#Brau is just on the line not saying anything but LISTENING

[siflshonen]

The greatest robots in the world are like a group of 90s high school girls because tHEY NEVER HANG UP ON THE GROUP CALL

[lostinthewiind]

Brave Heart: Chapter Fifty-Four

Attack on Titan

Rating: Mature

Warnings: sexual themes, death, gore, mature themes, extreme violence, body horror, blood, weapons, major character death, age-gap relationship

Rain falling slowly from the dark grey sky above, barely more than a light drizzle, Vera wiped the water from her face as she stared at the dull gravestone in the distance. Among the vast field of other gravestones, this particular one didn't stand out from the others aside from the name that had been carved into the front: Sasha Braus. 

"It makes it feel real," Armin said, his blonde hair sticking to his forehead from the moisture. "I still can't believe she's gone."

In front of the memorial for their dear friend, a boy with blonde hair crouched in the wet grass, head hung and shoulders shaking slightly as he cried. Vera had never met this boy before, but Armin had mentioned something about 'Niccolo' and him having 'been in love with Sasha' when they had first arrived. Upon spotting Sasha's name on the stone, Vera hadn't been able to listen to much Armin was saying.

"She adored the food he made." Armin followed Vera's gaze toward Niccolo. "And for Sasha, that's the closest thing to love, I suppose."

Vera nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah." She couldn't help but picture this scene slightly reversed, with her name on the gravestone and Levi crouched in front of it instead. "Do I have one?"

Armin cocked a brow. "Huh?"

"A gravestone," Vera clarified. "Do I have one? You know, because everyone thought I was dead."

"Oh. No, you don't." Armin answered. "In the beginning, a lot of people refused to believe you were dead in the first place. And then, after a few years, it didn't seem respectful; like giving you a resting place was admitting that we had given up hope."

"That's good," Vera said, relieved. "That I don't have one, that is. I'm not ready to be dead just yet, metaphorically or otherwise."

Armin was silent for a moment, eyes drifting back toward Sasha's headstone. "I don't think any of us are. She certainly wasn't."

"That's why we have to keep moving forward, one step after another." Vera steeled her nerves, unable to stop the mental image of her name on a gravestone just like Sasha's from popping into her head. "We have to do it for her; to prove that this wasn't all for nothing . . . that she didn't die in vain."

Armin just nodded and Vera could see the uncertainty in his blue eyes. She knew it wasn't that he didn't want to avenge Sasha, but more that he was worried about everything else that could go wrong—about everyone else that could lose their life—in this pursuit. 

"Everything has changed," Armin sighed softly. "I never thought I would ever say this, but I miss when it was just us against the Titans."

"Yeah," Vera agreed. "Me too."

"I miss when Titans were just Titans and not poor helpless people."

Vera held her hand out, palm up, and watched as raindrops speckled her skin. "It all seemed so simple back then, but I suppose that is the silver lining of living a lie."

"Sometimes it seems as though the truths will never stop," Armin added. "And each one is just as confusing and devastating as the last. Like the fact that Zeke Jaeger is actually an anti-marleyan and has been planning to free the Eldians this whole time."

Vera took a second to take in all the information Armin had slowly been catching her up on in the past few days since her return. "And Eren has been working with him this whole time?"

"I don't know." Armin shook his head. "I feel like I don't know anything about Eren anymore."

"I know how you feel." Vera withdrew her hand, wiped the small collection of rainwater onto her pants, and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. "This place is everything I remember and yet completely different from when I was last here." She glanced around at the surrounding landscape, picturing the railroad and giant flying boat that had been new additions to Paradis Island while she had been gone—the ladder a donation from a special ally, Kiyomi Azumabito, who was currently representing her nation of Hizuru to support the Eldians. 

Armin drew in a deep breath, shuddering slightly from his nerves or the cold or both. "There's no stopping this now, is there?" he asked even though it was obvious he already knew the answer. "This war is far from over."

Vera took a moment to try and picture the future—to try and predict the outcome of this mess. "This war has just begun," she said.

Armin sighed heavily, the hesitation in his solemn agreement clear as day. "If Yelena has her way, the threat of the rumbling will be enough to end it all before it even begins."

Vera had only met Yelena briefly on the airship, and from what she had heard, she was one of the few anti-marleyan volunteers (just like Niccolo) who had supposedly switched sides when their boat had finally met the shores of Paradis Island—one of the many boats that had left Marley and never returned. She sounded like a force to be reckoned with and Vera was both looking forward to and dreading actually having to work with the traitor-turned-ally who had seemingly pushed this plan into motion with her own bare hands.

"I presume that's why she stole the Titan transformation serum," Armin continued, more or less trying to work things out in his mind by talking out loud by now. "Just like Eren, I assume she will do anything to see this plan through to the end."

As the rain began to pour down harder, obscuring Vera's sight and bringing a chill to her body as she finally soaked all the way through to the bone, she and Armin turned to head back inside. When they did, however, Vera spotted a familiar form in the distance, standing just on the edge of the graveyard. It was Levi.

With a gentle hand on Vera's shoulder, Armin flashed a quick smile, silently letting her know that he would give her some space and see her later. As Armin walked off, Levi soon took his place, hands reaching out to wipe away the moisture from Vera's face.

"You're going to catch a cold out here," he told her, no tone of discipline in his voice; only worry. 

Vera couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. "I'll be okay, Levi. I've been through worse and survived."

"That's not the point." Levi shook his head. "How am I supposed to believe you will be okay while I'm gone if you can't even be bothered to wear a hood in the rain?"

Vera's smile vanished in an instant. "While you're gone?" she echoed him. "What?"

Levi's grey eyes darkened, overcome by disappointment in himself for letting his planned absence slip so soon into the conversation. "Zeke can't be kept here, not with Eren, and someone needs to be in charge of him," he said. "Hange has assigned the task to me. I leave in the morning."

"You're leaving me?" was the only thing that Vera could think to say, her words akin to a child worried about being separated from their parent. "Again?"

Levi's entire body tensed, lips stretching into a tight line. "I don't want to. But this is bigger than you and me. I have a duty to my job."

Suddenly, Vera felt foolish. "Of course." She nodded. "Right, I'm sorry . . . I shouldn't be upset. Commander Hange wouldn't do it unless it was necessary."

Arms falling to her sides, Vera took a small step back, trying her best to distance herself from this situation; trying her best to understand that the war was more important than her emotions. 

Levi's fingers twitched. He wanted to reach out to her, to assure her that he would be back as soon as possible and alleviate any and all concerns she had. But he didn't. He could see her physically pulling away and wanted to give her the space she wanted. "Just until this initial mess is over," he promised without actually saying the word. "If we fail now, it will all be for naught."

Vera glanced back over her shoulder at Sasha's grave. If it all meant nothing in the end, then so did Sasha's death. Forcing her earlier smile to return, Vera leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Levi's cheek. "In that case, I will be waiting when you get back." She felt her heart throb at the way his grey eyes regarded her with longing as if they were already separated. "Be careful, okay?"

"I always am," he told her simply. "You too. No more going off on your own."

Vera shook her head. "Never again."

With that, Vera passed Levi and started back toward the barracks, a million unspoken words left dangling off the tip of her tongue. If she had truly said what she was feeling, she feared it might be enough to convince Levi to stay with her instead of following Hange's orders. The last thing she wanted to do was crumble Eldia's carefully laid plans from the inside all because she wanted the man she loved to stay by her side forever and always. That was childish behaviour, and Vera couldn't afford to make any more childish mistakes.

Despite knowing that she had made the right choice to bite her tongue, Vera was still thinking about it that night as she peered out at the dark sky. The storm had moved on by then, replacing the sound of rain and thunder with chirping crickets and whistling wind. Inside, the soft, warm glow of the candles and the presence of her friends pulled Vera's attention away from the darkness outside and the lingering darkness in her own mind.

"So Pyxsis detained the volunteers?" Jean questioned, hand on his chin as he thought. "Such a strong-armed tactic. It's hard to believe he'd go that far."

Vera wondered how many more cells Eldia had left to fill with captured Marleyans and the like. With Eren occupying one, and Gabi and Falco occupying another, the fact that all the volunteers were now detained as well meant that free space was scarce. 

Was this the best plan Eldia had? To just imprison everyone they thought they couldn't trust? How long could that possibly work for? How many bridges would that burn for the future?

"They had built good working relationships with a lot of us Scouts, so our regiment wasn't notified in advance," Armin said, pulling Vera from her thoughts. 

Leaning back on the couch he was sitting on, Jean sighed. "That said, I doubt Pyxsis had much choice. 'Cause until we understand Zeke's real intentions, his presence here puts us in a tough spot."

"I don't think he'll be here for much longer," Vera informed the group, saying only what was necessary in case Levi's mission to smuggle Zeke out of the city was on a need-to-know basis.

"Even so, I wonder what made Eren decide to go with his plan." Jean pondered out loud. "Him and Zeke must have talked but, what was said, well . . . no one knows except for them."

Vera crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from the window. "I didn't even know they were in contact in Marley. Eren didn't mention it at all."

There was a brief moment of silence before Connie spoke up. "Hey, did that guy look like Eren when you all saw him?" he asked. "'Cause if you ask me, that wasn't Eren. And if whoever that was is capable of picking his half-brother over us then . . ."

"If he is, then what?" Mikasa countered.

"Then I say, we'll need to be prepared to cut him down ourselves if necessary."

"I won't let you!" Mikasa snapped. 

Connie's eyes widened. "Are you taking their side too, Mikasa? Come on."

"I don't think it will come to that." Mikasa collected herself and calmed down. "Eren cares about us more than anyone else. Everyone here should know that. Maybe that's why he's become so combative towards anyone who isn't one of us. It's because his feelings are so strong."

"No, that isn't it," Jean disagreed. "He's always seen your strength, but the Eren that we used to know would still try to keep you away from the front lines. But he used you in that battle, just like he used Vera. He sent Armin to destroy that port. He called the rest of us important too and he used us just the same."

Mikasa shook her head, trying to see it a different way. "But maybe that's just because he trusts us. I mean, if we hadn't helped him, his plan would've failed."

"Yeah, and Sasha would be alive right now," Connie added for good measure, scowling at the looks he got in return. "Hey, what do you think Eren did when Vera told him she had died? Do you think he cried? Or showed some regret maybe?"

"Connie, stop," Jean told him.

Connie furrowed his brows. "After he left that back room, the bastard laughed! I wonder what part of our friend's death it was that he found so damn amusing. Why don't you explain, Mikasa? Why did Eren start laughing? You know everything about him, right?"

"We need to talk to him," Armin suggested before things could get any tenser. "Just Eren, Mikasa, Vera, and me. We'll give him a chance to explain his goal."

"Why me?" Vera scoffed. "It was all too easy for him to lie to me before about what his true intentions were. What makes you think he'll tell me the truth now?"

"Because you were over there with him when none of us were," Armin explained. "He trusted you with more than you think. He relied on you when he had no one else."

Vera rolled her eyes. "Come on, Armin. He used me and you know that!"

"I don't know that, which is why we need to ask him. I believe that Eren has a plan—a reason for all of this—and we just need to assure him that we are on his side."

"Are you sure that'll help?" Jean tilted his head, trying to see this whole mess from Armin's point of view. "Tell me, what if his goals are the same as Zeke's?"

"The volunteers gave us Titan serum," Armin said. "So we have a choice now."

Mikasa sat up quickly. "Wait, what are you saying?"

"We can choose to turn someone who we can trust into a Titan and then have them inherit the founder from Eren."

Armin's words played through Vera's mind over and over again as she headed back to her room for the night, but less the part about turning someone into a Titan and more the part about having a choice. Refusing to make any more childish mistakes didn't mean that she could no longer be trusted to make her own choices. There were always choices to make—always an alternative path to follow. 

A few meters away from her door, Vera spun on her heel and started back in the opposite direction. She stomped down the staircase, out into the courtyard, and across the way toward the officers' quarters, determination in each footfall. 

Locating the door she had passed through days before—before she had been re-assigned her own room—she knocked three times, hard enough for Levi to hear but just soft enough not to wake him if he was already sleeping. Or so she thought.

When the door swung open a minute or so later, Levi's hair was slightly more mussed than usual and he was wearing a robe, indicating that he was wearing sleepwear inappropriate for answering the door underneath. He had definitely been asleep, or at least in bed, and Vera had disturbed him. His face showed his annoyance clear as day until he realized it was Vera at his door and his features softened.

"Vera." Levi pulled the door open wider so she could step inside if she needed. "Is everything okay?"

Vera swallowed hard, feeling guilty for bothering him at such a late hour. "Yes, everything is fine. I'm sorry, it didn't occur to me how late it had gotten already."

"If you need me, my door is always open for you, no matter what time it is." He opened the door wider again, this time making a point to usher her inside. "I'm sure you didn't come here for nothing, so what is it?"

"Well, I . . ." Vera stumbled over her words, unsure if this would sound better if she told him what was going to happen or if she asked his permission first. ". . . I wasn't happy with how we left things earlier and after some thinking, I have realized that we have a choice—a choice that doesn't involve abandoning the mission or us being apart. Let me come with you."

Levi cocked a dark brow, contemplating for a moment before shaking his head. "No. Absolutely not."

Vera's jaw dropped. Despite what little time she had used to really think this idea through, it seemed pretty cut and dry. She didn't see a single downside. "What? Why not?"

"Because the only thing worse than worrying about you while you're here, within the safety of the walls, is having to worry about you without the safety of the walls; where the only thing between you and danger is me . . . and I cannot focus on you and Zeke at the same time."

Vera crossed her arms and huffed. "You do know that I can take care of myself, right?"

"That doesn't mean I won't feel responsible for you. If you will remember, you are still under my watch."

"Which only proves my point. How can I be under your watch if we aren't even together?"

"You being under watch in the first place means that you are not within enough good graces yet to be trusted with something like this. I had to damn near beg Hange permission to even tell you I was leaving in the first place."

Vera's brows knotted together. "So Hange doesn't trust me now? That's it?"

"It's not that Hange doesn't trust you, but it makes them look bad as Commander if they act like you haven't been living in Marley for the past four years," Levi explained.

Vera balled her hands into fists by her sides. She could feel the childish anger rising in her veins. Closing her eyes, she drew in a few deep breaths, trying to organize her thoughts into coherent sentences. When she opened her eyes again, Levi had crossed the room and settled into his desk chair, facing her. 

Folding one leg over the other, he smirked ever-so-slightly. "Why don't you tell me what this is really about?" he suggested. "Don't you think you owe me an explanation after waking me so late?"

Vera frowned. "I already told you why. I don't want us to be separated again."

"As much as that flatters me, I don't believe you," Levi said. "There's more."

"No, there's not." Vera turned to the door and took a few steps toward it, silently threatening to leave. "But if my embarrassing admission of separation anxiety from you isn't enough . . ."

"Vera." Levi's voice was calm but stern. When she turned back to face him, he looked just as intimidating as when she had first seen him atop that horse, glaring down at her—even despite the robe and sleep-tussled hair. "Can you please be honest with me?"

Vera hung her head and exhaled slowly, a few loose strands of blonde hair falling into her face. "I don't like that people think I'm a traitor. I wasn't trusted in Marley and now, I'm not even trusted here anymore . . . my home doesn't trust me. I want to prove whose side I'm on."

Vera caught the flash of empathy in Levi's dark eyes as he pushed up from his chair and walked toward her. "I trust you, Hange trusts you, your friends trust you. The people who matter trust you, Vera. You just have to give everyone else a little more leeway. These are unprecedented and scary times. Everyone is on edge."

Vera brushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You trust me?" She lifted her gaze to meet Levi's. 

"I always have," he assured her, hands rising to cup her face gently. "I always will."

Vera melted into his touch and closed her eyes again. "I just don't want to lose you again. I just got you back." She gripped his robe tightly in her hands and pulled him closer. 

"You won't lose me. I promise." He snaked one arm around her neck and cradled the back of her head before pressing his forehead to hers. 

"You can't promise that," she whispered, wishing more than anything that he could promise that. 

"I promise," he told her again before pulling her flush against his body and kissing her softly, the passion enough to draw the breath from both of their lungs. "And I always keep my word."

Completely forgetting the reason she had come to Levi's room in the first place, Vera exhaled and felt relief wash over her body. No matter what was going on outside of that room, nothing could bother her when she was in Levi's arms. "Okay," she accepted his promise, even if she knew it wasn't something he—or anyone, for that matter—had any control over.

"Stay," he pleaded into her mouth as he kissed her again. "Stay here with me tonight."

"I shouldn't," Vera was saying one thing but her body was saying another as she tangled herself further into Levi. It felt like a reverse of the night they had first kissed—this time, Levi was the desperate one and Vera was the one thinking about logic. But just like that first night, they both soon succumbed to their desires, rules be damned.

Before long, Vera's green trenchcoat was on the ground beside Levi's robe, the two of them slowly undressing the other, taking the time to savour every second of their time together. 

Despite the fact that Vera had been completely nude in front of Levi before, even though the context was much different than this moment, she couldn't help but blush as he laid her down on his bed and removed her boots and pants. 

"Look at me," Levi rasped as he climbed onto the bed, settling himself between Vera's legs before he began unbuttoning her top. "Don't look away. I don't want you to miss a second of this."

No amount of embarrassment or self-consciousness could tear Vera's eyes away from Levi's. So instead of being bashful, she gripped the hem of his shirt between her fingers before gently pulling it over his head. Discarding the clothing item somewhere in the room, Vera felt goosebumps rise to her skin as she ghosted her hands up Levi's stomach and chest before settling them on his shoulders. 

"I can't tell if you're impressed or horrified," Levi regarded Vera's stare with a light chuckle as he leaned closer, dark bangs falling over his eyes. 

"I'm committing you to memory," she told him as she drifted her eyes up to meet his. "Every last inch of you."

Levi pressed a kiss to Vera's nose. "I won't be gone that long."

"Still . . ." Vera ran her hands down his shoulders, over his biceps, and wrapped her slender fingers around his arms. "Just in case. I want to remember you like this, with me. Just us."

"Just us." Levi echoed her statement as he trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck. "You won't forget a thing, my love. I'll make sure of it."

[angeliccrybb]

( mature ) attack on titan headcanons #1

i want to try something a little different haha so here are some mature headcanons of mine about most if not all the aot characters~

!! warning : season 1 - 4 semi spoilers for some characters

most of these i had commented in an aot spicy headcanon comment section on tiktok on my personal account so yeah haha

word count : 1160+ words

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

eren jaeger :

- definitely dominate

- headboard grabber lol

- i feel like he's vocal but not too loud for the rest to hear

- praises you most of the time ( " look at you taking me " " such a good girl " )

- jealous and/or angry sex is always amazing :) ( usually will be upset if jean did something like hit on you )

- ( timeskip ) degrades you and punishes you

mikasa ackerman :

- gives me very much switch energy and vibes ( could just be me idk )

- dominantly tops you most of the time but i can see her as a power bottom

- ( because of my oneshot on her ) might use her scarf on you to " try some things "

armin arlert :

- i read that he's AMAZING at oral

- he's more submissive

- ( timeskip ) he's a little more comfortable with dominating you

- two words : praise kink

- loves to recreate the mature scenes in his books with you

- likes when you run your fingers in his hair

jean kirstein :

- ( also because of my oneshot on him / timeskip ) jean likes when you pull on his hair

- like eren , jealous and/or angry sex is amazing as well ( same thing , eren probably did something like be a little too friendly with you )

- praise/degrade kink ( kinky son of a bitch )

- aftercare is always great

sasha braus :

- food kink ( duh )

- i honestly see her as a switch .

- lines small bits of food going from your chest to your stomach and licks the spot she places the food on after eating it and goes down

- very passionate sex ( i dont really see her rough )

connie springer :

( a/n : my connie brainrot comes and goes every month and im not complaining ily my favorite bald boy )

- ( timeskip ) he's into roleplay but won't admit it

- likes to release on your stomach ;)

- kinda vocal kinda quiet ... does that make sense

- makeouts with him are elite

erwin smith :

- very romantic and passionate sex

- occasionally has his rough moments ( i feel like that's rare though sorry )

- loves pleasing you , watching you squirm underneath his touch when you make lewd faces because of him

- i think he's right handed ( i could be wrong ) so when he lost his arm , you would help relieve himself with hand jobs

hange zoe :

- the two of you experiment with new things in bed ( toys , dirty talk , etc )

- they punish you if you mess or distract them while working

- hange ties up titans , im certain they tie you up in bed too

- very dominant ( i SEE it )

levi ackerman :

( a/n : i literally am so in love with this man . everything about him was written perfectly by isayama . his life story , his skills , how he acts , amazing . sad he's not real )

- has a maid kink

- people say his a sub , but i cant really see that . i feel like he's not a sex god like some paint him to be , but i feel like he is a power bottom that will top you sometimes .

- grunts and groans a lot

- bends you over his desk in his office

- headboard grabber if he's topping you

- eye contact~

- great with his tongue ;)

miche zacharius :

( a/n : yes im adding the original ( ? ) squad leaders because i miss them </3 )

- is intoxicated by your smell

- when you ride him , he holds your hips with his strong hands

- grunts and groans quietly

nanaba :

- has a praise kink

- dominate

- moans and groans somewhat loud

reiner braun :

- puts your legs on his shoulders because he has a thing for ankles *bites lip and squints*

- ( timeskip ) gets jealous when porco is too friendly with you ( most of the time to mess with reiner ) and takes his jealousy out on you in bed

- loves holding your hips with his strong hands

- compliments you during ( " you look so good " " you're so pretty " )

- probably has mentioned for you to " marry him " or that he wants you as his " future wife "

bertholdt hoover :

- GRRRREAT ( like tony the tiger lol ) with his fingers . they are quite long

- he's shy at first , but when he gets more comfortable

- moans and whimpers very quietly

- very big , both height and ... yeah

annie leonhardt :

- radiates top energy

- skilled with her fingers and tongue

- moans quietly

- if you try to dominate her , she puts you in your place and punishes you

historia reiss :

- soft sex most of the time

- very caring and passionate

- submissive and moans softly

- i feel like she likes when things get heated the most , but wont admit it because she doesn't want to make you uncomfortable or do anything you dont want to do

ymir :

- likes to tease you before you literally break because she likes to see and hear you beg

- dominate

- groans and moans loud

- makes sure you're okay after

marco bodt :

- power bottom and switch

- moans somewhat loud

- PRAISE KING

- aftercare is amazing <3

pieck finger :

- likes doggy style ( pretty self explanatory because of her titan form )

- i feel like she's more of a submissive partner in a relationship

- i love her so much yes i do her and yelena are mwah *chef's kiss*

porco galliard :

- loves when you pull on his hair and moan his name

- if you praise him , it makes him go feral inside . he loves it .

( a/n : i feel like this is canon only because there might be some insecurity when doing things ever since reiner got chosen instead of him for paradis when he was a teen )

- he loves pleasuring you . he likes to give a little more than receive . he loves you . ( aw )

colt grice :

- loves foreplay . loves how you taste and loves how you look with your lips wrapped around him~

- since he gives off very protective vibes , he always makes sure you're okay ( " are you okay ? " " if you want me to stop , let me know ")

zeke jaeger :

- smokes while you ride him ( i dont make the rules i see it )

- praises / degrading from him are on another level ( " that's my good girl " " what a dirty whore you are " " you want me ? yeah ? beg for it , slut " " you feel so good around me ")

- grunts . a lot .

yelena :

( a/n : listen i don't chase anyone , but if she's 6'7 , blonde with a bowl haircut , trigger finger happy , and a little insane , then i'll be doing some laps )

- dominate and tops you but will let you take control when she feels like it

- her praise / degrading is on the same level with zeke

- will probably tease you with her gun when you two are with others to see what you'll do

okie i think i'll stop there . if i left out anyone , please let me know and i'll write some for them in another headcanons chapter ! :))

[littleredlie]

chaos - part one

chaos masterlist 

1.5k+ words 

“you don’t smile anymore,” she cups his cheek while her heart shatters to pieces, her dark brown eyes can no longer recognizing the green-eyed man that sat in front of her. “i miss your smile.” a sob dares to escape from her throat, a single tear drips down to their conjoined hands where his grip is strong and his thumb absentmindedly caresses her soft skin. she is meddling with the barely used hair tie that adorned his wrist, the one she gave him.

who was he? she didn’t know.

his eyes look empty, sad, angry, lonely, dark, all in one and it tore her apart. this was not the man she met three years ago. this was not the man she fell in love with. 

“i miss you eren,” she whispers as the hum of the blimp vibrates around them. the skin of his constrained hand is cold contrasting her warm skin, which she gained from whipping around in the air for the mission they just fulfilled. the chaos of their actions dying down as they got further and further away from marley and eren’s destruction.

the couple was on one side of the room they were in, but she knew that she didn’t have much time left to talk to him. it was only a matter of seconds before hange came out of the cockpit or levi walked back over from the hushed conversation he was having with armin and mikasa. the highly skilled soldier wasn’t even that far but he wanted to give the two young adults a little space as much as possible. but it wasn’t like her lover was talking. 

her darker hands abandon his touch and she stands, taking a few steps back.  zeke yeager’s body finally comes into her vision and she could tell that he was listening. but she ignores him. despite eren’s plan and his importance, she did not like him. she probably got that from levi. yelena stood in between the yeager brothers, but she avoids looking the tall woman in the eye.

“i would like for you to come back,” hesitantly, her hand raises from her side to tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear. he looked like a damn mess but to her, he looked so beautiful. and she knew it was because she hadn’t seen him in so long.

the titan marks were slowly disappearing off of his face and when she pulled her hand away, her fingers grazed them softly. this caused him to finally look up at her and her full lips deliver him the smallest of smiles. he could see the small teardrops decorating her black skin and the way her eyes were filled with worry. worry for him. 

before either of them could say something, levi walks over and she distances herself from the titan shifter, firmly placing himself beside the man who was shorter than her. “you should go check on your brother.” the older man says, his eyes looking at eren but addressing her. he wanted her to leave, because he knew that her admiration for eren would cloud her judgement. he already witnessed the great strength she had to use to restrain herself when he kicked eren earlier. 

“okay,” she softly says, her hands clutching the bandage that was wrapped around her hand and up her right arm, blood staining the white fabric. “you would think that after all the couple of years you spent training me, i would get out of this unscathed.” the horrors of the night flash behind her eyes and she shuts them tight. so many bodies, so much blood, so much chaos.

“get better before you die.” levi bluntly answers and she looks at him to find him looking at her. she gives him a firm nod and walks towards the cockpit door. before she enters she looks back and sees eren sitting, watching her walk away while levi is still looking down at him, a steely look stamped onto his face.

she opens the door and steps in. her eyes cast on the floor as she walks closer into the cockpit. her distracted mind causes her to run into hange who is overlooking onyankopon’s ability at flying the blimp. “i’m sorry hange.” she rushes out, her heart hammering in her chest. the brunette scientist lays a hand on her shoulder and grins. 

“no need to look so scared, i’m not going to throw you off the blimp,” that brings a smile to both of  their faces. hange could see the weathered down look on her face because they also could see the obvious affection that she displayed towards eren. when he disappeared behind enemy lines, the worry manifested in her actions, and now hange didn’t know what eren’s actions would push her to.

“of course.” slightly bowing her head, she then continues to her destination and hange continues working.

“onyankopon, how long do you think it’ll take to get back to paradis?”

“a few hours.” her brother looks out to the landscape below, the hum of the blimp is louder there. “how are you doing, nyame?”

“i don’t know, kopo.” she sits in the seat to his right, assisting him with some of the buttons. “did you know he’d do this? did yelena?” her brother is quiet for a while, but nyame doesn’t say anything that could possibly accuse him. 

“everything will be alright.”

“will it?” she whispers, her mind going back to times where everything was better. times where she would find her stare lingering on eren and those private and secret moments the two would find together. shy and hesitant kisses and hand holding. what has she gotten herself into?

her hand passes over her thick hair, there is blood matted into it and it disgusts her. taking the hair tie from her wrist, she wraps the curls oh her head into a bun as best as she could. the quick movements of her hands was a technique that she learned from sasha, someone who always had her hair up. nyame used to always have her hair down, but when she started learning how to use the odm gear, sasha advised that she either cut it or put it up in a practical design. 

the braids must have come undone when she had to thwart the flying obstacles thrown by the beast titan. the thought reminds her of the throbbing pain emitting from her right arm. her movements were sloppy when they were put under the test of speed and it caused for her throw her body onto sharp debris. connie had helped her bandage the wound as soon as she landed in the blimp. but what she really wanted to do was discard of the black and white uniform that she still had on and wash off all the grime that was present on her body. 

“don’t think like that, nyame.” her brother gives her a soft look, the only comfort he could give his little sister at the moment. “but hopefully next time you’ll listen to me when i say don’t join the military.” the teasing pulls out a chuckle from both of them.

“i had to make sure you weren’t gonna go and get yourself killed. but it all wasn’t so–” nyame’s interrupted by a commotion coming from the room she was previously in. her and her brother’s eyes meet and he gives her a nod, getting her to move out and see what it was. she moves around hange, who’s focusing on something else, and towards the door.

when she is back out there, jean is at the entrance, clutching the bodies of two bruised children. “who are these brats?” nyame is able to catch as she steps further into the room, the door to the cockpit closing slowly behind her.

“they killed lobov and used his equipment to board the ship,” there is a slight anger accompanied by sadness and nyame feels as if there is more to the story. “and then... this girl shot sasha. i don’t think there’s any hope for her...” the last of his words got softer and softer, as if falling into a void where he hoped that what he said would become false.

at that mikasa and armin run past the trio and out to where they last saw sasha. nyame hesitates, not knowing if she would be allowed to grieve with them. sure, she had gotten close to them over the years but she was still an outsider. she looks to eren and he has a look of shock on his face. but she couldn’t decipher him, which saddened her even more. and without a second thought, nyame also leaves the room, chasing down her comrades.

the sight that was introduced to her eyes is a heartbreaking one. connie passes by her towards the room she just came from. she can see the tears swimming down his face and the tension on his forehead. mikasa and armin are crying and screaming beside their fallen comrade. 

sasha is gone.

all nyame can do is stare. her heart slows and her hands clenched into fists ignoring the pain that radiates from the action. her vision gets blurry as tears begin to silently escape. the sound of screams overcoming the sound of her thoughts. a pressure begins to grow in her chest and she realizes that it is her heart breaking even more. staring at the scene before her, disbelief grows at her brother’s words. everything will be alright.

and in a harsh whisper, while looking at the empty eyes of sasha braus, nyame proclaims it. “will it, kopo? because i don’t think it will.”

____________________________________

A/N okay, so this fic idea has been on my mind since i watched sasha’s death and we met onyankopon (it was easier to add another black character, not like that will stop me). and i am fucking obsessed with eren and levi. i will continue this cause i fucking love this anime/manga. i will be following closer to the manga though, so like yeah. i also had a short reiner fic in mind, but that won’t be a series like this one will be. let me know what you think

part two

[kyberphilosopher]

Important Information

Rules:

I am a minor. As such, smut can not be requested and can not be written. As a compromise, smutty themes can be used as overtones or undertones, often vaguely or simply eluded to. But pure smut? Not for a few months, which is when I’ll be 18. Sorry horndogs. 

Please request through the submission inbox, or my direct messages. Further more, be polite. Be clear. If I ask a question to clear something up, answer it. Don’t let it dangle. I will always ask if there’s anything else you so desire (a word count, any details) so please tell me if there’s nothing else or if there is. English is also not my first language. 

Do not request something against canon. I have written like that before and did not enjoy that. This means if something is considered canon, say Star Wars, such as a line of dialogue or something shown on screen, I would refuse to write you into it. I feel that it distorts the fiction so much you wouldn’t really be in it, and the characters wouldn’t be themselves anymore. Allow me to write you into the world as a side character, as something not shown directly but something that could fit into canon. 

Some fictional characters have different versions of them. For example, Movie Anakin Skywalker, and the Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker. Ben Affleck Batman, or Christian Bale Batman? Or even, Comic Accurate Batman? Specify for me. If not specified after asking for it, I will write the character with headcanon information pulled from multiple ‘canon’ sources. This will be referred to as ‘headcanoned canon’.

Reblog my stuff? Absolutely. I see all my reblogs. But take it an post it to a different site? No. Don’t do that. Maybe I’ll spread over to Ao3 one day, but for now, please don’t. 

Last one I can think of for now. But luckily this can be updated over time. I don’t write drabbles. I know! But just imagine all the times you’ve read a fic so good, only for it to end so soon. I like the thought of writing something both high quality and high quantity, which means I won’t be satisfied with anything under 2,000 words. Unfortunately, this may sometimes come at the expense of time. Especially if what you requested doesn’t fit into my current hyperfixation. 

List of Characters I’ve Written, or Am Open to Writing:

Aayla Secura, Star Wars (Clone Wars)

Ahsoka Tano, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)

Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)

Asaaj Ventress, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Books)

Boba Fett, Star Wars (Live Action Original Movies and The Mandalorian)

Bodhi Rook, Star Wars (Rogue One)

Bo-Katan Kryze, Star Wars (Clone Wars and The Mandalorian)

Cal Kestis, Star Wars (Jedi: Fallen Order, Beginning and End of Game)

Cassian Andor, Star Wars (Rogue One)

Darth Maul, Star Wars (Clone Wars)

Din Djarin, Star Wars (The Mandalorian)

Finn, Star Wars (Live Action Sequel Trilogy)

Jyn Erso, Star Wars (Rogue One)

Leia Skywalker, Star Wars (Live Action Original Movies)

Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)

Padme Amidala, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)

Poe Dameron, Star Wars (Live Action Sequel Trilogy)

Rey, Star Wars (Live Action Sequel Trilogy)

Rex, Star Wars (Clone Wars)

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Batman, DC Comics (All Live Action, All Comic, Arkhamverse, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)

Bane, DC Comics (Games)

Barry Allen/The Flash, DC Comics (All Live Action, Headcanoned Canon)

Black Canary, DC Comics (Birds of Prey Live Action Movie)

Bruce Wayne, DC Comics (All Live Action, Headcanoned Canon)

Catwoman/Selina Kyle, DC Comics (Headcanoned Canon)

Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, DCEU (All Live Action, Headcanoned Canon)

Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2, DCEU (Live Action)

Conner Kent/Superboy, DC Comics (Titans, All Animated)

Damian Wayne, DC Comics (Animated and Injustice)

Dick Grayson, DC Comics (Titans, All Comic, Arkhamverse, All Animated, All Versions)

Harley Quinn, DC Comics (All Live Action, All Comic, Arkhamverse, All Animated Versions)

Jason Todd/Red Hood, DC Comics (Headcanoned Canon, Arkhamverse, All Animated, Titans, All Versions)

Katana, DC Comics (2016 Suicide Squad Live Action Movie)

Poison Ivy, DC Comics (Arkhamverse, All Comic, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)

Tim Drake/Red Robin, DC Comics (Arkhamverse, All Comic, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)

Raven, DC Comics (Headcanoned Canon, All Animated, All Comics, All Titans)

Robert Dubois/Bloodsport, DC Comics (DCEU Live Action)

Scarecrow/Johnathon Crane, DC Comics(All Live Action, Arkhamverse, Headcanoned Canon)

Starfire/Koriand’r, DC Comics (Titans, All Comics, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)

Superman/Clark Kent, DC Comics (Cavill’s Live Action, All Animated, All Comics)

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Annie Leonhardt, Shingeki no Kyojin (Marley Resident, Season 1-3, Season 4, Titan Form)

Bertholdt Hoover, Shingeki no Kyojin (Marley Resident, Season 1-3)

Carla Jaeger, Shingeki no Kyojin (Pre Beginning)

Eren Jaeger, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4, Titan Form)

Hanji Zoe, Shingeki no Kyojin (All Seasons and OVA)

Jean Kirchstein, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4)

Levi Ackerman, Shingeki no Kyojin (All Seasons and OVA)

Marco Bodt, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1)

Mikasa Ackerman, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4)

Moblit Berner, Shingeki no Kyojin (All Seasons and OVA)

Sasha Braus, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4)

L Lawliet, Death Note (Season 1)

Ryuk, Death Note (Season 1)

Touta Matsuda, Death Note (Season 1)

Raye Penber and Naomi Matsura (Season 1, Pre Beginning, Throuple Headcanon Canoned)

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Connor RK800, Detroit: Become Human (Deviant, Android, Mid and Post Game)

Chloe RT600, Detroit: Become Human (Deviant, Android, Pre, Mid, and Post Game)

Gavin Reed, Detroit: Become Human (Mid and Post Game)

Kara AX400, Detroit: Become Human (Post Game)

Luther TR400, Detroit: Become Human (Pre and Post Game)

Markus RK200, Detroit: Become Human (Pre, Mid, and Post Game)

Nines RK900, Detroit: Become Human (Post Game)

North WR400, Detroit: Become Human (Pre, Mid, and Post Game)

Other Worlds and Fandoms Coming Soon. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

What You Can Expect From Me:

Fanfiction

Headcanons- While I’d consider all of my fanfiction headcanons, I’m referring to those little bullet point things you’ll see writers do. Here’s my deal on that. I won’t do romantic headcanons for the characters listed above. By that I mean you won’t see anything titled, “How Poe Dameron Would Cuddle”, or anything of that sort. But you probably will see just my own little headcanons for fun. Like, little fun facts. You know, “Superman’s favorite food is ____”, “Nines hates rats”.

However, I will write romantic headcanons for my OC’s. But that’s for later.

Further regarding fanfiction, I typically write angst. Not sure why, it’s just what I started with because I thought the plots were strongest and I wanted to see where I could take it. Like I said, no smut, but you’ll find allusions to it. Fluff? Yeah, it’s there. Hard for me to write fluff without a plot, but it does exist on my page. 

Original Stories

Most people ignore this, but if you see that I’ve posted it won’t always be something regarding your favorite character. I write my own little stories that’s basically just glorified, book length headcanons for a few worlds, but mostly the Star Wars galaxy. Don’t worry, there’s no need to pay attention to it if you don’t want. It’s something I do in my spare time besides x readers and oneshots. 

Spontaneous Posting

What I mean by this, is that unlike a lot of writers, I don’t work on a schedule. There’s no “once a week posting”, or anything like that. What I finish and give the okay to, is posted. If you’ve requested something, I’ll let you know that it’s about to go out. So sometimes a burst of fics may be pumped out in a week, or none will for up to a month.

Going by EST, I typically am most active at night and early morning. Especially in the summer. During fall this may change.

I rarely put out a post that is unrelated to my writings. If it is related to my personal life instead, it will be posted, but not saved. Documented and available, but never pinned or anything. 

FAQ:

Do you write queer pairings?

Yes. My earlier works usually elude to a female reader and it’s blaringly obvious, though it’s shifting into androgyny for ease of reader. I would prefer to have an androgynous reader instead of a set in stone male or female one. 

Am I reading a queer fanfic written by a straight person?

You are not. I am androgynous myself in terms of gender and unlabeled in terms of sexuality. 

Do you write for poc?

This question shocks me, though I’ve gotten it twice. Then I realized- it’s because so many writers forget the point of a reader. The reader may be described as blonde, or white, or thin, or female. You will not find that here. There will be no set in stone appearance for the reader except for mentions of whatever hair you may possess (apologies to those without hair). There will be no talk of ‘light skin’, or ‘curvy figure’. The farthest I’ll go is describing you as pale, if say, you were sick. Because any race or skin tone can go pale, you know? The only thing I’d do- rarely- is give you a real age. But only to further the plot if needed.

 My point is, ‘Y/N’ is not just a pretty white person with long hair. It’s inclusive to anyone. I’ll stand by that. 

Do you write headcanons?

Answered in the above section. Long story short, I’m working on it, but on my terms. 

Do you write song fics?

I haven’t before. Why? They make me cringe. I don’t know why. I’ll write a fic based on a song, or with undertones of a song. But those little paragraphs with the lyrics that aren’t even in time with what you’re reading if you were to read and listen at the same time? I don’t think so. 

Do you know what sex is?

I do. 

Will you have e-sex with me in the direct message chatbox?

I will not. 

Why do you write on tumblr?

I started writing just to share an old word document with over 300 pages worth of an Original Star Wars story. I tried my hand at fanfiction because, while I don’t read it often myself, I know a lot of people do. It helps them escape reality. And, I’m a pretty good writer, I think. At least I can only get better. I’m just one more person trying to put something out for people to enjoy, and maybe even rely on. 

Will you ever write for real people?

If I ever wrote a fanfiction about Christian Bale or like Barack Obama I think I would just disappear. I can’t do it. It’s like warping my own reality. 

How often do you post?

I don’t know. 

Do you have a taglist?

I did! But only for Star Wars. If you want to be tagged in something, let me know. But you have to be specific. Just for a certain character? For a certain fandom? A certain plot? Just og stories? Be clear. 

Dynamics I Enjoy Writing:

Man simps for person who almost wants nothing to do with them. 

Hero simps for villain or villain simps for hero despite the obvious consequences.

Two jokesters destroy some area while left alone together. May get along better than they would admit. 

Two people who are not expected to get along, get along well. 

Hero and villain are best friends but won’t admit it.

Basically if I’m left to my own mind most of my fics will fall under one of these dynamics. Not always- definitely not always. But I kinda like them. 

Numbers:

800-273-8255 USA National Suicide Hotline

1 (300) 22 4636 Australia Suicide and Anxiety Line

1 (833) 456 4566  Canada Suicide Hotline

800-810-1117 China Suicide Hotline

0145394000 France Suicide Hotline

08001810771 Germany Suicide Hotline

8888817666  India Suicide Hotline

810352869090 Japan Suicide Hotline

0078202577577 Russia Suicide Hotline

08457909090 UK Suicide Hotline

4408457909090 Ireland Emergency Hotline

1-800-656-4673 US National Sexual Assault Hotline

741-741 National Panic Hotline (for people who prefer to text)

Anything else? 

Nope. Can’t think of anything. We’ll see if anything changes. Thanks for checking it out. 

Header Credits to: @moonknights​

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 124 Poll Results

The chapter 124 poll closed with 2,065 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

This month’s poll team: @erensjaegerbombs @momtaku, _Puppet_ ,  @shifter-lines and @ladymoe6​

  RATE THE CHAPTER 1,926 Responses

Fours and fives still dominate but there’s no denying that this chapter lacked the hype we’ve seen recently. “Thaw” had the lowest number of 5’s this year, performing similarly to the Zeke-centric flashback chapter in 114, “Sole Salvation”. (There’s a pun to made here about us “warming up to Thaw” but sadly I am not smart enough to make it.)

The Chapter of Necessary Filler & the Obligatory Cliffhanger

I love that Isayama isn't rushing everything and is actually focusing on little details and small interactions between characters. He really isn't glorifying an "apocalyptical scenario" just for the sake of destruction in itself or shock value.

This chapter felt like a nostalgia trip, but I wasn't in for the ride.

This chapter was a breath of fresh air ngl. These past chapters were mostly full of either a flashback, monologue or just having two characters talking in a realm where nothing happens and time is frozen, but, at last, the plot is moving foward in the real world too. Not only it contained long gone titan action, but also great character development/moments as well. I missed this.

The leaks didn't give this chapter justice

A weaker chapter overall, I hope all this buildup will be well spent in the next chapter.

I actually loved everything about this chapter, I can't believe Isayama finally gave me a reason to kind of like Gabi. I'm sure she'll do something to immediately change that…

Isayama-sensei is the best, each chapter is a 10/10 for me. I do agree that this chapter is not as great as as the last 5, but it's still great. This year is impossible to choose the Top 5 Best Chapters of SNK

It was good, but I was hoping for a crazier year closure.

  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?

1,995 Responses

There were many great moments in this chapter, but Annie’s highly anticipated return to the active plot takes up the largest amount of votes! Other notable moments were: Shadis taking command, Armin realizing Annie’s crystal must have unhardened, the 104th discussing Eren, and Jean’s salty reaction to Floch’s continued survival.

A N N I E is BAAAAAAACK!!!

as someone too invested in the gabi-nicolo-braus plot thread by i love sasha i am absolutely Fed with that excellent "get out of the forest" talk. thank u for the good food nicolo

It's great to see the other 104th members discuss about Eren's actions. At least we got a glimpse on what they think about Eren's plan.

For once I'm gonna forgive Isayama for putting off Levi and Hange. I FEEL BLESSED TO HAVE ANNIE BACK ON MY BIRTH MONTH!!! BEST PRESENT EVER

I like the parallels to Trost, especially the part with the thunder spears sort of mirroring the thing with the guns and the elevator from S1

  WHO WAS THIS CHAPTERS MVP? 1,988 Responses

Despite the influx of negative commentary, 38.2% of respondents agree that Gabi’s persistence to save Falco and reconciliation with Kaya earned her the MVP title this month. The strongest contenders were Shadis and Jean.

Annie saved this chapter from the Gabi / Kaya focus

Connie- the underrated suffer boi

Gabi best girl!

I am proud of Jean for taking charge, he acted like a real commander.

Reiner Best character 😔👌

SHADIS IS THE MVP AND I LOVE HIM

  WHICH CHARACTER WERE YOU MOST DISAPPOINTED WITH? 1,998 Responses

“None of the above” was a popular suggestion (25.2%) but Connie edged that choice out by a percentage point (26.3%) . At least you guys listen when the evening news says that stealing children is bad.

Silly of you to ask us which character we're most disappointed with. We're always disappointed with Floch in every panel he shows up in

it's good to have a connie development, but I was a little sad about his attitude

I'm not so much disappointed with Connie in this moment as I am with the direction his character arc has gone lately in general. I miss when he was fun instead of angry all the time.

I think everyone is acting super irrational. Eren is going to destroy the world but all the SC are "accepting" of it. I think deep down they are all horrified and in a completely insane mental state causing irrational decisions and thoughts such as Jean being okay with genocide.

I understand that Connie is desperate to find a comfort after all the ppl he lost, but I'm still extremely disappointed in him for wanting to murder a child. Not just Connie tho, the same goes for Jean and Armin. Armin didn't say "Let's not kill a freaking child" he just objected because he didn't want to provoke Reiner and Pieck.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF REINER’S ROLE THIS CHAPTER? 1,889 Responses

Reiner takes a back seat this chapter, and just barely over half of the fandom believe he deserves that nap after all he’s been through.  Another quarter, at 25.8% are wishing he could just die at this point, for better or worse.

"Enough already. Just sleep." - Reiner to Eren in 117

Can Reiner pick an opinion and stick with it for .2 seconds. he's like hardcore ready to kick ass and then immediately turns around and is ready to die again

Game over man

He's cute. End of the story.

I think it was bizarre that Gabi just let him fall asleep and left him in an enemy territory where he could be captured or eaten by a mindless titan

I understand him being tired an all, but sleeping in the middle of a warzone and at the start of the apocalypse???

Helos needs his rest and good dreams of Bert

I think it is set up for his future death : saving Falco by being eaten by Connie's mom (he was there with Connie in Ragako village)

Madlad goes to sleep instead of dying

Man literally too tired to die

There were certainly worse ways than "passed out from exhaustion" that he could've been written out of the chapter. At least we know his current status this way, unlike a certain duo...

He need some milk

Reiner votes for “Can’t he just die already?”

  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE EREN PARALLEL IN GABI AT THE MIRROR? 1,869 Responses

Gabi’s design is based on Eren, and she’s had similarities and parallels to him in the past, what does the parallel in this chapter mean stacked on top of all of that?  About 70% say it’s to further emphasize how similar she is to him at her core.  12.7% don’t think it was an intentional parallel to that Eren scene, 7.7% say she’s going to receive his titan, and a solid 1% wrote in the eloquent thesis of “Fuck Gabi.”

A bit too on the nose

Both have the common factor of determination and the desire to fight to save someone else. "Fight, fight" = "Like I'd give up" In Eren's case, his scene in the mirror is portrayed in a darker, more aggressive environment, he must fight to save his loved ones, but for this goal he must destroy everything. On the other hand, Gabi shows a more heroic/pure attitude, the light is predominant, and his words refer to the desire to fight to save Falco without taking this violence path unlike Ere

Eren cant copyright this hairstyle

How dare she stand where he stood.

I didn't like any parallels that include Gabi. Not this one, and most certainly not the one with Sasha.

It definitely foreshadows something, but I don't think it's that she'll inherit his titan. I think she's going to be the one to end this madness and break the cycle. Unlike Eren, who fights for freedom both for himself and his loved ones, Gabi will fight for peace and equality: a different kind of freedom.

It symbolizes Gabi's character arc starting to go in the opposite direction of Eren, rather than showing them being similar.

It symbolizes Gabi's change in motivation to do anything to save her friends. Just as Eren's motivation in the mirror scene really marked the moment he turned genocidal to protect his friends.

  DO YOU AGREE WITH JEAN’S CONCLUSION THAT EREN IS DOING WHAT HE’S DOING TO PROTECT THOSE HE LOVES? 1,950 Responses

Jean believes he’s figured out why Eren’s doing what he’s doing, does the fandom agree?  The large majority think that’s at least a part of it, as 40.8% think it’s solely that goal in mind, and another 53.5% believe it stemmed from that desire but has evolved and become more complex.  3.3% of fans don’t believe that’s where his motivation stems from at all.

But if that's his goal it still doesn't explain chapter 112

EREN is doing it to protect his friends. YMIR wants vengeance and bloodshed.

I agree, because I really don’t know what else could have been done. The Eldians were hated all over the world and Talk-No-Justu is a folly.

I don't know what to think. At first, Jean seems to be in denial (like most of the 104th), but perhaps it's his way of realizing things. No, Eren must love them a lot, there's absolutely no way that his genocide is unjustified. Right...? Wait…

I think he's being pragmatic and analytical. Like a real leader. Something I expected from Armin. However Armin has strokes of genius during critical times so I'm expecting something.

In a breaking bad way, yes

Yes, although I believe Eren's old and complex relationship with the idea of freedom also plays a big part in this situation.

No, because he isn't doing anything about the mindless titans and treated his friends like trash. I didn't see any kind of concern while they were in danger. I think he's more eager to set his ideals into action.

  WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO WHAT TO DO WITH FALCO? 1,958 Responses

Another serumbowl type discussion arises, yay!!...?  The vast majority, at a combined 81.4% don’t want to feed Falco to anyone, and just want to wrap him up and not start any more conflict.  11.6% think he should be fed to a known titan such as Pixis, and only 4.3% side with Connie’s reaction of feeding him to his own Mama Springer.

Falco is too important. He and Connie will probably have an arc.

Feed him to Floch, jaw titan always dies stupidly and Floch never dies so it should cancel out

Feed him to Levi that way we get jaw Levi and his hand back.

Feed Zeke to Connie's mom instead and take Falco somewhere safe

I don’t have anything against Falco personally, but it makes since to feed him to someone else

I like Falco, but Connie has lost far more than anyone outside the Walls. If feeding Falco to Connie's mom gives Connie some semblance of peace, so be it

NILE !

In a perfect world Connie can have the satisfaction of feeding ZEKE to his mother. Kinda proud that I predicted the “Connie tried to revive his mom” plot point but I think the fact that it’s falco means that Connie fails

There's no right answer here, but I can't imagine any mother would be able to live with the fact that she ate someone else's child in order to live again, so that's probably the worst option.

Well, logically speaking, Falco should probably be fed to Pixis. But my heart calls out for me to wrap him in a blanket.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF CONNIE SEEMINGLY SNAPPING ON THE OTHERS AND INSISTING FALCO BE FED TO HIS MOTHER? 1,947 Responses

Understanding prevaled with close to 80% of the fandom selecting “I don’t agree with his actions but I wholeheartedly sympathize with his reasoning”. Only 13% indicated that they were disappointed with him.

Falco's a kid, man! You don't cross that line!

Connie, if your mom needs a kidney transplant, you don't just shank another person to steal their kidneys. Just saying.

Connie has been pushed to his limit. He needs a nap and a minute to cry.

Although Connie is not thinking clearly, I'm glad they're not blindly hating on him like some have been doing for Eren.

Connie's break is truly amazing to me. The guy was always so good and chill and dedicated before these hard times. To see him at his breaking point, horrified by everything that is happening and overwhelmed by the situation, and thus reverting into single-minded dedication to one fundamental goal - saving his mother. It's tragic to see him like this and it's probably not the best "logical" action, but it makes complete sense that he'd do this. He's sick of this clusterfuck. He has a ticket to save his mom and he's gonna take it. Poor Falco though, of course.

I didn't see it coming, but it's not like it's unthinkable. When the world collapses we often want to run back to our mama.

I disagreed with him, but I thinks his feelings are understandable and, also, I liked a lot that he pointed out 104's hypocrisy. The serum drama is coming back to bite their asses.

I understand he wants to see his mom again but does he really want to give her the cruel fate of becoming a titan shifter?

I understand his reasoning, but this is literally the WORST possible time to cause an internal crisis

I'm sad for him & deeply uncomfortable by it.

I’m mad at Connie only because he straight up abandoned his duty to pacify the Titan situation.  He left Jean, Mikasa, and Armin to take care of it without him. Lucky Shadis was there to help.

  REGARDLESS OF YOUR VIEWS ON CONNIE’S ACTIONS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HIM FINALLY GETTING SOME TIME IN THE SPOTLIGHT? 1,946 Responses

More than half the fandom was happy to see him speak his mind and get some character development (53.3%). 16% were absolutely thrilled. Those who don’t care, and those whose disappointment over how he returned soured the moment came in at 10%... I’m willing to bet at least one of those votes is because he doesn’t have a new hair style.

Going to the dark side doesn't suit the former sunshine called Connie.

My man has been in the story since the beginning. He is well overdue for an arc.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

But why FALCO? He's the ONLY character outside the Walls I actually LIKE!

Finally we get to see him say something about his mother. Yeah, maybe he's not one of the most important charcters overall, but what he lived through when he saw his mom on that roof finally deserves some thoughts and emotions. Connie was on the margin of the story for way too long, and I'm happy we get to see him talk about how he feels.

Glad he’s doing stuff but he’s 100% going to die

I haven't really liked his development. He's, altho understandably, just an angry dude that can't help himself from getting overcome by his emotions. Not a good look.

I really liked his whole "Eren's crossed the line", now he's making the same mistake. A bitter irony, but does Isayama have time for that?

I'm really disappointed in Connie's "friends" for basically telling him to "chill out, you can't save your mother because we need to make our enemies happy". Hell no to that, I completely sympathize with Connie far more than his "friends" especially since Armin is being the world's biggest hypocrite

It's good because it now opens up the possibility of Connie finally getting his revenge on Zeke

My Boi Connie deserves his own plot-line, so I'm really excited

  TITAN ACTION! BUT OF THE PURE AND AVERAGE VARIETY INSTEAD OF COLOSSALS, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT AS THE FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER? 1,936 Responses

A chapter in the endgame that’s almost reminiscent of the defense of Trost with respect to mindless titan action and defending a base.  Despite many other happenings such as the rumbling going on currently, 46% were totally fine with the focus on mindless titan action and thought it was written well, whereas 35.6% enjoyed it, but wished there was a bit more beyond checking that box.  10.8% wanted a larger focus on the titans in the rumbling, and 5.5% would have preferred a focus shift away from Shiganshina entirely.

I love the fact that shows how prepared and easy fighting mindless titans is for them now. When the titans attacked Trost they were hopeless and Jean was the one frozen in fear. Now we get to see him clear up the titans with ease.

I think showing smaller happenings before the big reveal of Eren's titan and the effects of the rumbling are important buildup.

I would have rather focused on what's happening to Pieck and the others near the wall.

I didn't feel that was the focus, but either way, I liked it.

I wish more would’ve happened outside of it BUT it’s important to show them being dealt with otherwise readers would be like “wait, what about all those people who turned into titans?” So not the best, but necessary.

I'm not crazy about fighting scenes, I prefer the ones where they discuss stuff, but these were really emotional with Shadis and Pixis and everything. Like, it wasn't even so much about fighting itself, for me at least, but about Shadis uniting people again and Armin setting Pixis free finally.

I wish the chapter had explored the idea of Titans appearing now that the Military has begun using weapons which are more effective against humans than Titans. I had thought that the reappearance of Titans would do much more damage since the Military is no longer equipped to handle such threats.

Reminds me of the Trost arc and I love it, but it will probably end up being the last time we see pure titans as this much of a threat.

I love the Season 1-esque fan service. How this series has evolved.

I just wished they didn't have to kill their comrades...C'mon this poll question is so heartless wth?

  AFTER EREN GAINED THE FOUNDER, WHY WHERE THE MINDLESS TITANS STILL ATTACKING THE SOLDIERS? 1,944 Responses

Nearly half of the fandom are giving Eren the benefit of the doubt that he simply cannot control the titans, rather than not caring about them or using them. Although many believe that he’s too focused on other things to concern himself with them, and many others feel certain that mindless titans attacking the soldiers is part of his greater plan.

3 times it was mentioned that Eren/Zeke can't control the Titans, I think someone else is controlling them. Possibly Ymir, maybe we'll see Eren getting betrayed.

Eren can't control the mindless Titans because they're Zeke's Titans

It's highly likely the Founding Titan's power and control over Pure Titans has a collective effect of sorts. That is, it can turn Pure Titans back into humans, but if it did, it would happen to ALL Pure Titans, not just a specific group of them. It's possible that is how the Fritz royalty used the Pure Titans while maintaining the Eldian population during ancient times. Here, if Eren were to use that aspect of the Founding Titan's power, both the Military Branch Officer Titans AND the Wall Titans would be turned back into humans. Right now, Eren is bent on using the Wall Titans to flatten the World, so he most likely does not want to use the power of the Founding Titan to turn all the Pure Titans in Shingashina + Connie's mom into humans; otherwise, the Wall Titans would turn into humans again too, and that would ruin his rumbling plan.

Regarding Eren and the mindless titans, control issues aside, I just don't think he cares.

  WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE TITAN KILL THIS CHAPTER? 1,968 Responses

In a chapter full of titan action, several titan kills stood out as both awesome and tear jerking.  Just over half of respondents, at 51.6%, most remember Armin taking out Pixis after thanking him for his service to the cause.  In a very narrow battle for second place, Keith Shadis sowing the recruits how it’s done won out over Gabi taking a cue from Sasha and saving Kaya.

All of them were pretty darn cool

Gabi's and Mikasa's tie for me

Hard to choose, they're all good

I didn't find any of them memorable if I May be honest

Can I choose all? Because I am.

It's a tie between Shadis arriving to save the recruits, Gabi saving Kayo from the Nile Titan, and Armin killing the Pixis Titan. If I was forced to pick, I'd say Armin's scene because of his sorrowful dialogue upon seeing Pixis as a Pure Titan and the flashback to one of Pixis's earliest highlights when he believed in Armin and Eren shortly after they first met.

Literally all of them what kind of sadistic question is this how could I possibly choose

Loved all the kills!!!

ALL OF THE ABOVE

  THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBATE AS THIS CHAPTER WAS COMING OUT ABOUT GABI, AT THIS POINT DO YOU LIKE HER AS A CHARACTER IN THE STORY? 1,985 Responses

Nearly two-thirds of of the fandom currently enjoy Gabi’s overall character, despite what their first impressions may have been (65.1%) . Though there are still many who have yet to warm up to her, if they ever do (34.9%).

Gabi is beginning to grow on me enough I feel neutral about her.

Gabi is a LITTLE more favorable to me, but I still hate her and I wish she never existed. She can never earn forgiveness for Sasha.

gabi is good you guys are just mean

  WHICH THOUGHT BEST MATCHED HOW YOU CURRENTLY FEEL ABOUT GABI? 1,977 Responses

One of the most controversial characters in the story is of course Gabi Braun, but what do fans truly think of her?  Almost half, at 45.9% don’t profess love for her character from the mountains, but understand why she’s important to the story.  In contrast, 19.6% firmly believe the story would be better off if she never existed, and 17.6% want to see even more of her in the upcoming chapters.  16.9% just think she’s been in the spotlight a little bit too much.

Fuck Gabi, Eren will always be better, not this carbon copy Mary Sue

gabi fucking GANG

Such a great chapter! I’m glad that the Gabi hate is stopping now.

Don't know why are people surprised about Gabi. Her closure with the Braus family is something I figured was gonna happen eventually. Guess Isayama wanted to get that out of the way early.

Of course my opinion of Gabi is unchanged. I still hate her no matter how much "development" she gets.

Gabi is a super uninteresting character to me

i really liked gabi’s character development in this chapter, especially since i was previously a gabi hater.

She is the new MC now. Upgrade.

I see why Gabi exists but she’s just such a forced character. The parallel between her and Sasha was so forced and just felt wrong. Don’t care about her killing Sasha her character is just a forced rehash of eren.

I'm disappointed in her as she is becoming more likeable

Gabi's character development finally completed in a brilliant way

Like Eren, she's fighting for people she cares about, even if she's wrong/vicious with her methods.

I’m tired of Gabi

Really wish we wouldn't have Gabi shoved down our throats, she's not a good character, let alone person

I'm really proud of Gabi and how far she's come from her original POV. I'm really hoping that this influences Eren and I really hope Falco and Gabi get to reunite.

yams wants us to like her more

She has the same motivations as Eren once had, to save the world, basically.

I will admit Gabi has gone through a lot of development. But that doesn't mean I have to like her. I still hate her, and I will NEVER EVER forgive her for what she did to Sasha.

Gabi's haters being mad is so funny. My girl truly shined this chapter, I love her even more.

Gabi.... I feel like I would absolutely hate being around her irl but I guess I do appreciate her as a character in the story.

Never wanted to kill a child so badly in my existence

Death to Gabi Braun!

I don't hate Gabi enough to want her dead, but "too much spotlight" is the understatement of the year, especially when there is still a lot that has yet to be resolved with the main characters

She just wants to protecc

I love Gabi but she gets too much screen time at this point in the story. I want to see Historia and hopefully Eren later.

I LOVE GABI SO MUCH SHE IS THE BEST GIRL

I like Gabster. Gabi Gang Gabi Gang

Me no likey bad bad

  NOW THAT ALL OF THE ORIGINAL BRANCH HEADS ARE GONE, WHO SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF THE PARADIS MILITARY? 1,955 Responses

The head of all of Paradisian government, Darius Zackly, went out with a bang, and now we’ve lost the interim head Pixis, as well as Nile Dok.  Who’s going to pick up the torch?  There’s a big three that seem to have emerged as popular choices, with Jean winning out, Hange coming in second, and Shadis taking up third.  

A combination of several people noted above.

Hanji+SC Armin+Garrison Jean+MP

Anyone but Floch

Jean. He's the only one that can view the Rumbling objectively and not rule it out as bad because their enemies are destroyed

Armin for strategy, Jean for leadership, Hanji for progress

Daz

Shadis should take over, but only untill Jean can get a little more experience leading.

As long as they agree Marley needs to be wiped out for the sake of Paradis, I'm okay with any leader that accepts that responsibility

Definitely not Hange. She wanted to make peace with Marley. Not leadership worthy at all.

Rico ;-;

Hange may be commander, but they are unfit for taking on as the head of the military. Same goes for Keith, though in this chapter he shows courage by stepping up to push the trainees to fight, I doubt he is willing to go back into a similar position as he was before as the Survey Corp's commander. Among the candidates, Armin may seem like a promising candidate, but aside from his proven intellect, just like Hange both do not possess the level of prowess of leading all three branches (four if count the training squad)of the military. More I think about it the "best" candidate in this list may surprisingly be Jean, but so far he hasnt been giving me the impression as someone who can take on such a massive role.

Erwin

  WHY DID FLOCH ARREST THE VOLUNTEERS? 1,903 Responses

The fandom is fairly divided on Floch’s motives, with a three-way split that comes close to being even. The highest amount of respondents feel he is arresting the Volunteers because he doesn’t trust them based on past actions. In the middle, people feel that he doesn’t want to be associated with any non-Eldian people. And in third place, people felt that he doesn’t trust Yelena specifically, and is taking her group down with her.

As far as I've seen, Floch is on Eren's side, not Zeke's. So that would make Yelena, who hasn't heard about her boss and the euthanasia plan, dangerous as fuck. Even with that, Floch's following his own principles. He has different reasons than Eren, but he just needs the "devil" figure to project his own will.

He always knew Yelena and Zeke's intentions because of Eren, and now he's arresting them to prevent more trouble caused by them. I think Eren "trusts" and is working with Flcoh more than the fandom expect.

Because they conspired to sterilize/euthanize the Paradisians.

He's a completely inconsistent character whose personality and character motivations change at the drop of a hat in order to create conflict in the story.

He thinks Yelena can take over his position of the best Yeager fanboy and he can't have that.

He was never really on their side at all! Just like how Eren saw them - they were a means to an end, a useful tool but a dangerous one that could never really be trusted. Now that Eren has made his intentions clear and the ideological split is visible, he's fully turning on them and suppressing them from potentially pursuing their own agendas further.

There’s not enough room on Paradis for both of those eccentric hair cuts

  GABI AND ARMIN BOTH SEEM INTERESTED IN PUTTING ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES: WILL THE SURVEY CORPS AND WARRIORS TEAM UP? 1,928 Responses

After having been warring factions since the beginning, will the warriors and Survey Corps finally team up as one?  62.9% feel a team up will happen, but not everyone from both sides will want to be involved, and a solid 30% believe a full team up is in the cards.  Only 5.8% don’t feel that it’s possible at this point.

Any cooperation will be a compromise, so maybe?

At this point I really don't know. Their passivity disappointed me fully this chapter. They need their TRUE leaders who are MIA at the moment.

I hope it happens but I think Armin is acting under Bert's influence

I hope not, it sounds lame.

i think maybe they will be forced to work together to stop the titans because they are attacking both sides.

It's the ideal scenario I suppose

Only until the Rumbling stops. After that, the SC needs to dispose of all the remaining Warriors to end the war for good.

PLEASE MAYBE REINER WILL GET SOME CLOSURE OUT OF IT

Probably but it’s waaay to cliché. Please don’t Isayama

They'll team up to stop Eren, if that works they'll be enemies once again

Yes and Yes! I've been saying this for months: warriors and SC are going to have to work together. Magath is going to play a role in this too.

  ANNIE!! THOUGHTS: 1,948 Responses

91 chapters.  91 Months.  7 and a half years.  Longer than we were with the characters pre-timeskip.  Annie has been in a crystal, but now she's free!  33.4% think she came back at the perfect time and Isayama has nailed his writing once again.  18.4% are excited for her return, but don’t feel there’s much time left in the story for the wait to be worth it.  15.7% aren’t worshippers at her crystal, and so aren’t too hyped out of their minds.  29% however: A N N I E

akueeoekskfnfjyfjekqwiruuri MY GIRL IS BACK BITCHES, AND I NEED POST-AWAKENING MIKANNIE FANFICTION NOW

glad she's back but the plot has nothing for her to do anymore

How he brought her back makes perfect sense and I love it. If she chose to come out at this time rather than being forced, it would have been awkward and forced to be honest. But Eren taking away all hardening is the best way to bring her back AFTER SEVEN FUCKING YEARS.

glad to have her back but sceptical of her importance

go back into hibernation

Good in-story reason, great writing, but waited far too long. Not sure if she will even be relevent for the remainder of the story that already has a lot of loose ends.

Hentannie

I am not hyped because it took too long and the series has gone too far down a path I can no longer follow.

I DID MY WAITING! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!

I don't know what Annie can do at this point of the story that will make her return worthwhile

I don’t think Isayama and his editors would allow her to be brought back for a poor plot point/reason, so I’m curious to see what role she’ll have.

I wasn't too concerned about Annie at this point in the story but I'm glad that her return makes sense with the events currently taking place and I'm interested to see what Isayama has planned for her.

I'm no fan of her so I'm not excited at all, but I assume she'll drive the plot somewhere soon.

She's got a lot of catching up to do. Concerned it won't be handled well.

The reasoning is sound, and I am glad that Isayama thought that part through, but we have a limited number of pages left, so I am worried about how this will play out.

Took too long so it ended up being very 'meh' for me, but congratulations Annie-stans, have a drink tonight

Should've been way sooner, her potential as a character feels wasted since we're almost done now. All she'll have time to do is get caught up on what happened and then have a couple reunions.

I honestly have no idea what Isayama plans to do with her but I’m just GLAD SHES FINALLY FUCKING BACK!!!! MY BABY GIRL IS BACK!!!!

  ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT ANNIE WILL DO NEXT? 675 Responses

Annie will have a run-in with Hitch, get things explained and head towards the main conflict.

Dare I say it, Assist With Armin’s Talk No Jutsu with Eren

"Run"

Definitely try to get to her dad.

Try to find her warrior friends

Determine her situation and act accordingly

She won't be too surprised at what Eren's become. She remarked how when the "good guys" take power, then it's all over to Marlowe in Season 1.

A girl can dream of her and Pieck being badasses.

All the titan shifters will come together (location-wise), it seem like a flag? Since all the shifter's powers is a part of Ymir herself, having them close might have significant meaning.

ANNIETHING

Be traumatized by manga spoilers? Wonder wtf happened?? Try to find Reiner??

Annie will join Eren.

Not give a shit about anything apart from Papa Leonhardt

Annie will play a huge role in stopping Eren, in some way.

be a badass like usual and FEMALE TITAN ACTION?????

Change her clothes because why is she wet

umm take a shower lol

Character development and teaming up against Ereh

I think Hitch will be the one to find her - she was in charge of guarding the crystal. I think she'll be too weak to fight right now though, so I'm worried that she's just going to be used as a Titan Shifter snack :(

Somehow affect Eren's mindset. Not sure exactly how.

Go kiss Armin pls

I'm hoping for Armin to transform into the Colossal Titan. Annie will see this thinking it's Bertoldt, and then have a good character moment upon finding out that Armin ate him.

Her endgame is to at least partially counteract the rumbling with her scream ability.

Confused --> Shocked --> Mad --> or all at the same time. Anyway, she will probably meet up with Armin and the gang and they will explain the shit situation to her and somehow they will come up with a plan or smth.

I think she’ll be forgotten about for a few chapters then show up in the battle. It’ll be interesting to see what side she takes at that point. I’m sure someone will conveniently fill her in on the last few years.

She's a wild card, but the last we saw her she wanted to get back home. I'm sure she will be invested in saving the world from annihilation.

She is FAR away right now. I think dealing with Annie is a good wind-down after all this World-ending stuff has been dealt with, like when they save the Shire after defeating Sauron

Crystallize

Yeet to Marley and die with her papa.

Annie's first move will be to find a toilet sure she must be dying for a pee like

  HOW HAS YOUR OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS CHANGED?

Shadis, Jean and Gabi are the big winners in the opinion poll this month with the majority selecting “More Favorable” reaction to them. Shadis had 1379 respondents selecting “more favorable”, Jean had 1076 and Gabi came in third with 980. Fighting titans so soon after surviving a bear attack is impressive, so I’m not surprised with these results. At the other end of the spectrum, Connie (542) and Floch (496) had the most number of “Less Favorable” selections. While the good outweighed the bad, Gabi again proved to be polarizing with 432 people choosing “Less Favorable” despite her positive development this month.

  FAVORITE NEW TITAN DESIGN? 1,926 Responses

Isayama’s nods to his television viewing habits continue with the appearance of the “Better Call Saul” titan. Our appreciation of Isayama’s sense of humor continues with more than 50% of us selecting it as “Favorite New Titan Design” (51.5%). Pixis was a distance second with close to a quarter choosing his titan form (23.7%) as their favorite.

Still laughing over the Saul Titan. Good ol' slippin' Jimmy

the Better call Saul titan looks more like Bolsonaro (Brazil's president)

one last hurrah to the Pure Titan mayhem the series was originally known for, and witnessing the tragic end to Nile and Pixis

  WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,926 Responses

The three elements of the story which have been absent for months, or even years, take the top overall votes for what the fandom would like to see next. 33.6% are dying to see present-day Levi and Hange again. 24.1% are still eager to get Historia’s perspective. 23.6% are still hoping to one day see Eren’s inner thoughts.

All I want for Christmas....Is Historias POV

I'm missing Connies adventure on the 'What are you hoping to see next chapter?' question.

Bitch give me Levi. It’s been more than half a year.

I literally only care about the 104th characters so the more of them we can see next chapter the better

Give me more Eren action pleaseee

So why is Annie pov not an option for next chapter?

I have waited for 7 years, finally, Annie is back. I wanna see more of her story and  character development. I cant wait to see her conversation with Hitch and Armin!

Please Isayama give me more good Shadis content

I really want to see Eren's full complete titan. Issayama, stop blueballing us please!

I would actually like to know more about that spine creature that is evidently the source of Titans.

Is there a Kiyomi option?

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,843 Responses

With close to 200,000 members it’s no surprise that Reddit continues to dominate the discussion field (47.7%), followed distantly by Tumblr (15.5%), Real Life (9.8%) and Discord (6.7%). Amazingly, 9% don’t discuss it at all. This month, FIVE of you said Snapchat, up from four last month, so while there’s still technically a possibility that you guys are actually forming some weird snapchat cult and this isn’t an elaborate psyop, I’m still not convinced. But regardless of where you discuss the series, or if you even do, we truly appreciate your participation in the chapter poll!

  ADDITIONAL COMMENTS? 416 Responses

OMG! Okay, it's happening! Everybody stay calm! Annie! Annie! Annie!

Annie got crystalized in chapter 33, and now she's out, 91 chapters later. Since 12 chapters are published in a year, we have been waiting for her (not including flasbacks and her just chilling in the crystal) 7 years and 7 months. I salute all the diehard Annie fans, you had a long wait.

Once again I have marked my calendar. May 9, 2012 - December 5, 2019. After 7 excruciating years our queen is FINALLY awake. This deserves a new record for longest amount of time a character has been comatose in real life. Thank GOD it's finally over I still can't believe it.

I'm a big fan of all of the smaller storylines coming together, hoping for everything to be wrapped up nicely and characters from different factions (i.e Hange, Annie, Historia) all coming together to address the rumbling.

It felt a little like a breather chapter, despite all the action. It was nice to slow down and get some character development for everyone.

“Everyone has a devil in them” is a great message. Hope they all team up and stop Eren. Very curious about what Annie will do!

The parallels to Trost arc were nice, but I felt like the endgame was finally amping up only to be put on hold.

Great chapter! I like Pathland, and the flashback with Levi and Hanji was great, but it was a relief to get some current time action. Gabi is best girl, Armin just went up by leaps and bounds in my book, and Annie is back!! So excited for the next chapter…

Great one ! The fear from the mindless titans in back, like in Trost. Many side characters development/deaths (Nile, Pixis, Shadis, Kaya, Nicolo, Gabi, Annie, Connie, Jean...). So much good stuff, I almost forgot about the rumbling going on !!

Amazing. If Isayama maintains this quality til the end, then this will be one of my favorite series, of any media, ever.

I'm wondering what Annie can realistically do at this point. Sure she beat Eren before but now he's in another level.

Guess we don't have to deal with the genocidal jock for a while

REINER HELOS BRAUN WILL SAVE THE WORLD (after his power nap)

ANNNIIEEEEE; Shadis' comeback was wonderful. I hope he can make up for the loss of Pixis and Erwin and such. He has great potential and he's a well developed character. Jean is asking the real questions, but the showdown between him and Floch is about to go down.

I said previously that if Floch survives I wanted my money back. But you know what? I'll take my refund in Annie store credit. Thanks for that bright spot, Isayama!  Also: this chapter pointed out how many good people in the world will suffer if Eren succeeds. And I felt as frustrated with the remnants of the 104th as Gabi. Nicolo and Shadis became my unexpected heroes this chapter.

Is Zeke still alive? Is he still controlling the mindless titans?

Floch didn’t do anything particularly bad this chapter but every time I have to see his face my opinion of him becomes less favorable. When Jean said “so you lived...” I FELT that disappointment lol.

I love the Braun siblings interaction in this chap. And Nicole's "we'll try to get out of the forest" sends chills. I think that's one of the point ISTM is trying to get across.

Does Connie realise that if his mother was given one of the nine titan powers she would be made to fight? Getting one of the titan powers is very much a curse not a blessing (especially with the Jaw titan)

At this point the Eren/Gabi parallels are feeling a little overdone and forced.

If Gabi receives Eren’s Titan it will be the stupidest most disappointing thing to happen in this- no all of manga! Besides, what is the damn point of her “paralleling” Eren anyways? But the Sasha paralleling was even more gnarly YUCK!

It's true that the people of Paradis will benefit from this shit, but I highly disagree with any justification when it comes to Eren's horrible actions. GENOCIDE IS NEVER THE OPTION. I think Jean is disappointed too but he's trying his best to rationalize the crap Eren's carrying out for he still doesn't want to believe his friend is committing genocide. I expect he comes back to his senses soon otherwise I no longer will appreciate him as a character.

That "who are you most disappointed" will sadly be filled with Armin hate tbh. And in the end he was just wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict... tbh Anyone hating on Connie, Gabi and Armin doesn't seems to know how humans emotion work in helpless situations...

What Yams is doing to Connie is further proof he is ruining his main characters (the good ones) to make room for his precious Marley characters (the crappy ones)

Connie's regression and frustration was more and more visible since Sasha died. He's lost everyone close to him. I am happy to see him finally snap at Armin and go his own way. This was foreshadowed for a while now.

I hope Isayama sensei doesn't forget to include World Millitary's raid in the action. They already mention in some previous chapter by Zeke.

Quantity-wise, the chapter wasn't centered around Gabi, okay. But. BUT. Gabi got quite a few powerful scenes, very Gabi-centric scenes, and I'm not happy about that. I don't see how and why the fandom so easily forgave her for what she's done. Isayama drawing parallels between Gabi and Sasha was insulting and distasteful.

It is highly likely that this is the last time we are going to see Pure Titan mayhem in the series now that the Rumbling is taking place, so I think it was great to that focus in this chapter. I thought it was handled well, especially with Shadis's scenes, the parallel of the new recruits seeing the Pure Titans peaking through the hole of the fortress tower much like a similar scene in the Trost arc, the tragedy of seeing Pixis and Nile (two of the last remaining head honchos of the military not counting Hange and Shadis) as Pure Titans and getting killed off for good, and how characters like Armin and Jean fought those Pure Titans.  

WARMASTER FLOCKE, TO LEAD THE ARMIES OF ELDIA TO VICTORY! Haha no I guess not. I'm torn between Flocke, Jean, Eren, and Shadis. All could be good picks but all outcomes would have different implications on the story and what it means. I guess if I had to pick, it'll be Shadis or Eren for now and then perhaps Jean later when things have settled and they've grown up more.

I honestly can't keep up with how many faces Floch has.

With how the pacing is handled there's no way this is ending in 6 chapters. The real climax is Eren having to go against his friends because there's no way in hell Mikasa is allowing him to genocide kids

As heartbreaking as this chapter has been, I already had my hopes destroyed when 119 was released. Today has been the confirmation for two awesome characters, who fell because of the non-veteran rule. I don't know why I still hope to see Keith staying alive, but at least we got an awesome moment of his.

Characters are being balanced relatively well. Isayama's got a lot of characters and plot threads to deal with, and while Levi, Hange and Historia are getting less focus than I would like, I think he's doing a pretty good job of keeping each character relevant and giving them all some good arcs/ moments

Everything (except for Gabi scenes) was perfect for me!

Eww Gabi-focused chapter…

I simply hate how cowardy the 104th is acting. It's clear they're only fighting in their own interest and are just pulling excuses after excuses for supporting Eren. At least Floch is honest about it.

Man, the 104th always been the group I care the less in the story, but this chapter they're being so annoying (apart from Mikasa). Well, I can forgive Connie because of everything he went through, but Jean... why are you saying this ""there was no other choice, eren is protecting us"" bs ? Nice of you to be complicit of mass genocide. (Yes, I know his face shows he's conflicted, but he still sides with eren) Also Armin... at least he's horrified at what's Eren's doing but when he said that if they don't kill Falco there would be no conflict with the warriors since Marley will be gone....that's just dumb. Their home and families are going to be destroyed, but ok Armin, go off. And getting into another serumbowl situation, with one of my fave uncounscious while the SC decides who will eat him... I don't like it. (I don't think Falco will be eaten tho, the whole thing raised many death flags on Connie)

Great chap, Isayama seems to finally give closure to certain plot parts. End is near.

Here's a crazy idea: feed GABI to Connie's mom instead of Falco, there would be nowhere near as much arguing with that

Highlights that people can rise above their conditions to become better people, offering a counterargument that humanity should be wiped out.

I don't get why the story pacing was disrupted so much. Why build up to a climatic cliffhanger with the rumbling, only to basically ignore it for the entire following chapter?

I honestly wonder if titan shifting still works as it used to. I'm afraid of seeing Falco get eaten for nothing. Honestly I'm worried about Falco dying for nothing while people right over him as a pawn in general.

Quite interesting chapter. Had fun with it. Much, much slower paced than expected almost. But then again we need time to cover all this stuff. And I'm happy it all took place in the current rather than another flashback. Not really a fan of the Gabi stuff but it is what it is. The other character developments were quite nice. Reiner literally just falling asleep tho lol. Overall I guess I wouldn't say it's a "big" chapter but it is necessary to bridge what came before with whatever comes next. And at long last Annie is back, so that's GLORIOUS.

I hope Annie will have such a big role she gets repaid for the all years she's been gone😞

I hope Isayama uses the slowdown in the pace to better sell the scale of the rumbling, we already see part of that by hoe Eren's dino titan still isnt complete, even after all this time

I love how the story is progressing.The next chapter is always something I personally don't expect and it's always exciting. The hype at the beginning/end of the month is unreal. As for the chapter itself, it's always refreshing to see Jean's perspective on Eren's plans because I love his interpretations on him. #TEAMJAEGER

i love my waifu annie i missed her so much

I love you Connie and I'm sure your mom is nice and all but Falco is a precious bean who needs to be protected.

I really hated the Gabi-Sasha and Gabi-Eren parallels. I also still think Gabi was never needed in this story, in fact I don’t know how I’ll be able to stomach season 4. Ugh, the first half will be completely and utterly Gabified. Gabi in color and motion plus speaking, YUCK!  Anyways I hope that the next chapter will have an update on Hange, Levi, and Historia. And maybe Floch getting punched by Shadis that would be the Cherry on top.

It was an average chapter, not bad but nowhere near as good as the previous ones. Plus I'd appreciate if other characters, outside of Gabi, had more spotlight. Her arc and development is done, give more development and screentime to other characters such as Mikasa please.

Just being disappointed. The pacing is very slow. Also the main cast's reactions were too passive. I hated it.

Just great. Just great. The drawings were incredible and the plot just keeps getting better.

Less Gabi, more Historia!

Levi and Hange better return in some way, shape, or form, or Yam's is in for it.

Levi is the new Annie

Love getting to see thoughts from many different characters and where they stand. A lot of them are still left behind trying to rationalise things to make it emotionally palatable, or simply stuck not being able to accept the reality, whereas Gabi has kind of gone ahead and realised there's evil on both sides, and she's willing to kill Eren or work with him if she can best protect the people she cares about (eventually probably not just her friends and family either, but the outside Eldians as a whole).

My baby is back!!!!!!!! I wanna see more of ANNIE!!!!!!

Nicolo talking to Kaya and Gabi was cringey af. Did they really do back to that derpy forest analogy? If this series ends with them holding hands and singing around a campfire imma legit be so disappointed. I need me my Rumbling!

This chapter felt like a nostalgia trip, but I wasn't in for the ride. It was a mess of short catching-up moments when I just want to pick Eren's brain. I want to see Levi and Hange alive or hear what Annie and Historia think about the events, but at the moment I don't care about even those storylines. I just want to know what the relationship between Ymir and Eren is now that the walls came down.

The first panel being Mr. Leonhart was a pretty strong indicator to me that Annie would be released in the last panel, and it was. I felt that to be extremly poetic, and the timing is good too. Another wildcard in the plot. Excellent.

Compared to the previous chapter, this one turned out to be very disappointing. I was excited to see the rumbling and getting a glimpse of Eren’s thoughts and feelings. But instead I got Reiner going to sleep, Gabi being paralleled to Eren (again) and Sasha, the 104th busy arguing over what to do with Falco instead of, you know, focusing on THE RUMBLING

Good chapter, but if S4 is the final season and airs Autumn 2020, and with a monthly release, curious as to how isayama might tie up these "last minute" plot threads such as the new developments with Connie and Falco.

What else can I say except it's amazing and it was worth the wait

Where is Levi damnit

[pickalilywrites]

for my jeankasa wife @thecashmerefox​ xoxo b/c you always make the jeankasa fandom a great place to be and ily 

I Find out My Crush Is a Mob Boss’ Daughter 

Jeankasa. Shoujo Manga AU. 

I Fell in Love with a Mob Boss’ Daughter series. 

4587 words. 

Buy me a ko-fi!

Mikasa Ackerman is eating alone again. It’s been this way since the beginning of the school year. When Jean had first enrolled in Rose Academy, a private high school known for its rigorous education system, Mikasa was the first person he had noticed. It was not the shiny, black limousine nor the suited bodyguards that accompanied the first-year girl to the gate that caught Jean’s attention, although those things certainly did help. Rather, it was the way Mikasa carried herself, her head held high with a mature expression of someone well beyond her years, that intrigued Jean. Though she wore the same standard uniform that every other girl in the school wore - a crisp white collared shirt tucked into a dark blue pleated skirt and a gray cardigan thrown over it - she looked like a model. It must have been the way she walked, elegantly stepping forward with a grace that belonged to someone of nobility. Jean had never seen anyone like her before, and it was clear that nobody else at the school had either from the way they were staring. It wasn’t long before her name began to circulate among the students - the first year princess Mikasa Ackerman. With that sort of popularity, Jean was certain that Mikasa would quickly make friends, so he’s surprised to see that she’s still alone one month into the school year.

“I just don’t understand it,” Jean murmurs, munching on his sandwich. His eyes, as usual, are fixated on Mikasa who sits in front of him, obliviously eating her own lunch. Like him, Mikasa always brings lunch from home although she usually brings intricately made bentos while Jean’s mother always packs him a sandwich and some homemade soup. That’s another thing that should make Mikasa popular, Jean thinks, her homemade bentos. Girls are crazy over that stuff, and yet not a single person ever joins Mikasa for lunch. “Why doesn’t anyone ever talk to her?”

“If you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about,” Sasha says without even turning her head, “there’s definitely a reason. If you haven’t figured it out by now, just forget about it. It’s better if you just mind your own business.” These words are rather uncharacteristic of Sasha Braus, a girl known for her friendliness and chattiness. However, Jean’s heard these words from her regarding Mikasa more than once before, so he’s hardly surprised.

“Yeah,” Connie agrees. He glances up to look at Mikasa just for a moment before looking back down at his lunch - a loaf of melon bread he had bought at the lunch line with Sasha earlier - and mumbles, “Mind your own business, Jean.”

Jean has noticed others looking at Mikasa the same way Connie just did - a quick glance before looking away as if they hadn’t seen anything. At first, he thought it was because they hadn’t wanted to be caught staring or be seen as rude, but it seems as if there’s something else to it as well. Something like … fear. He can’t really imagine why though. Is it that she’s so beautiful that she strikes fear in the hearts of others because they feel they cannot rightfully stand beside her? If so, Jean kind of understands that feeling … although he thinks it’s odd that everyone in the school would feel the same way. Mikasa is admittedly intimidating - in addition to her beautiful looks and the graceful air about her, she’s shown herself to be an academic genius and a force to be reckoned with athletically - but that doesn’t mean she should spend her entire high school life alone. Even if Mikasa seems fine with not having friends … Jean thinks that’s rather lonely.

“I’m going to talk to her,” Jean says suddenly. He gets up, the sound of his chair scraping against the tiled floor startling his friends.

“Jean! Are you insane?” Sasha hisses, grabbing onto his arm. She looks back at Mikasa and looks relieved that the other girl hasn’t turned around yet. She accidentally yanks Jean back with far too much strength and he nearly falls over. “Don’t talk to her just because you think she’s pretty!”

Immediately, Jean’s face flushes. “That’s not it!” he stammers before freeing his arm of Sasha’s grip. He stumbles back, rubbing the place where she had held on so tightly. When he pulls up his sleeve, he sees that there are red marks on his arms where Sasha’s fingers had been. “I don’t know why you’re so against this anyway. It’s not as if she’s done anything to you,” Jean says angrily, pulling his sleeve down.

Sasha opens her mouth to respond but closes it. After thinking for a moment, she says, “It’s not that I don’t like her. I’m just … looking out for you. It’s best if you don’t get involved.” She’s calmer now, but Jean is unwilling to listen to her any longer.

“I’m sure you mean well, Sasha, but about your advice?” Jean says, walking backwards with his arms spread wide to show that he no longer cares what she says. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Ugh, that stubborn bastard,” Sasha mutters.

“It’s fine,” Connie says, nibbling on his bread. “He’ll regret it later.”

Most people turn their heads when a person stops by their desk, but Mikasa continues to eat even when Jean stands right next to her. It’s as if she doesn’t see him … or is it that she’s purposely ignoring him? For a moment, Jean’s afraid that Sasha was right. He should have kept to himself and left Mikasa alone. Maybe there’s a reason why she doesn’t have any friends. Maybe she likes it that way. Maybe this is all a mistake.

He stands there for a moment, deciding whether to turn back or to walk straight past Mikasa, but someone calls his name instead.

“Jean.”

He turns, surprised, and for a moment he thinks it’s Sasha calling him, but he realizes it’s not her. It’s Mikasa. Her voice is so soft that he almost didn’t hear her. He’s only heard her speak when she was called in class, but he had thought he had imagined the gentle, melodic tone in her voice. Somehow this makes her even more intimidating than before, and Jean wishes he hadn’t approached her at all. It’s far too late to pretend he hadn’t walked up to her though and all he can do is stand in front of her desk, twiddling his fingers and stammering.

“Mikasa! Hey!” he says. Awkwardly, he reaches up to rub the back of his neck. He swallows nervously and glances back at her before looking up at the ceiling. It’s strange that he had thought badly of Connie and others for doing the same thing - looking at Mikasa and then looking quickly away as if he’s afraid of her - and yet he can’t help but do it too. Ashamed, he forces himself to look Mikasa in the face, but she doesn’t seem surprised at his reaction. Instead, she looks disappointed. It makes him even more determined to become her friend. “Do you want to study together after school?”

“Study?” she repeats, blinking at him.

“Yeah,” Jean says. He shoves both of his hands in his pockets and rocks back and forth on the heels of his feet. He wants more than anything to stare at the floor, but he forces to keep his focus on Mikasa’s face so that he can’t avoid her gaze. “I’m not that great with literature and thought you could help me since you always get good grades. And, you know, it could be fun to study together…”

“Fun,” Mikasa murmurs, looking down at her lunch. She thinks it over for a moment before looking back at Jean and telling him, “My parents always want me straight home after school.”

“Ah, I see,” Jean says, not knowing how to feel about this answer. Is this an indirect rejection? He supposes he should be grateful that she had been kind enough to find an excuse to reject him, although he thinks he might have preferred she had been upfront and honest if she didn’t want to study with him in the first place. He’s about to excuse himself and return to his lunch with Connie and Sasha before Mikasa speaks again.

“If you’re okay with it … would you like to study at my house after school?” Mikasa asks. She looks at him shyly, and Jean thinks that everyone has misunderstood her completely.

It is not that Mikasa wants to be alone, Jean realizes, but that her circumstances prevent others from interacting with her. In this case, it’s her overprotective parents. Rather than allow their daughter to have a social life with others after school, they require her to go straight home. He doesn’t know the exact details as to why this is so - perhaps they are afraid of bad influences or maybe they want her at home so that they can ensure that she’s studying properly - but Mikasa isn’t as cold and unapproachable as others say she is. By extending his hand first, Jean can be her first high school friend and even open the door for others to befriend the beautiful genius in the first-year class.

“Absolutely!” Jean says. He wonders if he appears too enthusiastic, but Mikasa doesn’t seem to mind. There’s something like a smile on her face, and he thinks it’s the first time he’s ever seen her happy in school.

They agree to meet at the gate after school - her house is a bit far, so she’ll arrange for them to be driven there - before Jean heads back to Connie and Sasha. It’s hard not to disguise his pleasure with how the conversation turned out. He’s practically skipping as he strides over to his desk, humming an old nursery song as he does so. Jean expects to see Sasha and Connie to congratulate him when they see him in high spirits or at the very least be impressed, but they only look sorry for him.

“I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into,” Sasha says with a sigh.

Connie only nods beside her as he nibbles on the last of his bread.

“I’m going to be fine,” Jean says with a grin, but his friends only shake their heads at him.

For the rest of the day, Jean can’t concentrate on his schoolwork. It’s difficult when he knows that he’ll be able to go to Mikasa Ackerman’s house and study with her. He’s sure that others would be secretly envious of him if they knew. It’s just that they’re too cowardly to approach her. If they had, they would have found out that Mikasa is not only friendly but also a little shy. It’s a bit cute, he thinks.

As soon as the final bell rings, Jean jumps out of his seat and heads towards the school entrance. He doesn’t even bother to bid Sasha and Connie goodbye - although he does hear them say something about him running straight towards his funeral, but he’s sure they’re just jealous. When he comes back tomorrow, they’ll come to their senses and beg him to tell them everything about Mikasa. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even get over their fear of Mikasa and ask Jean to introduce them to her so that they can all become friends. This after school study session might be the start of an after school study group that might make Mikasa more approachable to everyone. Ah, he really is a good guy for being the only one with enough courage to speak to Mikasa.

By the time he gets to the front entrance, Mikasa is already waiting for him. He really shouldn’t be that surprised when he sees her - after all, they did arrange to meet there - but it’s still somewhat of a shock to see Mikasa standing there in front of the shiny, black limousine that drops her off every morning. He had planned to stride over cooly as if he’s accustomed to things like limousines and suited bodyguards, but he loses his confidence midway. Even with Mikasa watching him with an expectant smile on her face, Jean finds his footsteps faltering as he gets closer to the limousine. He’s well aware of all the people staring at him as he walks towards the car, but that’s not what makes him nervous. The bodyguards - with their fitted suits, their unreadable expressions, and their eyes hidden behind ominous-looking sunglasses - are what bothers him the most. The fact that he can’t see their expressions is what frightens him the most, and he struggles to walk over there with a smile. When he finally reaches Mikasa, he can hardly keep from shaking as he stands beside her, and he knows that his smile looks horribly forced. Still, Mikasa smiles back at him as if she doesn’t notice.

“Hey, Jean,” Mikasa says with a smile that’s even more dazzling up close. She turns towards the limousine, its door held open by one of her bodyguards. “Want to get going?”

“Y-yeah!” he stammers. “Absolutely.” He tries to remain calm and he slides into the car behind her. It’s partly because he wants to appear cool, as if he rides things like limousines and yachts in his spare time, but it’s also because he doesn’t want Mikasa to feel awkward. People gawk at her all the time, and it’s probably awkward for her. If he wants to help her make friends, he should at least act normal around her even if her lifestyle is very different from that of a normal high school student.

He never thought he would step foot in a limousine in his life. Such things seemed reserved for celebrities or politicians, not a normal student, and yet here he is. He figures that Mikasa’s family must be incredibly well off to afford such extravagances. It makes him wonder what they do - Are they actors? Congressmen? Businessmen? - but he knows it would be rude to ask. Instead, he sits beside Mikasa - a good distance away because it’s awkward with the two bodyguards sitting across from them - and tries hard not to marvel at the leather seating, the cooler for beverages, or the television screen between the two guards. He can feel his attempts at keeping his facial expressions neutral while these luxuries are in sight, so he keeps his gaze fixed straight ahead at the window and watches the trees pass by. He’s trying so hard not to make things awkward that he doesn’t even notice Mikasa calling his name.

“Jean.” When he turns to her, he sees that she’s holding out a bottle of water towards him. It’s in a glass bottle with an odd shape with the brand stamped on it with a minimalist font along with an inscription that reads “natural artesian water.” He’s not even sure what “artesian” means, but it sounds expensive. Just being in the same room as that bottle makes him feel shabby. It must be worth more than anything he could find in the convenience store. Mikasa, however, doesn’t seem to give a thought to how expensive the water is and continues to hold it out to him. “Do you want something to drink? We have things other than water.”

He’s about to refuse. It feels a bit wasteful to drink something when he could purchase a bottle of water at a nearby store for much less, but he doesn’t want to be rude either. Maybe he can ask for something else to drink, but he has a feeling that the bottle of water might be one of the least expensive drinks in the cooler. In the end, he accepts the bottle from her with a weak, “Thank you.”

Mikasa takes a bottle of water for herself as well, twisting open the cap as if it’s not a big deal, and takes a sip without any hesitation.

Not wanting to seem strange, Jean does the same but he only takes a tiny sip. He wonders if his mom would lecture him for drinking something so expensive. Still, he kind of wants her to try it when he gets home.

Jean wonders if he’s supposed to talk with the bodyguards that are in the limousine with them. He wants to be polite, but maybe he’s supposed to keep interaction with them to a minimum. After all, Mikasa didn’t seem to speak with them other than the occasional “thank you” and other small courtesies. If he recalls correctly, they haven’t really interacted with him either aside from a nod of acknowledgment when he entered the limousine behind Mikasa. Maybe he should just act as if they aren’t there.

“Did you have a chance to read the Osamu story for literature yet?” Jean says to Mikasa as he fiddles with the cap of his water bottle. This seems like a normal enough topic of conversation - schoolwork is always safe, he thinks - and hopefully, he’ll be able to keep this up until they reach Mikasa’s house.

“No Longer Human?” Mikasa asks. She nods politely, and Jean is again reminded of the air of nobility that Mikasa always seems to have. Maybe it’s not that she’s a celebrity, but that she’s actually royalty. Jean wouldn’t be surprised if he found out she was a princess. “I did. I actually read it a while ago. My friend from junior high is a fan of Osamu.”

“Really?” Jean raises his eyebrows. He knows that Dazai Osamu is one considered one of the best Japanese literature authors, but he didn’t think students his age would be interested in the author’s works. “Are you a fan too?”

She smiles again, but it’s different this time. While her smiles before had always been tight-lipped and polite, this one seems more genuine and Jean can see the sweetest dimple in her right cheek. He didn’t think it was possible, but she’s even cuter now. “Yes,” she replies, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I like the themes in his works.”

“Really? Me too!” It’s only half a lie. He hasn’t picked up No Longer Human yet, but he’s read the summary online and has a vague idea of what it’s about as well as its underlying themes. The only other work of Osamu’s that he’s read is Run, Melos! but that was almost a year ago and the only thing he remembers about it is that he liked it at the time. Hopefully, it’s enough for him to carry on a conversation for another ten or fifteen minutes.

Mikasa doesn’t seem to notice that Jean doesn’t possess in-depth knowledge about Osamu or his stories, or maybe it’s just that she’s too polite to call him out. Even when Jean stumbles around details, she’s kind enough to offer up the missing information and expanding on them so it’s not awkward. During the conversation, Jean observes that Mikasa really is a fan of Osamu. He had thought that she had said that to uphold her image of being a refined schoolgirl, but it turns out she really is this kind of person. He makes a mental note to read up more on Osamu this weekend, thinking that she’ll feel more welcome at this school if at least one person shares her interests.

They finally pull up to the Ackerman house, but Jean soon realizes that “house” isn’t the correct word for it. It’s a large estate, one that Jean only sees in movies or luxury magazines. He hadn’t thought that people actually lived in places like this or that houses like these still existed. Stepping onto the Ackerman estate makes him feel as if he’s stepped into an entirely different world. The mansion, built in the traditional shinden-zukuri style, looks so delicate and refined from the outside, with large sloping rooftops and grandiose scarlet pillars that makes the building look even more spacious. A luxurious garden filled with vibrant greenery makes the estate look even more beautiful. It must take a fortune to take care of such an estate - people to clean the pond out front and care for the koi fish, gardeners to prune the trees and water the flowers, and servants to take care of the house. He’s becoming more and more convinced that Mikasa is royalty of some sort.

Jean follows Mikasa through a series of rooms. They’re minimalist in design with little furniture and only a few decorations here and there - wall scrolls with artful calligraphy, paintings of scenes from classical literature, and small wooden statues that were painted carefully by hand - but it’s far less extravagant than Jean had expected. Rather than be disappointed, Jean’s even more impressed. To flaunt one’s wealth is one level of the upper class, but to be so reserved about one’s wealth is to be on an entirely different level. If this is what her house is like, it makes sense that Mikasa is so reserved at school too.

“Is here okay?” Mikasa asks when they finally reach a room with a large screen door that has been opened to let in the light and fresh air. She gestures towards a small wooden table in the middle of the room. There are no chairs, but there are cushions laid out around the table for guests to be seated.

“Here would be great,” Jean says. He only sits down after Mikasa takes a seat first. He decides on the seat aside from her, sitting cross-legged on his cushion just like her. He’s never been so excited to start a study session before. Jean is about to open his mouth and ask her what she wants to start with, but he clamps his mouth shut when he sees that the bodyguards are also taking a seat at the table, one beside Jean and another beside Mikasa. Mikasa, however, does not seem bothered by this. In fact, she seems used to it. Jean was about to say something, suggest that maybe it would be better for them to study without the guards, but if Mikasa is comfortable with it, he should pretend that he’s fine with it too. Besides, there’s probably a reason why her parents require her to constantly be guarded outside of school. He forces a smile on his face and says, “So, I was wondering if you could help me with this one passage for the Osamu. I have trouble understanding it.”

“Oh, of course!” Mikasa says. She reaches over to get her bag, but the sleeve of her cardigan gets caught in one of the decorative chains hanging on the zipper. Mikasa frowns as she untangles herself, holding up her sleeve to inspect the spot where she had got caught. Although there doesn’t seem to be any tear in her cardigan, she still shrugs it off, hanging it on the back of her chair. To make sure none of her other clothes snag onto her bag, Mikasa rolls up the sleeves of her white collared-shirt to her elbows before she searches for her book again. As she does, something on her wrist catches Jean’s eye.

Jean thinks he’s just seeing things, so he doesn’t say anything at first. It’s only when Mikasa finally pulls out her copy of No Longer Human and he gets another glimpse that Jean is sure of what he sees - the letter “A” made of swords and enclosed in a circle inked onto the back of Mikasa’s wrist. “Oi,” he says, alarmed. He must say it louder than he had meant to because the two guards turn to him, their bodies tense, and he quickly ducks his head. Making sure to speak in a calmer tone, he asks, “That thing on your wrist … is it real?”

Mikasa blinks at him for a moment, confused. “My wrist?” she repeats, holding up her wrist and inspecting it. He can see it clearly now and he hadn’t imagined it at all. The tattoo is there, clear as day, but Mikasa doesn’t seem to think it’s abnormal for a high school girl like her to have one. She absentmindedly traces her finger over the design. “You mean my tattoo?”

“Yeah…”

His classmate rubs the back of her wrist gently, subconscious now. “Most members of the Azumabito clan to have this mark tattooed on them when they turn fifteen,” she says with a frown. “However, I’ve had this mark ever since I was ten as is the custom of any child whose parent is the head of the Azumabito clan.”

“Azumabito clan,” Jean murmurs. The name sounds vaguely familiar to him, but he can’t remember exactly why that is. It’s a name that’s said in whispers and when people speak of them, they keep their voices low and their heads down … for a good reason. As Jean recalls all of today’s events - Connie and Sasha’s warnings that he not get involved with Mikasa, the way Mikasa is always heavily guarded, the extravagant estate - and everything begins to fall into place. “You mean … like the yakuza?”

“Yes,” Mikasa nods. She studies his expression for a moment before asking, “Did you … not know?”

Of course not. Had Jean known, he would have avoided Mikasa just like the rest of his peers. He never would have asked her for a study date. He wouldn’t even have chanced a quick glance at her had he known. He’s about to open his mouth and tell her so, but he stops before he can say anything. Any reasonable person would have stopped after seeing the two guards, who are now standing and looking at Jean threateningly, possibly ready to snap his neck if he says anything to upset Mikasa. Jean, however, doesn’t notice them at all. Rather, it’s the expression on Mikasa’s face that catches his attention. It’s not angry like he had thought it would be. She looks as if she’s on the verge of tears. Her eyes don’t meet his but look down at her lap, and her bottom lip trembles ever so slightly. She’s scared, he realizes. Scared that he’ll reject her and she’ll be alone like she was before.

“Of course, I knew!” Jean says, slapping his hand on the table. He gives her a huge grin as if this fact doesn’t bother him at all, that she’s the daughter of a yakuza, and he opens up his own copy of No Longer Human. “I was just surprised that you would have to get a tattoo too. Now that you’ve talked about it, though, it all makes sense.”

“I see,” she laughs. Mikasa has a smile of relief on her face and the two guards settle back down in their seats after seeing that their mistress is not upset. She beams as she sits across from him, holding open her Dazai Osamu book. “What was that passage you were having trouble with again?”

“Ah, this one,” Jean says, flipping over to a random page that he holds open to Mikasa.

It’s strange, Jean thinks as he watches Mikasa find the page in her own book. He had been frightened when he had first learned about Mikasa’s background, but she’s far less scary now that he thinks about it. She’s actually a normal high school girl, Jean realizes. A normal high school girl that wants to have friends as much as anyone else does. It makes him even more determined to become her friend than he was this morning.

This is how Jean found out his crush was a mob boss’ daughter.