearly, Bertolt was never shy around Annie.

The reason why I brought Falco/Gabi in my previous ask is because it’s using the tropes people expect from Bertolt/Annie: naive boy who is in love with a strong girl since childhood and wants to protect her, despite said girl not returning the feeling. Gabi and Falco have a normal friendship between teenagers, with Falco’s crush on Gabi making him taking the Armor in her stead, so she can enjoy her life at her fullest. At the same time, it sparkled a rivalry between the two, since both want Reiner’s Armor for different reasons. You don’t see this with Bertolt/Annie at all.

By elimination, it leaves Bertolt and Reiner, which had a start (Bertolt helping Reiner stand up), breaking points (Marco’s death, Marcel’s death, battle of Shiganshina) and an ending point (Bertolt’s death). The aftermath is currently being developed.

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julystorms · 8 years ago

Note

Hey!! May I know what you absolutely love about attack on titan please? There's so much negative asks here. Love you and your blog btw:)

A good message! Here are some things I really love about the series!

Marlowe Freudenberg. Just being positive here, but man, he was such a great character, and the fact that he was ended up being such a pleasant surprise. I fully expected him to never really matter at all beyond existing in the very background, so that he got his own little arc with Hitch really made me happy!

On that note, SnK has a lot of really interesting characters. Even the characters I personally want to kick in the teeth are really intriguing. There are few wasted characters, by which I mean, nearly every character gets to play some kind of role in the story and even if their purpose is in the end to die, they don’t do so without us ever knowing anything at all about them. (There are exceptions about this, but again, for the most part, this just doesn’t happen.)

Something I really loved about early SnK was the world. Now, you’ve all seen me harp on the worldbuilding before, so you know my thoughts about that, but something I really enjoyed early on about the series was that the world felt so…open. I felt as a reader that anything could happen. That’s not the case now to the same extent, but I like that there are always a bunch of possibilities for the future! Even though sometimes Isayama’s curveballs annoy me, most of the time I do appreciate them. Kind of like, “thank god it’s not another shounen manga where the entire plot is obvious from the start.” Sometimes it’s really nice to step back and look at the beginning again and say, “Wow, who knew it would come this far and things would be this complex?”

Even though introducing Marley made the world feel too big for me for a while, now I quite like that they’re there. I can really appreciate how fandom opinion for the longest time was that RBA were from a tiny village somewhere outside the walls with weird customs and BOOM actually the truth was that they were from another continent, Paradis is an island, and actually there’s an entire populated (and shitty) world out there! The me of 2015 would have been so shocked by this. My minor gripes regarding suspension of disbelief aside, I’m really glad that “the enemy” is bigger than a little village outside the walls. (I think it makes it easier to see things from RBA’s side this way, too.)

I’m sorry to keep going back to character things but I love that we get an extensive cast of older characters. Unfortunately a lot of them died, but at least there hasn’t been any of that “make way for the next generation” bullshit (IMO, what Erwin said was not along these lines even if on the surface it might seem like it). I find it easier to like a series that features characters of varying ages, and SnK manages to do a pretty good job. The teenagers tend to sound and act like teenagers.

More character stuff, but Jean’s character development was amazing. I also really enjoyed Hitch’s development. Eren grew a lot over the years. It’s been incredible seeing some of these characters learn things and grow. Obviously Isayama couldn’t give this to us for every character, but I think he’s managed to show us that these shifts the main characters go through have an impact on all of the characters we meet (and to a lesser extent, surely those we don’t). I’m thinking of how Eren shifted into a titan and how that must have felt to the average person to see. The main cast, too. Rico. What might it have been like to not be close to Eren and see this kind of drama unfolding in your world? I mean, hell, just the fact that Isayama’s story makes me think to ask these deeper questions is saying something.

This’ll be my last point because I’ve said so much already but I love the character interactions. Isayama hasn’t had a lot of time to develop off-screen relationships between characters (or non plot-relevant relationships), but he does an amazing job with what space he can devote to showing us that these characters are friends, acquaintances, rivals, and so on. He can be really good at giving us an atmosphere to read. Ch99 with Eren and Reiner in the basement? Man, I felt like I was there feeling uncertain and suspenseful along with the others–particularly Falco who has about as good an idea of how this will pan out as I do! But look, we’ve gotten to see Ymir and Historia’s relationship. Nile and Erwin’s. Marlowe and Hitch. Gelgar and Nanaba. Gelgar and Lynne. Mike and Nanaba. Hange and Moblit. Moblit and Erwin in S2. Erwin and Levi. Erwin and Hange. Hange and Levi. Jean and Armin. Eren and Armin. Eren and Jean. Sasha and Connie. Sasha and Jean. Pixis and Erwin. Rico and Ian. Rico and Kitz. God, this list can go on forever. My point is that he does a lovely job of showing us, with very little time or space, the kinds of relationships the characters have with one another. No, we don’t get a long drawn-out history for Hange’s squad, but we see how they interact with her enough to have an idea of the kinds of people they are and the kind of relationship they have to and with their squad leader. The thing that’s impressive about it is that it’s all done without ever turning too far away from the main plot. I won’t lie; this leaves a lot of people feeling frustrated because they want those deeper relationships; they want to see in the canon why Erwin likes Levi, for example, or what about Sasha draws Connie to her as such a good friend and close comrade. In the end, though, we really don’t need all of the little details; we don’t need to have our hands held to guide us through all of this. I think it’s an amazing feat that Isayama has given us so many characters with established relationships to one another and…all without derailing his plot. Most people can’t manage that feat, so mad kudos to him for what is probably the best job I’ve seen so far of juggling all of those things (while never really letting interpersonal relationships between characters actually suffer). (I mean I guess this could change before the end, but so far so good.)

#snk #snk meta #snk hour with july #snk spoilers #waH I'm getting a little feelsy about this series #that happens when u've followed it for a few years tho #anyway there's lots to like about snk!#i pick on it a lot but boy is there a lot i really enjoy #cute anons #replies to friends

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goodguyjean · 8 years ago

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Do you think Jean's words to Floch in chapter 90 were an intentional regression of his character? Perhaps one that he'll realize and try to change? Sorry if you've already said something about this! Also the amount of people that turned on Jean when he said this and hated him for it bothered me, like, these kids are still KIDS and are going to be hypocrites. They've grown a lot and are exceptionally mature for their age, but they're still only 16 at most. some fans need to cut them some slack

Chapter 90.

Hi there, anon! I actuallydon’t think Jean’s words to Floch are hypocritical or a regression of his characterdevelopment, so I agree that people should cut him some slack! My apologies; I’ve had to put this answer under the cut because it got away from me again, and I don’t want to take up too much space on people’sdashes! As a quick preview, I think a lot of the hatred of Jean for what hesays to Floch stems from a mistranslation!

This is speculation onmy part, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but my guess is that you’re referringto a fan translation that circulated before the official Crunchy Roll translationcame out, wherein Jean asks Floch, “You’re gonna keep mourning our fallencomrades forever?” I remember that this translation sparked a lot of outrage,and I myself did enter the conversation around that translation to try to makesense of it, but the official English translation of this scene isactually quite different:

Chapter 90.

@mirandafandomette also helpfully provided mewith the official French translation of the Japanese, which aligns prettyexactly with the Crunchy Roll version here (which is also the translation thatappears in the published volume 22). As you can see, instead of questioning thevalue of Floch’s mourning, Jean is reminding him of decorum. He’s essentiallysaying, “Now is not the time or place for this discussion”, which is also thegist of Jean’s comment to Floch after his insensitive words to Hitch.

Chapter 90.

Nowhere does Jean say that Floch shouldn’tvoice his opinion at all, just that a memorial is not the correct forum to hashall of these things out. On the one hand, I think that Jean’s interventionshows character growth: he’s learning about kairosor timeliness of an argument/speech act. Maybe Floch’s dissent does need to be heard, butis it right now, at a memorial service for the fallen? Maybe Hitch does need to eventually hear that Marlowe probably regretted going to the front line, but does she need to hear that now? Earlier in thenarrative, Jean would not have considered time or place before making anargument. However, Floch counters that he does indeed have kairos; to him this memorial is exactly the time and place to betalking about what the loss of Erwin and all the soldiers who died in his suicide charge means for the Survey Corps and humanitymore broadly.

Chapter 90.

I think Isayama is definitely inviting us tocompare Floch and Jean in this chapter, to show us how much Jean has changedover time. I think Jean’s evolution is largely positive, and I agree with him that the funeral is not the best place to have a conversation about Erwin andArmin, but I also think Jean comes to the realization in this scene that he’s becomean “insider” and lost touch with the perspective of the average soldier. Hemight view that as a negative development and attempt to compensate for it; we’llsee what he’s decided when he appears in the manga again!

Jean and Floch are very similar, right down totheir character designs. We’ve all noticed that Isayama isn’t always the best differentiatingcharacters visually, but, as MirandaFandomette pointed out to me when I talkedto them about this ask, making a character like Floch and then putting him inthe same frames as Jean really draws attention to how close their designs are.Given the parallels in their personalities and roles within the story (somewhattactless, determined to tell the uncomfortable truth they think others need to hear), I think it is verytelling that Jean of all people steps in to say now is not the time to talk aboutErwin and Armin. It’s almost like we get to see the complete arc of JeanKirstein in one frame!

Of course, stepping in prompts Floch to talkabout when Jean didn’t interfere onthe rooftops of Shiganshina:

Chapter 90. I see those sweatdrops guys!

Floch points out to Jean and Connie that theirinaction was, in fact, an action of sorts: they didn’t disobey their superiorsand advocate for Armin, but they didn’t add their voices to Floch’s. I’m notconvinced that they could have changed the outcome of the Serum Bowl (afterall, it really did come down to Levi’s personal feelings about Erwin, as Flochhimself notes), but the fact that they were so torn about what to do at all(although I really think Jean is in shock on that rooftop, if you look closely)shows Floch that they’re more personally invested in their close comrades thanwhat might be best for humanity overall.

Now, one might reasonably expect Jean to betorn in this situation, actually, given his suspicion of Erwin and his tactics.For Jean, there might be a real question about whether or not Erwin really is the best choice for the serum (hence the ease with which he can say “what’sdone is done”). When I said as much to MirandaFandomette, they reminded me thatthe very qualities that make Jean wary of Erwin initially (that he’s turnedhimself into “monster” for sacrificing so many people) are qualities that Floch himself notices and decides are necessary in order to destroy the titansonce and for all. He literally calls Erwin a devil, says that he wants Erwin tosuffer longer “in this hell” for all the deaths he caused.

Chapter 90.

So Jean and Floch are actually relativelyclose in their assessment of Erwin’s character, but they come to differentconclusions about the value of Erwin’s “monstrosity.” And therefore it is ashock to Jean, who styles himself as an advocate for the average soldier, andhas even thought of himself as an average soldier up until this point, to realizehe’s so disconnected from the actual viewpoint of the “fodder.”

Chapter 90.

Unlike Floch, Jean hesitates on the rooftop.He is torn. He sees some kind of value in keeping Armin over Erwin, even if hedoes not directly advocate for Armin either. He gives up on choosing and letothers decide—not a shining moment for him necessarily, but one which I thinkmarks his personal struggle with the value of Erwin’s “monstrosity” as well asthe development of his friendship with Armin. Jean would rather not loseanyone, and he doesn’t like to be forced to choose; it may even be a callback tothe cart scene, where he cannot not kill the MP woman even at the risk of hisfriends because he does not want to make a choice about which life was morevaluable. Whatever his thought process on the rooftop, his indecision sets himapart from the average citizen. He’s an “insider” now, too overcome by hispersonal feelings about both Erwin and Armin to advocate properly for humanity,according to Floch. And since he can no longer speak for the “fodder”, perhapshe wonders if it’s his place to determine when it is appropriate orinappropriate for Floch to speak.

So, to sum up, I don’t think Jean is beinghypocritical or regressing here. He’s not telling Floch to not speak because he’swrong or because he, as “fodder,” doesn’t have the right to do so at all. He’slearned about decorum, and he’s also realizing how much the Uprising andShiganshina have changed him, for better or for worse. Because of hisexperiences in the Corps, he’s become an insider whether he wants that title ornot. I think more could be said about how his development somewhat ironically createsparallels between him and Erwin (and perhaps MirandaFandomette will oblige usby writing up their thoughts on the links between Jean and Erwin which theyalso shared with me during our conversation on this topic!), but for now I’llleave it at Floch and Jean both have good points here, and that I am unsure abouthow Jean will continue to develop now that he’s learned that he no longershares the views of the “average” person in the Walls.

Thanks for the note, anon!

#replies #anonymous #i really think a lot of the ire against jean comes from the unofficial translation #which did seem really tactless on jean's part #but also here are my general thoughts about the scene and what it means for jean #jean kirstein #snk meta #snk #floch

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mortalcrow · 8 years ago

Text

What star shines yonder in the east?

Will slams open Marlowe’s door. Where was that no good thief? The place looks as it had the last time he was here. The table in the center of the room was filled with random items and papers. Will quickly pushes the rest of that day’s memories from his mind.

He sees papers strewn about Marlowe’s room, some crumpled, some not. An ink quill is seemingly thrown across the room spilling its night black contents across the wood planks of the floor. There are chairs tipped over and curtains swaying in the breeze from the open window.

“Marlowe!” Will yells and slams the door closed behind him. A low moan comes from somewhere off to the left behind some sheer golden curtains. Will stalks over and throws the curtains aside.

He freezes. He had found his man. Sprawling across the bed. Naked. Because of course Master Christopher Marlowe would sleep in the nude. Lanky blond hair falls across the smooth expanse of his back. His face in shadows and arms flung out over the edge.

Will’s eyes involuntarily trace the lines of Marlowe’s body from his broad shoulders down to his dirty feet.

“Master Shakespeare.” Will jumps.

Marlowe rolls over, his hair falling across his sleepy features. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company. So early in the morning as it appears to be?” He stretches an arm, and runs his fingers through his hair. The arm continues its momentum and rests behind his head. Will’s face flushes but his anger overrides his embarrassment.

“You stole my lines, Marlowe. It’s not enough for you to have all the best actors, but you have to stoop to stealing my lines?”

“But stay! What star shines yonder in the east? The lodestar of my life, if Abigail! “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!

Will spits out the lines and looks up at Marlowe, glaring at him and breathing heavy. "Clearly not,” Marlowe says. “My lines are better.” Will yells inarticulately, throws his hands up and storms back towards the door. “Put some breeches on!”

Marlowe smirks and grabs his breeches from next to the bed. He takes his time to saunter back through the curtains. Will had picked up his papers from the floor and was going through them. He is completely engrossed in reading one. His mouth is open and moving slightly, mouthing some of the words. Will’s hair is perfect as usual but he hasn’t shaved yet. His face is still flushed ruddy with anger. Marlowe walks up behind him to see which of the tragic pieces of trash he had picked off the floor.

“Burn it,” says Marlowe, right behind Will’s ear. Will hadn’t heard him come up behind him and startles. His hand comes around as if to hit Marlowe, but settles for grabbing his shoulder.

“S'death, Kit! I think I just died a little.” Will looks down and notices Marlowe isn’t wearing anything more than breeches. He looks back up.

“One can hope,” says Marlowe with a smirk. He leans forward. Will takes a step back, his hand still on Marlowe’s shoulder.

“Did you just call me Kit?” Marlowe quirks his head to the side and takes another step forward. Will takes another step back and bumps into the table.

“Are we so… intimate…Will?” Marlowe’s eyes have a dark glint to them and he licks his lips. Will glances down at Marlowe’s mouth. He remembers the last time they were here against the table, their positions reversed. Was Marlowe going to kiss him again? Will grabs the edge of the table to steady himself. His other hand still outstretched, pressed against Marlowe’s shoulder and upper chest as if to stop him from advancing further. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but no sound comes out.

“What are you afraid of, Will?” Marlow brushes Will’s hand off his chest and steps closer still. “You’ve come here to my home on flimsy pretenses. What. Do. You.” Marlowe leans in. “Want.” He breathes the last word across Will’s lips. Will swallows and glances down and back up. “Kit…” Before Will even realizes what he’s doing, he closes the distance in an instant and kisses Marlowe. Like a hungry man gone too long without a meal. His hand grabs a handful of Marlowe’s hair as his mouth crushes the other man’s to his own. Marlowe leans into Will, pressing their bodies together.

Will’s other hand drifts across Kit’s chest to rest behind his neck. Kit’s hands are on Will’s waist. Will’s emotions have broken through his reservations and guilt. For once, he doesn’t care about religion or rules or anything but Kit’s lips on his. To hell with other people’s opinions.

They separate for a moment looking into each other’s eyes. They are both breathing heavy. Kit caresses Will’s cheek with his thumb. Will he run away again? It seems something has changed in Master Shakespeare’s eyes. Kit kisses him again, harder and with little bites. Will reciprocates.

Kit’s hands deftly untie Will’s shirt and he runs his hands down Will’s chest and hooks his fingers into the waistband of his breeches, pulling him closer still. Will’s eyes are closed in ecstasy. He kisses his way across Kit’s face and down his neck. He wraps his arms around his waist and kisses across his collarbone. Suddenly, Kit pulls away. Will’s breath hitches. He opens his eyes and looks up into Kit’s eyes.

Kit takes Will’s hand and pulls him towards the gold curtains. He looks over his shoulder with a serious and dark look in his eyes. Will lets Kit pull him along. He moves the curtain aside and pulls Will into his arms.

The curtains fluttered shut behind them.

#shakeslowe #1stfanfic

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msrenai21 · 8 years ago

Note

FOR THE SHIP: HITCHMARLOWE

How did they they meet?- They meet in the 104th Trainee Corps duH

Who developed romantic feelings first?- They both started feeling something around the same time, but never acted upon it >:3c

Who is their biggest “shipper?”- Boris. They’re just talking one day, having a small squabble, and Boris just walks by and says, “oh my god, guys, just get together already.”

When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?- One night in Marlowe’s room while Hitch was ogling his bod (he was just trying to change in to pajamas goddammit hitch)

Who confessed their feelings first?- Aha, soooo, they don’t really get to (in the AU I’m referencing at least). In better, wholesome AUs where Marlowe doesn’t die, he’s the first.

What was their first official date?- Aww, Marlowe invited her over for dinner one night and prepared something he knew Hitch would like ;u; after that, they probably went to see a movie or something.

How do they feel about double dates/group dates?- Marlowe likes to be exclusive with his Hitch, so they go on dates with just the two of them.

What do they do in their down time?- Marlowe probably catches up on reading or writes a strongly-worded letter to his superiors about a grievance he has. Hitch, on the other hand, is out on the town, treating herself to make-up and clothes.

What was the first meeting of parents as an official couple like?- It was great for both of them! Marlowe was a little worried about his parents meeting Hitch because he’s a Mama’s Boy and he wants them all to get along and not have to “pick” a side. However, they loved Hitch and Marlowe was Relieved. Hitch’s mom thought Marlowe was charming and was happy for her daughter.

What was their first fight over and how did they get past it?- Maybe it was just a matter of their personalities clashing, like Marlowe got righteously angry over something but Hitch acted aloof and pretended it didn’t matter and it just went from there. They make up some time later by actually talking through their feelings like normal people and not going to extremes.

Which one is more easily made jealous?- Hmm, I don’t really see either of them as jealous people, so neither?

What is their favourite thing to get to eat?- In modern AUs, Hitch loves shrimp alfredo stuff (esp the way Marlowe makes it for her ;3c). Marlowe probably likes something simple like steak and potatoes.

Who’s the cuddly one? What their favourite cuddling position?- Hitch is the cuddly one (although, Marlowe can’t deny that he likes it). She just drapes on him whenever she can.

Are they hand holders?- Oh hell yes

How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time? What’s the circumstances?- Ahaha, well, they’re fuck buddies first in the snk AU so they sleep together before...Marlowe dies. In other, soft AUs, it’s not too long after they get together that they sleep together.

Who tops?- Hitch does >:3c she loves to ride him.

What’s the worst first they’ve ever gotten into?- I’m...not sure what this is asking?

Who does the shopping and the cooking?- Hitch does the shopping and Marlowe cooks! (He’s amazing at it too.)

Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness?- Abso-fucking-lutely Marlowe Lawrence Freudenberg.

Who proposes?- Aww, Marlowe does because he’s big on traditional stuff.

Do they have joined Bachelor/Bachelorette parties or separate?- I don’t like the concept of Bachelor/Bachelorette parties so no, none of this nonsense happens.

Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any other groomsmen or bridesmaids?- Marlowe would probably have Boris (if he’s a friend in the AU and not his father lmao) as his best man, while Hitch would probably drag Annie into being her maid of honor.

Big Ceremony or Small?- I feel like they’d go for a small one!

Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where? - Probably something generic like going to some tropical island for a week or two.

Do they have children? How many?- Yes! They have two good boys, Richard and Matthew!

#snk #hitchmarlowe #hilow #hitch dreyse #marlowe freudenberg #meine antworten #thank you!!!!#saphruikan

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hilow · 8 years ago

Note

What's your opinion of Flock/Floch/Flocka/ what ever his name is? Like, I hate him because he was really mean to hitch about Marlow

oh my beautiful precious anon what have u done.Are u all ready for this? This is something I’ve been wanting to talk about for MONTHS. I’ve just been way too lazy to collect my thoughts, but I just got off an airplane at my layover flight and saw the message and I am READY FOR THIS.BLATANT and HORRIBLE character hate under the read more so if u are a fan of flocke please move along u are allowed to love him all u want but I sure don’t.

I DESPISE Flocke. I hate him literally, like, unabashedly. I hate everything about him and it started long before he said that BS to Hitch and made it worse. I have vehemently believed for YEARS that Marlowe was originallty built up to be a contrast to Eren. Not in the same way that Jean is, but in a way that was going to challenge the way that Eren views things. He was compared by Annie to Eren, by Eren’s friends, and both of them are in different, strange places on the Lawful Good scale that, despite being on the same scale, still contrast which is one of my favorite things. (I love LG characters and I LOVVVEEE when characters show varying definitions of alignments). The serum bowl was the perfect-- absolutely PERFECT-- time to showcase that contrast. The confliction between Marlowe’s definition of what was right and good, and of Eren’s definition of what was right and good. It was built up, it was leading right for it-----and then Isayama.. Backed out? At the last second?I’ve thought about it a lot but I think that he might have decided Marlowe wouldn’t be able to hold up his argument in the face of his friends (since he had gotten closer to the 104th and it may have gotten easier to change his mind and convince him that was right), but I’m not certain what happened. I am POSITIVe that that was where Marlowe was meant to end up, though, and his death basically shafted us an incredible character.In his place... We get... Flocke. We geeeeet flocke. This thrown together wet piece of paper who can’t even support his own arguments. We get a flat, boring, totally unrelatable character meant to fill in this missing gap left behind by Marlowe. It didn’t flow, it didn’t make sense, and I think that Flocke was the worst thing I’ve ever seen Isayama produce. He’s forgettable, unimaginitive, and basically a fucking asshole lmfao. He had a poor argument for Erwin fans (if I was an Erwin fan I would have been beside myself angry???), and idk. Basically I think it would have been better suited, more interesting, and way more believable to have a well established character like Marlowe argue in the serum bowl.Beyond this role fill, what the hell is the purpose of being a dick to Hitch too? The only thing I can think is that it might be to motivate her. What he said to her was jarring. It was upsetting. It shattered her protetive perceptions of Marlowe’s death and how brave he was. There was no reason for it, unless he’s just being tooled for something to do with her as well. If nothing comes out of that exchange in the future, it was just as uselsss as any other thing he’s said.I hate flocke lmfao... I really hope we never see him again, or if we do, maybe that he... Has.. Developed maybe some realistic human traits????? Who knows. I hate him.thanks anon ilu

#BLATANT CHARACTER HATE #character hate #SUPER NEGATIVE #but if u love marlowe and hitch #this is probably a good post for you #sorry flocke fans #you are allowed to love him all u want #but I sure Don't #fuck that guy #snk #anon this is my favorite topic #I could keep going but I have to get on my flight soon lmao #I was using the internet in the waiting area #all these people just watching me type furiously #snk meta #meta #my meta #Anonymous

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ghostmartyr · 8 years ago

Text

SnK 90 Thoughts

Have you ever had this perfect story idea in mind, then realized that in order to get to it, you have to write basically an entirely separate book to set it up?

Have you ever decided that you really don’t feel like doing that?

Usually, that is when the words stop and the project goes into a desk drawer. Mostly a figurative one these days.

But--bear with me here--what if...

You just skipped all the boring parts.

There’s something delightful about watching Attack on Titan develop. Art and pacing have come so far since the first chapter, but you still get these glorious flashes where the reveal of our main character’s arch-nemeses is done with such a complete lack of fanfare that you’d be forgiven for thinking you were reading a fake scanlation even if you had the volume open in your hand.

Isayama knows how to craft a story. His telling, on the other hand, regularly spends its time stumbling up to the podium in its pajamas and happily shooting its laser pointer every whichway all over the pretty projections on the screen until you’ve started wondering more about the laser pointer’s battery life than whatever the lecturer was supposed to be saying.

The main reason you don’t want to wrap up a plot point that has been present since day one of your seven years of writing in two pages is because--

Well, presumably that stuff mattered? To the story?

Isayama’s decision to kill off most of the Paradis titans in two pages involves looking at those confused statements, and declaring, “No, not really.”

Authors do not typically do this.

Heck, most stories don’t even get to the point where they can look back at their starting premise (that has survived seven years) and inform the audience that the physical realities of that particular conflict aren’t relevant enough to be worth covering the conclusion extensively.

The story goes that humanity hides away in a cage from the inhuman monsters lurking outside--until they decide to rise and fight.

Those monsters turn out to be human.

We’re technically sticking to the same story we always have been.

We’re just now doing it without titans.

It’s like Isayama looked at his Eldian plot, and thought to himself, gee, this makes that titan problem kind of redundant, doesn’t it?

And the grand solution was to just write the common titans out of the story.

Because that is what you do with plot inconveniences. Naturally.

This is not how satisfying storytelling works.

It is hilarious, and the time frame on dealing with the worldly issues portion of this has adopted a scale that can probably handle it better, and there are a number of things that a time skip can make interesting--but holy fuck how long is that laser pointer’s battery life.

I’m going to harp on about this a little longer than I need to (shocking, I know), because as someone who tries really, really hard to get pacing right, this whole process is incredibly fascinating.

Having introduced the rest of the world to this tiny stage, this one plot detail, it of titanic proportions, it that has guided so much of the story, is so irrelevant to where the story is going that it can be excised in two pages.

That is extraordinary to me.

I don’t think I have ever seen such a prime example of an author recognizing that a prominent plot line has outlived its usefulness. It’s like he went full-on original flavor Vader.

Obviously, ideally, the Eldians vs. The World plot would tie into the common titan problem of Paradis, and the story would be allowed to proceed on both fronts. Doing it smoothly would be a challenge, but that’s writing for you.

Just as obviously, that’s not happening.

In a perverse way, the first 80-some chapters of this series behave like one of those windup toys. We didn’t know why Eren could transform into a Titan. We didn’t know why the titans attacked. We didn’t know anything about society outside the walls. We didn’t know what was in the basement. We didn’t know how the walls came to be. We didn’t know who the real enemy was. Our heroes were isolated in their struggles to rectify all of that.

We have now had our full orientation. We do not need the play-monsters anymore. We have the answers. All that’s left is to put the toy down and see how far it can go.

This is not what I would call good storytelling, but it’s so neat. I don’t think we would get to see this story with someone who was better at timing. Most people whose work is being published wouldn’t look at the series’ most well-known plot feature and put it up as collateral for the story they’re more interested in.

That kind of abandon is not something you usually get to see with a story of quality. You don’t just... gloss over parts of the story that matter. That’s common sense.

Offering the counterargument that those silly details were never meant to matter, when those silly details were formerly thought to be the plot?

That’s daring to suggest that there are parts of the story that are more worth spending time on. If the roaming titans of Paradis are deemed inconsequential, then what’ve you got for us?

It should be something good.

It should not, for instance, be forty minutes of the main character stuck in his own head until he breaks out and a bunch of people clap for him.

While I will continue laughing at the execution, one of the main reasons I’m okay with the time skip is because I’m still down for this story. This is still about humans fighting monsters for their right to breathe free air.

The difference now is that the training wheels are off.

And very promptly thrown into the sea.

It isn’t about mindless monsters eating people. It’s about human beings whose hatred and cowardice lead to them demonizing and abusing an entire race. This isn’t faceless cruelty anymore.

The fight is the same it always has been, but it’s now an informed fight.

So all that’s really great.

...Except then I get to thinking that people in the walls could actually maybe live outside the walls because the titans mostly vanished in two pages and my head starts spinning because who does that.

Never let it be said that this is a graceful story. Just a good one.

Speaking of gracelessness, this chapter was, in fact, longer than two pages.

And Floch exists.

Jean 2.0, featuring none of the insecurity that can pretend to be tact.

Floch’s role in this chapter is painful on multiple levels. He’s the sole survivor of a suicidal charge, and he did everything right. He saves his commanding officer. Humanity’s Commander. He takes them to the people who can save his life. He performs admirably even though he calls himself a coward and cannon fodder.

He’s another broken person, but the first one we’ve seen broken in part through our protagonists’ actions.

He tells the truth as he sees it, but he has no care for the damage he inflicts with it. He might find it important that Hitch get an unvarnished view of what Marlowe’s last charge is like, but he doesn’t offer emotional support. He might hate the decision Levi, Eren, and Mikasa contribute to, and think it deserves to be known, but Armin is the one he hurts, and Armin’s the only blameless party involved.

He lectures the rest of the 104th for what goes down, but Connie, Sasha, and Jean aren’t there for most of the exchange. They show up and have no clue what’s going on. Hell, Sasha’s unconscious during the rooftop discussion, and Connie’s carrying her. Jean’s the only one free, and by the time we know he’s there, Hange’s breaking up the fight.

Floch sits back and watches Mikasa pin Levi to the rooftop with a sword to his throat before he says a word.

He can be mad at Levi and Mikasa and Levi all he wants, but lashing out at Armin and the rest of the gang isn’t a matter of principle. He’s just hurt.

We don’t know enough about Floch to know how much of what he’s saying starts from a good place, but by the end of his sequence, it’s pretty obvious that his honesty, however powerful it is to hear, has its own bite of childishness.

It’s still sad, though. When Armin says Floch is right, Floch doesn’t look happy or victorious. Being right doesn’t change the mess they’re in or make the pain any less.

But geez. He manages to make half the people he talks to look like they’re questioning their will to live. Kid could use a kick to the shin and a hug.

The story has his back on making sure the words land, though. This chapter is a nostalgia trip and a half.

“In other words, you couldn’t throw away what was important to you, right?” --to Armin

“But even a piece of fodder... should at least have the right to assess the situation!” --and to Jean.

Yeah.

“Don’t get mad when you hear this... but Jean... you’re not a strong person... so you can really understand how weak people feel. [...] I mean... most humans are weak, including me.. but if I got an order from someone who saw things like I do... no matter how tough it was, I’d do my damnedest to carry it out.” --Marco, 18

Marco never comes up in happy conversations.

My personal favorite goes to Mikasa, though. For maximum pain.

“You gave up in the end.”

Hello, I am excite.

I’m not capping the whole thing because I adore these two panels on their own, but for the sake of full context, that hand of hers was holding Eren’s shoulder the moment before Floch’s words.

Hange convinces her to stop fighting for Armin on the roof.

Logic and history say she’s going to lose him and Eren.

Mikasa has spent such a long time refusing to give up. The first time the need to truly resonates, she stands and fights anyway.

She always fights. If you don’t fight, you don’t win. That’s what her first moments with Eren teach her.

Then there’s Floch, telling her that she’s more of an adult for giving up. Giving up on her family, accepting the loss.

She’s going to lose them. There’s nothing to fight here, and one of them is only alive now in spite of her, not because she was any help. There’s a hopelessness to Eren and Armin’s situation that won’t be denied, so what, is that the answer again?

Giving up on them?

Watching both of them die?

Mikasa could really use some proper pages dealing with all of the above, but for now I’m really psyched that the little moments are happening. She literally lets go of Eren in paralyzed horror.

Can has more? Please?

Besides making pitiful puppy eyes into the abyss, though, this chapter actually does have me really jazzed for whatever’s awaiting Mikasa.

The conflict that Floch keeps hammering away at is one that’s been lurking in the background for ages. Since the very first volume, to be precise. We’ve since seen in explored at length through Levi, Erwin, and the serum bowl, but like with many things in this manga, we start with Mikasa.

“Humanity is on the brink of extinction and you’re trying to dictate your own rules?!” --Eren, 4

Mikasa’s devotion to her family has been a primary character feature since her introduction. Her development has rarely been highlighted, but constantly in the background and her moments of foreground, she wrestles with the conflict of being a loyal companion and an exquisite soldier. She’s conscious of her decisions and mistakes without letting them tear her to shreds, which is a claim very few characters can make.

When she leads the charge in Trost and neglects to be there for her comrades, she knows it. When she ignores Levi’s commands against the Female Titan, she sees the damage and carries the responsibility forward. She remembers failing to kill Reiner and Bertolt and guilts over it.

Responsibility is seldom actively neglected in this series. Otherwise I wouldn’t have such easy things to quote as an example of a character making a bad choice; if someone does something questionable, you can expect a dialogue bomb to reference it at some point.

But Mikasa learns. Her mistakes aren’t creating an ever-deeper fault of trauma for every new horrible thing to trigger. She’s taken some extraordinarily hard hits, and it’s left her fragile in places, but when she experiences a mistake, she tries her best to correct it for the future.

The easiest comparison to that is Erwin.

Quotes are fastest, so I’ll go ahead and do that with something I wrote a week ago: My view on his increase in personal goals is that his guilt for being less than what he should be turns into him overplaying his baser qualities. Instead of being a good man and leader who has a weakness to overcome, he tries to frame himself as a bad leader, freeing him up to indulge in the absolute worst of his selfishness.

I believe the phrase is go big or go home. Erwin sees his mistake of putting himself over humanity, and he overcompensates in the wrong direction.

When Mikasa’s mistakes happen, she continually progresses in a direction that offers solutions to her errors.

That might be why she ends up stuck on the sidelines more often than not. Someone who quietly observes and grows at a steady click, without having their world knocked down every other week, can be hard to portray dynamically outside of key moments.

Here’s what makes all of that the fun of the hour: Mikasa’s personal, at times obsessive, loyalty, rooted in trauma, is now clearly facing its losses against her own sense of honor and duty. As much as she loves Eren and Armin, protecting them at all costs has slowly turned to only most costs. There’s enough distance between her and her trauma that there’s room for her independent respect for the world is calling her out when she does something she shouldn’t.

Eren doesn’t have that.

Eren, the first loud voice we heard screaming about the worth of humanity, has found the persons he would give everything for, and he can’t step back. He can be ashamed of his conduct on the roof, but if the same situation were to happen again, the same desperation for his friend would still be there.

Eren’s been beaten down so many times that I think his ability to let go (already one of his weaker points, since he always fights to win) has up and left him.

He can’t lose his family.

He can’t regret that Armin’s the one alive, and he refuses to put Historia in danger.

Back when Jean first joins the Survey Corps, he voices his criticisms plainly, and makes sure everyone around him knows the stakes.

“Look, Mikasa... not everybody is like you... We’re not all volunteering to die for Eren. All of us, Eren included, should know... what our lives are going to be used for.” --Jean, 22

It isn’t about just one person. It’s about the bigger picture. It’s about fighting for the sake of humanity. It’s about humanity.

It’s supposed to be.

But Ymir will give up her life and freedom to save the girl she loves, and then two random schmucks she can’t make herself leave. The pinnacle of Historia’s arc has her placing one life she cares about over plenty of others. Erwin will forget humanity for his dreams until his closest companion corrects him--only to fall into a similar trap because he can’t face sacrificing Erwin.

Grisha gives everything to his cause, but because he doesn’t love his son, he fails.

Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie are never in sync, and they die alone.

So what’s going to end up winning?

No one life is worth more than the rest of humanity, but if you don’t fight, you can’t win. If you sacrifice your interpersonal bonds for a grander purpose, you’ll never make it, because you’ll be fighting on your own.

Right now, the healthiest balance goes to Mikasa and Hange. They love fiercely, and will protect what they value with all of their strength, but their responsibility to the rest of humanity means too much to risk being selfish. Some sacrifices have to be made. Sometimes you have to let go.

But not until the very last second.

Hange understands all of that, and is grown up enough that it all flows.

Mikasa is still wrestling with how deeply that goes against how she’s fought for her family for years.

Eren, meanwhile...

I think it’s fair to say Eren is a fucking mess?

Eren, as he starts out, is idealistic, passionate, and naive enough to believe that you can change the world by running down that road at full speed.

As Eren is right now, I think he holds the memory of that being the way things should be, but he’s so bogged down in everything that’s happened, he’s lost the original spark that keeps that flash of optimism functioning.

When he talks about the ocean, he can bring Armin back, but he can’t bring himself back. His aunt’s mangled corpse is more real to him than the dreams he had as a child.

Mikasa and Armin make it to the beach, and despite all of the pain they’ve gone through getting there, they can smile. They can squeal over the tide over their feet. They’re happy.

But for Eren, the ocean that has always been one of the solid carrots of his struggle has turned into a reminder that they’re still not free. They’re still stuck. They’re still surrounded by monsters. It never ends. Making happy dreams come true is a temporary flight of fancy that can’t save them.

Death, though. That can fix it, right? Just... kill them all.

I don’t think the bleakness of RAB’s perspective has ever been presented so quietly.

Eren has fallen to a place that dreams can’t reach, and his only answer to that sense of desolation is to turn it on their enemies.

When the choice between Armin and Erwin is presented, Eren’s strongest argument for Armin is that he can still dream. He isn’t consumed by revenge. He sees something outside of death and chaos when Eren can’t.

After another year of life, that difference has only expanded, and now Eren really can’t find anything to hope for.

And that’s essentially why there are those few paragraphs of theme up there. Becoming a slave to a cause and abandoning softer things is dangerous. There needs to be that balance that people like Hange have, otherwise you’re just going to fall apart.

Learning to let something go is valuable, but if it’s done because it hurts too much to hold it close, it isn’t growth. It’s destruction. That’s why Mikasa’s struggles, while agonizing, don’t separate her from joy the way Eren’s have.

Mikasa’s learning that there are some things you can’t fight. Eren’s found despair in thinking victory can’t exist.

And look, I’m an optimist with this series. I know that, and I know it’s probably annoying or laughable on occasion.

But that setup is so perfectly arranged to oppose the themes presented in their first meeting that I can’t help but hope they’re going to go through all of this, losing faith in beliefs that have sustained them for years, and then find them again.

They aren’t young children anymore. Idealism is hard, and their lives have only made it harder, but that’s what makes it matter so much. Their values don’t deserve to lose, and if they don’t champion them, no one will. And I’d kill to see them find their way to believing in that again after being through hell.

With that thoroughly rambled about, we turn to things I don’t have complete thoughts on, but will bring up regardless.

Starting with the fact that Marlowe’s name variances would drive me to drink if I drank.

Eren pretty fragrantly calls back to what Levi tells him in the forest when they’re first facing the Female Titan.

“I don’t know the answer. I never have. Whether you trust in your own strength... or trust in the choices made by reliable comrades. No one knows what the outcome will be. So, as much as you can... choose whatever you’ll regret the least.” --Levi, 25

“I don’t know... what the right choice is. How can anyone know the future?”

When Levi says it, it’s a call to action. Who knows what the right choice is, but you’ve got to make one. When Eren says it, it’s an attempt at comfort. A choice has been made, so let’s work with it and not fuss too much over how, yeah?

Besides, Armin is so unbelievably amazing that regrets are even more of a waste than usual. For sure.

And the last thing I can work myself up to care about is that Historia rocks, and I’m gladdened that she instructs her people to not be such lying jackasses without hesitation. Hail to the Queen and etc.

But when Eren has his more complete flashback to the incident between his family and the Reiss family (harking a return to feeling slightly bad for Grisha--whatever his mistakes, Eren, Carla, and Mikasa are his world, and that’s a worthy perspective), what I really want to know is if Historia sees it too. They’ve experienced mutual memory magic before, but that was in the cave of mysteries.

Mikasa and Armin seem to notice that something has happened, but Historia’s the one to get the large panel of her eye (I need a tag for her eyes still), and I’m dying to know if that’s because she’s the one looking at Eren’s expression head-on, or because she sees what he sees.

Because if she’s receiving flashes of his flashbacks when they’re connected, Eren’s attempts to protect her by keeping one of her potential uses a secret is possibly already long dead when they hit the beach.

Also it would make my favorite character maybe relevant for another arc.

I deserve nice things, this should happen.

#Shingeki no Kyojin #SnK 90 #Mikasa Ackerman #Eren Yeager #shingeki no spoilers #SnK spoilers #spoilers #tl;dr #chapter post

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