ohmyarceus | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER TEST DRIVE MEME

_{[It's mostly because of his Arcanine's bouncing and weaving that he doesn't notice the person standing off to the side immediately as he comes around the bend. It is pretty hard to see anything past a massive wall of orange fur, especially when the owner is even taller than he is himself.

Bertolt is about to grab the Pokemon's harness when he catches a snippet of their voice, and he freezes. How long has it been since... Two years? Almost, at this rate. Two years, and he hasn't ever thought to prepare himself for this. Reiner returning? Of course, but her--

A hand darts out to catch his Arcanine's harness by the side and the Pokemon in question stops with a curious half-boof, one ear flopping down with a sharp tilt of his head. And then he follows his trainer's gaze, and that long tail of his starts to slowly swish and wag. A friend? Friend?? Come on you big lug, stay in one spot so he can see her with his own eyes.]}

Annie.

_{[...It's not what he ever thought he'd say if he saw her again - truthfully, he had wanted to make some big dumb show of it like he's certain Reiner would, but her name is the only thing that he's able to muster. Bertolt never had been like Reiner in that department, no matter how much he tries.

He has to give her a careful once over--twice, just to reaffirm that it's really the same woman he remembers, his eyes lingering at the sight of blood for a long minute.]}

You're hurt.

_{[That's not his smoothest moment but it's better than saying one word, isn't it?]}

[ What a colossally big canine. Getting out of it's way was a higher priority than worrying about who came with it; by the time she realises, it's a combination of him saying her name and her recognising his face when she looks at him properly. For someone frozen in a moment in time, unaware of the world around her as it moves and machinates, there's not much to say. She remembered her father, and she remembered calling on the crystal-like encasing, and then, she remembered a bed and being here.

Suffice to say, his statement has her barely glimpsing down, turning her leg to get a better look at the scrape on her calf, shrugging and dismissing it almost in the same moment. No, she doesn't heal like she used to, but in ways, that's a normalcy she never expected she'd have again. Being what they were, it simply was what it was. ]

Barely scraped. How long has it been?

[ Since her cover had been blown, because she knows the Female Titan would have made waves through the military ranks; how long has he been here, in this strange world, with his over-large, apparently friendly companion; how long has it been? Long enough, based on his reaction, and what did that really mean?

There are always more questions, but it's easiest starting with just the one she's not even sure she wants answers for, but knew she'd always ask anyway. ]

It's...

_{[His brows knit together and he finds himself stumbling a bit when the Arcanine decides it's a good time to take a seat and lean. The only thing saving him from making a spectacle is his grip on the harness which he uses to keep himself steady (and to lean back against the dog in playful retaliation). Come on, don't make him look weird, buddy!]}

S-Sorry, uh. It's been awhile. ...Almost two years now, I think. Since I got here. I haven't seen you since the last time the three of us met up, but I heard... things.

_{[A lot of things, especially after he had been sent back and returned to this world. Things he'd like to honestly forget.]}

Are you, uh...

_{[Are you okay, he wants to ask. He doesn't know what happened exactly, but he also doesn't know what happened to her after everything went down. Logically he knows she has to be safe - Zeke even said so himself, right? She could take care of herself much better than he and Reiner could take care of themselves.

The situation they fell into was proof enough of that.]}

Here.

[ She says, which isn't an answer to much of anything, but it does answer the unfinished question. She's as untouchable as she could make herself, given how things happened. ]

What did you hear?

[ Her mind wrangles with two years, which feels like longer than it is. There's still enough context here she lacks, the hows and whys of people coming, but—ah, yes, the questions she needs to ask.

Her eyes have been taking in his Arcanine more than him, a way of gathering her thoughts, but she cuts her gaze back to Bertolt. Two years older, and Bertolt. ]

Have you been here alone?

_{[His grip tightens for a fraction of a second, his gaze flicking to the ground. He still feels like he failed when he let Armin goad a reaction out of him - if he had the same resolve he had during Shiganshina, things may have been different.]}

I was told you were being tortured.

_{[He hates how it comes out but there's no good or easy way to say it, is there?]}

There are others here, uh... Sasha, Jean and Armin. ...I've been living with Jean since I came back. Reiner was here twice, but he hasn't been back since.

_{[This world could be cruel sometimes. Still, he can't help but offer Annie a soft smile, albeit a shy one.]}

Aside from them, I've got this guy. He's, uh... I named him after Marcel.

[ There's a long, slow blink at that, and a half turn away. Her fingertips twitch, but her voice stays firm, though not loud, as she looks off toward the horizon. ]

I'd be surprised if they managed to get through that much hardened crystal so quickly.

[ Not that she's as sure as she makes herself sound. Within the Walls might be different than... elsewhere, but they're inventive, and they have their own forms of finite resources. Just ones she'd been banking on being difficult for them circumventing.

As far as she knows, it hasn't happened yet. She just has no way of measuring time.

The rest are details: a shifting look of passing surprise hearing he's been back, along with living with Jean. Sasha, Armin—she looks away at that, brow furrowing as he says Reiner's been here twice. Not back here again in the end, but presumably back in their world. Or wherever "not here" was, whatever it meant. Naming the giant dog-like pokemon after Marcel.

Attachments are what they are, in the end, and Marcel had been a first, early loss. She's not sure she felt it as more than the horror of what his death was, and she's seen more of that since, been part of that since. She doesn't return Bertolt's smile, closing her eyes for a moment to try and avoid the glare she feels more inclined to give. It's not Bertolt who deserves it. She won't mock him for caring, even if she can't understand his living with Jean, for similar reasons.

Then again, she'd been tired even before she let Armin, Eren, and Mikasa lead her into their decently planned ambush. She'd almost gotten away even then, almost run, almost made it, even after her biggest failure.

Almost wasn't enough, and wouldn't have been enough even if she'd managed it.

Her eyes open, and she stares up at him, tucking a tendril of her bangs behind the shell of her ear. ]

Did anyone name one after Marco?

[ Because Marcel was the first warrior they had lost in pursuit of their madcap, senseless goals; but Marco had been the decision Reiner made along the way.

Annie just keeps staring. ]

_{[Crystal.

Thank whatever gods that exist. She's safe in there. They'd never be able to break her out - or he hopes, anyway. She'd be safe there. They could still rescue her. Not-- Not himself, not anymore, but Reiner and the other warriors could.

Bertolt lets his shoulders slump in relief and he doesn't even seem to mind when Annie doesn't return the smile - it's who she is, after all.

Marco's name makes his smile falter and disappear, and there's a familiar sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. Marco... was never something they talked about. In a sense it's something he's immensely glad for, but it feels wrong trying to carry on as if it never happened.

As if he didn't stand there and watch.]}

Not yet.

_{[It's almost bad enough that his own Aggron ended up being named after Reiner. A massive, hulking wall of iron armor with golden-red eyes named after the goddamned Armored Titan of all things.]}

I don't think I could do it. It'd feel wrong.

_{[How could it feel more wrong than watching him die? He doesn't know, but the thought doesn't sit right with him.]}

[ Rescue doesn't mean safe in the end either way, no matter what's been said; but she'd failed, and what she has can only be passed on after she's saved.

... It's all upsides, isn't it? Tarnished silver linings.

Her eyes narrow, looking away again, studying a point in the distance. After a moment, the lines around her eyes relax, expression at first neutral, then she sighs. ]

It would be.

[ She's of a mind not to name anything after the dead, or the living, distant as they are. But that's been her way of surviving, of holding things at a distance, and she hadn't even been as good at that as she'd hoped, once.

Her eyes find his again, hands loose at her sides. ]

Living with them doesn't?

[ Now, she means, but she also knows (or thinks she knows) the only cover blown is hers. She's not close to Bertolt or Reiner, not as far as anyone from their training class would know. Armin she wouldn't be surprised to have deduct the truth eventually; she can guess, for the moment, that Bertolt isn't known.

Which meant he should be with their former classmates. Probably. For as long as the weight of their world will hang heavy on their shoulders. ]

Forget I asked.

[ It's an unfair question, and she knows it. ]

_{[Tarnished silver linings may be the best thing they've ever had.]}

No, it's, ah...

_{[Bertolt worries at his lower lip, his grip loosening on his Arcanine's harness. And, after a moment or two, he pulls his hand back to idly pick at the loose strands of fur that cling to the sleeve of his sweater as he thinks.

It hasn't happened yet, but it's very possible that his identity could be revealed. If that happens... What then? He doubts he'd still be welcome in the mobile shop that Jean owns, and Bertolt could forget setting foot on the islands again. Not without everyone in his former home getting up in arms about it. And Ford-- Well, he's been working on that. Ford is someone he feels he could trust, but it's taking time.]}

I think it's easier. I'm only living with Jean right now, and I haven't seen Armin properly since we left the island where he's living now. _{[Bertolt used to live there too, but it's gotten much too crowded for his tastes.]} I don't know if I could be in a room alone with him as it stands, but that's another story.

_{[Unless something happens, that truth is one he's keeping from the others. He's kept it vague enough, and that seems to be doing just fine.]}

B-Besides, if something did happen I've got this guy to protect me.

_{[He earns a loud half-yawn half-grumble in response from the Arcanine, which in turn prompts another watery smile.]}

Assuming I couldn't defend myself, of course.

[ Living on an island? There's a darkly amusing mirroring going on there, but she doesn't allow herself to linger over the thought. She ends up studying his face when he says he doesn't want to be alone in a room with him, because she can't really parse why in specific. Still, it's for Bertolt to say, nor for her to press. Presumably, were it important for her to know, he would clarify.

She leaves it as it is. If it's another story, it's for another time. ]

Assume if it came down to a case of Armin deciding he wanted something from you, just you, and just him, [ she adds, nodding toward the Arcanine ] wouldn't be enough.

[ There's the hint of a smile, but it's not for what she just said. It's for what she says next, with a flick of her fingers down at the scrape on her leg. ]

Have you kept up on your hand to hand combat practice?

[ Though that hint of a smile, an echo of expressions she's worn in the past, a smile with no softness compared to the fewer ones bearing warmth behind them, fades. ]

It's best if we keep our distance.

[ No compromising each other's positions, no matter where they may be, right? ]

It'd depend on what he'd want. I don't think there's anything else he could take from me.

_{[It's just vague enough - anything else - but it's still enough to make Bertolt's mouth dry and his chest tighten with dread. Annie is one of those people who deserves to know, but it's the matter of how to go about saying it.

One day, though. He promises that to himself.]}

We don't have to keep our distance. I-I mean--

_{[Bertolt reaches for something in his pocket, hesitates, and then pulls out his Pokegear and rolls it around in his hands as he tries to figure out a way to not make this sound weird.]}

You should've gotten something like this, right? W-We can use them to talk and send messages to each other. Especially since, uh... I haven't had a lot of chances to keep up on practicing hand-to-hand. We could use them to... plan meet-ups for that if we're around the same town.

[ That earns him a sharp glance, a furrowing of her brow as she parses what he says. There's always something, up to and unless... No. Oh, that's a black, bleak picture, but no. No, she doesn't want to see it. She already can, and she wishes she couldn't.

She says nothing, not right then, but the distress and a measure of horror shows on her face: there and gone again, before she schools herself back to neutrality, when she tries to push away thoughts of death and transference, of how warriors were given powers, of how the hell Armin or any of the Corps would ever know. Later. They can talk later. They will talk later.

Her device is tucked into her bag, but when he pulls his out, she follows suit. Turning it in hand, she nods, flipping it around so it faces Bertolt and his Arcanine. ]

Show me. If you're actually offering to get your ass handed to you, [ ... so modest, but really, it's almost an attempt at factual levity, ] then show me what we need to do to make that happen.

[ And a pause: ]

Will we use a code?

_{[As brief as it is, the expression on her face feels like a well-aimed knee to the gut. Silently, he makes a promise to himself to tell her everything he can bring himself to. It might do some good to talk about it and take the weight off of his shoulders, too.

He breathes a soft breath of relief after that and steps from his Arcanine's side to tilt his own Pokegear towards Annie, and after a moment or two of hesitation, he swivels so he stands at her side.]}

We can, if you want. _{[Bertolt shrugs a shoulder as he starts to show the essentials on the 'gear.]} And you'll probably hand it to me more than a few times. We'll just have to be more careful here, since, well...

_{[He glances down to the scrape on her leg, brows knit together in quiet concern. It's only a scrape and they've had worse, but it's strange seeing her bleed.

It took him awhile to get used to that happening to himself and having to heal like an ordinary human being.]} The doctors here are much better and so is the medicine, but we're not... You know. Not anymore. Not here.

So I've realised.

[ She says dryly, eyes keen and watching his hands on the gear. She doesn't even flick a glance up toward his face as she speaks, flitting memories of her father and thankless, unending training, of trying to be good enough, to meet his expectations, of bruises, contusions, bleeding feet and wrapped legs.

She tries not to think of him often, her father. Tries never to think of his apology to her, when things were too far gone to change. Tries not to think of Eren, through indirect extension, as he'd been the only one who'd helped pull those memories of the man who'd formed her to the forefront, even when she decried everything about him. Especially when she'd been so faithful to everything he taught her, everything that was, in many ways, so utterly pointless.

Her way of fighting was meant between people. She'd never needed to be a shifter for that. ]

Bruises heal. Cuts mend. I'll try not to break any ribs.

[ She's fantastic at reassurance, really, but hell, everyone's survived sparring with her. Bets remain unanswered as far as what her and Mikasa facing off would have looked like, on human ground.

... Bets are known for what it is that helped bring the Female Titan down. Mikasa, and her blades, and the fingers left lodged in the wall to disintegrate, and two feet on Annie's forehead, Fall. ]

If you're not used to it again after two years, I don't know that you ever will be.

[ Implying she'll get used to it again, because for a long time beforehand, she was used to dealing with aches and pains and sweat and blood like her father demanded. Now, remembering proper wound care... there's the kicker. ]

Try to be a little careful around that area. Mine are still, uh... Sore?

_{[While they've healed up since returning, the muscles still ache if he stretches a certain way or if he leans against something at the wrong angle. They'll continue to heal of course, but it's taking time. Too much time in his opinion, but it's better than suffering with the aches and pains for a longer period of time.

He's done his best to keep that sort of discomfort hidden, or at least just enough to keep any fussing at a minimum. He's had worse than bruised (or broken) ribs and with the size of some of his Pokemon, it certainly won't be the last time with his luck.]}

But to tell the truth, it's... nice. I-In some aspects, anyway. It's not so nice when you've got a mouthy Pokemon, but they don't mean any harm by it.

_{[He does miss the convenience of it though - here, he has to wait for small nicks on his fingers to stop stinging if he touches something wrong in the kitchen, or in some cases go to the Pokecenters to get patched up. Bertolt can't simply steam those injuries away, but it's good.

Less so when he's cooking, but details.

Tapping something on the 'gear, he tilts it a little and scrolls down the tiny page to show a list of contacts and a bar labeled INBOX.]}

Here, uh... This is my mailbox. Or voicemail. It works both ways, but if you want anything you can send a message here, and no one else can see it except me.

[ This is when she helpfully shifts so she can poke two fingers into his side. No, seriously. Not even digging in, just outright poking his ribs. This isn't particularly subtle given how tall he is, though her attention stays focused on the device, watching his response from peripheral vision. How sore is sore, being the question she didn't bother asking.

The other one is why, but she likewise doesn't give that question voice. ]

Mm.

[ Is her only offered response to "it's nice." She thinks she understands, but it's all too new and recent for her right now. It's a situation she didn't think she'd ever be in again, for... understandable reasons.

Being here is bizarre in several unexpected ways beyond the location change. ]

Presumably just the wild ones would mean harm. Unless there are some that are human aggressive.

[ Wolves starving because of a long winter, anything like that. Pokemon wolves. Do pokemon target humans, if they're large enough? There's a question for the unasked ages. At his assertion about the security of these kinds of messages, she considers. ]

Except you or anyone else with your device?

[ This she asks as a question, lifting an eyebrow and finally looking up at him sideways. At least she's not poking him in the ribs anymore. ]

_{[The jab makes Bertolt jump, but it's more out of surprise than from any aches. It even gets him to gawk for a minute, then he quickly clears it with a gentle shake of his head.

Annie always has been a mystery to him.]}

I've had a few of mine get nippy, but I haven't had too much trouble with wild ones.

_{[Most of his injuries from his own Pokemon have been from young ones, or ones who didn't know their own strength. Bertolt couldn't exactly fault them for things like that.]}

Usually, though I've got mine with me most of the time. A-And I haven't had to worry about anyone snooping through my stuff, so we'd be okay I think.

[ IIt's the gawking that she uses as a measure to guess his bruising isn't that bad. Therefore, there will be no mercy.

She proceeds to act like none of that happened. She has the answer she was looking for, and he's fine. Minus all the things which are not actually fine, so... physically sound. Who knows what to do about the rest. ]

Is that really the primary goal around here? Raising little monsters?

[ Her tone is supremely dry, because if that's the case, aren't they technically well suited for it. It's the one and only parenting model she knows, after all. You were born for this mission. Raising little monsters, then telling them to come back home. ]

You think. [ She says this like she's a breath away from a sigh; then she does sigh, tapping her thumb on the screen. She looks up, frowning. ] Is it possible to have any of these registered to someone else?

[ ............................. she grimaces. ]

Or would you say people are helpful enough here that they'd send messages to friends when you've managed to misplace your [ she hefts the device ] means of contacting them otherwise?

[ Please forgive someone who has had zero chill time. ]

That's what I've been doing. And... It's a little embarrassing to say, but I've also been doing a lot of cooking. Baking, in particular.

_{[Basically he's been trying to do everything he never would've gotten to do back in their world. He gets a chance to live, and while Bertolt doesn't know if the Curse of Ymir applies here, it's something he'll deal with when he gets there. He's almost nineteen by the standards of this world, so he still has... What, five years? Give or take?

He'll cross that bridge when he gets closer.]}

I think they'd turn it in to the police or one of the Pokecenters before doing that, and then they'd either send us a new one or contact us.

_{[His brows furrow as he thinks about it and finds himself worrying at his lower lip. as he thinks.]} I don't believe we'd have to worry about any of the locals stealing them from us at the very least.

[ If they're lucky enough to be left here for a standard lifetime, maybe being stripped of their powers will have already broken the curse. If not, it's still more time than... Bertolt had. Probably than any of them had.

She blinks, but doesn't deride what he's been doing. It sounds normal. Normal is a luxury, and for that much, she's glad if he finds pleasure in these things. Facing down the question of What To Do is something she's never had to do in this context: what to do without titan shifting, without the stupidity of outside ideals guiding her way. Just a promise to get home alive, and no way to deliver on or guarantee it.

So, monster raising. ]

No, it's not that. [ She gives a small shake of her head because she agrees, it's not something she's expressly worried about. ] I mean asking a local to send a message to each other through their own thing.

[ She patiently stares up at Bertolt sideways. Pretending they'd lost their device, needing to send a message, and sending a short one out. Why is she even concerned with subterfuge. She sits on most what she learns unless it's relevant to what's going on, anyway, and what in the world can she learn here that's useful to anyone or anything? ]

It's just a thought. If needed.

O-Oh, uh...

_{[Bertolt stares at the Pokegear with a slightly dumbfounded expression, and it's clearly something he's never thought about before. That's... Actually ingenious and he can't help the slightly bashful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.]}

I... suppose? I can't see why they wouldn't refuse. They've all been incredibly helpful for the most part so they might not think twice about that. That's really smart, Annie.

_{[They've offered the off-worlders places to stay in their homes before in a pinch, so they might not bat an eye if they were asked to make a quick emergency call or send a message to someone.]}

T-There's also an anonymous feature too on the public network if all else fails, but I haven't tried it on someone's mailbox yet.

... And you've been here two years?

[ She's giving him the flattest stare, which isn't fair, but also, she's not impressed. There might be no need for these measures, but having the knowledge of what one might need just in case seems so elementary she's just...

... boggled. Like the whole damn world they're in boggles her, aside from sending young kids out on the road unattended. That was the most familiar part of it all. She kind of glosses over terminology, grasping what she hopes is the overall idea of what he's saying. ]

An anonymous feature meaning you tell the public who can see this network a message without your name attached, which would only be helpful if... [ here she pointedly looks up at him again ] ... you had a code to signal it as significant to another party.

Just about.

_{[Which is something he'd like to see increase at this point - if he doesn't have anything back home, this may as well be Bertolt's new one. He could live a free life and while his father, Reiner, and the other warriors aren't here, it's still a life.]}

We could use a word, but we might want to use something that either nobody would know about, or would be really common but also something we know to look out for. _{[What that could be, he doesn't know.]} After that we could schedule a meeting or slip away to talk over these.

[ He'd been here two years and hadn't thought of this? She wishes that told her more about how necessary such measures were, but with Bertolt (and Reiner), she can't make that assumption. That people have lives here has... been presenting evidence, clearly, but that's another thing she's not yet fully absorbed. (Good on you, Bertolt. Annie has no real idea how to manage claiming a life of her own, but it's good that he has, and does. Important, even. Despite what they are, and everything they've done.)

Staring back down at her Pokedex, she narrows her eyes, then sighs. ]

I've been craving berry pie.

[ She looks up at him and quirks up an eyebrow. No, she is not saying she actually is craving berry pie. ]

Or any other food here or from home that makes sense. People have cravings all the time.

I've been trying my hand at a chocolate lingonberry one.

_{[At first he's serious, but as the last word leaves his mouth he catches the little quirk of her brow and he rubs at the back of his neck with his free hand. It's become so commonplace to suggest the coffee shop that Jean runs to people that it's hard to stop.]}

There's... a shop that sells it if you don't mind waiting.

_{[Nobody said coming up with a good code was easy, right? It's a start.]}

W-We could keep switching the craving up, but keep the reply more or less the same. To, uh... Avoid the same thing over and over from other people.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER TEST DRIVE MEME

big yell

laughs, tiny wave!

I'm so glad you have no idea

I'm laughing, I feel so rusty, and canon has gone so /makes hand motions alksdjf

You're fiiiiiine, and canon is definitely a t h i n g eyeballs it

thank you <3 and takes a long, slow sip of water, ah, AOT, also I'm so sorry for her

never be sorry ever she's great 👀

hahafd ❤

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why is this annie's contribution, how to take advantage of the nice natives now that you're here

she's always been the smarter one of the trio, gotta keep the dumb boys in line

with great power comes great responsibility, right? right??? okay probably not

making any of the warriors have responsibilities totally won't backfire

it's not like they're a bunch of child soldiers with death timers on them

who would be crazy enough to stick a group like that with a job, anyway?

who indeed? /we stare at the camera a la the office