#snk close up report

[snk-smartpass-traduction]

CLOSE-UP REPORT / Reportage : Gros plan sur… Livaï – Partie 1

[ La série des interviews/reportages n’a pas été traduite officiellement en anglais. Il n’existe que des traductions de fans. Pour le Close-up report sur Livaï, j'ai donc utilisé la traduction de @yusenki​, élaborée en 2015 (à partir d’une version chinoise) : ici. ]

[ La partie 1 de ce reportage se situe entre la bataille de Trost et le procès d’Eren, dans la saison 1. ]

____________________________________________________________

Si on demande aux citoyens de nommer une personne célèbre dans le Bataillon d’exploration, la plupart d’entre eux vous répondront la même chose... On l’appelle « le soldat le plus fort de l’humanité », il est revenu vivant d’un nombre incalculable d’expéditions et il a une personnalité froide et qui va droit au but. Son passé est un mystère : son nom de famille et ses origines sont en effet inconnus. C’est pour cette raison que les citoyens et les recrues sont nombreux à vouloir en savoir plus sur lui.

Cette fois-ci, suite aux demandes insistantes de la part de l'équipe, nous avons obtenu l’autorisation d’effectuer ce reportage dans son entièreté… Par chance, le major Erwin, ainsi que plusieurs autres hauts gradés de l’armée, ont jugé qu’il s’agissait d’une belle occasion pour améliorer l’image du Bataillon d’exploration.

LA FONCTION DE CHEF D’ESCOUADE

Reportage : Jour 1. Le caporal Livaï arrive. Il arbore un visage visiblement fermé.

Journaliste reporter (J) : Bonjour ! J’ai entendu dire qu’il n’y avait que de l’entraînement au programme aujourd’hui.

Livaï (L) : Alors comme ça, vous êtes le journaliste dont Erwin a parlé. Franchement, il faut toujours que je me tape de ces corvées…

J : Nous avons déjà interviewé le major au sujet des tâches qui lui incombent.

L : Sûrement parce que ça peut aider à améliorer l’image du Bataillon d’exploration… Ce n’est pas une mauvaise idée après tout. Avec ce qu’il a en tête… J’accepte de me prêter au jeu de votre interview en fin de compte.

Livaï soupire, puis part en direction de la forêt qui sert de terrain d’entraînement. Sur place se trouve un groupe de soldats qui se prépare pour sa prochaine expédition.

L : Explique-lui.

Petra (P) : Ah oui… Le reportage, c’est vrai… Merci pour tout le travail que vous faites.

Erd : L’entraînement du jour est axé sur le travail d’équipe en combat. Nous allons être mis dans la situation où nous rencontrons des titans lors d'un déplacement à pied ou à cheval. C’est une séance de simulation.

Une recrue pointe du doigt la forêt, où se trouvent des mannequins de titans, petits ou grands, et de formes différentes.

J : C’est un entraînement plutôt difficile qui vous attend, n’est-ce pas ?

Auruo : Forcément. Les soldats du Bataillon sont d’une autre trempe que ces jeunes recrues. Nous avons une connaissance approfondie des titans… Comprendre comment les combattre et évaluer leur taille ne peut s’acquérir que par l’expérience.

P : Pourtant, ce n’est pas toi qui as fabriqué ces mannequins, Auruo. Les mannequins sont actualisés régulièrement sur la base des nouvelles informations que nous rapportons de nos expéditions. Le scénario du jour consiste à se retrouver entouré de titans. Si on ne fait pas attention, on peut finir dans la bouche d’un titan, et – si la situation tourne mal - on doit aider les soldats qui sont coincés.

J : Ce scénario annonce un entraînement vraiment rude… N’est-ce pas le genre de situations auxquelles seule une équipe extrêmement talentueuse comme l’Escouade Livaï peut faire face avec succès ?

L : C’est Erwin qui valide en dernier lieu les simulations que nous mettons en place à l’entraînement, et c’est quelqu’un de sensé. Il ne demanderait jamais à qui que ce soit de réaliser l’impossible.

Pour des raisons de sécurité, notre équipe s’est mise en hauteur. Cela nous permet par ailleurs d’avoir une vue d’ensemble sur l’entraînement. Jusqu’à présent, Livaï arborait un visage fatigué et impassible, mais son expression a changé en une seconde au moment où il s’est mis à donner ses directives avec clarté.

L : Petra et Gunther, vous attaquerez ensemble le titan de 8 mètres derrière vous. Auruo et Erd, vous sectionnerez les articulations de celui de 12 mètres, qui se trouve à 10h. Ne le laissez pas approcher de la cible !

Escouade Livaï : Reçu, Caporal !

Ensuite, Livaï se sert lui-même de sa lame pour abattre un immense mannequin de titan de 15 mètres placé devant la cible, afin de la sauver. D’autres soldats utilisent des câbles de maintien pour faire bouger les mannequins et Livaï s’envole avec agilité dans les airs.

L : … !

Grâce à ses déplacements imprévisibles, le « titan » auquel il fait maintenant face, a du mal à anticiper ses mouvements ; puis, dans un dernier mouvement fulgurant, Livaï fait une entaille profonde dans la nuque du mannequin.

P : Le titan de 8 mètres a été abattu ! Devons-nous attaquer les autres ?

L : La cible n’est plus en danger. On se replie.

A lui seul, Livaï est venu à bout de plusieurs mannequins et il prouve ainsi qu’il mérite son titre de « soldat le plus fort de l’humanité ». Désormais, la philosophie qui est la sienne au cours d’une expédition nous paraît évidente : il fait de sa mission une priorité et il évite les sacrifices inutiles.

UN « MANIAQUE DE LA PROPRETE » PRAGMATIQUE

Nous sommes à présent le soir et, tout comme ce matin, Livaï est de mauvaise humeur.

J : C’était un sacré spectacle ! Vous n’êtes pas seulement fort, mais vous faites aussi preuve de beaucoup de clarté quand vous transmettez vos ordres à vos subordonnés.

L : Je ne peux pas vous parler maintenant. A cause de l’entraînement d’aujourd’hui, mes habits sont extrêmement sales. Je dois aller me changer et aussi… En fait, laissez-tomber : je vous parlerai après le dîner.

J : Ah, très bien. Pas de soucis.

Visiblement, il déteste avoir de la saleté sur ses vêtements. Ce doit être son côté « maniaque » dont ses collègues nous ont parlé.

Hansi (H) : Alors comme ça, vous faites un reportage sur Livaï ? Il faut s’accrocher, n’est-ce pas, pour interviewer un personnage aussi distant et maniaque ?

Erwin (E) : Hansi, je pense que tu dis cela parce que toi, tu ne fais pas attention aux détails.

H : Mais il demande même à ses subordonnés de nettoyer leur propre chambre de fond en comble !

E : … Il a sa personnalité. Ce reportage est une bonne chose pour nous.

Une fois Livaï revenu, nous lui demandons la raison pour laquelle on dit de lui que c’est un « maniaque de la propreté ».

J : Caporal, en tant que soldat qui vous trouvez en toute première ligne lors des combats, est-ce qu’on vous demande souvent pourquoi vous êtes un maniaque… euh, je veux dire… pourquoi vous aimez tant la propreté ?

L : Hein… ?

J : Si cela ne vous dérange pas, nous aimerions beaucoup en connaître la raison.

L : Vous voulez une raison… hmm… Vous êtes journaliste, pas vrai ? Donc, il vous arrive d’aller voir des nobles. Dites-moi : quand vous interviewez l’aristocratie, est-ce que vous portez de vieux vêtements sales ?

J : Non, bien sûr que non. Je mets une tenue propre et correcte.

L : Eh bien, c’est pareil pour moi. En tant qu’êtres humains, il est nécessaire que nous maintenions un certain niveau de propreté.

J : Y-a-t-il d’autres raisons ? Je ne parlais pas seulement des vêtements. J’ai en effet entendu dire que vous êtes très tatillon en ce qui concerne la propreté de votre chambre, aussi.

L : Un environnement insalubre est un ennemi en soi. Prenez Hansi par exemple… Elle est bien trop sale, comme un microbe. Si votre chambre n’est pas propre, vos chances de tomber malade sont beaucoup plus élevées.

J : En effet… Les maladies contagieuses sont une menace, encore aujourd’hui, pour les gens à l’intérieur des murs.

L : De plus, nous nous rendons dans des lieux qui n’ont jamais été explorés par l'homme. Si nous venions à contracter des maladies inconnues, comment les soignerions-nous ?

J : Ah, je comprends. Ainsi, votre comportement n’est pas la manifestation d'un simple amour de la propreté, mais il y a une raison logique derrière.

L : Mais il s'explique aussi par mon expérience personnelle.

Il veut certainement parler de ce qu’il a vu dans sa jeunesse. A ce moment-là, notre équipe s’intéresse aux mots qu’il a employés : « expérience personnelle » semble faire référence au passé mystérieux de Livaï. Il est né dans les Bas-Fonds et il est devenu membre du Bataillon d’exploration après avoir fait le choix de suivre Erwin.

J : Pouvez-vous nous parler de votre passé ?

L : Ah… il s’agit d’un sujet classé confidentiel. Je ne suis pas sûr qu’Erwin soit d’accord pour que je parle de ça. Si vous me posez une question qui reste dans les clous, alors je vous donnerai plus de détails.

Même si Livaï déteste obéir aux autorités ou à la chaîne de commandement, il obéit toujours aux ordres d’Erwin. Avait-il déjà cette attitude rebelle avant de rentrer le Bataillon d’exploration ?

J : Premièrement, une rumeur circule selon laquelle vous êtes né dans les Bas-Fonds. Est-ce exact ?

L : C’est exact. Mais je ne suis pas le seul à avoir eu ce parcours : les habitants des Bas-Fonds qui sont déterminés peuvent atteindre la surface, parfois en envoyant leurs gosses dans l’armée… Je n’ai pas de raison de le cacher.

J : Caporal Livaï, est-ce votre cas ? Avez-vous été envoyé dans l’armée par vos parents ?

L : Non. Quand j’étais jeune… quand j’avais à peu près le même âge que ces gosses… maintenant que j’y pense, j’ai été le chef d’une bande de délinquants pendant un temps.

J : Il y avait donc des gens qui vous suivaient ? Vous étiez si jeune et on vous considérait déjà comme un leader.

L : Qui sait ce que ces gosses voyaient en moi ? Le temps a passé… J’imagine que je le saurai jamais. Afin d’atteindre un objectif, il faut quelqu’un pour décider qui fait quoi et quand. C’est la même chose aujourd’hui aussi.

J : Et comment êtes-vous passé de gamin des Bas-fonds à officier dans le Bataillon d’exploration ?

L : Cette information est classée confidentielle. Je ne peux pas en discuter avec vous.

J : Dans ce cas, je vais reformuler ma question. Quand et où avez-vous rencontré le major Erwin pour la première fois ?

L : … Vous utilisez donc ce genre de procédés pour parvenir à vos fins. Bon, peu importe. Nous nous sommes rencontrés pour la première fois dans les Bas-Fonds.

J : Quelle a été votre première impression en voyant le Major ? Comment le voyez-vous aujourd’hui ?

L : Ma première impression… eh bien, il est très tenace, et il serait prêt à tout pour atteindre les objectifs que se fixe le Bataillon d’exploration. Il ne dévoile ses plans à personne - pas même à Mike, Hansi ou moi-même.

J : S’il est vraiment comme ça, pourquoi avoir choisi de travailler sous les ordres du Major ? Est-ce parce que vous aimez votre travail au sein du Bataillon d’exploration ? Ou parce que vous avez été séduit par ce petit plus qu'on peut trouver dans les relations humaines ?

L : … Vous êtes vraiment obligé de le formuler ainsi ? Pfff… Eh bien, il y a plusieurs raisons. La sensation du vent sur la peau quand nous nous rendons de l’autre côté des murs… Ce vent est différent de celui des Bas-fonds, ou même de celui qui souffle à l’intérieur des murs, et la sensation qu’il procure est plutôt séduisante. En ce qui concerne les relations humaines particulières… comment dire… Avant de le rencontrer, je trouvais simplement ces soldats des Brigades spéciales imbus de leur personne… Au moins, le Bataillon d’exploration vaut largement mieux que la plupart de ces types… C’est vraiment tout ce que j’ai envie de vous dire à ce sujet pour le moment.

J : C’est déjà bien. Merci beaucoup.

Derrière ses apparences de héros prétentieux et distant, il est évident que le caporal Livaï sait transmettre des ordres clairs et précis à ses subordonnés, qu’il se soucie de ses camarades, et que les décisions qu’il prend sont rationnelles. Ce n’est pas seulement sa grande force qui fait de Livaï un héros, mais également le fait que c’est une personne entière et dévouée. Dans la deuxième partie de notre reportage, nous plongerons encore plus en profondeur dans la période de sa vie qui s’est déroulée dans les Bas-Fonds, afin d’essayer d’en savoir plus sur son passé et le mystère qui entoure Livaï.

[kleinezoe]

1. Levihan in SNK manga and ACNWR

https://tinyurl.com/mangalevihan

manga panels collage

2. Levihan in SNK merch

https://tinyurl.com/levihanmerch

(the link above contains levihan merch without any description. please use 'official', 'merch', 'collaboration', 'aotcollab' or 'aotmerch' tag in the filter bar above to see some descriptions or sources links)

3. Fanart, Doujinshi translations

(please use 'fanart' tag to see some reblogged fanarts in this blog)

Syrant

Abnormal-lovers

Cmdrhn

ms-freakenstein

akaritakutranslations

dhltranslations

4. Crumbs? random info? yeah

SNK manga, isayama, documented interviews

(this might be included fan interpretation. however the topic being discussed is snk original manga)

Levihan chapter 132 commentaries from Taki-san

SNK Hita museum commemorative art for 50k visitors

Bessatsu magazine Isym QnA (Levi & Hanji related)

About Levi's line in chapter 132 ; Masta video

Levihan in chapter 139 draft

Levi's expression w/o bandage in ch 132 + "the pain we feel"

Levihan sketches by isayama

Hanji's lines in ch 126 : IFKK

Chapter 126, 132, 138 parallels (fan theory)

Levihan in chapter 126 and 132 (a fan analysis)

Let's live together

Hange had a crush admired Shadis

Chapter 139 : "the pain that we feel"

Chapter 115 preview : about levi's scar

The person Hange get along best with

Smartpass, anime adaptation, Kodansha

Levihan in SNK final exhibition art

Mike and Hanji potentially supposed to be siblings

Chapter 132 & 126 ranked 1st and 2nd for most wanted chapters to be colored (poll)

Levihan first meeting from No Regret visual novel

About hair-grab scene in S01E09

Hair grab scene - "this was added to show their relationship" ; from artbook

Levihan on character guidebook

Levi and Hanji's omikuji

Hange Zoe the smart beauty ; 美形

CD drama of smartpass Levi&Hanji shelter from the rain (translation)

Levi & Moblit smartpass Shelter from the rain ; additional explanation ; fan commentaries

Hange Zoe closed-up report ; Levi's lines on Hanji's kindness ; additional explanation

Levi refers to Hanji and 104th kids as family

Hange's au interview + her lines on Levi's kindness

Hange's au interview + about bathing

Bessatsu caption on chapter 132 colorized ver : Don't go

Ep 84 End Card Illustration

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

Mappa, WIT and Anique merchs

Mappa 10th anniv (Levihan, Eremika, Aruani)

"Put your devoted feeling into heart-shaped ring"

Hanji on Levi's birthday in Braveorder and Anique collab/merch ; anique vid

Anique White Day merch

Spin Off Comic

SNK Junior High

Levihan moments in SNK Junior High manga (1) + add

Levihan moment in SNK Junior High manga (2)

Levihan moment in SNK Junior High manga (3)

Levihan moment in SNK Junior High manga (4)

Levihan moment in SNK Junior High manga (5)

Levihan sketch from Saki Nakagawa-san (mangaka aotjh)

Spoof Titan

Levihan in Spoof Titan Spin off

Collaborations and merches

Game

If Hanji is in the team, Levi's attack increase 3.7 times

S3 beach scene (game version)

"... with Levi it's different, somehow I know it's his presence"

"I don't mind making you some tea" Part 1 ; Part 2

Does that mean Hanji is in trouble? + If you go too deep, you can't get out

"... he was trying to cheer you up, in his own clumsy way"

Hangeki no tsubasa "relentless, matchless duos"

Levi made chocolate for Hans on Valentine day

Brave Order Captain Levi quiz

Brave Order 'Corps gathering'

3 most important men to Hanji, Levi is the closest

Others

(below I listed collaboration and merch which have 'Levihan' vibes, as for other 'Levi & Hanji' merchs I collect them in attached link in point 2 (refer to 2. Levihan in SNK merch))

Levi mentioned Hanji in his roomba collab ; (audio)

Levi ordered shampoo from Reeves company for Hanji

Hanji organized party for Levi's birthday

LINE Clova Levi plans to spend pastime with Hanji

LINE Clova Levi's audio for Hanji's birthday ; translation

Levihan & EMA Kocha Kaden collaboration ; Levi ; Hanji

Sagamiko collab - Levi gifted Hanji titans for their birthday

Kuroneko team behind story on cat merch design ; merch

Oita Hita Travel Sticker (IFKK bg and plane)

Levihan calendar illustration

More crumbles .....

Some levihan panel vibes in Call Your Name official mv

Levihan popularity in jp fandom by fanworks

SNK Ep 83 featured article 'are Levi and Hanji Hiyaku no Tori'? ; Hiyaku no Tori aka Jian Bird ; also ...

How do I name this,... crumbs? 🤔

"He doesn't shine if he's alone" art

Levihan illustration by SNK S4P1 Mushiyo-san

🤫 for fun : Ep 83 sus description synopsis

So, this is what happened when chapter 126 came out ...

Part 1 | Part 2 (collecting)

[levi-supreme]

Can I ask Levi love in the first sight headcanon please??

🍁

Levi falling in love with you at first sight:

Characters: Levi x fem!reader

Genre: SNK canonverse

Warnings: SFW, fluff.

A/N: My oh my. Thank you for sending me this!! Needed to recover from ch 139 🥺 enjoy this along with a little scenario below the cut!!

Levi is someone who is really hard to impress. To even get his attention, that person must be exceptionally skilled, or someone on par with his standards. He has his principles, and meeting them was not easy.

However, when Levi first landed his eyes on you, all his principles, standards, and logic seemed to fly out of the window. He has never seen someone like you before, and for once he was at a loss for words.

He was tongue-tied when speaking to you, nervous even. He couldn't explain what the weird fuzzy feeling growing in his chest was. Despite feeling nervous, Levi couldn't stop looking at you.

When your eyes met, Levi quickly looked away and pretended that nothing happened. He tried to play it cool, like the nonchalant Captain Levi he was. However, Levi failed to realise that you already noticed the faint blush on his cheeks, and you let out a giggle upon catching him staring.

Seeing you smile made the fuzzy feeling in his chest expand exponentially, and Levi wonders what was wrong with him; he never felt this way about anyone before.

And ever since that one fateful day, Levi always had you in his mind. He couldn't explain why his heart always felt like it was leaping out of his chest every time he saw you. Perhaps... is this what they call... attraction? Levi thinks to himself.

Levi had no choice but to admit it, he has fallen in love with you.

Levi first noticed you when you joined them on the expedition beyond the walls. You were a new recruit to the Survey Corps, and was tasked to be in the supply squad in Commander Erwin's Long Distance Enemy Scouting Formation.

While the Levi Squad travelled into the forest, you followed closely behind, relaying information about Abnormals being spotted by the West Wing to Captain Levi in a confident manner.

Levi was captivated firstly by your beauty, and next by your confidence, the sharp glint in your eyes, and your curves. People never dared to maintain eye contact when speaking to him, and you were the first. However, even when you finished reporting to Levi, he didn't answer you because he felt embarrassed. He hate to admit it but he felt a little itch every time he looked at you longer.

Suddenly, Eld shouted from behind that there was a 4M class titan ahead, and it was dashing towards you.

"Gunther, get the newbie away!" Levi shouted, not knowing why he suddenly felt protective of you. However, before Gunther could reach you, you launched your ODMG and maneuvered towards the titan, turning around sharply behind it and swiftly cutting its nape. As the titan fell forward, everyone from Levi Squad looked at you in awe, even Levi himself.

"Tch, that was dangerous of you, brat," Captain Levi said, holding the harness of your horse, "is this your first kill?"

"Yes Sir!" You replied, hastily giving a salute. "I'm y/n, from the 101th batch!"

"You're good, keep it up," you heard Captain Levi said, as he told Petra to guide you out of the forest. Your skills on the ODMG were remarkable for a new recruit, and even Eld, Gunther, and Oruo couldn't stop talking about you.

"Y/n..." Levi thought to himself as he watched you ride out of the forest. He was impressed, and for the first time in his life, he felt an attraction to someone, felt attraction to you. And as your diminishing figure became smaller, the itch in his heart grew. Levi wondered if perhaps, you felt the same way too.

Tagging: @levi-lover twinnie ilysm I hope you will enjoy this hehe 💕 @anlian-aishang @tatakaeeren @ackermans-freedom-inc I hope you enjoy this too my fellow levi simps 💖

[reikasart]

SnK spin offs details for Rivamika shippers

A compilation that I thought I didn't need but I really do!

Most of these catches are not mine but from the most advanced rivamika shippers. Thanks to all of them!!!! ˶⚈Ɛ⚈˵

I just need all this info to be in a place where I could find it

1. Audio Drama “Survey Corps’ Special Appreciation Party Squad - Operation: Hospitality”

 Mikasa being the most observant one when it comes to her Captain:

"Mikasa: More importantly than not moving his chopsticks, Captain hasn’t even taken a bite.

Eren: Please eat without reservations, Captain! Now…

Levi: Too bad, I don’t feel like eating anything after expeditions, somehow they always make me lose my appetite. Sorry, I should have told you guys before.

Mikasa: Eren, he’s lying. Captain Levi always has his meals together with Commander Erwin after every expedition.

Levi: Tch…

Mikasa: It’s true, plus the captain would know how we gathered these ingredients, and that’s why he’s being careful with our feelings and told those lies..." ...

2. Audio Drama “Captain Levi vs. Mikasa: Raging Cleaning Battle!” 

Mikasa being as meticulous for cleaning as Levi, according to Eren:

"Levi: A room is covered with more cracks and crevices than your brain is… And dust. Loves. Those crevices. The crevices in the table and the crevices in the dresser, the crevices that appear when you open a drawer, the crevices in the metal fixtures on the door… in crevices  like those crevices… dust has gathered. [wipes a finger through dust] Look. I’m talking about these…

Eren: (He’s so meticulous…Almost like Mikasa.)"...

Also Mikasa giving Levi the happiest moment of his life (when Isayama, when?):

"Levi: How many thousands of times have I cleaned up to now? My life has been spent cleaning. You could say my life is cleaning. And yet, I had never cleaned to my heart’s content as much as I did today…That I could was all thanks to your friend….Hey, Eren’s Friend. You’d understand, right? The refreshing feeling of having cleaned to your heart’s content." ...

3. Short Stories - Classroom Learning Time -”The Streets of Corruption”:

Levi referring to the East Sea People even when they shouldn’t have known about it at this story timeline

“That’s right. Before the wall was broken, the rich with distasteful interests, people… like your old friend who is an ‘East Sea person’, those people with rare hair or eye colour, (and so on,) there was a black market to buy such persons with money.”

4. Levi’s Smartpass AU “Close up Report Outtake Interview”:

Mikasa refering to Levi and their clan where it's said they ARE NOT relatives

Read the whole thing please

5. Spoof on Titan - Chapter 8:

Showing mutual concern when it comes to injuries

6. SnK Junior High Manga Chapter 14:

Mikasa being the only one who isn't afraid of telling him some “things”

7. SnK Junior High Manga Chapter 45:

Levi being very observant when nobody knew his wife Mikasa was injured ;)

and then taking her place :D 

(this picture is cropped and paste to sum up the point)

8. 4Koma:

Mikasa being a biggest fan of Levi that she even created nicknames for each of his batles techniques

Mikasa blushing after Levi told her she was heavy XD 

(just ignore the rest...)

9. SnK Junior High Anime:

Levi and Mikasa getting out of trouble in their particular way XD (ackerparallels)

Levi saving Mikasa from Armin’s room heat

Bonus

Old habits never die

I’m pretty sure there must be more out there!!! 

[biggest-stupidhead]

Hey! I'm your brand new Moon 🌙 anon!

I just read that B99 x SNK and oh god..... The possibilities..... I really see Eren as Jake and Levi as Holt 😂

I don't know if I can send links here but can you write something inspired by this scene https://youtu.be/XaBfSCF3hLY (can be a continuation to that scenario if you want)

Or this: https://youtu.be/YxH4TPZJANE

Thank you!!

 haha I love these clips! I’ve seen so many fanarts for the captain holt being called dad scene, I love the idea of Eren being Jake, and Levi as Holt lol. Not sure if you wanted an insert or just the characters? So I guess I’ll do an insert lol with the focus on the characters. 

Summary: Eren slips up. 

Word Count: 572 

__

The air conditioning was blasting freezing air on you as you sat on the small couch in Levi’s office. It wasn’t often that he would invite you to the office for lunch. You shivered as you lifted your sandwich for another bite. Levi seemed unbothered with the temperature of his office, working diligently, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. He was occasionally taking bites of his salad that you’d packed him for lunch. You worked as a medical examiner in the basement, it was a bit of a morbid career but it was the only reason that you had managed to worm your way into Levi’s heart. 

“God it’s freezing in here.” You quipped as another shiver wracked your body. 

“It keeps the brats from lingering.” Levi mumbled as he turned in his chair to type something into his desktop. 

“Such a good captain.” You huffed sarcastically and Levi hummed in agreement. His brows furrowed and his mouth turned down into a frown. 

“Lunch break is over.” He stated as he placed the lid back onto his half eaten salad. You rolled your eyes and finished the last bite of your sandwich. 

“Buzz kill.” You pouted as he crossed the room and joined you on your walk out. Just before you exited the door you turned and stole a kiss. As you went to leave you were stopped by Mikasa, who stepped in front of you. 

“When will that report be ready for me?” She asked, expression blank, she looked exhausted. 

“Should have it done by this afternoon.” You assured her as you moved to step around her.

“Jaeger, bring those documents to my office as soon as you finish up here.” Levi ordered, gesturing vaguely to the citizen that Eren was speaking with. 

“Yeah sure thing dad.” it was said so casually even you almost overlooked the slip up. 

“Did...you just call Captain Levi dad?” Mikasa asked, grey eyes widening with shock. 

“What? No of course not!” Eren denied, Armin wheeled his chair out from behind his desk and smiled wryly at him. 

“Yeah you did.” Armin smirked and watched Levi closely for his reaction. Levi’s face remained apathetic as the other investigators began arguing over if Eren really had called Levi his dad. 

“You so did Jaeger!” Jean yelled from across the room, he was in the middle of taking a drunk man to the drunk tank. 

“Hey Eren, is Captain Levi your daddy?” Connie teased as he leaned back in his seat to laugh even harder. Sasha laughed at his quip and slammed her hand on the back of Connie’s chair, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards loudly. 

“I clearly said...’sure thing man’ not dad.” Eren still denied his slip up and Levi rolled his eyes. 

“Just get back to work, all of you. And Eren, meet me outside later and we can play catch.” Levi’s jab made you let out an embarrassing snort of laughter. 

“I would like that.” Eren whispered under his breath and you patted his shoulder affectionately before continuing on your way back to your own office. Levi walked you to the staircase before leaning against the wall. 

“Have fun playing catch.” You said wryly as you leaned up and stole yet another kiss from him. He grunted but actually gave you one of those rare smiles as you turned and went back down the stairs to continue your day. 

[softinkshadows]

Shingeki no Kyojin Demon AU (Part 1) (x female reader)

You’re a young graduate working long hours at a bistro and doing food deliveries. Little did you expect your life to get entangled with the leading figures of the largest conglomerates in the world. Or a thousand-year-old demon clan war.

Part 1 / ?

---

“Tch,” Levi tuts in distaste as his gaze wanders across the empty pantry shelves. “There’s no tea, Erwin. You have a 50 million-dollar home, but no damn tea.” He shuts the sleek cabinet doors brusquely, giving a side-eye at the blond reclining on a lush sofa in the living room. Behind him, large down-to-floor Fleetwood doors open into an expansive backyard, where the soft lights of the infinity pool and the pool house stand out against the night sky and the rolling hills of Paradis beyond. 

“There’s no coffee either,” a loud voice calls from the corridor, “Just rows and rows of expensive alcohol. Talk about an upgrade... Ahhhh and I’m getting hungry too...” Levi turns to see Hange return from the wine cellar, looking equal parts fascinated and frustrated with the home. 

“Sorry about that. I only just moved in proper, so I only have the essentials - Miche, glad you could make it,” Erwin breaks of mid-sentence and nods to greet the brown-haired man entering the living room. 

“I saw off Nanaba with the rest outside. For a meeting this late at night... this must be something big, Erwin,” Miche glances around the room, his body tense with concern.

“I’m afraid it is. We need to get used to more meetings like this. It seems they are moving again,” Erwin leans forward, tenting his fingers. Levi moves to sit on a nearby couch, his brows furrowed and arms crossed, clearly annoyed. “If we’re going to be up all night, we’re going to need tea.”

Hange sighs in acknowledgement, before running out onto the patio, yelling. “Moblit!! We need tea, coffee and decent hot food. Anything that can deliver at this hour, and fast!” As she rounds back into the house, the scurrying of footsteps and the softer response of “Ryoukai! (trans: Roger!)” is heard immediately.

---

“Change the channel will ya!” your uncle shouts from the kitchen as the blare of heavy metal rock screams from the old, wall-mounted television.

“Just a minute!” you yell back over the din, serving a customer’s plate of fish and chips before walking back to the bistro counter, scrambling for the remote. The screeching music stops as the screen switches to the standard Paradis News Channel, and you heave a sigh of relief. It is already close to midnight, and the bistro is occupied with only a handful of regulars who work the night shift nearby. But as the niece of Bruno’s Bistro, a cosy establishment and hidden gem of the Trost district, you had a reputation to uphold; there is no way you’d put your customers through that noise at this hour. 

A hand pushes a small plate of tacos towards you on the counter. “Supper,” says your uncle cheerily, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel round his neck, his eyes shining with quiet affection. He brings a second plate round for himself, tucking in straightaway, and you do the same. You know that even after all these years, he feels sorry. That he blames himself when you threw away the prospect of working a cushy, corporate job after graduation to help him run his bistro, toiling long hours till three in the morning every day. But you are happy to. It was your uncle Bruno who took you in as a child and looked after you since your parents’ untimely death many years ago. His wife had passed on earlier from an illness, and he was alone. So were you. And for the longest time, all you had was each other.  The main phone rings loudly from the kitchen, and Bruno walks over to answer it. You can’t make out the conversation, but you suppose it’s one of the bistro’s food suppliers.

“This is Ilse Langnar, and this is Paradis Nightly News. Today, Mitras Holdings announced a joint venture with SNK Group to develop the world’s largest shopping district in downtown of Paradis city. This marks Mitras’ third large scale project in Paradis, after the restoration of the Reiss chapel and the commissioning of a cutting-edge renewable energy plant in the eastern district. We hear more from its chairman on their string of successes -” You look up from your food at the flickering image on the television, as a stoic, charismatic man with blue eyes addresses a crowd of reporters on a podium. “What a different life,” you mutter to yourself, before turning your attention back to the tacos. The newscaster drones on. “In other news, Liberio Corp’s shares increased another 10% this week, cementing its standing as the most influential conglomerat-”

“Y/n!” Bruno’s voice interrupts suddenly, slamming the phone receiver down. “We got orders! Lots of them!”

“What? At this time?” You hurry and shove the last of the tacos into your mouth, wiping your hands of crumbs, before gathering your senses.

“We got half a dozen chicken and beef pastries each, 1 strong black, 1 mocha, 1 latte, 4 flat whites and 2 cups of our best tea. And it’s delivery,” recites Bruno. Your quick mind and experience from working through the busiest shifts already has you committing all the orders to memory and preparing the drinks on cue. Minutes later, you’re packing the orders neatly into the back of your motorbike, and strapping on your helmet.

You peer at the slip of paper with the delivery address scribbled over with Bruno’s messy handwriting.40 Ehrmich Drive... Damn. Isn’t that the wealthiest district in all of Paradis, just north of downtown? you wonder to yourself. Didn’t know rich people pulled all-nighters. Whoever was on the phone did promise to tip lavishly if you could deliver within the hour. Without hesitating, you step on the gas pedal.

You find yourself winding through the lanes of Ehrmich Drive, only passing by an intimidating front gate every two hundred meters or so. The houses here are huge. And so far apart that it is rather dark, save for the sporadic streetlights here and there. You come to a stop at a long steel gate, on the side of which the number 40 is engraved into the limestone wall. “Where’s the damn doorbell,” you mutter, looking around wildly but to no avail. You catch sight of some security cameras and wave to get its attention, but nothing happens. You groan. The person who called didn’t leave a contact number.  Here goes nothing, you think, resigning yourself to fate. You try the steel gate, and realize it slides open easily. So much for security. 

It’s a walk before you even reach the main house, a chic two-storeyed mansion sprawling across this vast acre of land. You are aware of your place when you catch sight of several luxury cars parked along the driveway, each looking more expensive than the last. You look back at your faded, worn sneakers on the gravel, feeling extremely out of place. Strangely, what appears to be a mammoth-sized glass front door doesn’t budge. Please just make my job easier, you grumble to yourself in frustration. Contemplating leaving the food on the hood of one of the cars, your turn back when you are drawn to sounds of distant conversation from around the patio. 

“In any case, the purebloods are moving in on Paradis,” you hear a familiar low, smooth voice. “They are certain that they’ll find what they’ve been looking for.”

Your mind whirls a little. Pureblood? What is that? Some kind of dog? 

Another deep voice chimes in. “Is this the reason for the venture with SNK? I thought we were supposed to be killing off -” Then silence. Killing?

Just as you are about to reach the corner, someone steps in front of you so fast you barely have any time to register. A man with cropped dark hair and even darker eyes blocks your way, dressed in a fitted black suit and a slightly unbuttoned white dress shirt. He’s a little shorter than you, but something about the intensity of his eyes, his stance with one hand resting on the wall and the other casually tucked into his pocket makes you feel incredibly uneasy. You feel your chest tighten, you mind blanking out as an indescribable fear washes over you -suddenly you’re thirteen again, running through the dark streets, breathless, desperate, running away from something - what? - and then cold, cold all over, feeling the shadows encroaching, creeping across your skin and reaching deep to clutch at your heart, squeezing the light out of you- You snap back to the present and feel yourself trembling, shrinking under his gaze. Your mouth runs dry and you struggle to form words, your feet frozen to the spot. Suddenly, the man takes a sharp intake of breath, his hand against the wall now balled into a fist, as if trying to maintain some semblance of control. His eyes narrow, scrutinising you.

“Who the fucking hell are-” he stops himself, glancing at the bag of drinks and food you’re holding. Then he yells, furious.  “Moblit!” 

Within seconds, a panicky-looking brunette appears from the side. “Take her through the front,” the black-haired man ordered.  You’re mindlessly ushered through the main door, which you realize is in fact unlocked. It seemed impossibly heavy earlier, yet the brunette in front of you swings it wide open with apparent ease. He leads you through the entry way into a informal dining area, passing by the living room along the way. You can feel a frightening atmosphere emanating from that direction, heightened by a pervasive and uncomfortable silence hanging throughout the house. Were you intruding upon something just now? You lift your gaze briefly, and what you see causes your back to stiffen, the hairs on your neck standing on end.  The shorter, dark-eyed man from moments ago leans against the open doorway leading out to the patio. On a couch nearby, a woman with dark brown ponytail and glasses looks over her shoulder, while next to her sits a man with light brown hair and emerald eyes. In the centre of the room, in a crisp blue dress shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, sits a man whose presence seems to be the electrifying point around which everything else seems rotate. Blond hair and icy blue eyes. It takes a second for you to realize who he is. And another to realize they are all looking dead straight at you. The next few minutes are a haze. The suffocating, overwhelming sensation returns, and you avert your eyes and set the delivery down on the table before your legs give out. The man called Moblit quickly hands you a fifty, apologizing and thanking you at the same time, before he sees you off. You heart thuds wildly in your chest. You can’t think, and you only vaguely feel your limbs clumsily half-running, making their way back down the driveway, across the wide lawn, past the gate and back onto your bike. It’s only then that you finally catch a breath. You hastily step on the gas pedal and take off into the early hours of the morning, still feeling the sharp and penetrating gazes burning into your back all the way home.  ---- Notes: This is my first attempt at a long running narrative, after falling so deep with snk recently. The canon status of many characters break my heart, and I wanted to write them into a world where they aren’t dying or dead. Not sure where this chapter will lead, but I have some mechanics of the world thought out, with hopefully more demon/power smut things coming in the later chapters. Please bear with my trashy trashy writing

[rukia-writes]

Hi I just wanted to start off by saying I love your work can I please request the snk daddy's with an s/o that's 6'7 it's my actual height and sometimes I fell  insecure🌸

Please don’t feel insecure you are beautiful luv 🙆🏼‍♀️✨✨

✨Setting: modern au✨

“You don’t think I look silly?”

“No. Why would you say that? You look amazing, see?”

Reiner pointed to the television that showed him and taller beloved on the red carpet for opening for a movie Reiner was in. Sure, his beloved was taller than him but Reiner loved (Name) all the same.

“Even the reporters are complimenting you.”

Which was true, the reporters were praising (Name) making (Name) turn bashful and of course Reiner received a phone call to which he had take. But to his surprise it was for his beloved, a well known modeling agency. Throughout the day Reiner’s phone would ring for people wanting to interview (Name) and being the loving boyfriend he handed the phone over to (Name) noticing how with each phone the smile would become bigger.

Finally, at the end of day the two were snuggled up in reiner’s bedroom slowly drifting to sleep until Reiner’s phone vibrated again. Sighing he answered his phone knowing it was for beautiful and tall believed and after a few seconds he quickly sat up in bed and just said,

“BEYONCÉ?!”

“Doll, have you seen my hat?”

Kenny was causing a commotion as he scrambled from room to room as (Name) was making breakfast for a 9 year old Levi, not really paying attention to Kenny.

“Did you look under the bed?”

“Yeah, been there done that.”

(Name) and Levi then heard something fall, yet (Name) patted Levi’s head and telling him to eat. Levi sighed as he watched (Name) help kenny find his hat as he sat at the kitchen table eating, swinging his legs as they couldn’t touch the ground.

(Name) on the other hand helped Kenny look for his hat, thinking where it could be. Then with a smile (Name) reached on top of the tall dresser in the bedroom remembering putting it there because Levi wanted to clean.

“Here you go Kenny.”

“Ah, thanks doll. Thought I lost my favorite hat-“

Kenny was speechless as he had received a kiss from (Name) and then (Name) put Kenny’s hat on his head.

“You’re welcome Kenny.”

Kenny grumbled a bit as he scratched his neck but nonetheless as he left for the day he thought about what happened that morning quite a bit.

“Well, I don’t necessarily eat hot stuff. Tongue is too sensitive. That’s why I didn’t sponsor those ...Buffalo wings.”

Zeke teased as he and his team mates were being interviewed by a room full of reporters and newstations. The room kindly laughed at his joke, that’s when Zeke picked on a tall and familiar newsreporter.

“(Name), do you have a question for me?”

“Yes, how do you feel about going to the finals?”

“How did I feel about going to the finals? Excited and not so excited. I have someone at home I’m trying to cozy up to if you get my drift.”

Zeke winked at (Name) making the tall reporter turn bashful as his teammates knew the two were dating, the other reporters didn’t. That’s when a reporter scoffed from behind and as time went by he became more hostile finally pushing (Name) and saying that Zeke couldn’t see him because of their “big ass height.” While his words hurt (Name)’s feelings the baseball that hit the hostile reporters chest sending him to the ground hurt way more, leaving everyone shocked.

“(Name), you were supposed to catch that. Oh well, can we get some ice over here?!”

Zeke spoke up calmly and getting someone to get the reporter some ice, not that it helped and not that Zeke really cared. As long as the reporter didn’t touch his tall and caring beloved again, Zeke went on with the interview.

Erwin’s father was sprucing up his home as he waited for Erwin to walk thru the door with his new found love. Erwin just told him it would be a surprise when they see (Name).

Erwin’s father had finished sprucing everything an hour before hand and so he waited patiently for his son to walk in. Eventually, the door bell rang and Erwin’s father walked to the door excited, only having to look up to see Erwin’s beloved guest.

“Hey dad, this is-“

“An angel, come in. Come in.”

Erwin’s father cut off Erwin introduction off as he welcomed both in his home, having a warm welcome for Erwin’s tall beloved. Between the welcoming and questions Erwin thought his father forgot about him until he started asking him questions.

“6’7? That’s your height?”

“Yes.”

“6’7 full of love. Please take care of my boy. He can be so clumsy sometimes.”

Erwin declined that being true but his father nonetheless stuck to his story. As the time went on Erwin’s father and Erwin’s beloved became close and for the holidays would always sew Erwin and (Name) matching outfits.

Always thinking how cute the two were.

“Where are you going with those?”

“What are the flowers for Mr. Mike? Is someone sick?”

A few kids were following Mike in town as he carried a bouquet of flowers, the kids seemed interested in knowing who the flowers were for.

“Someone special.”

“Special?”

Both kids repeated with interest thinking of what Mike’s beloved look liked, Mike didn’t say anything as he listened to their ideas. One of the then purposed that Mike’s special someone was an astronaut, the other purposed that Mike’s special someone was royalty. Mike had no idea kids imagination could be all over the place, and before long the two kids had somehow multiplied to 9 kids following Mike wanting to know who this special someone was, each one giving ideas until they arrived at (Name)’s house.

When Mike rang the doorbell the kids were excited and Mike just wasn’t expecting this today. When the door opened (Name) came to the door excited to see Mike and hugging him being taller than him nonetheless.

“Sorry I’m late-“

“(Name) is so beautiful!”

“We stan.”

The kids interrupted as they gave compliments and two kids bowed surprising Mike and (Name). (Name) most of all.

“What’s with these kids, Mike?”

“Don’t know. Anyways let’s get in the house.”

Mike picked up (Name) in his arms as the kids said Mike was the strongest, Mike actually thought he was the luckiest to have such a caring and tall beloved.

“Damn it.”

Levi could feel a bit of blush coming to his face as he waited for (Name) to get him out of this situation.

“What’s wrong Levi-“

(Name) walked in after hearing Levi call out their name, walking into the laundry room (Name) saw Levi in the washing machine. Apparently, he had tried to get some clothes at the bottom and being short he was now stuck with feet and nice butt in the air.

Luckily he had a tall beloved to help him.

“Don’t you say anything.”

“I didn’t say anything, Levi.”

(Name) chuckled while lifting Levi out the washing machine, not only that but (Name) held Levi in their arms making Levi blush as he was higher than normal.

“I’ll protect you from that machine.”

“..and I thank you. Now let go of my ass.”

[dommi-griffi]

Hey guys! Out with another book! It's Ereri and Winmin(Armin x Erwin)(no hate their ages are changed. Eren is very much Legal. As is Armin) I've published 5 out of presumably 43, I have up to chapter 19 written and that's about 36,000 words so far. Give it a look if you want! It's pretty successful so far. Thanks guys!

Sample from Ch. 1 "Close Quarters"

Eren sighed as he looked up at the office building, he heard the soft zipping of traffic behind him. The backlash of the wind’s current against the mobile hunks of metal in the road caused his hair to shuffle gently across his brow. He sighed and hoisted the reusable grocery back onto his shoulder. Mikasa was in town for the night. And upon hearing that their father had forgotten his lunch at the house, she quickly sent Eren out to deliver the package.

“But Mikasa, why can’t you go?” He asked, nearly complained, as he looked at different DVD cases. Trying to decide what movie to watch to waste away the rest of the afternoon. That was when the reusable grocery bag hit him in the head, there was a loud clunk and a painful throb in the back of his head. “Ow!” He glared at his sister. Who looked back at him passively.

“Oh, must have forgotten to take the thermos out.” She hummed unapologetically. Eren grumbled but got the hint and stood to make the journey deeper into town.

Eren released a heavy sigh and rubbed the small bump on the back of his head, he grumbled as he walked into the building, the secretary briefly knew him, so she let him up without much fuss. To which he was thankful for, he didn’t have the patience to deal with any other people. He walked the hallway back to the elevator. From the corner of his eye he viewed the auburn hair of a woman, his head snapped over and his heart dropped. He glared at himself in the reflection of the metal doors which encompassed the elevator. He sighed and tried to shake the nerves off of his shoulders. It had been a few years, but he still caught glimpses of her from every direction.

Eren shook the thought from his head and watched the automatic numbers count down as the elevator approached. His father was a lab-worker for the head-quarters of some investigation business. Eren never really took much interest in it at all, he could care less where his father spent most of his time. And it wasn’t even the good part of investigating. He directed other doctors on how to perform tests and that shit. And the building wasn’t some station where guys with guns and badges thrived, it was literally the headquarters for a string of investigation teams that were stationed around the state. They didn’t do any crime-solving here, they just looked over reports and made sure the other investigators were doing their jobs. His foot tapped anxiously and impatiently. He sighed deeply and checked his watch, he couldn’t even be sure that his father would be in his office. The man always left his phone off at work. Mikasa always tried to lecture him about how dangerous that was, if Eren was left in the house alone without a way to get a hold of their father. Especially if she was in her classes. Eren always argued that he was completely fine and could take care of himself, he was just on the brink of nineteen years old for fuck’s sake.

Mikasa was in school a couple of hours away, a local university. She had been accepted as soon as she applied. She urged Eren to apply as well, but he wasn’t accepted. Mikasa was extremely disappointed and had stated that she might not even go to school at all. It took nearly a week, but Eren had finally convinced her to pursue college. It was the one she was most acclimated to. Plus, there was no way they could afford for both of them to go anyway. Eren was fine working a simple life for now until he worked up enough money to send himself to medical school or something. But he hadn’t quite found a job yet, having a hard time adapting to the customers who came through fast food joints. And he wasn’t exactly coordinated enough to work at a restaurant, when he had tried working for the restaurant his mother used to work at, he dropped three family’s meals into their laps. No one knew how he had managed to complete such a feat.

The hairs on the back of Eren’s neck prickled up as a set of footsteps approached and soon someone was standing next to him. He didn’t want to look over, for fear of having to interact with the newcomer. But an alluring scent of cologne caught his senses, it was subtle but clean, roguish and minty. It reminded him of a thyme zest cleaner his mother used to use on the floors and table. Before he could talk himself out of it, he briefly glanced out of the corner of his eye. His breath stuck in his throat, his eyes strained just slightly to take in the other’s appearance. He was shorter, but he carried himself confidently, if not a bit boredly. Everything about this man contradicted, his shoulders were relaxed but stiff. His stance was casual, yet his posture was impeccably perfect. His eyes and focus were trained on a piece of paper in his hand, yet his eyes cast a bored sense of informality at the words on the document. The man’s hair was neatly cut into a bewitching undercut, his hair was inky black. Eren wondered if the other dyed it, seeing how dark the shade was Eren couldn’t decipher if it was even natural. Eren took in the sharp features of the male, his high cheekbones, his blade-like nose and jawline, the cutting bold and dull grey eyes. Or were they blue? Eren couldn’t tell, and the man was looking directly at him-

The man was looking directly at him.

Eren felt his heart jump into his throat and he was too slow to look ahead, he hoped that the other wouldn’t notice the blush creeping up his cheeks and ears.

“Oi, what are you looking at?”.” A deep, damn near sultry voice emanated from the man beside him and Eren was worried that his shoulders wouldn’t be the only things going stiff. He nearly choked on his tongue and he whipped his head around to look away from the other. He opened his mouth to ask what the other had meant when the elevator dinged and opened after shuttering to a rickety stop. Eren was thankful for the damn thing this once because now he could avoid whatever conversation this extremely attractive man was trying to engage with him. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor number his dad’s office was on. He took a deep breath, which caught in his throat when a muscular-looking arm reached around him, he could feel the heat from the man’s chest on his back as the other pressed the floor number he was headed to.

“What? Don’t have manners brat?” 

[duker42]

Levi always receives small notes from reader who is sweet and bubbly. The notes either compliment him or encourage him throughout the day. It's a nice change bc she wasn't afraid of him and he slowly fell in love. So what does he do? Ask Mike and Erwin for advice on how to write a love letter but they just tease Levi (these boys are all dorks). Finally Levi gives up and just tells it to her straight.

***SOOO sweet!!!! I would TOTALLY do this if I were in the SNK Universe! ❤️❤️❤️

💜Love Notes💜

When Levi opened the door to head out towards Erwin’s office, he found another little note stuck in the nameplate. Opening the folded piece of paper, he devours the words written inside it.

You always looks so handsome wearing your cravat.

Y/N

He had been receiving this little notes in random spots over the past few weeks. One was in his ODM Gear, talking about how graceful he looked when he was maneuvering. He found one in his tin of tea talking about how good he smelled, like tea, sunshine and horses. His favorite was the one he found in between his reports, she had told him that she had never met a man who cared about other like he did.

It was refreshing that someone didn’t cower in fear from his harsh tongue or cold looks. He had a fluttering in his stomach every time he opened a new note. The first one had been so simple, yet had made his day. He carried it in his pocket daily, and pulled the now worn paper out to read when his emotions overwhelmed him. Three simple words.

You are wonderful.

Y/N

At first he had believed it to be some trick, or way to curry favor with her superior. But he had watched as she just gave him a bright smile and walked past him, day after day, offering nothing more that the words of encouragement or compliments. He had never thought himself a greedy man, but with every note he found, he anticipated the next rush of bliss her words brought him.

Throughout the weeks of receiving the notes and closely watching the way Y/N interacted with those around her, Levi felt a piece of his heart fall into the gracious girl’s hands. She was hard working, always willing to put in the effort to better herself, and he had witnessed her spending extra time working with a comrade who had struggled with their formation positioning. She was the epitome of everything he thought his mother was in his muted memories.

Entering Erwin’s office, he found Mike and the Commander already seated, chatting about various things. Sitting down, he fingered the paper in his pocket as he tried to think of some way to express to Y/N how her words made him feel, how he felt about her.

He must have been sitting there contemplating his options for longer than he realized. When he looked up, both men were looking at him in amusement.

“What are you two idiots staring at?” He quickly throws a glare at them, trying to hide his slight embarrassment.

Erwin quirked one of his large eyebrows. “I’ve called your name 3 times. Where was your head at?”

Staring down at his feet, he asked the question he never thought would roll of his tongue in his lifetime. “How would you write a love letter?”

Mike started laughing as Erwin blurted out, “To a woman?”

“No, to a fucking horse, of course to a woman!” Levi instantly regretted opening his mouth. His glare intensified as the two blonde giants in front of him laughed at his expense.

“Tell her if she were a Titan you would kill her last.” Mike bent over, clutching his stomach at his own horrible joke.

Erwin, not to be outdone, “Or, or, you tell her she smells less like shit than everyone else!”

“No, I’ve got it! You tell her she’s filthy, but you wouldn’t mind cleaning her up!” Mike howled with renewed glee as Erwin wiped the tears from him eyes.

Levi turned and walked to the door. “The altitude has killed your brain cells. You’re both fucking idiots.” And slammed the door on his way out.

~~~~~

Later that night, Levi still considered his options. Even though he would NEVER ask those idiots he considered friends for advice EVER again, he knew he needed find a way to tell Y/N how he felt.

Making up his mind, he flung his door open, ready to walk down to Y/N’s quarters. Except, Y/N was standing in front of his door and he ran headlong into her, causing them both to fall down on the floor.

Levi looked down at the surprised girl. A pretty blush washed across her face as she stared up at the man sprawled on top of her. Levi felt his mouth dry out, nervousness robbing his ability to do anything but gape at her.

“Uh, you....I......like, well...,think ermmmm.....pretty....ughhh.” He closed his eyes in mortification as he listened to himself sound like an idiot. If he had a knife, he would gladly slit his own throat to end his suffering.

Pushing himself off of Y/N, he adverted his eyes as he held a hand out to help her up. His ears had turned red hot from embarrassment, and he shuffled his feet as he tried to look everywhere but at the beautiful girl.

“Captain?” Oh Thank God, Y/N mustn’t have understood his incoherent babbling. Relief flooded his system as he looked at her. Her eyes were bright with amused affection as she brought her hand up to rest on his chest. “I understood, Levi. I like you too.”

Sheer terror and joy battled within his body as what she said sank in. His lips curved into a small smile as she placed a kiss on his cheek. It turned out better than he had hope, but he still should have written a note.

Mobile MasterList

[cr0wprince]

Now I’m afraid my name might be brought up though. I did some shitty things with her when we were friends. It’s been five to almost seven years (five since the last time I spoke to her and almost seven since I met her). I was 17-18 in the time I knew her and I’m very easily influenced by the people around me, but I’m ultimately responsible for my actions. I saw another ex-friend of hers brought up (not by name) and now I’m kind of scared.

I’m gonna be a little vague and my memory isn’t the best (I try to block things out as a defense mechanism), but I’m going to try to recount it, just for my own benefit. I’m not even going to name her, but will refer to her as LR. I don’t think anyone cares tbh lmao

I met her in 2014. It was probably February or March, so I was 17. We were both cosplaying Attack on Titan, very big at the time. Someone posted in a con Facebook group that they made a cosplay group for the area/con for Attack on Titan. I only had my jeans, shirt, jacket (that I made), wig, and glasses for Hanji at that time and I posted a picture, “I’m not too confident in how I look, but here’s my cosplay.” and she commented that it was a good cosplay. We went from there, started chatting, and made plans to meet at the con. She was 19 at the time, of it really matters, but we were still age appropriate friends.

The con comes by. I didn’t wear Attack on Titan the first day, felt kind of left out when we started meeting other people from the group. She’s always been a social butterfly (I think it’s an attention thing more than she actually enjoys it tbh, but I might be biased??) and I’ve been really shy about approaching people after being bullied in middle school. The next two days I wore my unfinished SNK cosplay, didn’t have the belts, but had a fun time.

She ran a panel and promised that I could be Hanji in it and let someone else be Hanji as well, and this person got more attention because she was more outgoing, which kind of bummed me out, but at 17, I was a very jealous cosplayer and would get jealous about people cosplaying the same thing as me. Not a healthy mindset, but it is what it is and you grow from it.

She had told me she was in pre-med (I’m going to remind you she’s 19 at this point, not unusual but it’s what she tells me next which is the questionable part) and that she’s going to start on the medical stuff the next year. I’m 17 and naive and don’t question it. I know now pre-med takes four years. This is an example of her lying to me/holding things in.

We continued being friends with the SNK group, had meetups at a local park, and whatever. She lamented to me about not being able to go to Colossalcon because she couldn’t afford it or something and my parents pay for cons, so I talked them into letting her stay with us. I had started cosplaying Ymir to her Christa and I did have a cry privately to LR when another girl cosplayed Ymir to another girl’s Christa because the other Christa felt left out by me being LR’s Ymir. I felt jealous they got more attention, again, not a healthy mindset, but I was 17 and convinced I was going to be a professional cosplayer. I know now it’s a bad mindset. LR took my meltdown the wrong way, which I’ll get to later.

It wasn’t long after, maybe a couple months. She had stopped hanging out with the friend I had met her with at the con, which I realize now is kind of sus, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But anyway, a couple months later at most, she makes a post in the Facebook group that she’s been feeling left out of the SNK group. A few people from it got together to talk about it, she finds out, and I get pissed. I make a big post in the group about how they’re purposely leaving her out. I’m loyal to a fault, and sometimes it blinds me. It splits the group, they still keep together, but LR and I separate from them.

We move on to different series and start doing cosplay photos. It’s something I wanted to do for a while. She’s a little hesitant, but I hype it up and she eventually gets into it. At Otakon, she asks mentions if I’d be okay with her cosplaying Juvia (a big comfort character of mine, and one I’d failed to finish a cosplay of that con, but I’d gotten Levy done, which still worked with her Lucy) and I’m thrown off guard. I tell her no lmao. I mean really though, what would I do? But it’s important later.

I have big plans. I don’t always finish my big plans. I want to do a ton of different cosplays and she feeds into me. She finishes things while I normally don’t. I realize I shouldn’t have agreed to do so many, but also, the one’s she made aren’t unwearable? She can cosplay without me matching? But it’s something she internalizes.

We book lots of shoots. It’s fun! We don’t get the most expensive photographers (we’re 18 and 20 at the time) but it’s fun. There’s a particular photographer I wanted to work with and she books her since she’s dealing with it at this point since I have a lot of anxiety talking to people. By the time the con rolls around, my costume didn’t work out the way I wanted and my skirt is held up with safety pins. It shows in the photos, so does her back acne. She goes on a tangent on her Facebook cosplay page about how unprofessional the photographer is, how she doesn’t edit photos for anyone but her friends. I, unfortunately, share it. At that time, neither of us have a big following (I still don’t, she doesn’t really either, only 3,700 after she remade, but did have almost 10k at one point), so it doesn’t go far. The photographer and friends stick up for the photographer and it doesn’t go anywhere luckily.

I’m falling deeper into depression at this point. I’m not finishing projects I’m supposed to do with her, messages are spotty on my end. We still do a couple of cons together. The next con of the first we met at comes around, I don’t have anything done, I’m mortified. I skip a whole day. It’s in driving distance so it’s not like I was wasting a whole hotel day. She gets photos solo. It seems fine.

She messages me one day that her parents kicked her out. Something about a fight over her mom saying minimum wage workers don’t work as hard and LR snapping back. Her parents were really nice the couple of times I met them, which isn’t always indicative of how someone really is, but now I feel in my gut that there had to be something more. It feels like petty reason. She moves into her grandparents (and further selfies match that, so it seems like it had to be bad if she never went back). She messages me this and I’m thrown so off guard. Yeah, we called each other best friends. We didn’t talk to many other people as far as I knew at that point, but I had no idea what to say. It’s bad on my part, but I didn’t answer her for a week.

She didn’t message me or anything, didn’t delete me off Facebook, but vague posted me there about being there for people when they won’t be there for you, and people were hyping her up. I realized it might’ve been about me. I called her crying, terrified. Sent her messages. I don’t exactly remember what transpired, but did make up.

There was a point she told me she was dropping pre-med to become an accountant because it took a year and she wanted to focus on cosplay. Again, stupid 18yo me believed that that made sense and was like, “Oh okay!”

We went to a couple more cons, I’m pretty sure she was using me. We make plans for Youmacon, but I don’t message her for like a week in September of 2015. She asks if I’m okay (the only time) I tell her I’m doing really bad. We don’t talk until close to the con. I admit to her that I was thinking of admitting myself to the psych ward it was that bad, but though I didn’t tell her that, it’s ultimately a very hard, very personal choice. (I made it in May and it’s not an easy choice.) She tears me a new one, saying I should’ve went, that I was using her for companionship. She said she had plans to go to another con?? So the way I see it, she cared more about going to a con than anything else. She never checked in on me after I told her I was doing bad, just to take my time.

She has a new bff at this point. This is going to be so cruel, but her new friend isn’t as put together, which is fine! Cosplay is for fun! But I mention this because they get photos together. After my obsession with becoming a professional cosplayer, LR got into that mindset too. I’m so fucking sure that she used this other girl in photos to look better next to. The difference is so obvious in photos.

I make a cosplay that LR cosplayed when we were friends. I’m so proud. I haven’t finished anything in months. I cosplay a couple of things she did, but we were friends at one point, we like the same series, and there are a lot of big series. It’s bound to happen.

She vagues me on Instagram. She continues to stalk me on there (and I did her, not proud of it, but I’ll admit it). She posts things about how an ex friend had a breakdown over her having other friends (when I confided in her my jealousy over the Ymir/Christa duo), how I wouldn’t let her cosplay Juvia lmao (this still gets me. What would I do? Break your arm? You asked me on the spot and I was uncomfortable.). There was one Juvia cosplay post that I mentioned I had lost weight because while my uncle was dying, I wasn’t eating. I was helping with cleaning his house and I just wasn’t fucking eating. She took that as a jab about her because she has self image issues. There was also a big post she made how she KNEW I was cosplaying all the same things as her to make her jealous and to make her insecure, mentioning me by name even. I reported it and it got taken down.

I’d heard things through the grapevine. How she started shit in the Fate community and she was afraid of being beat up at Katsucon’s public photoshoot. How she tried to make a Love Live group, but when two girls couldn’t afford it and they would no longer have all nine, she threw a fit and cancelled the whole group. I’d also heard about her making a fuss over photos she got back when a cosplayer’s grandparent was dying. I stayed away after like a year, but a couple of people who knew me that knew I was friends with her would tell me things.

I wasn’t the best person, either. I’ll take responsibility for that. I wish I could apologize to the people I hurt while friends with her, but I no longer remember their names. I was a dumb teenager. I still get swept up in the people around me and get carried away when the people I are about are hurt. Maybe it’s something I need to work on. But, I ultimately don’t think she’s grown. I don’t think she’s gotten better. I think she’s only gotten worse over the year.

I’m not proofreading. There might be more, but it was a lot to go through, but I wanted to get it out. I hope the read more works, but I’m gonna throw on a long post warning too. If you read this, thank you, by the way. I just felt like I had to get it out.

[kdtheghostwriter]

SNK #119 - Jaeger ni Kissu

Let me get some Fs in the chat, pls.

So, what the hell? Shiganshina am I right? What’s the deal with that crazy place, huh?

You would think this fandom, more than all the others, would be used to getting the slider when they expect a fastball. (That’s right! I know baseball stuff!) Even I have to admit, though, Isa got me with this one. It’s all pretty thrilling to me as a reader. I’ll explain why later but first, some housekeeping. Remember when I said this a few months ago? That Eren’s expression was less relieved and more shocked leaning toward concerned? Welp.

Arm extended; mouth agape. The universal signs of “No, not that you asshole!” It’s also masterful paneling to have Colt’s cry of “Wait!” superimposed onto the Attack Titan, which we know can’t speak. Eren was mortified by the idea of his hometown being overrun with Titans yet again. That was hardly surprising. What did surprise me was Zeke’s look of shock as the Grice brothers revealed themselves. He still screamed, of course, as should have been expected. But that moment of hesitation…hmm. I guess he really did like Colt. It’s not out of the question. He just liked his plan more.

And since we’re on the topic, I’d like some words about this panel right here.

Dammit all, this one hit more than any of the others for me. See, Zeke, it’s not just you who understands the joys and the sorrows and the burdens of being an older brother. I do myself. Falco realized what was about to happen and tried to save his brother’s life by pushing him away. Colt refused and held him tighter.

Don’t worry, Falco! Your big brother will always be with you!

Fuck me, how am I supposed to keep my chill after a scene like that? Sure enough, Colt was scorched as his brother transformed into a mindless, lumbering monster which transitions me nicely into something else I said in the aftermath of #117. Someone did indeed have to die. I only guessed wrong who.

Reiner is going to survive this manga whether he wants to or not. More importantly, what a champion Porco is. Knew he was cooked, so he put all his energy into healing his body. Then he left the cockpit to distract Falco’s Titan and save two people. The fact that he did this right after seeing the memory of his brother confessing to Reiner that he lied is no accident. He wasn’t just proving to Reiner he was better; he was getting one back at his big brother. It’s equal parts heroic and tragic which is par for the course of this series. He died in almost the exact same way Marcel did all those years ago – saving Reiner’s dumbass from being nommed up. I’ll miss you Porco, but at least you’ll live on in the memories of the little one.

 Speaking of little ones: maybe we should start calling her “Deadeye” Gabi Braun. This was such an inspired choice. Not just because of who pulled the trigger in the end (and partly because of whose gun she used), which got the intended reaction, but also because of who she hit. I thought for sure she would have taken aim for Zeke. It would have made sense. A wounded, stationary target is a lot easier to mark than one sprinting at full speed. (That’s what MGS3 taught me at least.) She’s a soldier, though, and the main reason she hijacked the blimp in Liberio was to kill The Usurper. It’s unclear to me if Magath’s mission here is strictly Dead or Alive or if they were trying to capture him but either way her mission, for now, appears to be accomplished. I say “appears to be” because it’s time for my favorite monthly mini-game:

WHY, SWAY, WHY??

There’s a lot we don’t know yet about Titan powers, Eldian biology and the transference from one vessel to another. If Marley’s goal specifically was to recapture the Founder instead of simply stopping Eren from using it, this is what Zeke would call a miscalculation. We know that Titan Powers get transferred Avatar-style to a rando newborn Eldian when a Shifter dies before succession. I actually believe there’s a lot of story left to go. But! There isn’t enough left to now try and track down, out of all the Eldians still in the world, which one holds this terrifying power. (That would make a great AU, though.) Not to mention, we don’t know what happens in the case of a Shifter holding more than one power. Do all three Titans go to one child? Do they get split up back into three by the P A T H S? We don’t know. All of this is reason to expect some chicanery in the next few months or so. Besides any of that we are no closer to knowing what Eren’s true intentions are in regards to why he wants to use the Founder. Isayama Hajime is absolutely the kind of author to blast his main character into oblivion before the story has concluded. He is not the kind of author to leave a stone unturned. We found out about the Shifters and we found out about the basement. Whatever knowledge was revealed to him will not be kept secret, even if it isn’t by his own hand.

Sidebar: decapitation is weird, even in messy circumstances like this one. The electric signals in the brain often keep firing for minutes after the head has been removed. This is how beheaded snakes continue to hiss and bite after the fact. My troll prediction would be Eren’s head landing in Zeke’s hand like so many baseballs in his lifetime; the Coordinate is activated and Shiganshina proceeds to have a bad time.

I don’t know, folks. I couldn’t help but think of one very important rule as I read the closing pages.

Always Double Tap, dude. Gabi just had to go for the swag. See, if she had popped Eren’s head like a bloody firework I would have said, “Welp, you had a good run, kid.” But nope. You went and left the most powerful being in existence an outside outside chance of survival, and if he does, even for a few seconds more, everybody is screwed.

No segue, I just love these two teaming up. It makes sense that Mikasa and Armin have gotten closer as Eren has gotten more distant. I think seeing how that dynamic evolves as the story builds to its conclusion will be very important. For now, on the surface level, they just really care for each other.

 The last time I got a feeling like this, I was a young lad watching Samurai Jack in the early 00s. I would watch every week without fail on the Cartoon Network, engrossed for the entire runtime. And then, oh, the long and nagging wait. I can admit that having most stuff On Demand is impossibly handy for this particular moment in history, but goddamn do I remember having to wait a whole ass week for my favorite show to come back. Fans of Shingeki no Kyojin don’t realize how good they have it.

Replicating that feeling is almost impossible, not just because of how product is released now. Every story has been told before, in some way. Sometime in the last Millenia or so, our slimy lizard brains have come to expect certain beats and structure from stories. It makes the stories good, but also predictable. I can tell you as a writer, it’s so very difficult to find a way to surprise people in a genuine and engaging way.

This is going to sound more cold and callous than intended but, it does involve manipulating an audience to achieve your desired outcome. You want to lead them to the place you want to go and let them think it was their plan all along. This is the Art of Storytelling: I know what you want better than you do. This involves knowing your audience, and I think it’s safe to say after his “I want to hurt people with this,” comment that no writer on the planet right now knows his audience better than Isayama.

Fans of SNK should be happy. I’ve said this before: it isn’t the best book out right now (that’s still OPM, read that shit) but it is the most unpredictable. That doesn’t always make a story good, but in this case, it’s the greatest factor. Feel free to speculate and discuss. That’s what fandom is for. Just give up now on trying to work out what comes next. Only one person knows that. Isa has had this story plotted out for years with diversions here and there. We won’t know until it all ends. Enjoy this ride now. I can promise you we will never see anything like this manga ever again.

  Stray Thoughts

- Still no Kyomi. Still no Tiny Queen. I know the main character just got his head yeeted but let’s get some deets now, pls.

- I was so looking forward to the memes and am happy to report that I wasn’t let down. Well done, friends.

- The 104th Squad continues to persist, as does Yelena. We’ll earmark this for later.

- The fact that both the Jaeger Brothers got shot before Floch Forster is high dark comedy.

- In a battle this chaotic, things like skill and experience are often nullified. It makes perfect sense that Eren would be caught off-guard by a soldier he didn’t even know was there, child though she may be. Right place, wrong time. These Things Happen.

- Armin taking out the Cart’s turret gun was a slick little callback to when he bought time for Eren to take down Bertolt.

- I’m interested in Armin’s game plan here. Marley’s infantry is about to be overrun by Titans, so what else does he aim to do? And how will Yelena interfere?

- Nile said he wouldn’t see his family again. We all knew he was right but man, the look on his face when his number was called. That’s tough. Shout-outs to Pixis, getting one last sip in. You a real one.

[imaginesnkdorks]

Hii, thank you so much for blessing my dash with so much SnK content!!! I love it. Also, can I please get a scenario about Levi's s/o comforting him after what happened in the 57th expedition. Thanks!!

Humanity’s Strongest

Pairing: Levi x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Character deaths

[A/N: Yay! You can never have too much SNK content. Took a while with this, but here ya go. Sorry as I am veryyyyyy rusty.]

It’s only ten in the morning? I feel like I’ve been cleaning for hours, yet time barely passed. I can’t stop fidgeting when I’m nervous. I’m literally a giant ball of nervous energy!

“You’re going to drive a hole on that desk is you wipe it one more time.”  Came a voice behind me. I didn’t even notice someone coming in.

“Levi.” I let go of a deep sigh, and let go of my rag. “Aren’t you happy I’m cleaning?”

“Not when you’re only focusing on one spot. Or doing it out of nervousness.” He walked closer and sat down next to me. He looked at me, clearly encouraging me to talk.

“Tomorrow’s expedition seems bleak.” I said, dropping onto the chair beside him. It’s barely been a month since the last one and we’re off again. We’ve barely buried our dead – at least those that we could still burry.

“Aren’t all our expeditions like that?” He smirked at that. Of course, he’s right. A Survey Corps expedition is never complete without a single death or more. It’s not like we like it that way. Shit happens. There’s still a lot we don’t know about titans. Especially that a person could turn into one.

“I know.” It’s all I could say to that. “Did you come here to make me feel even worse?”

He grabbed my hands, which were still fidgeting, and held on to them. “Tomorrow will be different.” I looked at him as if he sprouted an extra head. I can’t believe it, Levi is being optimistic?

“What?” He asked, suddenly annoyed. His eyes giving that intense look I’ve always loved.

“Nothing.” Moving to intertwine my hands with his, I went on to do our ritual. The one we do before expeditions. “Promise you won’t die.”

He made a face at that, a mix of sadness and determination. His grip became firmer before he answered, “I promise. Promise you won’t die either.”

“Promise.” We both know it’s pointless – we can’t control anything out there. What we can do, however, is try. I was able to live through situations I never thought I could with just the thought of Levi. It makes me feel all warm inside to think that I have that same effect on him.

His hand traveled from mine to my face. “I know I tell you this every time, but be careful. Especially tomorrow, we might face the Armored Titan.” He’d never say it out loud, but I can read the worry in his face. I know it’s a reflection of mine.

“You too, humanity’s strongest.” His lips curved up at my use of that moniker. It is true, he is humanity’s strongest. I’ve seen him fight and it was the single, most encouraging thing I’ve ever seen. He’s like hope in human form.

Silence settled over us, and the comfort I’m used to feeling whenever I’m with him and he alone started to set it when we were so rudely interrupted.

“Oh, Captain Levi, Y/N!” It was Eld, followed by the rest of Levi’s squad. Their faces redden as their eyes settled on Levi and me. Yet another intimate moment interrupted. Levi and I straightened up, and I can see just the tiniest speck of red on Levi’s ears.

“Y/N, will you be having dinner with us?” Petra, ever friendly, asked. I nodded at that. It’s also our tradition to stay together as much as possible before an expedition. And I like that time spent here with his squad. Having Hange as my squad leader is certainly… annoying at times. See, she’s probably the only one with the guts to tease Levi.

“Ah, good evening.” Eren bowed as he joined us. He looks every bit like a normal boy. Nothing that would hint at his ability to become a titan.

Everyone was a little on edge, which is a given since we’ll be leaving the walls tomorrow. But not even that could stop Oluo from running his mouth off. Despite everything, it was nice having dinner with them. And certainly, sleeping in Levi’s arms is something I could never get tired of.

“Black flares!” I reported to Hange as we continued our journey. We’re on supply duty… or maybe canon duty? See, Erwin had the brilliant idea to capture the Armored Titan, which he was so sure would appear on this expedition. However, it wasn’t the Armored Titan.

“It’s almost decimated the whole right flank! It seems to look very feminine, aberrant too. It hasn’t eaten a single soldier, but dragged a bunch of other titans with it!” The soldier reported to us. Chaotic is an understatement.

“I see. Moblit! Fire the flare!” Hange commanded, before turning over to me, “Y/N, relay the news. You know which squad.”

“Yes!” Not everyone knows where Levi’s squad is positioned, but I’m amongst those that do. I took off and hurried to where Levi is. It didn’t take me long before spotting Levi.

“Message to pass along! Right flank recon has been destroyed! Pass this on, to the left.” I told him and his team the moment I was close enough. Thing is, Levi is the only one who really knows what’s going on. I had to censor the message.

“You heard Y/N Petra, go!”

“Yes, sir!” Petra dashed off to relay this info. Just when she started heading left, black flares went off.

“Eren, you fire it!” Levi commanded. I was already riding beside him the moment he finished.

“What a mess. We let it penetrate deep into our formation.” Levi said softly so that only I could hear.

“It isn’t the Armored one. Apparently, it’s leading along a pack of titans.” Black flares just won’t stop from going off now. “Be careful, Levi.” I told him before riding back to my squad.

“You too, Y/N.”

         I was amazed at how composed I was during the whole ordeal. I was able to follow Hange’s every order and help set up our traps in a timely matter. And yes, not much shaking of hands now.

         It didn’t take long before the screams of our fellow soldiers echoed through the forest, accompanied by the heavy thumping that could only belong to a titan. In a heartbeat, Levi and his squad appeared closely followed by the titan.

         “Fire!” At Erwin’s command, a barrage of traps blasted onto the titan. Sparks flew and the smell of smoke wrapped around us. Levi dropped down beside me, a silent conversation going on between us, before joining Erwin on a branch above.

         Attempts to extract whoever’s inside the Titan failed, due to its ability to harden its skin. Tsk, this is definitely harder than I thought.

         “Y/N! We’ll be firing the canons, aim it at the wrists.”

         “Yes!” Calibrating the canons is easy enough for me, and all that’s left to do is to load our explosives. Finally, free enough to take a proper look around, I saw Levi atop the titan’s head.

         “Ooof. It’s really impossible to just use blades?” I asked Levi the moment I joined him.

         “Yes. But that hardly matters. Hey!” He began, addressing whoever’s in this titan, “why not just come out? We don’t have time to waste. So… What do you think will happen to you now?”

         I looked at Levi and as I expected, his eyes have that dangerous glint that never fails to give me shivers. Seeing him like this right now makes me very excited to be back home – in bed with him. Is that weird?

         “Do you believe you can escape? I wish you’d consider all the trouble we’re going through… As I recall, you killed my troops in various ways. Did you find it fun? Right now, I’m having fun. Well, so are you, right? I think you can understand me. Oh right… I wanted to ask you something. Is it okay if we cut off your hands and legs? They’ll grow back, right? I’m talking about your limbs, not the Titan’s. We need you alive, after all…”

         It was possibly the most terrifying Levi has ever been, I wouldn’t be surprised if –

“Gaaaahhhh!”

         “Y/N! Are you alright?” Levi inquired, grabbing my shoulders.

         “Yes, just startled.” The titan went on screaming! Levi helped me get back to my feet before stomping on the titan. Which I doubt is the best idea.

         “Levi!” I warned at the sight of three titans, sprinting towards us – well, at the titan whose head we’re still on.

         “I got it!” Levi said before jumping off and get rid of the new titans. We didn’t get a chance to breathe, though, as more titans made their way towards us.

         “Y/N, get out of there!” Levi screamed as these titans are after the same titan we were – the female titan. A blur of steam and titan limbs took over for the next few minutes.

         “No!” It’s a failure. I can’t believe it! The female titan had other titans eat them.

         “Tsk. All those deaths can’t be just for nothing.” Levi probably had the same thoughts as I do. It is a devastating waste of life. But what else can we do?

         “I’ll go get my squad. Stay safe, Y/N.” All I could do was tell him the same thing.

         It didn’t take long before we were rushing out of the forest. My mind was a mess, which isn’t great given where we were, but the flash of thunder-like light and a scream of a titan grabbed my attention.

         “That’s Eren’s scream?” I wondered out loud… no! “Levi!”

         “Y/N, stop!” Hange tried, but I’m already off my horse and on my way to where the sound and light was from. I have a really bad feeling about this!

         It wasn’t difficult to make my way towards them, as Eren’s titan was making a racket that can be heard all over the forest. This is bad. Wherever he is, is Levi’s squad. And the Female Titan as well.

         “Gunther?” No, this can’t be… Eld, Petra, and Oluo? Levi’s whole squad… “Levi, where are you?” Was he able to reunite with them before? I felt cold… I feel sick. Where is he?

         The steady thumping of a titan’s footsteps can be heard nearby. I have to know what happened here. I got closer to where it was and saw Levi. “He’s alive!” Relief flooded me, however, it was short lived. The female titan sensed Levi right behind it and went for him!

         It was over in a flash. Levi blinded the titan and severed the muscles holding its arms up. However, I just now noticed someone else – a new recruit? She went in for the nape!

         “Stop!” Levi and I screamed at the same time. I was too slow… Levi pushed her away and stopped the female titan’s hand. He was able to take Eren back, and we soon found ourselves rushing back to the others.

         We stopped at a field to regroup – treat the injured and take count of the bodies. The bodies that we were able to retrieve. I’ve almost forgotten, but everyone in Levi’s squad is… gone. He was limping towards where their bodies were.

         “Levi.” I wanted to tell him to stop. To take care of himself first. But I understand what is going through his mind right now. They were my friends, too.

**

         Our travel back wasn’t pleasant. The dread of what’s waiting for us back home is also weighing down on our shoulders. And Levi was quieter than ever.

         I made my way to the dining hall and found it empty. Of course, it would be, it’s only me, Levi and Eren here right now. Once I was done making tea, I went to Levi’s room. Laid on his desk was a couple of Survey Corps patches.

         Setting the tea set down, Levi grabbed my hand before I could pour us a cup each. I felt his need of me in his touch.

         “I wasn’t able to help them…” He said so softly I wouldn’t have heard it If I wasn’t sitting so close to him. I held his hand tighter, trying to make him feel what I was about to say.

         “It’s not your fault.” A sight only me is privy to appeared before me. Tears welled around Levi’s eyes, and he looked as heartbroken as I feel.

         “I know.” Where words fail us, actions didn’t. I pulled him into a hug, careful of his injured leg.

         He grabbed me so hard as if I was the only connection to life and he should never let go. It started as a whimper, but soon he was crying. I was, too. What can I say? Definitely not It’ll be alright. But I told him that anyway.

         Calming down a little, I was able to help him take off his gear and uniform. After bandaging his ankle, we laid down on his bed. Tired physically and emotionally. We were holding onto each other so tight.

         He was sniffling, still not done mourning his fallen comrades.

         “It’s okay to cry, Levi. In my arms, you’re not humanity’s strongest. You’re just Levi, the man I love.” I felt him nod, before kissing me. I didn’t care how tearful the kiss was. All I want to do is to make him feel home.

         “Y/N, thank you.” I didn’t know it was possible, but he hugged me even tighter. “Thank you for keeping your promise.”

         It was then that I decided to keep that promise forever. I’d do my best and live, I’ll make sure Levi won’t experience pain this great again.

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E22 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 305 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated! And we apologize for the delay in getting the results posted! 

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

RATE THE EPISODE 290 Responses

The final episode received mid to high ratings overall, with 74.5% of participants rating it at a 5. No doubt the anime staff did a great job closing the season.

Greatest ending of a season ever.

i cant watch the ocean scene without crying so id say it was a pretty good ep

This episode was beyond boring and the ending was captivating, but still not enough to make up for such a boring episode.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? 299 Responses

Several of the preferred moments in the episode took place at long-awaited ocean. 40.1% of participants were most impacted by Eren’s despairing words while looking across the sea. 18.1% enjoyed seeing exchanged smiles between Armin and Mikasa, and 14.7% most loved the first time the Survey Corps laid eyes on the ocean.

Rarely have I seen a scene so beautiful that had so much episodes of set-up. The ocean scene lived up to the hype. EMA finally got to the see the Umi

The ocean scene was more beautiful than I could've imagined.

Floch was spitting FIRE!!

At this point I'm just glad they did justice to everyone finally seeing the ocean. The scene seemed to fall a little flat in the manga - not too badly, but enough that it didn't hit me the way I thought it would. The extra build up the anime added, along with seeing it in motion and hearing the voice acting, gave the anime version a lot more punch.

DID PIXIS AND HISTORIA MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION BY CHOOSING TO REVEAL THE TRUTH TO THE PUBLIC? 298 Responses

Pixis and Historia decided it was best to share the truth of the outside world with the public, no matter the response. 93% of participants believed this was the right call, while a smaller percent thought otherwise or were unsure.

They did it, but it was just kinda spilled to the public and caused a lot of uproar. I dunno if letting the newspaper report on it was the best idea.

WHO DO YOU THINK WROTE THE “INTENTS FOR THE FUTURE” EXCERPT IN THE EYE CATCH? 294 Responses

The mid-episode information card showed an entry about “Intent for the Future” in response to the truth of the world. 49.7% of participants believe the talk of diplomacy implied Armin was the author, whereas 16.3% believe it was Hange. 13.9% think the contemplative tone may have been Eren’s doing.

I think the "intents for the future" is written by Hange, since it says "watashi" and only they have "the duty" to come up with a better plan than the rumbling.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FIRST IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN OR KNEW ABOUT THE OCEAN BEFORE? 294 Responses

Had there been no prior real world awareness of the ocean, 60.9% of participants would choose to slowly dip their feet in the water during their first encounter. 17.7% would rather observe the strange discovery from afar, and 11.2% would contemplate the meaning of life.

WHOSE INITIAL REACTION TO THE SEA WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 299 Responses

The characters’ first reactions varied upon their initial encounter with the sea. 30.4% of participants most enjoyed Armin’s marveled gaze at his most anticipated dream, while 22.7% liked Mikasa’s surprised reaction the most. Eren’s less impressed and discouraged expressions were most favored by 18.1% of participants.

Armin and Mikasa at the ocean scene was one of the BEST THINGS EVER.

I thought the animation in the first half was a little weak, but damn, I could watch Armin gaze fondly upon the ocean for hours. The animation there was on point. 

Armin and Mikasa were so cute in the ocean scene, smiling and blushing!!! Seeing Armin's happy tears after finally seeing the ocean was really moving too!! <3 I'm sad though Eren couldn't enjoy it the same way as them...

HOW WELL DID THE ANIME TEAM ADAPT CHAPTER 90? 295 Responses

The episode only covered chapter 90, but a majority of participants believed the anime did a faithful adaptation of the manga, with 78.6% saying it was near perfect.

It was fucking perfect and I even dare to say it was better than in the manga. Animation, background music, characters expressions, seiyuus - these made this episode so great. I really cried when I watched and listened to Eren talking about freedom and enemy, what didnt happen to me when I read it. I could feel his deep sadness and it was better shown how much he's changed. Kudos to everyone at studio WIT involved in snk and especially this episode

The pacing was a bit too slow. They could’ve picked up the pace a bit by maybe adding one more anime only scene. Also, they should have left off with Falco.

HOW WELL DID THE ANIME DEPICT THE FIRST MOMENT OF SEEING THE OCEAN? 296 Responses

Finally seeing the ocean animated in full color, 54.7% of participants thought the moment exceeded the manga version with the captivating visuals and awed expressions. 38.2% compared it equally emotional as the manga version while 5.1% were pleased but preferred the moment in the manga.

They made it look so wholesome I nearly forgot Eren’s suffering

Idk I didn't see because there was water in my line of sight. That happens every time since the episode that broke my heart.

It felt so unreal, they did an incredible job of transcribing from the point of view of the characters and I think I felt at least as upset as they were by discovering the beautiful graphics of the ocean.

It was underwhelming and I didn’t care for the scene at all

IN THE ANIME, EREN GETS OFF OF HIS HORSE AND TOUCHES THE IMMOBILE TITAN. WHAT’D YOU THINK OF THIS CHANGE? 299 Responses

The anime altered the moment Eren sees the immobile titan by including him dismounting his horse and physically touching its head. 74.9% of participants thought the moment properly captured Eren’s newfound sympathy for the titans as fellow compatriots. 9.7% believe it made him look more sympathetic than in reality, and 5.7% didn’t think the change was needed.

It made more clean to the audience that Eren new target/enemy are not the titans anymore, now feeling pity for their compatriots. And his templance and tone remind us Kruger/Grisha presence on him, his hatred for Marley.

I was pinned on the spot, and I had to look at this passage several times to be sure of having seen well. Wow, Eren touched a titan and considers him "one of theirs".  This passage was made without special emphasis, as if it was normal that Eren had compassion for a titan, and it really shaken me.

I think it was a rly nice addiction but I dont think its about Eren symphatizing with the titans, rather to me it shows Eren's melancholy of facing the truth about the titans. He wasnt feeling sympathy or pity for that titan, just the truth that it was once a person, the truth outside the walls, beyond the ocean.

it was an odd change but it kinda illustrated just how much of an impact memories/paths are having on eren’s mind

It was a bit cheesy

Eren is now the titan whisperer

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FEW FRAMES OF THE ATTACK ON LIBERIO IN THE END CREDITS? 297 Responses

The ending credits revealed some scenes of the Attack on Liberio and its aftermath. 64.3% of participants felt the inclusion was a good way to build suspense for the final season, while 24.2% think the scenes were too subtle for anime viewers to react and specifically catered to manga readers.

As for the ending itself, it's a good thing they released extra pics, but the main issue; if you follow the anime, is this: the screencaps don't show where it's located, not when these events take place. It could take place on Paradis, it could mean the mean Marleys are attacking in full force again, or if we're this far in the manga, it could be assumed the characters at the sea have no choice but to become monsters to fight the monsters of the outside world... which goes against what the manga portrays when you take into account there's been 9 chapters dedicated to show the POV from the other side of the ocean.

THERE ARE A COUPLE SCENES IN THE END CREDITS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN THE MANGA. DO YOU BELIEVE THESE ARE FUTURE PANELS THAT WILL APPEAR LATER IN THE STORY? 297 Responses

There were a few scenes in the credits that were not illustrated in the manga. 53.2% of participants believe these will be future panels in the upcoming manga chapters, but 38% aren’t quite sure. A smaller 8.8% think the scenes are just for show or anime only and will not make a comeback in the manga.

WHO IS THE GIRL STUDENT IN THE UNIFORM? 296 Responses

One of the unillustrated scenes showed a girl in a school uniform among other students. 37.8% think the student is an Eldian, and 35.8% think she is Marleyan. 19.6% believe this is the future depicting a modern-day student. Will she be shown again? Some believe this is someone we already knew.

Also, I'm leaning towards the theory that the girl in the uniform is Lady Tybur when she attended a private school.

The girl student in the uniform is likely Ms Tybur (the Warhammer titan), as the school looks quite prestigious, and they are the only high class characters of importance in Marley.  I hope this means that we might get a bit more on her character in the anime adaptation.

WITH THE PV CONFIRMATION THAT THE 4TH SEASON WILL BE THE FINAL ONE, WHAT’S YOUR GUESS FOR WHEN THE MANGA WILL END? 298 Responses

The brief preview announcement of the 4th season set to release confirmed it would be the anime’s final season. With the release date in the fall of next year, 44.6% of manga reading participants believe the manga series will conclude in mid to late 2020. 22.8% think the manga will end early in the beginning of next year, and 14.8% believe Isayama and the animation studio will work together to release the finale of both the manga and anime around the same time. As of recently, Isayama thinks he has about a year left to complete his story, but only time will tell when it actually ends.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

Not your usual beach episode lol. Wished the stinger is they show Falco looking up on sky in Fort Slava, but maybe it's too revealing for anime onlies? 

I can't believe we've come this far already. Everything was beautifully done, the end credits were just absolutely poignant and the extra scenes have only made me more impatient for more Manga chapters.

It's probably the episode of Snk that caused the most emotion in me. Eren's seiyuu especially, but also Armin's were really excellent. The melancholy of Eren's voice, and the hope so fragile and so beautiful of Armin, appeared to me strikingly thanks to that. The separation that prefigures in EMA trio, and the dreams that break as they face what they had sought from the beginning pierced me.

That piano score that played throughout the end credits...Sure Sawano you can tear out my heart, this show's gotten me used to it anyway…

Also can I just say Mikasa in the ocean was really fucking adorable? Because she was. I've always had this headcanon that she would love the ocean because the half of her that isn't an Ackerman is from the ""East Sea Clan"" and so I would think coastal life and seafaring would be in her blood. This episode has only strengthened this headcanon for me. :)

I miss Erwin. I don't think that'll ever change, but duuudes Floch made me cry every harder. He's such a lost kid and he's alone in his grief. No one should be alone 😭

years of waiting and god has finally gifted us with a masterpiece.

The anime-only scenes were a very nice touch, and added to the emotion of the arc. Considering what's become of Eren and Floch (ugh) now, the scene where Eren touches the Titan, followed by Floch hanging behind for a moment, seemed quite telling. Can't wait to see the next season (and all the death and destruction that unfortunately accompanies it).

Honestly this season, and potentially the entire series was ruined for me  because of how they handled Uprising. It was an alright adaptation, with some admittedly outstanding scenes, but the first part of the season really killed my hype for the second part. 

Mikasa’s smile to Armin was the only part of this episode I thought was done more effectively than in the manga. She’s been through so much; it was sweet to see her out of her element in a GOOD way, WITH her family there. This scene cemented her as my 3rd favorite character.

I picked up on the little, subtle changes, and I really enjoyed them. WIT did an amazing job on this episode, and it was fairly lived up to.

There wasn't much filler, but I liked what they did with adding Grisha's distorted facial expression and how they conveyed Eren's at the end of the first half. Also nice Floch filler where he asks why the SC doesn't cull that titan lol.

Hitch broke my heart ;-;

I’m not ready. Somebody save us! I don’t want hobo Eren yet!

Truly amazing. It was really refreshing to see the characters taking a break from all the gore and enjoy the moment. Great ending.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 284 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated! 

[snkcrackpolls]

SnK Crack Poll Results [Ch. 110]

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WHATS GOOD GUYS WE GOT A COUPLE HOURS TILL SPOILERS SO LET’S GO OVER THE POLL RESULTS. THANKS TO THE 297 OF YOU THAT CHOSE TO WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS!

As it should be, Eren’s lack of a shirt managed to beat the rest with 72 votes, snagging that epic victory royale.

Okay this one is a basic question so I don’t really need to talk about this I assume. cool? cool.

The only pledge everyone agrees to stand up for has won with 121 votes.

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE EREN A SHIRT AND SHOES, THANKS"

That seagull meme

Sans undertale

BOI IF YOU DONT GET-

Dang Dave, I gotta admit. Having no nose is kinda hot.

A roasting session seems to be what people are headed towards. Who knows? Maybe Eren and Floch will get involved next chapter.

Zeke’s Bigass tree forest Great Escape

who said they will talk ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Zeke will reveal his original plan for getting captured was so he could play Pokemon Go on Paradis

Zeke will tell more lies and half- truths and shit and it will be up to the fandom to decipher what percentage is shit

Yelena’s height seems to be compensating for her lack of grabbing skills.

Not Armin

Certainly not floch

You, op

n-no its not. no its not

She's a 'Liar'. Ha! Get it! Because its...the name.....of the chapter........get it? 

thanks for getting the joke guys.

It was a close tie between whether or not Eren wants to look cool or is sleeping in a destroyed house.

They're going to start an emo band.

Bc it reflects well their mental state

#edgelords

yep, I love this completely unedited image of the love Yelena gives everyone. so pure. so loving.

They were so blessed they couldn't handle it and died

Me next please 

Honestly I just kinda want to try whatever Levi would give me if I asked him for pig p*ss? is that weird? probably.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yeah I don’t really see a difference between them. Guess the crystal really is like cryogenics. 

Wait... This isn't how I remember this panel...

It's not the nose which got bigger, it's her face who shrinked 

knowbody nose for sure.

bikuuen

Sounds like something off from Bakugan.

it is an Armin thing you probably wouldnt understand

Okay Time To Get Serious, Let’s Offer Respect For The Beautiful Fallen.

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R.I.P Zackely. You truly were the greatest artist of our generation. May you feed people their own shit in heaven, you funky lil psychopath.

Goodbye Darius Zackley. 10/10 would yeet out of a building again.

Shit really hit the fan there lmao rip

Dear Zackley-sensei. We promise to you that we will keep your legacy by recreating the art you have taugh us, the SNK fandom. Our shrine will be you legacy. Rest in piece soldier.

My dear Zackley, I loved nearly as much as I love Zeke. You deserved so much more time with your beloved art, but I hope Kiyomi will take care of shitmachine to the best of her abilities. Floch did that from his undying love for you, my dear. I hope Isayama will give us proper memorial just like he did after serum bowl.

Bip bip letuce

Shirts and Shoes don’t matter to a god like Ellen Yeger. 10000/1 would let him eat food again. Still wondering why he doesn’t eat the chocolate bars he has for abs. 

I would put some of the other comments here, but most of them aren’t suitable around a 75ft radius from children.

Zackley and His Custom Chair appeared to be the shining stars of this chapter, going out in a blaze of glory.

Armin/Mikasa

Armin/Crystal  

Armin/Hitch

Eren/Sh*tmachine

Any Additional Thoughts On This Chapter?

I'm mourning the lack of Jean and Connie.

Without the shit machine I think we can safely say all hope for Eldia is gone. A strong nation defines itself not by military might, but by its contribution to art.

I do apologise but my last brain cells and ovaries were obliterated by half naked Eren...again...

Disappointed. I wanted to see my horse-face love, but he didn't even appear once.

WHEN FLOCH WILL BE ON A COVER? I NEED TO KNOW IF HE'S GINGER IN THE MANGOO!!

Eren grows 2 abdominal packs every 20 chapters

Poor mikasa tbh

NOICE

4-Chan, everybody’s favorite website

Any Predictions For ONLY The Next Chapter?

Jean and Connie will do something relevant.

Someone will transform into a Titan and people will die. Back to basics y'know?

Floch and Eren bonding! I hope Gabi and Falco show up too, want to see if Nicolo reports them if they go to his restaurant or if they can keep the lie going, my sweet baby fugitives. Also Eren and Floch will have sex.

Kiyomi abducts Mikasa back to Hizuru.

Eren still won't have a shirt

Eren STILL won't have shoes on

We will go back and see what gabi and falco are doing.

Mikasa gets taken off to the other clan place right after she and armin see agsnty-Eren, chat on the field,more like shoutings and wrens face goes to Titan-ish like before with hange, then dun dun dun, Marley fight, lmao. Also MAYBE we will get jean Connie gabi and Falco

The battle of the orphans vs the dwarf

[arlingtonpark]

SNK 113 Review

Sad! Edition

Arlingtonpark presents: SNK 113, a play in three acts.

Act I

Act II

Act III

GIVE ME A BREAK, OKAY? THIS CHAPTER DIDN’T GIVE ME MUCH TO WORK WITH!

This was a more leisurly outing for this arc compared to the previous string of chapters. We get some insight into Zeke’s plan (but not a full elaboration), Levi makes a monkey out of him, and the EFC arrives in Shighanshina. That’s it.

Ironically, this was one of the more action packed chapters, yet it’s not as thrilling as, say, SNK 112, which was mostly our main trio sitting at a table.

Our heroes, sans Eren, have been mostly helpless in the face of Zeke and the EFC’s machinations, and Isayama has pressed this to good, suspense-inducing, effect.

We still don’t know much about Zeke, and why Eren is acting like he is now is still not completely understood. The opposition is opaque and they’ve been on a real winning streak so far. Just like how reports of a serial killer in your neighborhood can put you on edge, our heroes are put on edge by…just everything that’s happened so far, and we feel that gnawing fear by extension.

But now might be a turning point.

For the first time, Zeke/Eren (Zeren?)’s plan has hit a real snag. Now, now things will really start to get interesting. Pieck and Galliard did escape and participate in the Liberio fight, and Gabi and Falco are unexpectedly here on Paradis, but those were hardly setbacks. Detours maybe, but they didn’t threaten arrival at the final destination.

This is different. The plan was to rendezvous at Shighanshina and that’s just not going to happen now. Levi is dragging Zeke around like a monkey on a leash and Eren is none the wiser. And there’s no way for him to know that.

It’s not like they can communicate telepathically. unlike Hange and Levi When the time comes to meet up, Zeke isn’t going to be there. From Eren’s perspective, Zeke may as well have disappeared off the face of the Earth.

The plan apparently was to provoke an attack on Paradis by a coalition of the world’s forces. But this plan also apparently hinges on being able to use the Wall Titans to repel this attack. But that’s out the window too now. Zeren’s plan is in danger of catastrophic failure and at the worst possible time.

The enemy is already here. Pieck is on Paradis, no doubt gathering intelligence. It’s good that Zeke is subdued, but that creates a power vacuum and there’s no one around to fill it.

The legitimate government is facing a legitimacy crisis.

The EFC will be in damage control mode now that their plan is in danger of falling through.

And oh yeah, Marley has already infiltrated the island.

Paradis can easily devolve into chaos, now. Pixis’ government is a leader without much of a following; Eren has popular support. The EFC has a following but their leaders will soon be scrambling to regain control of the situation. And all Marley cares about is killing everyone.

And this raises a very intriguing question: How will Eren react to this?

Like I said, things have mostly gone smoothly for him. Yes, Eren’s had this stone cold demeanor, even in the middle of his fight in Liberio, but really he’s been coasting so far. Things have done nothing but go his way. Now it suddenly isn’t. So how does he react to that?

If SNK 112 is any indication, he won’t handle things well. Eren lost his cool at a backhanded swipe by Armin. And I’m not gonna lie, if that was all I had ever seen of Eren, I would have said he was weak.

Sad, even.

When it comes to Eren, Isayama will probably go the classic shonen villain route. Think Frieza or Cell from DBZ. Calm and cool, but only when they’re in control. Once they lose control, they lose their cool and reveal themselves as the wild animals they always were.

This will probably play into his freedom complex. Eren wanted to free humanity from the titans so they could explore the outside world. He framed it in terms of control. Freedom=control is the equation here.

Not being in control, to him, means not being free, so when he realizes he’s not in control anymore, he’s going to go apeshit.

Like the Trumpian figure that he is, Eren will probably resort to dominance rituals to sooth his own ego.

Floch had better watch out. When the guy at the top is a dominance obsessed lunatic, it doesn’t matter how high up the food chain you are. If you’re not at the top, you’re at the bottom. If my Eren=Trump framework is correct, Eren is going to abuse that to hell and back. He’s going to subject Floch and co. to all manner of degradations.

I honestly wouldn’t mind that, if it’s not extreme. Floch would deserve it.

Where do I even start with Floch?

In the past, I’ve compared the story of SNK to the current political landscape in the US. I don’t think this is intentional, to be clear; it’s just a very amusing parallel.

As leader of the Yeagerists, Floch roughly corresponds to Mark Meadows, the leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The HFC is a band of extremist, Trump-aligned, Republican politicians who openly rebel against their leadership. Meadows is the group’s current chairman.

Floch and Meadows share one overridingly important similarity: neither of them can create; they can only destroy.

John Boehner (pronounced “baner.” Seriously.) was leader of the House Republicans, until he was shit-canned because the Freedom Caucus didn’t like him. Here’s how he described their mindset:

“They can’t tell you what they’re for. They can tell you everything they’re against. They’re anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over. That’s where their mindset is.”

That’s basically Floch. He wants to Make Eldia Great Again and he thinks the Wall Titans have a role to play in that, but does he have a plan beyond that? Almost certainly not! That would require building something up, and that is beyond his feeble abilities. He thinks Hange is soft and opposes that. He thinks the military is old fashioned and opposes that.

Is there anything concrete that he supports? He supports using the Wall Titans and he supports Eren’s leadership, but his “game plan” is basically:

Use Wall Titans.

???

ELDIA IS GREAT AGAIN!!1

That’s hardly a plan.

All Floch and his team have accomplished is create chaos and dysfunction.

That’s it.

They instigated a social uprising, decapitated the government, and now? They’re just running around trying to find Zeke. (Even though Zeke and Eren already have a rendezvous point worked out.)

All Floch is good for is blowing stuff up and shitting over everything. But in the words of the great Sam Rayburn:

“Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.”

Floch is no carpenter. Floch is a coward. This pitifully small boy. This absolute failson. It’s no surprise at all he’s where he’s at.

Floch talks big now, but that’s only because he’s riding high now. I bet he’s the type of person who buckles under even minimal pressure. You all saw how he was during the Shighanshina battle. Everyone kept their composure even as Zeke’s rocks were closing in on them. Except him. He was the first to crack.

My sense is that Floch is not a constitutionally strong person, and he knows it. And he thinks he’s a coward, so we know he doesn’t think well of himself.

That’s the key. That’s why he is so devoted to Eldia.

He can’t feel pride in himself qua himself, so he has to feel pride in himself qua an Eldian. His logic is that if Eldians are strong then he is strong by proxy because he is one of them.

It’s the same thing with Trump supporters. Trump’s base supports him because Trump wants to maintain the racial hierarchy that benefits white people. And Trump’s base supports that because a lot of them are poor, white people. Because even though they don’t have a lot going for them, “at least I’m not black.” There’s little in their lives to be proud of, so they take pride in their race to feel better about themselves.

It’s like the evil version of gay pride.

Gay people take pride in their homosexuality because it’s a form of psychic preservation. They are denigrated for this one aspect of themselves, so they emphasize pride in that aspect to counter the stigma. It’s a way of preserving their sense of self-worth.

People like Floch take pride in their race because they have no self-worth to preserve. They’re empty and sad. Their race is one of the only things they have going for them. So they fight for Eldian greatness because a restored Empire will make them feel all big and strong.

It is utterly pathetic.

That’s one thing Floch and Eren have in common. They’re both sad. From Eren’s sad enslavement to the vague notion of freedom, to Floch’s sad belief that if Eldia is made “great” he’ll be made great in turn. It’s sadness all the way down.

The exemplar of that in this chapter is when Floch confronts Shadis.

It’s hilarious how Shadis calls Floch out on being a sad pissant and Floch tries to prove him wrong, only to prove him right in the process.

Not only does Floch miss, he’s stupid enough to say so out loud. He even explains what he was trying for.

Duuuude!

Just play it off as a warning shot! You’re trying to put up a tough guy front. Don’t admit to having failed spectacularly.

He would have been better off doing that anyway. Hitting Shadis in the foot just for mouthing off also would have proven him right. If you feel the need to shoot someone for mouthing off to you, then yeah, you are, in fact, a sad pissant.

But if it was just a warning shot to the ground around him, then that still would have been excessive, but it wouldn’t make you look insecure as hell.

To quote Game of Thrones:

“We’ve had vicious kings, and we’ve had idiot kings, but I don’t think we’ve ever been cursed with a vicious, idiot king!”

He’s not just vicious. He’s not just an idiot. He’s not even just a vicious idiot. He’s a vicious idiot with power. God help them.

But this idea of insecurity being the root cause of nationalist behavior raises an important question: why are the denizens of Paradis also on board with this nationalist program?

Well, nationalism runs on tribalism, so the people need to care about their Eldianism. Their being Eldians.

And going by that…it might actually be the Survey Corps’ fault.

At the start of the series, the Walldians were apathetic about the outside world. But thanks to the (not unjustified) efforts of the Survey Corps, the Walldians started to care.

Rod’s titan was over twice as big as the Colossal Titan; it loomed over Orvud like a kid looms over a toy cityscape playset. A lot of parallels were made in that sequence to the original Colossal Titan attack. In hindsight, Isayama, in his typically blunt style, was probably motivated by more than a need for a stylistic flourish. He probably did it to impress on the reader what he intended the Walldians to take away from the same event: From their perspective, this was another Shighanshina.

But the ending was different this time.

This was bigger than the first attack. Much bigger. Thousands upon thousands of people died in the first attack and its aftermath. Literally no one died the second time. Rod’s titan was subdued without incident. Awesome, but it also had the effect of inspiring nationalistic pride in the people.

Historia’s plan, very explicitly, was to exploit these nationalist feelings to the Survey Corps’ advantage. Stopping a second Shighanshina created a sense of communal unity among the Walldians. The plan was to encourage and then use those feelings to “stabilize the situation” as Historia herself put it.

And it worked, only it worked too well. Now those nationalist feelings have carried over to the Marley conflict to deleterious effect.

And then there’s the Wall Maria operation. That was described by the narrator like this:

“The area within Wall Maria represented one third of the land humanity had left. When the territory was lost five years ago, the loss of human life and property was massive. And, as those who remained inside the two walls quickly realized, those losses were only the beginning. It seemed wrong for us to continue living. Whether humanity could survive another day was out of human hands. Everything was now up to the titans. Because humanity had no way of defeating them. But, that day, one boy gripped the dagger in his heart and used it to kill a titan, stomping its massive head into the  ground. How did the humans who saw that sight feel? Some were filled with pride. Some were filled with hope. Some were filled with rage. But all of them screamed. Now, if Wall Maria is taken back, what scream will fill humanity’s hearts?”

The term for the “scream” the narrator is describing here is “nationalistic fervor.” The Wall Maria operation inspired further feelings of nationalism in the people. And again, those feelings have carried over.

This is a case study in unintended consequences. They wanted humanity to fight, now humanity is fighting and it’s backfiring spectacularly. The people are out for blood. Only this time the blood doesn’t evaporate without a trace.

It’s very revealing how Floch acts towards Shadis compared to Hange.

Hange didn’t have a very high opinion of Shadis the last time we saw them in a room together, but they still stood up for him. Even when they’re pissed at someone, they still don’t lose sight of the humanity of that someone.

Floch also has a low opinion of Shadis. He ordered him beaten for no reason. Because Floch is a sad, maladjusted, man-child. He sees the world in black and white terms. If you support him, you’re golden. If you don’t, you’re not even human.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Floch actually gets off on abusing whatever power he has over people. Being powerful is a high he doesn’t get to experience often, so don’t be surprised of he savors the exercising of it.

So I’ve noticed that the Survey Corps is still training recruits to fight titans. Who don’t exist anymore.

Ooookay.

Where is Isayama going with this?

Floch cites the stagnation in Survey Corps tactics as a reason why Eldia isn’t great. Isayama isn’t trying to both-sides this debate is he?

Floch is an asshole and his movement is repugnant. He’s a right-wing fucking nationalist. But it seems Isayama is trying to send the message that he’s not wrong.

What is it with this series and this schizophrenic approach to right-wing nationalism? The story has condemned it in certain moments, but when it comes to condemning the actual leaders of this movement, Isayama equivocates.

Floch is an asshole, BUT he’s actually right because the Survey Corps really is backwards thinking and in need of new leadership.

Eren is an asshole, BUT he’s actually right because the rumbling *is* necessary to protect Paradis and everyone else was just slow to accept this.

This isn’t just a case of the villains having a point. The key in situations like that is to show they have a point, but that their methods are obscene. Important to that is showing an actual alternative to those methods. Putting forth an alternative is important because it doesn’t matter how horrific Eren or Floch’s actions are, if it’s the only way to proceed then the argument can be made they are doing the right thing.

When the villain has a point, they have correctly identified a problem, but have incorrectly identified the solution.

With Eren and co. the story doesn’t just depict them as having correctly identified the problem. Their proposed solution is depicted as being at least somewhat correct too.

That’s a problem because it means Isayama is granting undue legitimacy to a repugnant, real world ideology.

Them being assholes should be a feature, not a bug. The bug being that they have a point. But the way Isayama has set things up, it’s that them having a point is the feature and their jackassery is the bug.

It all amounts to the story criticizing the nonessential aspects of this movement while leaving the substantive aspects intact.

At this point we’ll all need gas masks real soon because the smoke just keeps piling up.

The last thing of note is Zeke. Apparently he doesn’t get off on pain and suffering. Who knew.

We are apparently going to finally get a peak (you know it’s only going to be a peak) at his backstory and mindset next chapter.

Zeke worrying about his glasses, which belonged to what seems to have been a childhood friend of his, is obviously supposed to signal that Zeke can in fact empathize with people.

I am…warily looking forward to this. The ending blurb teases that he does in fact have a reason for what he’s doing. What I hope Isayama will do, because I think it would be a cool twist, is reveal that Zeke’s motives and plan is merely internally logical, but from an outside perspective, his plan is still totally batshit insane and maybe even nonsensical.

Because that’s how it is with people. People are rational actors, but all that means is that they respond to incentives and harms as they themselves weigh them in accordance with their own internal value system.

In other words, people act in a way that is always internally logical but not always truly logical. The prisoner’s dilemma is a classic example of this. Everyone acts rationally and because of that everyone loses.

How interesting would it be if Zeke’s motives only make sense to him, but are still, in a way, understandable?

The next chapter will end the second volume of this arc. Based on past chapters in a similar position, it will probably end on some event that rapidly escalates the conflict. My guess is that it’ll end on Marley launching its attack on Paradis.

SNK 114 awaits.

[marilena-monachus]

Claustrophobia: a SnK fanfic

Rating: M

Characters: Levi, Mikasa, Marleyans

Blurb: Nothing quite as claustrophobic as being thrown in your sworn enemy's underground cell with little to look forward to except a towel to wipe your own soiled self with, is there? What if there are two sets of pliers - for you and your comrade? Levi and Mikasa have been captured following the move on Marley. Their secrets are on the line. So is their sanity. Canon!compliant up to c104.

Pairing: Eventual Levimika, not of the fluffy variety, and you will have to wait for it.

Merit: None.

Link for the ff.net relics among you.

Claustrophobia

Chapter 1

i. One stone

The air smelled of fresh wounds and disinfectant and, strangely, citrus. The bright oppression of artificial lighting close to her face forced her eyes closed. People came and went, their elongated forms casting shadows over her eyelids like cardboard puppet theatre.

"Get the doctor, I want a word," a man spoke. As the haze of sleep lifted off her, Mikasa wondered if she heard a foreign accent on him and why she had the worst headache of her life. The fact that she had to ask both these things in the same setting did not bode well, she thought with a note of alarm. She noticed her left thigh radiating heat. Something was tethered to it. She tried to touch it but was held back by cuffs on her wrists and a sharp lashing of pain made her stomach churn. Turning on her side, she convulsed and let the acidly bitter tasting contents of her stomach out until she could muster nothing but dry heaves. A hand came to rest on her back; another one lifted the strands of hair off her forehead.

The white light had been knocked over when she lifted her head. Mikasa opened her eyes at the sight of her own vomit. Scanning the room with barely contained wariness, ready to pounce at the first opening, the details of her situation lit up like red ink on parchment. She was in enemy territory, Liberio presumably. Captured by Marley, she lay on a hospital bed; her leg was slashed open seven inches long and finely stitched. A brace was holding it in place because her luck would have it be broken too. A military man sitting upright in a chair by the window threw his unfinished tangerine in the bin. Her heart raced fast, her mind faster. She breathed deeply, painfully, and considered both escape routes, by window and door, with or without taking someone hostage, killing everyone, lying through her teeth or playing innocent.

The military man had twin pistols on his hips, wore a mean face, and this was clearly not his first rodeo. Mikasa would have risked her chances against him, even in her injured state, had she not been physically restrained at the knees and ankles. She also knew nothing of the layout and location of the building, the terrain and the fate of her comrades. She calculated her chances of achieving something positive through early action to roughly nil. Breathe in once, breathe out long. Perhaps, if the gods were favourable, the others would have escaped and none of this would matter.

"That's all right, child," said a matronly woman in many layers of white robes. She was the one that had stood over her and puller her hair out of the way. Mikasa noticed her starched cap and calloused hands. She must be a nurse. My helpful enemy nurse. There was a roadmap of lines on her face. "You are lucky to still have that leg but it will get you in a world of pain, don't you doubt it," she said, stooping low to clean the vomit off the tiled floor with a tired sigh. "How is your head feeling?"

"Now that she is awake, I really need you to get Dr. Mann," the military man barked. Everything on him was square, his jaw and nose, his shoulders and air. "I can't very well go get him myself and leave her alone." At that, Mikasa though she heard a note of real apprehension. All soldiers were dangerous, as they had proved with their blood-drenched operation on the enemy capital, but she was more so. Did her ill fated name precede her?

"I am keeping watch," the nurse said calmly and continued to go about her business of wiping up the mess. "The young lady is hurt and cuffed and seems like a smart girl. So, don't go causing trouble now, hear?" she said to no one in particular.

"Don't be stupid. This is no young lady, it's a stinking pest," he said. He was suddenly bridling with passion, overflowing like a box someone poured all their bad mornings into. "Do you know how many innocent lives you twisted devils took yesterday? It runs in the hundreds. Thousands. "

And yours runs in the hundreds of thousands, Mikasa wanted to retort but said nothing and refused to look at him for good measure. The situation was too unfamiliar and her gut feeling and training told her to be as interesting as a drying piece of jerky. She desperately tried to gather her thoughts but there were gaping holes in her recollection of what had happened after they sounded the retreat. More importantly, her heart ached with the need to know whether the zeppelin made it out of Marley safely. She knew she should never ask. She would not show any weakness before she knew what was up, and not even then. Only when they let their guard down, when the chink in their armour would glow bright as day, she would strike and it would be clean and deadly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the man rose, crossed the room in two long strides and struck the kneeling old nurse with a kick strong enough to send her sprawling on her back. She yelped, a shrill noise that grated on the nerves. Mikasa gripped the sheets tightly, discreetly, and through sheer force of will did not move an inch.

"I told you to get the doctor, pig! I don't know why you'd want to care for the devil that has ruined the lives of your filthy race and caused the deaths of so many noble Marleyans. I shouldn't have to ask twice. I am thinking your family should get a one-way trip to that cursed island," the officer said, spitting at his feet.

The doctor, a slight and troubled fellow, stood at the door, his mouth slightly twisted. "Koslow, it is noontime and I am here, like I said I would. Other patients need tending to. Nina meant no disrespect. She is very serious about her job and has helped us save countless brave men," he said, coming over to help her up. Nina was doubled over her abdomen, but her eyes had undergone the most significant change, gone dull like a dead rat's.

"I am very sorry, officer Koslow. I only wanted to clean up this disgusting smell for you. We are grateful for all your hard work and can only hope you will be able to squash these vermin that make our children's lives so hard. Glory to Marley! Glory to the Motherland!" she rasped quickly, leaning on the doctor first, then the doorframe. "Please don't hurt my grandchildren. They are all I have left. They will give their lives for Marley one day."

"I sure hope so," said Koslow and, in that moment, bathed in the light of his own hateful determination, he seemed forged out of ultrahard steel. Mikasa did not know what the future held, but she had an idea or two. She braced herself for impact, all kinds of unforeseeable impact, all of which she would bear easily if it could keep Eren, Armin and the others safe.

The good doctor Mann had not put up a convincing argument for her continued recuperation at the hospital. She supposed that he wanted officer Koslow and his entourage out of his hair as soon as possible and she could hardly blame him for it. They had tied, blindfolded and manhandled her onto a wheeled chair and then they were off on what Eren's reports had called a "car". It was faster than a carriage and noisier by far, but it was no longer in her nature to be perturbed by odd experiences, if it had been ever. She did not keep count of the turns. Even if she could make her way back to the hospital, it would not help her.

"It is best if you don't push her too much until her leg and head injuries are mostly healed. Someone hit her hard with a piece of debris when she was captured and she came in with a severe concussion. It was touch and go for a bit," the doctor had said before they left. "She may not remember everything at once. Likely to faint if you pull and shake too much. Godspeed."

She really did not remember everything, at least after the commencement of their operation on Liberio. She did, however, remember every little bit and piece of information about Paradis, Eren and the Survey Corps that the military government of Marley would be interested in. The doctor's disclosure could buy her some time and maybe a modicum of lenience until she figured out what to do, if she played her cards right.

When they arrived at their destination, Mikasa heard the familiar bustle of a town that was trying to return to normal after an unforeseen tragedy. A booming man's voice was calling out in the distance. "Newspaper, new issue! Newspaaaaper, our glorious Marley emerges victorious after sneak attack on civilians! New issue, two enemies captured by our brave military and warriors! Newspaaaaaper!"

Mikasa growled quietly in her throat. They had caught another one. Who was it? Was he or she all right? Would they play them off each other, hurting them in turns until they got what they wanted out of the weakest willed one? She would resist! She carefully mulled these dark thoughts over as the Marleyan officers lifted the wheeled chair and carried her down several flights of stairs. An increasing sense of foreboding mixed with the cold dampness in the air made her clothes stick to her skin, and she caught herself labouring over the mental image of hurt Eren or terrified Armin being tortured before her eyes, pressing questions boring into them, knots unravelling everywhere as she broke her silence and told them –

The blindfold was ripped off her, tossed aside along with her restraints, and she was picked up from the chair and thrown into a cell. She landed on her injured leg and bit her cheeks mournfully to keep from shouting out. This Koslow was clearly not one to defer to anyone else's advice, even the advice of a doctor. She looked at the men. There were three of them – middle-aged, probably mid-ranking except Koslow, entirely hostile.

She turned her gaze to the cell, noticed how hard it was to breathe down there as though a cool, thin goo settled over her lungs when she took breath. The walls to her back and left side were of stone, big and smooth chunks overflowing with dungeon moss. On her front and right side were tall, rusty iron bars, sparse enough for a hand to go through, too tight for a leg or head. The artificial Marleyan lights in the corridors glowed dim orange. There was no sunlight – there wouldn't be any, she guessed.

In the musty oppressiveness of this place, Mikasa had a very human thought. I don't want to stay here. Would that someone could come and help – but no. Not. She could handle this on her own, she should. For her sake and that of her captured comrade's. She was stronger, firmer than the others, better equipped…

A taut invisible string was trying to pull her throat, heart and the pit of her stomach in alignment.

"Think long and hard what it is you're going to say when Commander Magath interrogates you," Koslow growled after they were satisfied there was nothing in her reach except a wooden washbasin and some straw. "He is a man of manners. Personally, I think manners are reserved for humans only, but he may disagree. Don't mistake it for weakness." The lock on the cell's door turned with a clink and she remained still until well after the men's footsteps had faded up the stairs.

ii. two birds

Hours passed. After she picked herself up and tried to have a thorough look at her surroundings, she discovered that her leg really was in rough shape. Limping and wincing would have to do, as she was already doing her best to ignore the deafening pounding sensation in her ears every time she bent her head low or at a sharp angle.

The cell was no bigger than two cots long and wide, and that was a strange way to think about it, Mikasa admitted, because there was no cot in sight. Only straw, a layer so thin she could see through it. Some of the large rectangular stones on the wall were cracked but none seemed weak enough to be pried apart without a pick, and even if one was, there was no guarantee that the whole wall would not collapse under a mountain of debris. The washbasin water was murky and contained more than a few drowned spiders. Not for drinking, she decided. Was it for that other business then? The time would soon come when she would need to relieve herself. She preferred to do it in the water than outside.

The right-hand side bars… that was most surprising. Her cell seemed to form one half of a bigger cell parted down the middle with them. She could see little on the other side except that no one was in it. The design allowed for visibility, communication and limited contact with another detainee and made little sense to her strategically, unless the captors wanted to listen in on said communication above all else.

Not long after, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs again along with some light but persistent shuffling.

"That fucking shrimp," murmured someone with long, blond hair who came in first and opened the door of the other cell wide with a reverberating bang. "Get him in here, fast."

Mikasa watched intently as they dragged him in by scruff of the neck. He was gagged, hands cuffed behind his back, legs cuffed so that he could barely walk and visibly beaten… yet, there was no mistaking that stature or the furious eyes that peeked under his hair to shoot daggers at the Marleyan officer kicking him forward. With rising discomfort, she realized they had captured not one but two Ackermans and dealt a great blow to the manpower of their forces, knowingly or not. What had happened on the way to the zeppelin that neither Captain Levi nor she could have escaped?

"I have half a mind to keep that gag on you," the first person – a woman – said, as the officer kicked him again and he tumbled inside the cell. "You have quite the sewer mouth. It was entertaining hearing you say those things to Koslow, I'll admit." The grin did not reach her eyes. "And I'm sure you'll live to regret every single one of them."

Levi collected himself and sat on his knees as best as he could. He tossed a glance at the direction of her cell and Mikasa wondered if he could see her at all. She crept a little closer. From underneath strands of bluntly chopped black hair, he met her gaze briefly. Then he turned away, and Mikasa understood that he was already expecting to find her there. He most likely had not suffered a concussion from having his head collide with a rock; therefore he must know exactly what happened.

"Mmffmm."

"Take it off, Pieter. Watch your fingers."

The officer named Pieter took out a pocket knife and cut the rag with a sharp movement that nicked Levi's jaw. No one tried to remove his cuffs before locking him in.

"You speak a lot, little man, but you don't say the right things. We'll be back, so why don't you try harder next time? We even brought you this lovely girl to keep you company," the woman said with no emotion in her inflection. "Reiner Braun told us you've known each other for half a dozen years now, so you must care what happens to her at least a little bit, no? Or maybe you are a heartless little shrimp that would still like to "take a dump on baldy's head" even as we're pulling out her teeth. And nails. And innards, God forbid. Oh no. But maybe your comrades will strike a deal to save you both." At that she laughed and turned to leave. "The boys and I have a wager on who'll break first, you know."

Levi scooted backward and leaned against the stone wall not far from Mikasa. He tilted his head back. Under the orange fluorescence of their prison, Mikasa could not see his eyes, only the outline of his jaw and throat swelling slightly, his breath regular and calm. Calmer than hers, she'd have to admit. She tried to mimic his unruffled disposition, schooled her mouth into a line, and stripped her eyes of the spark of life. They would both need to bring their best calm game, if they were to have a single chance of getting out of this alive and with their country's secrets intact.

Levi murmured something.

"What?" the woman asked, and still he said nothing. "Spit it out!"

He turned to look at her ever so slightly.

"I said: good luck with that, bitch."