[Luceti] [1st • Written] (backdated to the 12th ok)

[reviling]

[part 1 - arrival]

[ in the world he comes from, knowledge of what exists beyond the three walls that both confine and protect humanity is limited, even forbidden. Though he's ventured beyond the outermost wall - something that only the Survey Corps is capable of doing, and always with sacrifices - Levi knows humanity has only seen an immeasurable fraction of what it once had. He cannot begin to fathom what the rest of the world could be like outside of their short ventures beyond the walls.

So when he awakens in this place, it doesn't occur to him that it could be a different world entirely.

Although the wings are unsettling. Those are new. And itchy as hell. ]

The fuck...


[ in a world where people can transform into titans taller than the monstrous walls that keep them caged, the sudden appearance of wings somehow doesn't seem that terribly far fetched, even if he has no idea how or why, or - more importantly - whom.]


[Part 2 - recon: Written/Action]

[ It's been several hours now, and all of the information he's gathered so far is confusing at best and disturbing at worst. Knowledge of the outside world had been limited, but knowledge of other worlds? Unheard of. He's still trying to wrap is head around it.

After checking for the gear (nowhere to be found, much to his irritation, and thankfully he hadn't had to go far for his uniform), he finds a bench and takes out the journal-like device and studies it thoughtfully. The technology is foreign, and somehow it seems exceedingly fragile - though there is a space to write, and that's all he needs at the moment to help organize his thoughts.

So the following appears, in meticulous, elegant penmanship that he'd only learned a few years ago:]

• No reports or knowledge so far of Titans among general populace
  
• No walls - a 'dome' keeps people in by someone/something called the 'Malnosso'
  
• Inhabitants appear to be from diverse locations
  
• Human experiments...need more information about these damn wings
  
• Captors supposedly provide unlimited food, clothing, shelter. Pretty fucking convenient way to keep people placated.
  
• Currently no 3DMG found; other weapons readily available
  
• Technology much more advanced than anything found within the walls ("Electricity?")
  
• Rumors of a war with a group called the 'Third Party' that seeks to exterminate all living within the dome - motivation unknown
  
• ...animals can talk...fucking creepy; might be useful
  
• Require more information about location, threats, etc. Where the fuck am I and how do I get home.
  

[ooc: intro for Levi! Feel free to respond via journal (he's unfamiliar with technology so expect a WTF reaction for the first few replies), or find him wandering around town.
ALSO: Threads with the AOT cast will very likely contain spoilers for events that happen in the manga after the anime!]

Comments

[reviling]

[Levi does recognize the name, and he also knows from their discussions and listening to his recruits from the 104th that Marco is dead. His eyes narrow at the news, but he lets Jean continue uninterrupted.

The idea of forced mercenaries doesn't sit well with him at all, but they'll get to that later. Truthfully, all of the information raises more questions than it answers - though what's interesting is that their supposed captors, the Malnosso, may not actually be their real captors at all, even if their antics pose perhaps the most immediate and lasting threat.

For now, one thing at a time:]

Tell me more about these experiments.

[wipesfaith]

I've only been subjected to one so far, but... [He is not going into detail on that particular experiment with a superior officer. Awkward.] From what I've heard, many of the large-scale experiments involve manipulating our thoughts or emotions, forcing us to act in certain ways.

Sometimes people are kidnapped and brought in for individual experimentation and analysis, too. At wherever the Malnosso headquarters are, I'd assume.

[reviling]

[manipulation and coercion is something that Levi isn't stranger to - he's been the subjected to it and perpetrated it. But twisting emotion and even thought? That doesn't sit well with him. At all. Especially as someone that is always carefully controlled when it comes to not revealing what he really thinks or feels most of the time.]

These Malnosso or whatever-the-fuck bastards sound like real pieces of work.

[he eyes Jean himself, scanning for any obvious differences (aside from the wings) and possible injuries. He looks well enough, Levi surmises.]

Have you been able to find any maneuver gear while you've been here?

[it hasn't escaped his notice that Jean isn't wearing it, if he has.]

[wipesfaith]

[He makes a noise in agreement - a sort of grunt infused with wry amusement at Levi's blunt (and totally accurate, in his opinion) assessment. He's heard that the point of these experiments is to figured out how to break this world's hold on them and return home, but the nature of the experiments is so bizarre that he's dubious of such claims.]

I found gear at the smithy. Marco too. Gas refills and replacement blades even turn up every once in a while.

[reviling]

Good. We'll need it.

[he's not yet sure in what capacity, but it's reassuring to know that it's at least there, along with supplies - although he's still wary about that. There's a catch in that, somewhere, and he's determined not to be lulled into a false sense of security that the things he'll want and need will always be available.

But he can't really put this subject off anymore:]

I heard from all of you that Marco is dead. Explain to me how that's supposed to work.

[wipesfaith]

[The slightest flinch, shown only in his eyebrows twitching downward, even though he's used to dealing in bluntness.]

Time as it is back home is irrelevant here. It hasn't happened yet for him, although he remembers the situation in Trost.

...Speaking of, I should ask what you remember last, before you ended up here. [And he'll remember to tack on:] Captain.

[reviling]

[Levi isn't unaware how much Marco's death had affected many of the recruits that now made up his new squad, but he'd needed an answer, and got one. Time is irrelevant - that could explain a few things.]

I see.

[Levi gives Jean a measuring look before he answers.]

We've captured the female titan, and discovered the identities of the armored and colossal titans, though they've escaped beyond the wall.

[depending on Jean's reaction, he may tell him more details, but there are certain things Levi's not quite ready to tell him outright if he doesn't already know.]

[wipesfaith]

["Identities", meaning that someone - a human - was behind each of the most destructive titans in history. Someone had wanted Wall Maria to fall. Someone had wanted Trost to happen.]

They were acting as humans too? The armored titan and the colossal titan? [Maybe "acting" isn't the right word, but it fits, doesn't it? Slipping between roles, never showing which face is real...]

[reviling]

Did you think they just fucking disappeared into thin air? They were working with the Female Titan spy.

[and they are people Jean knows, possibly had even befriended. Still, (or rather, because of this), Levi won't divulge those identities to Jean quite yet. Other details likewise aren't quite necessary at this point.

Except for perhaps one other fact:]

I also formed a new squad from the remaining 104th top recruits - which includes you, so don't think that this place is some kind of freaky vacation from reality.

[wipesfaith]

[It wasn't a possibility he really wanted to dwell on. And Levi's words introduce a new possibility, one that unsettles him further: if they were working with Annie, are they from among his classmates too? His mind buzzes sharply, as he tries to imagine who that could be. She had always kept to herself, always regarded the rest of them like they were inherently beneath her. He wants to ask. He needs to know.

Then, before he can process all that, another surprise.]

I'm...a member of your squad. [He can't help but feel a little proud of that, but it's with the sensation of an out-of-body experience. And not just him... A dry heh.] Eren must have pissed himself with excitement when he found out.

[But more importantly.] Didn't think it was a vacation, as much as they try to make you feel that way.

[reviling]

[If Jean asks, Levi may tell him, but not before. There's nothing he'll be able to do about it, and therefore it's unimportant to their current situation.]

[there's a slight pause, but no change in expression at that statement. He'd picked the recruits from the 104th for reasons other than just their capabilities]

I think it helps him to have people around who are familiar and so you brats can balance out each other's shortcomings.

Good. Is there a suitable place to train with the gear?

[wipesfaith]

[He'll have to wait for a break in Levi's questions before he can ask his own, and this inner tension makes itself obvious in his tight expression.

He also doesn't much appreciate being referred to as a brat, but he isn't going to start something with a superior officer. Especially not since he's apparently his captain now.]

The forest isn't bad, when the weather's warmer. Otherwise, there's a huge building designed for training...it has different rooms available to use, and you can set up simulated environments and battle situations.

[reviling]

[Sometimes it's just really amusing to watch people twitch. Levi can see Jean's discomfort, but these are important questions that he wants answers to, and Jean will have the opportunity to ask his own eventually.]

How convenient. [too many things were convenient here, really.]

I'll need you to show it to me. [tomorrow, maybe.]

[and now he'll wait for a few moments to see if Jean can muster up the courage to ask whatever it is he wants to know.]

[wipesfaith]

Yes, sir.

[And Levi doesn't seem to have more questions, for the moment, so he'll start with his own before his captain changes his mind.]

...Now, if you don't mind me asking...who are they? The Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan, I mean. I think I have a right to know.

[reviling]

[he gives Jean a long, measuring look. The recruits are tougher than they often appear on the outside, and somehow the 104th class seemed like they'd been through even more intense trials-by-fire than ones that had come before them. Most of them, other than the ones Levi had chosen for his squad, were already dead.

But still. Bonds and strength through adversity and all that.]

Bertolt Hoover and Reiner Braun.

[he'll leave off the bit about Ymir for now, though.]

[wipesfaith]

[He doesn't know what names he'd expected. None, because he couldn't imagine, didn't want to imagine - so anything Levi could have said would pull his feet out from underneath him just the same.]

No...that can't be right. [Bertolt, who looked like he was on the verge of some nervous breakdown half the time, mild-mannered to the point of fearing any conflict among their classmates. Reiner, who was so serious about being a soldier, but who would go out of his way to lend a hand to others, which Jean used to think was so idiotic.]

They both...they both joined the Corps. They were all set to go into the Military Police, but they changed their minds, after what happened in Trost... [It was an unspoken bond he shared with them, that they all shared, that had been forged on the funeral pyre they couldn't look away from.]

[reviling]

[Levi is reticent as Jean processes the news. He can appreciate that it's hard to come to terms with - Eren nearly fucked up (did still, in a way) the mission to capture Annie in Stohess because he couldn't accept that she was in fact the traitor, that she'd brutally killed dozens of people right in front of him, including Levi's former squad.

Still, he doesn't bother to soften his tone.]

It's the truth. They tried to kidnap Eren and escape. Many people are dead because of them.

So hurry up and accept it, because the facts won't change.

[wipesfaith]

[An act. A mask to wear. What had been real for him, real for Connie, Sasha, Christa, who had each turned their backs on the wide open door to an easy life - a breaking down and rebuilding, like a muscle growing stronger - was just a game of pretend for those two. Is that how it was?

He doesn't know when his fingers curled into fists at his sides.

While the full implications of Annie possessing Marco's gear are unclear, he can at least be certain that if not for the Colossal Titan - if not for Bertolt - his best friend would not have died alone on the side of a street. So many of his classmates would not have been snuffed out fresh out of training. He would never have been forced to look at hell. And if Reiner was working with him too...

Although, he wonders why the Armored Titan never appeared to break down the gate of Wall Rose, in all of that chaos.]

...I understand. But I won't accept it. [In the sense that it will never be okay.] I can't forgive them any more than I can forgive Annie.

[reviling]

[Levi's watching Jean carefully throughout his reaction, taking in the changes in his expression and posture, the tone of his voice. To some, it may seem as though he doesn't care about individual people. But he's always made sure to do his best to understand those who serve under him, whose lives depend on his direct orders and decisions. He's the last one to coddle anybody, but earning their trust and respect also means that he has to know the things that motivate them and how much pain (emotional and physical) that they can tolerate. It's about respecting what genuinely wounds them while finding ways to help them strengthen their weaknesses, to give them a better chance at survival.

Levi tries not to underestimate their resiliency.]

Good. Hold onto that feeling, and remember it should the day ever come that you might find yourself fighting against them again. Because you can bet that they wont hesitate to kill you.

[wipesfaith]

As if I could forget.

[Remembering is easy; it's forgetting that is hard. And lacking a shape to mold his anger into... He can do nothing about it right now, trapped here, and he wonders if any of them - traitors, the whole fucking lot - will end up here one day too. Would they try to do anything...?

He has one more question, and it's the one that sits most uneasily in his stomach. Because Levi had said "remaining".]

...Has...anyone else died? [He's quick to amend the question, because of course more soldiers have died, and right now he doesn't care if his concern is childishly narrow.] My classmates, I mean...my friends.

[reviling]

[one eyebrow arches slightly, then resettles. Levi can't begin to know all of the names of Jean's class, or who all he'd been friends with. The shorter list is the ones he's now responsible for, after all. Jean will probably spend too much time worrying about them if he doesn't say, and he needs him to focus on other things instead, so:]

I only know about the ones I've chosen. You and Eren, along with Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Connie Springer, Christa Lenz, and Sasha Blaus. They're alive.

[he'll leave off information about Christa's real name, and Ymir's status, for now.]

[wipesfaith]

[Ymir is a name conspicuous by its absence. While he's not sure if he would necessarily classify her as his friend, he can at least appreciate that she had meant something to Christa, for some reason. So instead, he'll focus on who does remain.]

Aren't we lucky sons of bitches... [Spoken mostly to himself like a breath of relief. The numbers feel small, but...they're still alive somehow.]

[reviling]

Considering everything that's happened, yeah, it's fucking magical.

[several other Survey Corps members that had been in service for several years already didn't survive many of the recent attacks, but these cadets, just recently out of training, have. They're still rough, but they're gaining experience faster than most ever have, and since they graduated at the top of their class, Levi knew they would be the best choices for a new team.]

[wipesfaith]

[Considering how many things could go wrong in how many ways - really, the chances of dying grow exponentially the longer you think about it - it really is a miracle. He doesn't know if he ever expected to last that long the night he chose to stay and enlist. All he had been able to do was try to stave those thoughts off.]

...Did you need me for anything else, Captain?

[reviling]

[....his eyes narrow.]

Why? You got a hot date?