#i would do anything for the royal trio but GOD why am i being required to max the worst confidant in the game

[afterthelambs]

True pain is realizing you can only unlock Sumire's signature gun by maxxing out Kawakami's fuck ass social link

[petri808]

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Inukag Royalty Au

Queen Higurashi looked up after reading the letter. “What is the meaning of this Sango?” Her voice straining against lashing out in a mix of anger and confusion. “Prepare a wedding? For whom, Kagome? But where is Kagome?”

“I am very sorry your majesty,” Sango bowed, “but I am only the messenger for the Inutaisho. He didn’t tell me all the details either.”

The instructions sent by letter and stamped with the Inutaisho’s official seal explained that the Higurashi’s should prepare a secret wedding ceremony. It was a brief letter and requested the only other person that should be in attendance besides the royal family was the priest. All the trappings of a traditional royal wedding affair would not take place, such as inviting the nobles or holding a large ball to celebrate. It was important to maintain a secrecy.

“Then you tell me everything that you do know!” The King snapped. “This is our daughter!”

“I understand, your majesty, I really do. But I am doing this to protect the Princess. I agree with the Inutaisho that there is a potential spy, but we don’t know who or where they are to have found out about the cancelled marriage arrangement. So, secrecy is our only protection. Please just know the Princess is safe and everything will be made clear when the Inutaisho arrives here in a week.”

“Do you truly believe this spy exists?” The queen questioned the young woman.

Sango stood tall and firm in her conviction. “Yes, your majesty. I do.”

The queen and king shared a silent conversation before turning back to the attendant. “Very well, we will honor the Inutaisho’s request. But is there really nothing else we should be preparing? What will Kagome wear? Are no flowers needed?”

Sango shook her head. “If there really is a spy in our midst, ordering such things will raise suspicions and I got the impression that the Inutaisho will make sure anything else required will be taken care of. Right now, the important thing to do is act as normally as possible until they arrive.”

King and Queen Higurashi were concerned, but in the end, they knew Sango was loyal to their daughter and would never do anything that could put her in harm’s way. So, they chose to trust her. It had already been a shock to them to learn their daughter had been living an assumed life in the Inu kingdom but were even more confused on how the Inutaisho became involved. It was a relief in a way, despite not knowing all the details because King Naraku was not someone they’d want their daughter to marry. They’d been threatened with force if they hadn’t agreed to the marriage, so this might just be their saving grace. Their trusted priest was contacted and sworn to secrecy, to be ready in about a week’s time to perform a marriage ceremony, with the only other person told anything being their younger son Souta. The young man was less concerned over his sister’s whereabouts all this time and simply happy that he’ll be seeing her again.

And right as expected, a week later the castle guards were notified of the Inutaisho’s arrival. But not just the King, a full entourage including the whole royal family. The castle’s staff was sent into a full frenzy to ready enough sleeping quarters for the royals, and a meeting room was also readied so the two families could finally sort out just what in the world was going on.

Kagome led the Inu family into the meeting room and immediately upon seeing her mother the tears began to pool in her eyes from all the guilt of putting them through this. She rushed over and hugged the queen.

“I’m sorry for running away,” she quietly whimpered into her mother’s shoulder. “This is all my fault.”

“Oh, my dear, please don’t blame yourself.” The woman rubbed her hand up and down in a soothing manner along Kagome’s back. “We were partially to blame as well. Now dear,” the woman pulled away and cupped her daughter’s cheek while wiping away the tears. “Please tell us what is going on.”

Kagome looked back and gestured for Inuyasha to come to her. “It will all be explained, but first I’d like you to meet his son, prince Inuyasha.”

“Your majesty’s,” the man bowed his head to the royals.

“It is nice to finally meet you, prince Inuyasha,” the king and queen smiled at the handsome man.

Kagome then took Inuyasha’s hand and interlaced their fingers. “Mom, Inuyasha is the man I’ll be marrying.”

Her parent’s eyes widened. They’d suspected it, but to have it confirmed was a joy! “Oh, thank the gods!” The queen smiled. “But how did this happen?”

It was at this point that the Inutaisho stepped forward. “We should first discuss the more pressing issue that’s brought us here today.”

The Higurashi’s nodded and motioned towards a sitting area. From there the rest of the Inu family were introduced to the Higurashi’s before being escorted to their guest rooms. Only the Inutaisho, Queen Izayoi, Inuyasha, and Kagome were the ones to stay behind.

Inutaisho spoke first. “I shall leave the details of how Kagome originally came to us for her to tell you later.” He explained how his son had fallen in love and that is what prompted him to call off the original marriage arrangement, but of course at the time they didn’t know of Kagome’s true identity. It was only revealed when Sango arrived to take her home. “Once that happened, I was shocked to find out she was the original princess he was betrothed to, but also furious to learn Naraku had swept in and threatened you over her hand. That is not something I will tolerate, because it means he’d had spies either in my palace, your castle, or both to have learned such information.”

“So, what are you saying?” King Higurashi questioned. “We’re still bound by the new contract, and he is probably on his way right now.”

“I believe,” the Inutaisho continued, “that this is both our faults for not telling our children the truth right from the beginning. Had we introduced them before setting up the arrangement, perhaps none of this would have happened. But we cannot undo the the past and therefore, I feel there is a way to set things right again. Our new arrangement provided that the Inu Kingdom would step in to protect this one and that is exactly what I plan to do.”

“And how do you propose to do so?” King Higurashi questioned.

“I have already hidden a garrison in the surrounding area.”

“Will one be enough?” Queen Higurashi questioned.

“Yes. They are our strongest yokai division. So, when King Naraku arrives he will have no chance against them.”

“But why did we need to prepare for a wedding ceremony?”

“To make Kagome and Inuyasha’s marriage official before he got here. Between a binding marriage vow and the threat of destruction, Naraku would be a fool to test my might. If once everything has been settled, you wish to hold a proper celebration, I see no harm in that.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” King and queen Higurashi bowed their heads to Inutaisho.

“I want you to know that over the course of these months, Kagome has truly become a part of our family. So, it is my honor to play a role in setting things right.” Inutaisho smiled. “Plus, she’s a very good match for my son.”

Queen Higurashi sighed in relief. “It’s a genuine pleasure to see my daughter happy too.”

Before Queen Izayoi took her leave, she explained to her counterpart that Kagome’s dress was already made, and flowers had been brought in for a bouquet. They were also instructed to tell their staff that the Inu clan was just there to attend the upcoming wedding in order to keep rumors lowered. Next the two kings moved onto outlining what will happen when Naraku arrived. One plan was to confront him immediately before they even arrived at the gate, while another was to allow him entry and confront him in the throne room. The second option came down to if the hunter Inutaisho brought to track down Naraku’s spy was successful.

While the men discussed the military details, queen Higurashi, Kagome, and Inuyasha retreated to another private room. As soon as the trio sat down, the refined poise of a queen was turned off. “Alright, spill it.” The woman scolded the couple in a light tone. “I want all the details and starting from the beginning.”

The couples faces turned pink in embarrassment, but nevertheless, Kagome began telling the tale of how she’d become princess Rin’s attendant at the palace, to the budding romance between she and Inuyasha. “We both tried so hard to fight our feelings,” the woman looked down in nervous shame. “But it just grew stronger instead.”

“That’s when I’d fought with my father to cancel the arrangement. I told him I’d rather stay single if it meant living with Kagome in the palace for the rest of my life.”

“I probably should have told Inu the truth right there,” Kagome admitted. “But I was so afraid the king would kick me out because not only did I want to stay with Inuyasha, but I didn’t want to leave Rin as well.”

Inuyasha grasped Kagome’s fidgeting fingers. “And I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for her. Rin’s truly blossomed because of you.”

“Kagome,” her mother addressed her. “I hope you know that we always had the best intentions for you and I’m sorry that because we weren’t honest with you it drove you to run away. I was more afraid then upset not knowing if you were okay, so it warms my heart to know you’ve been in good hands all along.”

“The Inu’s made me feel like family from the beginning, and I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality.”

The queen smiled. “I’m proud of you Kagome. To know I bore such a strong woman, I can rest well, knowing you’ll be able to weather anything thrown at you.”

Kagome’s eyes teared up as she moved over to hug her mother. “Thank you, that means the world to me to hear that.”

The queen hugged her back. “Oh, I love you so much my dear.”

“I love you too mom.”

“And thank you, Inuyasha, for taking care of my little girl. I have no doubt that your marriage will be a long and happy one.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” Inuyasha smiled. “I will treat her like a queen.”

The following day, the royal families gathered in the chapel to solidify the marriage between Inuyasha and Kagome. While a small affair, it was still a special one with Rin playing a flower bearer, Sango a bridesmaid, and Miroku a groomsman. Inuyasha wore a white ceremonial military uniform with red and gold accouterments and decked out with the royal Inu family crest. Kagome’s white dress followed the style of the Inu kingdom with a form fitting top and flowing floor length dress, decorated with red and gold patterns to mirror Inuyasha’s garb.

The couple stood facing one another before the priest who took their hands and placed one on top of the other, then lightly wrapped the layered hands with a white sash to signify their union. He then placed his own hand on top and began the sermon.

“There is nothing more blessed than the coming together of two individuals in matrimony. To love each other and support each other through sickness and in health until the end of their days. And what I see before me is a tested love that shall endure whatever trials or tribulations may come their way.”

“Prince Inuyasha, do you take princess Kagome to be your wedded wife, to cherish and honor with love and loyalty until the end of your days?”

“I do.”

“And do you, princess Kagome, take prince Inuyasha to be your wedded husband, to cherish and honor with love and loyalty until the end of your days?”

“I do.”

“Then unless there is any here that objects to this Union, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“Finally,” Inuyasha breathed out as he swooped in and kissed a giggling Kagome.

Cheers and clapping from all around the couple went ignored, and the attendees simply became a faded background. This had been the moment they’d been fated for all along and to finally have it consummated, truly felt like a new beginning. When she ran away from home, Kagome never imagined this is where she’d end up. Marrying a man, she’d fallen in love with all on her own instead of through an arranged marriage. Perhaps the gods had been on her side all along.

Inuyasha’s fingers swept gently over her cheek as he stared with blissful intent into her eyes. “I love you, Kagome.”

She leaned into his hand as her eyes softened. “I love you too, Inuyasha.”

Just a little longer and they’ll truly be free…

[imagines-dreams]

Being the Daughter of Ariel - Descendants Headcanons

aka I dont have time to write full-length multi-chaptered fics, so I do this

Being one of the three kids of Ariel and Eric had its perks. Belle united the kingdoms of those above the shores in Auradon, including your parents’ kingdom, your aunt insisted that you and your siblings spend time in Atlantica as well.

Melody and your younger brother decided to stay in Atlantica for most of the year, attend school there, and learn more about being under the sea

You, however, spent most of your time on the shore, or more accurately, in Auradon High with your best friends, Ben and Audrey.

Audrey was more of the protector of your trio. She was blunt and stubborn, and if either you or Ben was being bullied, she wouldn’t hesitate to throw that fact that she was the “beloved princess among the fairies.” 

After all, Audrey may not wield magic, but her godmothers did, and they didn’t care about Fairy Godmother’s rules if Audrey was involved in it

Ben was the sweetheart of the group. He was waaaay too nice, to everyone and everything. He was the type of person who uses “please” and “thank you” to his phone/computer. 

He was also obsessed with being the perfect king, always studying and always trying to find ways to help people. 

His obsession with being the perfect king and Audrey’s obsession with living up to her grandmother’s standards was what got them engaged in the first place. 

When their parents told them of their plans, Audrey couldn’t say no, not to her grandmother, and Ben couldn’t say no either. 

You, however, were the fun one. You were the perfect balance between the two. Kind and sweet but stubborn and loud

You always pulled your two best friends out of the rut or out of work or out of practice or literally anything that was draining them. You took them out to the beach when Ben’s princely duties were too much, or you took them to the spa when Audrey’s grandma was being too much

You found out they were engaged verrrrryyyy late

You knew their parents were going to do it, but you didn’t think it was official

It wasn’t until you were all thirteen, three years after they were officially betrothed, when you found out

“I just don’t get it,” you groaned. “Melody got to explore the ocean when she was thirteen, so why can’t I go to one party?”

Ben hummed. “Well, our parents are trying to not repeat mistakes, you know? I’m sure they’re just looking out for you.”

“As if!” Audrey closed her book and sat up. “Our parents made great decisions at our age. Why do you think they betrothed us at ten?”

You blinked. “Wait, what?”

“What do  you mean, ‘Wait, what?’?” Audrey asked.

You shook your head and rubbed your eyes. “I thought everyone was joking when they said you were going to get married. I didn’t know it was official!”

Ben smiled. “Sorry. I guess it just never came up.”

“I have the practice tiara and everything.” She pointed at her future husband. “Benny Boo gave it to me.”

He laughed. “We’re not there yet, Audrey.”

“Well, we have to be soon.” She sighed. “(Y/n), didn’t your mom get married at sixteen?”

“No. Misconception. She went back to my dad at sixteen, got engaged when they were eighteen, and they got married when she was, like, twenty-five or something.” 

She tilted her head. “Well, either way, Benny and I are engaged to be engaged to be engaged.”

Ben blinked. “To be engaged.”

Audrey narrowed her eyes. “No, it’s three only.”

“It’s four engaged’s.”

“No, it’s three.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s four.”

“Alright!” You laughed. “Ok, ok, we get it, you two are getting married.” You clicked your tongue. “So, is it weird to think you’ll get married one day.”

“(Y/n),” Ben whined.

“What, Benny Boo?” Audrey giggled. “Am I that disgusting?” She gasped and pretended to faint. “I’m nothing! No more! How can my Benny Boo not love me? The pain! The pain!”

You laughed, while Ben went to Audrey and kissed her forehead. “I won’t mind being engaged to be engaged to be engaged with you.”

Audrey beamed. “You used three.”

“Yep.”

You shook your head. “Alright, future lovebirds, come on. We got homework. I’m not becoming a third wheel yet!”

And so that was how it went. It was just expected the Ben and Audrey would marry. And though you knew the two weren’t in love, they were good friends, and the marriage would help strengthen the kingdom’s morale. 

High school came, and the three of you were excited. Mostly the same classes, just different extracurriculars. Ben and you shared sword-fighting. Audrey and you shared singing lessons. Ben and Audrey had prince/princess/royal rulers classes. 

Your two best friends were both obsessed with the school much more than you were, though. You just participated in singing and sword-fighting. 

The only other thing that took up your time were visits to Atlantica, but that was during vacation.

Ben was in student government and tourney, and he went even more beyond by taking more classes than he needed. (Seriously, who needed to learn how to tie rope when you were a king?)

Audrey tried out for cheerleading, and was named head cheerleader by her second year. She did dancing, singing, and even joined etiquette classes, even though she already passed the required etiquette classes with flying colors.

“I have to keep up on my lessons. A queen can’t forget her manners.”

On top of that, her fairy godmothers took her out of school at the most random times. (Fairies didn’t really care for timing when their goddaughter’s mental health was on the line)

As time went on, Audrey fell in love with the idea of a wedding. An entire, kingdom-wide celebration for her and one of her best friends. What wasn’t there to be excited about?

She dragged the two of you to window shop for her impending wedding

But… Ben started showing up less and less

Audrey was too caught up in her wedding/engagement/kingdom/queen plans to really notice, but you did.

“Ben, what’s your deal?”

“W-What do you, no, you need to leave. I don’t have time to-”

“Yes, you do. Why are you avoiding Audrey?”

He was silent. “You’ll hate me. She’ll hate me.”

“No, we won’t.” You sighed and hugged him. “Ben, you’re our oldest friend. We could never hate you.”

Ben gulped. He paced the room, and you waited patiently.

“I don’t want to marry Audrey.”

You blinked. “Oh.”

“I love Audrey. I do. She’s an amazing friend, and she’d make an amazing queen, but I just… I can’t… I can’t get married to someone I don’t love love.”

Oh gods, that was big. For years, they were expected to be engaged, and suddenly this? No wonder Ben was distancing himself. He wanted true love, like what everyone’s parents had. 

“Ben,” you whispered. “Ben, how are you going to-”

“I’m not.”

You blinked. “Not what?”

“Cancelling it.”

“Ben!” You scoffed. “Ben, if you don’t want to marry Audrey, you have to cancel it as soon as possible.”

“No. I’m going to be king, and marrying her will solidify Auradon and its shaky foundation. Marrying Audrey will help Auradon, and as their prince, I must do what’s best for my kingdom.”

You sighed. “But, Ben, it’s at your own expense. At the price of your happiness. Are you willing to pay that?”

He was silent for a few moments. Then, he smiled sadly. “I have to.”

The two of you never spoke about it again.

Still, Ben made an effort. After your talk, he joined you and Audrey on your window shopping trips. He sometimes needed a break, and you would distract her long enough for him to catch his breath.

If Audrey noticed it, she never said anything.

(Audrey wasn’t dumb. She knew something was off, but she also knew that you would tell her if something was wrong, and since you didn’t say anything, she just thought Ben was stressed over being prince or something.)

Audrey started including herself more during study sessions and even offered to help Ben with his princely duties.

“I have an idea,” Audrey said once while Ben was working on student government things and you were practicing some sword-fighting stances. Once she had your attention, she continued, “Student government should have more people on it. You need a co-president, Benny.”

Ben stared at her. “I mean, I like the idea, but I don’t know who would take the job, and you have so much on your plate, Audrey.”

She shrugged. “You’re not wrong. Head cheerleader, dance leader, additional princess classes, not to mention my godmothers always take me out for something or other at the most inopportune times, so you’re right, I’m busy.” She tilted her head back and forth. “Maybe someone who isn’t going to be queen?” Audrey looked at you.

“Audrey!” Ben exclaimed.

“What? I’m right.” She sighed and looked to you. “Sorry about that, but you always said you wanted to get more involved. This would be a good way of doing it. Plus, you’ll spend more time with my Benny Boo, and both of you can keep me updated on official Auradon High news.” She smiled. “So, what do you say, princess of Atlantica?”

You bit your lip. It would help Ben out. He was always so stressed, and being a co-president would take a bit of the load off his back. But it would also mean making time for it. Between classes, scheduled visits to Atlantica, and your lessons in singing and sword-fighting alike, you didn’t have much time.

You smiled. “I’ll do it.”

(Y/n), princess of Atlantica and student body co-president

When Ben had come of age to be king, he told you and Audrey about what he thought his first declaration would be.

“I wanna bring kids of villains to Auradon High.”

The room was silent. 

“What!?” Audrey screeched. “Ben, they have magic. Not to mention who their parents are, who raised them.” She whispered, “I would’ve been on board with this years ago, when Auradon was first established, but now? They’re our age, and they can cause some real chaos.”

You sighed. “She’s right, Ben.”

Your best friend shook his head. “But, they are our age. They didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That we know of!” Audrey argued. ‘There aren’t any rules there, Ben. We don’t know who are murderers and who isn’t.”

“Guys-”

“They can learn to do better here. I’m not saying to bring the villains over-”

“Guys, please-”

“On top of that, they could be thieves or sorcerers of-”

“Guys!” You groaned. “Both of you are right.” You took a deep breath and explained, “Ben, you’re too nice. Audrey’s right. Bringing in all the kids from the Isle is reckless.”

“Exactly.” Audrey crossed her arms. 

You turned to her. “But, Ben has some excellent points. Those kids never deserved to be there, and it’s our duty as the next generation of king and queens to right that.”

Ben shrugged. “So what’s our compromise?”

Audrey hummed. “Bring over only a few.”

“Yes!” You nodded. “And put them under care, under Fairy Godmother. After one school year, we bring more.”

“And,” Audrey added, “if they break a serious rule, mugging, manipulation, murder, they go back.”

You agreed, “Just like their parents.”

Ben beamed. “I like it!”

And so the VK program was born

Ben was super nervous. A few months before his sixteenth birthday, the three of you were already writing up the legal documents needed to establish the Vk program

“We need to choose four people,” Ben said. 

You gulped. “They’ll need to be the ones who need our help the most. The worst villains, the worst parents, the worst influence.”

“Cruella!” Audrey shouted. She turned over on the bed to stare at the two of you sitting on the ground. “Who wants to kill puppies?”

“You’re right,” you said.

Ben looked through the paperwork. “One son, Carlos.”

You wrote it down. “I suggest the Evil Queen. Vain, murderous, and influenced by dark magic.”

“One daughter,” Ben said, “Evie.”

“So, Cruella, Evil Queen,” Audrey recited. “What about Mother Gothel? Does she have kids?” 

Ben looked through the papers again. “Nope, no kids.”

You sighed. “Thank the gods for that. I wouldn’t be able to forgive ourselves.” You gasped. “Frollo? Any kids?”

More paper rustling. “No, no kids.”

You sighed. “Ok, ok, guys, two more.”

Audrey hummed. “Well, if we’re going for dark magic, I say Jafar. Manipulative, sorcerer, almost commited murder.”

“Yep, he has one son, Jay.”

You stared at the names. Carlos, son of Cruella; Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen; and Jay, son of Jafar.

You and Ben stared at each other. You both knew who else needed to be on that list. Ben scrambled to see if she had a kid. No need to bring it up if she didn’t have a kid.

But nope. She did. Mal, daughter of Maleficent.

Ben nodded at you. You do it.

You narrowed your eyes and pointed at your left ring finger. You’re the one that’s engaged with her. You do it!

Ben and you got locked in a staring contest. 

You lost. 

You sighed and said, “Hey, Audrey, I think I know the other one villain kid.”

“Oh yeah? Who else is super evil? Because I was thinking-”

“Maleficent,” you blurted out.

At the name, Audrey paled. She licked her lips and was at a sudden loss of words. You blinked a few times, all avoiding her two best friends’ gazes.

“Audrey?” Ben asked. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine!” She giggled and adjusted her hair. “I’m perfectly fine. It’s not like it was suggested that you bring the daughter of the evil fairy who cursed my mother and forced my grandparents to never be able to raise her. I’m fine.” She took a deep breath and shook her head.

You reached out to hold her hand. Ben did, too. 

She smiled at both of you. “Sorry.” She squeezed your hands. “You’re right. Maleficent is evil, and her kid would need help.”

“Are you sure?” Ben asked. “Because if you aren’t-”

“No, I’m sure.” Audrey nodded. “As future queen, I should be open to these kinds of things.” She smiled. “What’s her name?”

Ben looked at the papers. “Mal.”

And so, Ben was king at sixteen, and the VK program was enacted.

You were there with Audrey and Ben to greet the VKs

You saw how Ben looked at Mal, and Audrey did, too. 

Audrey, ever so stubborn, got between the two and started talking about Maleficent and about her relationship with Ben.

And honestly, you couldn’t really blame her

When Ben was alone, you caught him. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

You crossed your arms. “I’ve known you for ten years, Ben. I know that look. You had that look when you saw my sister for the first time.”

“Hey, we don’t bring that up.”

“Ben.” You grabbed his hand. When his eyes met yours, you said earnestly, “Audrey, you love her, and she deserves better than this.”

Ben sighed. “She did snap.”

“She’s not stupid, Ben.” You smiled and rubbed circles into his cheeks. “I love you, and I know that this is hard, but you need to be honest with yourself and with Audrey. What are you willing to sacrifice?”

Ben laughed. “I wish I could have both. True love and a good king.”

You shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive.” You sighed. “After all, you could fall in love with Audrey, or the kingdom could fall in love with Mal. Either way, I support you.”

Ben nodded and kissed your forehead. “Thank you.”

So, for the next few days, Ben contemplated his options. You and Audrey were left in the dark.

“Mal is using magic,” Audrey told you.

Your eyes widened. “Magic isn’t allowed on school grounds.” You laughed. “If it was, I would be living in the lake with a tail.” You blinked. “Wait, what magic is she doing?”

“Hair,” Audrey said. “For other girls.”

You pursed your lips. “We should let her off with a warning. It’s small magic. And I don’t see any evil intentions.”

“Gateway magic, (Y/n)!” Audrey stabbed her food. “First, it’s the hair, then the face, then what? Suddenly, there’s an old hag wandering around, giving poison apples to unsuspecting students.” She shook her head. “Needs more than a warning.” She let out a deep breath and tilted her head up to prevent her tears from falling. “I told Ben, and he didn’t even care.”

You observed your best friend. She chomped on her food, and her usually manicured nails were hidden in her fist. 

She wasn’t happy with Mal. After all, she was Maleficent’s daughter and Ben and she had a connection

You held her hand. “I’ll talk to him.”

She smiled at you. “Thank you.”

After a moment, she laughed and wiped her eyes. “I shouldn’t be too worried, huh?” She fanned herself. “After all, I’m going to have to be queen. I have to act like one.”

“Hey.” You grabbed her hand again. “Even queens take off their crowns.”

Audrey pursed her lips and nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”

You tried to catch Ben before the Tourney game, but you just couldn’t. Downside to having the most popular guy as a best friend, you couldn’t always get to him on time.

Then, they won.

And Ben turned into the biggest jerk you’ve ever seen.

You knew he and Mal had a connection, but you had told him! You told him to respect Audrey, to respect the friendship they had, to respect the love she had for him and the love he had for her, but no!

No, he had to just serenade Mal in front of the entire school, embarrassing Audrey and himself.

A king should never act like that.

You were too shocked to really do anything

But Audrey wasn’t. She was filled with rage. So, she went to Chad, a prince who always had a little crush on her, and publicly announced that she was going with him, not Ben.

After the game, you rushed to Audrey’s side. “Hey, hey, slow down-”

“Slow down!?” Audrey grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you into an empty classroom. “Are you kidding me? Why would Ben…” She collapsed into a chair and sobbed. “We didn’t love love each other, but he promised me, (Y/n).” She sniffed. “He promised me.”

You hugged her until she cried herself out and spent the day with her. 

When night fell, you stomped over to Ben’s room. Just as you were about to knock, he opened the door. “(Y/n)-”

You shoved him inside and closed the door. “You’re a horrible person, Benjamin.”

“Wait, let me-”

“No, you listen!” You growled, “You embarrassed our best friend in front of the entire school. You’re lucky she’s as influential as she is, cause if she wasn’t, gods know who this school would treat her.”

“I know.”

“You know?! Do you, Ben, because you seem obsessed with Mal over there! You didn’t-”

“I was spelled!”

You froze. Spelled? As in… magic used on him? Your eyes widened. “Oh my god, Ben.”

“(Y/n)-”

You stomped over to the door. “I’m going to give that dragon a piece of my-”

“No!” He blocked the door. “I can’t let you do that.”

You scoffed. “Are you still spelled? Ben-”

“I’m not spelled!” He gulped. “Anymore, at least.”

“Anymore? Ben, do you realize what you did when you were spelled?”

“I know. I was going to apologize.”

“And what about Mal?” You crossed your arms. “You wrote it down yourself. “Mugging, manipulation, murder. These three things will get you kicked out of Auradon and onto the Isle.”

“She doesn’t know how to make the first move, (Y/n). Spells are the only way-”

“I don’t care, Ben! She manipulated you. She made you tear down our best friend, publicly by the way, and I’m betting she did it with evil intent.”

“I love her!” Ben sighed and stared at the ground. “I can’t send the girl I love back to the Isle.”

You shook your head. “You’re stupid, Benjamin.” Your moves were limited. You were the princess of Atlantica, so the only power you had in Auradon was of study body president. And Ben was the prince, almost king. You couldn’t go against his authority. 

So, you roughly grabbed his arm and stalked through the halls.

“Wh-What are you-”

“If you’re not going to punish Mal, you’re at least going to apologize to Audrey. Oh, and good luck explaining this to her.” Because you may be fine letting Ben make his own mistakes, but Audrey wouldn’t be. If she found out, Mal and her friends, innocent or not, would be back in the Isle by morning

Ben resigned and followed you.

Ben apologized to Audrey. He got down on his knees, broke up with her, and promised he’d do anything to make it up to her. He left out what Mal did, intentionally.

“Get out,” was her only response. 

So, you stayed by her side as she cried. You tried to pry Chad off her arm, but neither of them would budge.

You contemplated telling her what mal actually did, but you couldn’t. She’d do something horrible. She wouldn’t care about the consequences.

So, you said nothing.

When Family Day came, you were trying to ignore the awkwardness between Ben, Audrey, and you and enjoy being with your family. Family Day was one of the few days you got to see your entire family.

All your six aunts, all of your cousins, and your siblings

“(Y/n)!”

You beamed. “Melody! Adrien!” You hugged both of your siblings just as Adrien stumbled. You caught him and laughed. “Still getting used to legs, huh?”

He laughed. “Let’s bring this to the ocean, and we’ll see who gets caught up in the tides.”

“So,” your older sister drawled, “any news here? You haven’t updated us in months.”

“Oh, well, Ben’s VK proclamation passed.”

“It did?” Adrien looked at the crowd. “Where?”

“No staring,” you scolded. You sighed. “With Ben, actually. Children of Maleficent, Jafar, Evil Queen, and Cruella.”

Melody cringed. “Cruellest of the cruel. How have they been?”

You inhaled. “There’s mixed opinions.”

“And your opinion?” Adrien asked. 

Your eye twitched. “No harm to the school overall, but to my friends, not so much.”

The three of you conversed, and your siblings tried to distract. The three of you sang your old favorite songs. Your mother and a few of your aunts and cousins joined, and soon you had a bit of a crowd surrounding you.

It has happened before. After all, your family was known for its music.

Then, Audrey’s grandmother, Leah, saw Mal, and, well, Audrey was still mad.

When Evie brought out a perfume bottle, you couldn’t help it. You sang a few bars. “A-a-ah!”

The water-based perfume obeyed you and dropped before it could reach Chad. 

Thank the gods for your siblings. They realized what you were about to do and stood in front of you so no one could see that you used magic on school grounds. 

When the picnic came, you plopped down at the VKs table and smiled. “Hello.” 

The four of them stared at you, not amused or happy with your sudden interest in them. 

You stared at Evie first. “Magic isn’t allowed on school grounds. This includes potions. I suggest you get rid of that perfume.”

Her only response was her pursed lips and her silence.

Then, you turned to Mal. “That goes for you, too. You’re lucky Ben loves you, because if he didn’t, I would be in charge of dealing out punishments for love spells, and I wouldn’t be so forgiving.”

You left them with that. 

“Was that wise?” Adrien asked, looking back on the villain kids. “They are villain kids.”

“And if they do anything else, I’ll bring them to the Isle myself,” you said. “Plus, apparently, still not bad at our signature aquakinesis.” 

“Yes! Exactly,” Melody said. “Let’s focus on the positives. Plus, coronation’s soon. We should prepare for that.”

You scrunched up your nose. Coronation? The thing you’ve been helping to plan all while dealing with VK’s and your best friends? Nope. “Or,” you suggested, “we could go for a swim?”

“(Y/n), no,” Meloday laughed.

“Hell yeah!” you screamed. The three of you rushed back to grab your usual mermaid necessities, your lockets, your brush, and a bag. 

When at the beach, two taps of the locket, and you and your siblings were merfolk once more. The rest of the day was spent exploring, practicing aquakinesis, and just enjoying a day under the sea.

When coronation came, you were in a beautiful gown and you sat with Audrey and Melody. Adrien was up in the balcony with the choir.

When Mal had the wand, you were skeptical. Your father had his hand on his sword already, and the rest of your mer-family was ready to sing and manipulate any source of water nearby. 

But, then, Maleficent froze all of you, and you had to watch as she teased your best friend.

A part of you was thankful that your family had never crossed Maleficent’s path. She kept on mocking the people of Auradon, and with the power she had, it terrified you just seeing her get too close to Ben and too close to Audrey.

Then, Mal spelled her, somehow, and Maleficent was just a little lizard, for some reason

… you were really just confused. 

Then, the impossible happened

Mal apologized. First, to Audrey, then to you

“I know I screwed up a lot while I was here.”

You crossed your arms and waited.

Mal continued, “I love Ben, and I love who I am when I’m with him. I’m not proud of the way it started. It was wrong to do that.” She shrugged. “But I hope that with time, you can forgive me.”

She did seem genuine. At least there was that. And she did admit that she was wrong.“Well, seeing as you did just save Auradon from Maleficent, I think that can be arranged. Thank you.” You held out your hand. “Truce?”

“Truce.” Mal laughed.

There was a big celebration afterward, for Ben’s coronation and for Mal’s defeat of Maleficent. You spent it dancing with your family and with your fellow classmates. You even got to dance with Ben for a little while. 

“I’m so sorry for snapping at you.”

“You should be.” You laughed. “I guess, something exciting was going to happen one way or another, son of Beauty and the Beast.”

“It’s a good thing it’s for the better, daughter of the Little Mermaid.” He spun you around and asked, “Are we ok?”

“We will be. With time.” You giggled. “Now, go dance!” You pushed right into Audrey, and you watched from afar as the two had a heart to heart. You didn’t hear what they said, but maybe, you’d all be ok.

After the party had died down and you had said goodbye to your family, Audrey came up to you. 

“I need a break from Auradon.”

Your eyes widened. “Did Ben-”

“Ben didn’t do anything else. Actually, he’s trying to make it better.” Your best friend smiled sadly and explained, “After the tourney game, everyone’s looking at me different, and I just… I need some time. And sweet, blondie Ben is going to talk to the school, make sure I can continue my studies elsewhere.” She shrugged. “A queen shouldn’t be around those who gossip and whisper, anyway.”

You nodded. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Aw, I’m gonna miss you, too.” She pulled you into a hug and squeezed you as hard she could. “Keep Benny in line for me.”

“Of course.” You sniffed and pulled away from her. “Write to me.”

“Always. Make sure Benny doesn’t collapse under pressure?”

“Of course.”

Audrey let out a breath. “Ok, I’m off. I’ll catch you later, sweetheart!”

And so, high school continued without Audrey.

It was so weird at first. Even though you still had Audrey through the letters you wrote each other, you didn’t have your spunky best friend to make sure you did your homework or that you kept up with your schedule.

Still, you adjusted and adapted

You hung out with Ben a lot more, the two of you going over student council things, funding, dances, and the such. 

Soon, Mal started to join you. She was going to be queen after all, so you taught her what you knew.

Things were still a bit strained, but you two worked well together.

Either way, the two of you were two of the most important girls in Ben’s life, and soon, Mal and you were able to hang out and talk without any malice towards each other

Because of that, you got to hang out a lot more with the other VKs

You saw Carlos as a little brother. You helped him deal and come to terms with his feelings for Jane. 

“I’m just so scared of her.” Carlos paced the floor. “But also I want to be scared. If that makes sense? Which it doesnt, but I just don’t know how else to explain. I mean, she’s not like scary or anything, not like how my mom was scary, but like a weird scary. Like I want to make sure I do everything right in front of her.”

You bit your lips to hide your smile. “Carlos, are you scared because you think she’ll hurt you, or because you’re worried she won’t think of you as perfect?”

“… Not the first one. Jane’s too nice to do that. No, I think it’s the other thing you said.” He shrugged. “I’m stumped. I don’t know.” He plopped down on his bed and groaned. “Maybe I should just avoid her. Ignore all of this.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope.” You sat down next to him. “I think, that you have feelings for her. As in romantically?”

Carlos blinked. 

Then, his eyes widened.

Then, his cheeks turned red.

“Oh gods.”

With Evie, you became an honorary member of her test audience. While Mal was her go to, you were her go to for the Auradon opinion. 

“Is it too much?”

You tilted your head. “I mean, no. But I do think you’d need to release a line without leather. We do have citizens who were cursed to be animals, so…”

“Good point. A leather-less line! I’ll need to look into more fabric, see what could still have the same effect. Thanks.”

“No problem!”

With Jay, it was a slow process to friendship. He didn’t think he had much in common with you

That is until he saw you practicing some sword-fighting stances

“If you keep that stance, your center of balance will be off.”

You stared at your feet before adjusting it. “What about this?”

“Still a bit too high. Lower your body to the ground, keep yourself centered.”

You shifted back and forth. “This?”

“Better.”

Since then, Jay invited you to training sessions with Lonnie and him. While you weren’t as good as they were, you enjoyed your time with them

Then, the next year came, and too many things happened in a short amount of time.

Ok, please tell me if you guys want me to continue this. I posted a few months ago for people to suggest things, but as most writing things go, no suggestions came up. So, I decided to post what I had, and if people want it, another part will be posted! Please tell me who you want reader paired with please i cant decide 

Part 2 is here!!

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 89 Thoughts

“Someone once asked me if I had learned anything from it all. So let me tell you what I learned. I learned... everyone dies alone.

But if you meant something to someone... if you helped someone... or loved someone... If even a single person remembers you... then maybe you never really die.

And maybe this isn’t the end at all.”

The above is a quote from the fifth and final season of Person of Interest. If you haven’t seen it, don’t worry; I’m about to quote something else that maybe five people will recognize. Also it doesn’t matter much. I just ran into a snag with coming up with how to start this post, so I went with the old-fashioned method of taking someone else’s words.

For the other quote, I have something not nearly as long or haunted.

“I will remember those who have been forgotten.” --The Stormlight Archive

Throughout the series, one of the recurring plot threads that I’ve been perfectly happy to ignore is the one that touches on the subject of memory.

Humanity has no memory of life beyond the walls.

Titan transformations interfere with memory.

Grisha tells Eren to learn to use his powers from the memories of others.

Frieda regularly wipes Historia’s memory.

Eren and Historia both have dreams of incidents that their waking selves can’t remember.

The cavern built by the Founding Titan, combined with the touch of royal blood, allows for the recovery of memories.

To an unknown extent, nomming a Titan can transfer their memories to the power’s recipient.

Memory has had a part to play since the very first volume. Most prominently in its absence. There’s enough amnesia going around in the series to get a soap opera up and running. Haunting every step our heroes take has been the knowledge that someone has the answers to this world, and they’re out of reach.

First, it was the basement. Grisha.

For a little while, Ymir, as one of the few big friendly giants they knew.

Next came the Reisses, with the introduction of the Founding Titan.

Eren slipped into that same arc, holding the Founding Titan but unable to access large swathes of its capabilities because he doesn’t have the blood for it.

As a metaphor, it’s already pretty nifty, but the literal truth of the situation is that the people who can provide the most help are dead, but never truly forgotten. They are remembered.

Grisha remembers his sister. He remembers Eren Kruger. He remembers Dina. He remembers Zeke. He remembers a world the common citizens of Paradis have never known. He does everything he can to pass on that knowledge.

The Reiss family sacrifice one member every thirteen years to keep the Founding Titan’s memories alive within their house. In turn, the Founding Titan remembers its hosts, keeping them alive for whoever comes next.

The Survey Corps doesn’t have magic Titan powers as a tradition, but they follow the same principle, as put forth by Erwin before his dying charge:

“Those brave fallen men and women! Those poor fallen men and women! The only ones who can remember them... are us, the living!! So we will die here... and trust the meaning of our lives to the next generation!

That is the sole way... we can rebel against this cruel world!”

And before any of that, there is Mikasa.

“If I die now... I won’t even be able... to remember you.”

People finding their reason to keep fighting has always drawn fiction’s attention. Angst calls to a lot of writers, as well as readers, and loss is such a universal concept that of course it’s going to be covered in all its gory detail long after everyone is sick of death.

When Mikasa loses Eren in Trost, you can see the light go out. You don’t really believe she’s going to die, since hey, we’re a protagonist down and she just got a flashback, but everything we know about her says that this feels like an insurmountable loss. She has Armin, but in her head, all she knows is that her family’s gone. Again.

It’s a tragic sequence in either medium you go with. I’m partial to the anime, because I love the music cues in that scene.

Then, as the story requires, she finds her way back to her feet.

Everyone remembers the line about the world’s beauty and cruelty, as well they should. It’s a beautiful line, thematically perfect, and come to think of it, Mikasa should probably get a medal for how well she introduces the prominent themes of this work.

When she makes the decision to live, however, it’s rooted in Eren’s memory.

That always felt a little weird to me, so it’s more memorable than it already was. She continues with lines about fighting, and winning (I think I said this last month, but just because Mikasa was only following Eren to the Scouts doesn’t mean she doesn’t belong there as much as any of the other chaotic dreamers), but the sticking point is wanting to remember Eren.

He’s dead.

His memory shouldn’t be.

This is the scene in the anime that forever sold me on the series. Back then, that particular line was more of an odd fascination than anything else, a touch of uneven humanity buried under the other phenomenal moments--Mikasa missing Eren, but loving him too much to let go of everything he is to her.

Just like their first meeting, Eren keeps her alive long enough for her to find herself, and what she’s willing to fight for.

So we have this incredible scene, and volumes and volumes later, it’s only now that I fully appreciate how tightly woven together all of the important moments are.

When you think about it for a fraction of a second, everyone is constantly dying in this series. Often not people we care about, but there’s a lot of death.

With so much of it, it makes sense that the memories of people they hold dear have so much power. They’ve learned to make the most of life, and that includes the pieces that come after death.

That’s the romantic view of it that really has nothing to do with Titan powers.

Now, on the subject of Titan powers, Eren’s managed to fall through one barrier of being an incomplete Founding Titan holder; he can relive the memories of stories he’s already familiar with.

That... is far from where we want the kiddo to be.

Before this extended flashback sequence with Grisha and Kruger, Eren’s memory troubles were primarily devoted to his father murdering an entire family, being eaten, the injection that was the focus of both those things--and a random shot of Frieda brushing her hair.

It’s difficult to tell how much of that flash to Frieda is a narrative cheat. He doesn’t remember it afterward. It does come after Historia recites her sad backstory to the class, but Historia doesn’t remember her sister at the time. Eren could be having headaches and leaving out all sorts of people, but we’re only going to see the relevant ones.

Still, Frieda’s the only one of the bunch that Eren doesn’t have a clear link to, and she shows up during a time where everyone is discussing the significance of the Reiss family.

That would seem to imply that the memories of the world that Eren is carrying around respond to outside stimulus. Which I guess we already knew because of the cavern and the touching, but there, we were given specific, mystical reasons. This seems more down to earth.

Making it less helpful, naturally. It’s not like they can go to Marley and kick off yet another kidnapping arc, only with them as the kidnappers, and hope someone says something that unlocks another chapter of Eren’s memory books.

Which would be why royalty’s back in play in the main plot. One day I might get to that portion of the post.

Getting back to the pages that spawned all of these words no one cares about, to the surprise of me, Kruger’s last words to Grisha are some of the most interesting in the chapter.

Kruger and Grisha have no idea who Mikasa and Armin are. Kruger is unconcerned, having been dealing with magic in his head for quite some time. He assumes that they’re the carry-overs from someone else’s memories.

This is where, if you wanted to, you can make it really convoluted.

Hiiii.

Reincarnation has been a fun theory ‘round these parts for a while, with the taunt of Ymir’s name only inspiring more detailed versions.

We now know that even if Ymir is Ymir’s reincarnation, no one actually believes that to be true--anymore.

Someone was still willing to present her as such, and believed in her enough to feel betrayed when he believed himself to be wrong, so it’s fair to say that some number of Eldians are willing to believe in their god being reincarnated. All things considered, that doesn’t really mean anything, because this manga is willing to let people believe all sorts of things.

But in the same chapter, we have a bitter old guy telling his predecessor that they’re doomed to repeat a horrible history again and again, and thinks of Mikasa and Armin’s existence as a memory, not a premonition.

So like. If you wanted to, a case could be made for and EMA reincarnation trio getting consistently roped into this, sometimes accompanied by Ymir.

A safer bet is probably just that super special awesome Titans have premonitions in addition to remembering everyone who ever was, and assume that those premonitions are things that have already happened, not things that will again.

Honestly, this is something that doesn’t interest me that much. I’m positive that this has something to do with why Eren sees an older Mikasa in his dream as a child, but what it means is still up in the air.

The straightest line through the plot is that Kruger is seeing through Grisha’s eyes before he gives Grisha the serum, seeing what Grisha will say when he passes it on to the next Eren. Supporting that is that this Eren has no clue who Mikasa and Armin are, but Grisha certainly does at a later point.

Future vision is always the simplest answer.

But like I said, if you want to bring the reincarnation madness--you have a very clear invitation.

Anyhow, as uninterested as I am in... large portions of that, the part right before Kruger brings up cycles of suffering is what I like.

“Make a family. You need a full household once you enter the walls. [...] Your wife. Your child. Even someone on the street. It does not matter. Love someone inside the walls. If you can’t, we’re doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again.”

At first it sounds like Kruger’s telling Grisha to run off and get hitched and make babies, but the rest of the discussion makes the blood component secondary. It isn’t a matter of making children; it’s a matter of family.

Make a family.

Love them.

That’s the way out.

Grisha finds Carla and has Eren, but he also has Mikasa.

Eren and Mikasa have Armin.

The three of them have the 104th.

The 104th has the Survey Corps.

If you look at what happens to the mainland Eldians at the time of Grisha’s transformation, you can see the difference. Kruger watches dozens of his people die, participating in their deaths and torture for the greater good. Grisha loves his wife, but sees his child as a tool.

Love doesn’t bind these people together. A shared cause, sometimes, but Kruger doesn’t watch Grisha lose everything and hug him, or help him through it. They’re callous and straightforward.

I don’t know if Kruger is being literal or figurative about the cycle their world is stuck in, but the Survey Corps has started a broken kind of family. Somewhere inside all of the hard choices and death, there is love. There is a group of people who will fight for each other.

With the politics involved, I’m sure nothing can be that simple, but their hearts are all in the right place. They aren’t so consumed by their cause that they’ve close themselves off to everyone. A good portion of them still cry over killing traitors.

It seems safe to assume that Grisha has not designed the perfect battle plan, but he loved Eren, and Carla, and Mikasa, and whatever cruelties followed, that love has done them a lot of good.

It could turn out to be more significant than that, or it might not. We shall see.

Though know that if it turns out that the main plot truly is reincarnation madness + time loop that can only be stopped through the Power of Love...

...

I’m... not actually sure I could be upset if that happens. It sounds amazing.

Basic point: A family can be an Eren, Armin, and a Mikasa.

Moving on to something besides the last three pages now, we scurry back to Mikasa and Eren getting special treatment because they make up a fifth of an entire military branch.

There isn’t much to say on that topic; keeping the kids disciplined is good, but everyone involved knew that the punishment wouldn’t convince them out of fighting for Armin, so they might as well move on and do something productive.

Levi and Hange bickering is life, though.

Even if they’re temporarily going with the, “We’ll just let our main weapon be crazy and call it puberty,” line. I don’t think either of them believe it, and everyone’s going to have to sit down and have the memory discussion at some point (wherein Eren will realize that he fails at lying), but for right now, I think Eren’s potential lack of stability is a discussion for a less hectic day.

Drifting back over to horrible things, Mikasa is... doing about as well as one might expect during this phase of the “My family is all going to die again,” arc.

Mikasa’s tell when it comes to family worries is always holding her head in that way. It happens after Carla’s death, and it happens after Reiner and Bertolt successfully steal away Eren.

Armin and Eren are--okay, Eren’s probably right for once about emotions. I don’t think things have fully sunk in for them. Mikasa, though, is living out her worst fear again. Trapped in a cell by herself, she only has herself. She can make do with that, but she never wants to, and she certainly doesn’t want to be forced into it by losing the people she loves.

Whenever Isayama decides to make Mikasa the focal point of an arc (I refuse to believe it won’t happen), things are going to be rough.

Other horrible things include the entire world not being a safe place for Eldians. No one wants people who can turn into giant monsters around unless they can be useful, and even then it’s a stretch.

So we’ve gone from our heroes being locked inside a series of walls, surrounded by monsters, to those monsters turning out to be their own people, to their own people often being monsters, to other people, but still humans, definitely being monsters, and really, it’s a much worse monster problem than anyone had planned for so what do.

Presumably, it’s things like this that led to the First King locking everyone up in the first place.

The nice thing about this flashback sequence is that we have one very simple solution for the Reiss/Fritz situation: The King likely changed his name.

Now, whether that’s actually true or not remains to be seen, but for the time being, everyone’s running with there being one royal blood line, and it not being at all weird that it’s now the Reiss line, not the Fritz. And considering new plot developments, there’s probably not much reason to look accusingly at the situation any longer.

Royalty is royalty by whatever names they dream up for themselves. That’s the story.

I think the most interesting piece of the flashback is that the First King made a vow with the Founding Titan. Somehow, he managed to communicate with his own Titan, and forge a psychic promise that has lasted over a hundred years.

Does that mean that Titans are sentient inside their hosts?

Is that what Armin sees in his dream?

How much can they control the hosts without explicit requests or permission?

I’ve gotta say, even though his Xtreme Pacifism w/ brainwashing is obviously not something a person should be doing, and obviously disagrees with the theme of fighting to win, everything we hear about the First King makes me want another flashback arc.

Not right now. Geez, no.

But one obviously needs to happen.

It was funny enough when he dragged a bunch of his people to an island, locked them inside, told everyone outside they couldn’t have his toys or he’d set his colossal army on them and they’d all die.

Now it has the companion piece of him saying that maybe they all deserve to die if they can’t stop fighting for five seconds.

This person is clearly related to Historia.

From the outside, he’s obviously made some very sketchy, probably not altogether helpful moves, and played with the lives of people in ways he had no right to.

From a character perspective, this is a person who actually had enough conviction to break all tradition, kill anyone who could remember that tradition, set up a contingency plan for which the word “overkill” is perhaps designed, and did it all because he thought that everyone deserved to die if they abused their power--oh, and he also put in a safeguard so that for over a hundred years, all of his successors would find it impossible to color outside his lines.

No other character or group in this manga has been so ruthlessly effective. You can even scrap the ruthless part. This is an individual who used his hammer, made everyone else a nail, and called it a day.

While being scornfully judgmental.

In a peace-out kinda way.

This is where the story gets even more interesting.

The world is going to want our guys dead. They’re too dangerous to keep alive, and having Titans without the Founding one isn’t the prestige boost it once was.

The Founding Titan is the best protection they have against extermination.

Eren makes the leap fandom’s been making for months. The last time he made the power work, it was while he was touching a titan of royal blood (hey look, a reason for Kruger not to give the Attack Titan to Dina!). That might be how to trigger it.

There’s only one person left in that line.

She wouldn’t eat you, Eren.

This is about touch, but the positions are still neatly reversed. Eren’s making the same choice she does--for slightly less selfish reasons. The question is if everyone else can be okay with that, and whether or not Eren will be able to justify putting humanity at risk to keep his friend.

Or maybe he’s wrong about his guess, and he’ll just end up swooping around the woods with Historia on his back. She’s short, she could totally be a Yoda.

Mikasa, Armin, and Hange clearly know something’s up. Really, it’s all about how far they’re willing to push. Can they kill the Queen to save their people? Is it even necessary? Outside of necessity, is is an action they’d be willing to participate in?

We’ll probably find out!

Though Armin’s attention in particular makes me slightly antsy.

“I haven’t lived an especially long life... but there’s one thing I’m sure of. The people capable of changing things... are the ones... who can... throw away everything dear to them. When forced to face down monsters... they can even leave behind their own humanity. Someone who can’t throw anything away... will never be able to change anything.”

Hi, Armin from Chapter 27! Please don’t foreshadow unpleasant things!

Many things in the direction this story takes are unknown. We don’t know for sure what kind of ending we’re getting, or which message will prevail in the end.

Personally, I’m an optimist. Armin talks about throwing things away in the seventh volume. Way too many paragraphs in this post talk about how people have survived by doing the exact opposite.

I want to believe that if it turns into a battle of ideals, being better than the monsters will prevail. Forming families and loving them.

But boy howdy is this an uncomfortable playing ground to feature that in.

And that’s it from me.

Time to wait impatiently for the next month.

.

.

.

.

Oh yeah, Historia read Ymir’s letter.

I suppose I’m supposed to say something about that.

Right.

HOW THE HELL CAN ALL OF THIS FANFIC NONSENSE EXIST IN THE SPACE OF SO FEW PAGES.

Do you have any idea how long it took me to realize that this latest instance of Ymir being an overly dramatic idiot is actually canon? Sure, she jumps off towers into hoards of monsters, and makes up lies in the middle of kidnapping her girlfriend, but I’m choosing to believe that the translation is accurate in representing Ymir’s writing style of horrific floweriness to play off how sincere she’s about to be.

ALSO: “I am about to wow you with a romantic tale.

It starts with me starving to death and ends with me getting stoned.”

THAT IS THEIR RELATIONSHIP. STOP POINTING OUT REASONS WHY REINER DOESN’T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND AND START WONDERING HOW THE HELL YOU HAVE ONE.

I’m mostly sure that this was done the way it was so that Isayama wouldn’t have to deal with too much Ymir speculation in the wake of revealing the ancient Ymir. The fact remains that Ymir plays up her tragic tale of woe as a love letter, and this is like a good third of why Historia has trust issues.

More seriously, this ties in to what the rest of the chapter wasn’t about, but I made it about: Memories.

Ymir believes she’s about to be very dead (we all have future vision now). She can pick what she tells Historia. She chooses her life. She chooses to tell the girl she loves, the girl she finally got to be herself with, all of the pieces that came before them. She tells her what she was. She glosses over all of the whys, and just tells Historia what she experienced.

She tells Historia the full truth about how they’re alike.

She tells her about her suffering.

She’s willing to admit that she finds the world incredible. All of her cynicism about what happened to her and how little it matters melts away, and all that’s left is freedom, and a life that she doesn’t regret.

Except for the part where they aren’t married.

You do not understand how much I enjoy Historia’s reactions to things.

Ymir gives Historia her whole history to remember her with, not just the parts they shared. She calls it a love letter, and brings up marriage so abruptly that no wonder Historia is confused, and while those are true expressions of how she feels, the romantic part of it is that Ymir wants Historia to know her. She wants to apologize, and let Historia know that them being incomplete is her only regret--and she wants Historia to know her before she’s gone. Even after she’s gone.

Historia’s the person she loves, and the person she wants to be with. She can’t be with her, but she can be remembered by her.

Yeah, that’s such romantic way to be SO UNBELIEVABLY UNHELPFUL.

Historia’s reaction is really the only correct one.

“You play it off the moment you feel embarrassed. How am I supposed to understand like this...?”

HOW ARE YOU BOTH SO BAD AT THIS.

Ymir, protip: stop bringing up marriage only when Historia is on the brink of tears.

Historia: SHE LIKES YOU.

I’ll admit to being dedicated to my belief that Historia does not have the first damn clue what Ymir wants from her, and this sequence really only makes that dedication stronger.

Historia probably understands Ymir better than anyone else on the face of the planet, but she doesn’t understand herself, and as a consequence, I don’t think she really gets how she and Ymir work, except that they do.

In the days before Ymir’s departure, Historia is still perfectly willing to believe that Ymir is only hanging about because of her family, but in the days after Ymir’s departure, Historia tells Connie in no uncertain terms that she knows Ymir. In the immediate aftermath of Utgard, she tells Hange that she knows her well.

Historia really does know Ymir--well enough to claim it as Krista, as Kristoria, and Historia.

That’s different from having faith in someone’s affection for you, and that’s where a lot of Historia’s confusion in their relationship comes from. On the one hand, she knows Ymir, and knows that she’s someone Ymir chooses to hang out with.

On the other hand, no one’s ever wanted her.

Ymir makes it more difficult by skating around her feelings so well that even when her glib remarks are serious, it’s hard to take them that way. She places implications of romance on either side of a story that’s clearly hard for her to let out. It can be read as lightening a heavy mood, or just the truth, and Historia is so terribad at trusting in a relationship that it’s like handing her a toddler’s slot toy and telling her the sdklj goes in the sdklj hole.

YOU’RE BOTH SIMPLE IDIOTS. STOP PRETENDING YOU’RE NOT.

I mean, that’s one facet of her response.

The other one connects to something a little further back.

“Ymir saw the real me… the me that chose the Survey Corps. The me that even I didn’t know about. But… after Ymir disappeared, I stopped understanding who I am… and what I want.” --Historia, 54

Ymir is still gone.

Historia has learned to understand pieces of herself, and she can be her own person, but the truth is that she only really feels secure in herself when she has Ymir, and Ymir isn’t here. Ymir might never be here again.

Ymir gives Historia her memories.

She doesn’t tell Historia who she was in them.

Ymir’s the only person who has ever had the ability to remember Historia Reiss correctly, and if she’s gone, and she never explains it, how is Historia supposed to know who that is? How’s she supposed to be the value the person she loves sees in her if she can’t recognize it?

These two have no idea what they’re doing.

They never really have, but they always knew that if they were together, somehow, that worked.

Now they aren’t.

The result is that we have the second time in the series that Historia’s tears actually fall. She tears up plenty, but the tears only make it past her eyes twice.

The first time is when he father hugs her, and tells her she’s wanted.

This is the second time, and it’s both cheeks, not just one.

Neither shot provides a clear view of her eyes.

That, obviously, is reserved for when Ymir and Historia are reunited.

(Let me have my dreams.)

Alright, having long since passed the point at which people will give up and go read something else, I... think that might actually be it.

Let the waiting commence.