Imagine hiking with your friend. Just one friend. You’re in the woods, walking, laughing, on your way to the campsite, when you didn’t notice that you accidentally walked into somekind of portal to the AOT verse. You didn’t notice it at first, but then you noticed the trees were taller and the whole environment seemed to have shifted. You tell your friend and he/she noticed it too. Both of you look back to maybe go back a few steps. Maybe you accidentally went off track without noticing. But as soon as you turn back, there’s a titan suddenly running towards you. It didn’t register at first. It seemed surreal. But as it got closer, it finally clicked and both of you sprinted like you never did before.
Thoughts ran through your heads. (To sum it all up, basically it’s “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.”) But you didn’t stop running because it’s run or be eaten. Unfortunately one of you stumbled and fall on the ground. Of course the other have to stop and help the other. But the titan was getting closer and closer, and at that point, you just accepted what is to come because it’s not like you could do anything. (But really at the back of your mind, you still think it isn’t real.)
The titan was about to pound on both of you when the Survey Corps suddenly came and slayed the titan. You and your friend were both in shock that when they approached you, you couldn’t move or say anything.
What do you do next?
I think this would be an interesting thread. I’d like to know what you guys think. Maybe in the comments, maybe in the reblogs. Write a fanfic if you will, and please tag me because I would love to read it.
Here’s my version, my friend, (who’s gay but his pronouns are he/him), he would come up with some kind of tragic back story for us. Who we are, why are we outside the safe zone, etc. Then I would try to convince them to let us join the Survey Corps. Haha!
I find it funny because I can imagine us training or maybe doing chores, then suddenly breaking into songs because we love music, and we love musicals. Haha! Also, we would probably debate on whether if we should change what’s going to happen because we obviously know, but at the same time we also don’t want to mess up the timeline.
Historia had always loved people-watching. As far back as she could remember, she’d found herself observing anyone and everyone around her, looking for patterns, examining the cause and effect, discerning the reasons behind their choices. Her friends at school had come to find it very annoying, even Ymir, who was her closest friend, so Historia often made trips alone. Her favorite place to go people-watching?
The mall.
It was the perfect setting. It was jam-packed with all sorts of people from all walks of life, brushing shoulders, muttering apologies, making purchases, having conversations, getting into arguments. Historia’s favorite hobby was going to the mall, placing herself on a bench, and watching those who passed by with curious blue eyes.
Today was no different; she made her purchases, grabbed a smoothie, set down her backs, and settled onto a bench just outside a sports store. Inside the store she spotted several people she recognized; guys who all played on the various sports teams at her college. She loved to people-watch at school, too, so she knew most everyone, what their major was, and the social circles they hung out in. These guys, all being athletes, of course spent a majority of their time together.
Connie Springer was a soccer player, currently looking at a new pair of cleats and very obviously making several calculations to see whether he could afford them – she knew from the way his hand kept brushing the back pocket where his wallet was.
Jean Kierschtein and Marco Bodt played lacrosse together, and were thick as thieves. A lot of people, Historia included, had speculated that their feelings for each other were more than friendship. They both vehemently denied it – which made them even more suspicious. The pair looked at knee pads, murmuring quietly amongst themselves.
The last two Historia recognized were gently tossing around a football, comparing brands. Their names were Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover, and they were star football players; especially Reiner, who was built like an ox – tall, strong, with broad shoulders and a firm core. Like a giant blond, friendly… handsome… bear. Bertholdt was slimmer, but taller, built more like a basketball player – which he was. He was the only one in school who was on two sports teams, although it was clear his talent for basketball vastly outweighed his talent for football. He’d probably only joined the football team to be closer to Reiner, who was his best friend. At least these were Historia’s assumptions; being on a completely different educational track, she’d never really spoken much to either of them.
Suddenly Reiner sneezed so hard that he lost his grip on the football he was holding and dropped it – the nose of the ball hit the floor in just the right way, sending it bouncing like a jack-rabbit right into a hangar full of baseball caps, knocking it over and sending hats everywhere. Reiner continued sneezing, five more times Historia counted, profusely apologizing between each sneezing and attempting to clean up the mess he’d suddenly made. Bertholdt swooped into help, unaffected by allergies and therefore able to clean up much more efficiently than his friend. Reiner had only a brief reprieve from the allergies before he started sneezing again, having to leave the store.
As he emerged, eyes watering from the allergy attack, he pulled a small bottle of medicine from his pocket and popped a pill under his tongue, sniffling. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but it wasn’t her place. Plus, she wanted to see what he’d do. Reiner wasn’t the type of guy to hang out alone; he was constantly surrounded by friends, both at school and elsewhere. People naturally gravitated toward him, and he toward them. It was one of the reasons why he was the most popular guy at Sina University.
The beefy blond made his way over to the bench Historia had claimed, sitting down next to her. The bench wasn’t huge, so it wasn’t like he had much of a choice, but… she still had to admit she was surprised. He blinked several times, as if trying to stay awake. Glancing over at her, his expression brightened, his amber eyes filling with warmth. For a reason she couldn’t fathom, his cheeks grew pink with a blush. “H-Hey… don’t I know you?” he asked.
Historia hesitated, flushing in embarrassment. Conversation hadn’t been what she was expecting when she came to the mall today. “U-Uhm, we go to school together,” she replied.
“R-Right… e-errrr…” he appeared thoughtful, yet somehow bashful, too. The star athlete of SU, tripping over his words in front of her? How odd. “W-Wait! Historia, right…??”
Her lips curled into a smile, her brows lifting in surprise. “That’s me,” was her reply. “I saw you had a little trouble inside Sports Etc… Are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh, i-it’s just… allergies,” he replied, wiping his nose with his sleeve and grinning sheepishly. Seeming to relax a little bit, the burly man leaned back slightly and closed his eyes. His eyelids seemed… heavy. “I took an… anti… histamine.”
Suddenly his mouth went slack-jawed and he went quiet, only snoring softly. Historia blinked once, then twice. Really? Had he… fallen asleep? She knew allergy medicines had a tendency to cause drowsiness, but this was – well, fast. Suddenly feeling like she was intruding, she moved to grab her bags and let him have the bench to himself when –
“Eep–” she felt a sudden heavy weight on her shoulder and the petite blonde glanced over to see the football player’s head on her shoulder. He was still sound asleep, mouth open, a hint of drool on his lip… and frankly, he looked quite cute. Innocent. Peaceful. Everything most college guys were not. She was sure Reiner wasn’t completely innocent, either, but from all the rumors she’d heard about him… he was as nice as they came. Helpful, straight-laced, honest.
She hadn’t talked to him as much as she’d have liked, considering their vastly different social circles, but Historia found herself wishing he was awake so she could talk to him, without interference from his friends. But she also found herself unwilling to wake him; so instead she simply lifted a hand, gently moved his head so that she could sit back, and let him rest on her shoulder. His much larger body was very close to her own, so close now that their knees were touching, and she realized just how much he… well, dwarfed her. He may not have been as tall as, say, Bertholdt, but he was so wide-framed and bulky that she felt like if he were to hug her, he’d be able to just swallow her whole and she’d get lost in his chest. He was also warm – no, hot. Feeling his forehead confirmed it. The man’s body ran like he had a constant fever. Historia decided that hugging Reiner would be like… hugging a big, warm grizzly bear.
The next few minutes were peaceful. Historia found herself wrapped in a blanket of warmth due to her unplanned companion’s high body heat, and his slow and even breathing was relaxing. Even she was growing drowsy; her head tilted this way and that, her eyes suddenly laden with exhaustion. Before she knew it, Historia had leaned over, her cheek resting atop Reiner’s short, fluffy blond hair; the perfect pillow for an unexpected afternoon snooze.
—-
“You think they’re secretly dating and Reiner never told us?”
“You’re a dumbass, Connie. Reiner wouldn’t keep a girl like that a secret. He’d be insane.”
“Lots of guys at the school have secret girlfriends, Jean! Just because you’re gay –”
“I’mnotgay!”
“You’re holding Marco’s hand right now!”
A choking sound. Then: “I-I am not!”
“Made you look, didn’t I?”
“You guys… can’t we please just get along?”
“No one asked you, Marco!”
Historia’s eyes cracked open to find four college boys staring intently at her. She jumped a bit, pressing herself back into the bench and hoping it would swallow her up permanently. Her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. Reiner was so knocked out that he didn’t budge from his spot on her shoulder. God, men were so weird.
Finally, Bertholdt broke the silence, looking almost as embarrassed as Historia herself. “Erm – we just came to check on Reiner…” he began hesitantly.
“R-Right,” the petite blonde squeaked, glancing back over at Reiner, who had left a hint of drool on her sleeve. Gross. But cute. “I-I think he’s okay… I think the antihistamines just knocked him out is all.”
“Anti-who-what?” Connie’s eyes widened. “Oh god – we can’t get caught with drugs!”
“You’re such a moron,” Jean hissed. “Antihistamines. It’s just allergy medicine. You know how Reiner gets all sneezy in the spring.”
“OH.” Connie looked relieved rather than insulted. “Well – we can’t just take him home like this, can we?”
“I’d be happy to try, but Reiner is really heavy,” Marco admitted sheepishly.
“Dude weighs a ton,” Jean agreed.
Bertholdt had stayed silent, seemingly debating with himself on what to do. “We’re sorry about this,” he finally said, directing the statement at Historia. “I’m sure Reiner had no idea it would work so fast. The medicine he took today is a new one, I think. He has to change brands every so often.”
“I mean, you guys can wake him up if you need to,” Historia said with a shrug, glancing down at the sleeping giant still leaning on her shoulder. “But he seems so… peaceful.”
“You did too,” Connie began with a grin. “You two looked really cozy. We thought you were dating!”
“You thought they were dating,” Jean corrected impatiently.
Historia’s eyes didn’t leave Reiner’s face. Still snoring, eyebrows lifted, mouth slightly crooked as some drool caked on his chin. He was really out of it. Those drugs did him in. Testing the waters, she shifted her body just a bit, trying to raise an arm to see if he would wake; to her shock, embarrassment, and secretly her satisfaction (though she’d never admit it), he simply shifted closer to her, a dopey grin on his face, and laid his head on her chest. A strong arm wrapped around her as if she was a pillow he was loathe to part with, and she jumped slightly, an arm lifting as he pulled her in tighter.
Historia couldn’t stop the hot blush that crawled up her neck and flushed her pale cheeks, and she nearly couldn’t hold back the squeal that rose in the back of her throat. She was tingling all over – whether from delight or mortification, she didn’t know – and when she finally lowered her lifted arm to rest on his bicep, she found that he was – oh. He was strong. Not like a body-builder, but like a lumberjack. Naturally strong. No wonder he was such a natural at football. Historia decided to indulge herself and give his arm a light squeeze. It was firm to the touch, the muscles flexing unconsciously under her fingers.
Reiner’s friends collectively groaned at the reaction; all four guys seemed utterly fed-up, even Bertholdt. “Reiner,” Bertholdt said timidly, reaching in to shake the burly blond gently. Absolutely nothing happened. Reiner mumbled under his breath and buried his face in Historia’s shirt.
“I say we leave him,” Jean suggested.
“We can’t do that!” Marco protested. “It’s not fair to him or to her!”
“He’s got a ride.” Jean waved his hand dismissively. “Plus, he much prefers it right where he’s at, it looks like. I don’t blame him.”
Bertholdt frowned and hesitated, but seemed to overall agree. “He can find his way,” the brunette finally said, and all four guys turned to walk off before Historia even realized what was happening. She’d been too preoccupied with the humiliation of having this giant of a man publicly snuggling her in his sleep, and too preoccupied with questioning why the hell she liked it. By the time she looked up, Reiner’s friends were in full retreat.
“Hey!” she protested. “Y-You can’t just leave him here!”
Reiner mumbled and shifted, drawing her attention down to him. Now that no one was really watching, she allowed herself a hint of a giddy smile. This was so ridiculous, and yet it was the most alive she’d felt in a long time. And it was surprising how… natural it felt. And apparently it looked that way, too, because the random passersby were completely ignoring them. ‘Just another couple showing a little too much PDA in the mall,’ they probably thought. That’s what she would assume.
Historia smiled again and settled back against the bench, having already made the decision to stick it out until the giant bear beside her decided to wake up from his drug-induced nap. This really was a crazy situation. Completely unexpected. But she was beside herself with hidden glee.
She guessed she had a particular brand of antihistamines to thank for that.
Suddenly she felt Reiner shift slightly, and when she tilted her head down to look at him, she found his eyes cracking open. Instantly a jolt of both heat and ice raced down her spine and she froze in place. He was waking up.
Late Night Stories Vol. 03 Krista Lenz : A Heart-Pounding Story
“Nngh… Meaaaat… Breaaad… Mrrgh.”
“Wake up, potato girl! Your textbook is covered in drool!”
Whack!The dull sound of someone’s head being struck filled the room. It was late at night, but the girls barracks still glowed bright.
“Hey, whose idea was it again to copy the boys and pull an all-nighter?!”
“You, too, Ymir. Calm down…”
“Then do you want to give up and go to sleep, Krista? You know this test about the history and construction of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment is ridiculously hard, right? And it’s even going to be counted in our overall marks!”
“Ugh… I won’t sleep. I’ll study.”
“L-Let us join, too!”
Mina and Hannah, two other recruits, gathered around the trio sitting around the table. Unable to sit there and watch everyone desperately try to rub the drowsiness out of their eyes any longer. Ymir crossed her arms and made a suggestion.
“Now that I think of it, the boys said they had someone tell a story to wake them up. Hey, Krista. Give us a story.”
“Whaat?!”
••••••
Now that she had been put on the spot, Krista looked around at everyone, flustered.
“B-But, what should I talk about…?”
“Oh, I want to hear a story about a time when someone made your heart race, Krista!”
Hannah’s proposal put a glimmer in all the girls’ eyes, aside from Krista’s. She looked skeptical, like she didn’t even understand what was being said.
“But…”
“It doesn’t have to be anything special. For example, a time you saw someone as a good person because of something unexpected they did. You know, that kind of thing!”
The girls all agreed as they looked on expectantly. Krista thought, and then she suddenly clapped.
“Oh! Then what about this?”
••••••
It happened during a training exercise meant to take place in a scenario where the recruits had to plan an escape with multiple horses from a Titan-filled area. Notifying the people of danger and evacuating them on horses during emergencies was an important part of a soldier’s duties.
At the time, Krista was in a team with Ymir and Sasha.
“The pack of horses meant for the citizens has made it to the Forest of Giant Trees!”
“I’ll use Vertical Maneuvering to be on watch! Sasha, you protect the rear!”
“Alright!”
As Krista led the horses from the front, she was concerned about Ymir overhead. Because there would be sudden Titan appearances during the training, log traps meant to recreate a Titan’s long, outstretched limbs had been placed in their way, as well as dummy Titans meant to obstruct them.
“In front!”
A dummy Titan appeared from nowhere in front of Krista. She immediately put her horse on a detour and made sure the pack had changed directions before using Vertical Maneuvering to leap into the air herself. But then—
“Guh?!”
“Ymir!!”
Now a log trap had appeared, this time in front of Ymir—
“HIYAAAAA!”
••••••
“…And that’s how Sasha saved us!”
“Yeah, that was pretty surprising.”
Though Sasha should have been in the back, she used her Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to appear in the very front, where she used both her legs to land a kick on the log, changing its direction. Thanks to her, Ymir avoided taking a direct hit while Krista was able to focus on destroying the dummy Titan, allowing training to come to a safe end.
“That was cool.”
“I’m sure it was just her intuition, but she did save us.”
Sasha had already fallen sound asleep while the story was being told, and Ymir forced a smile as she gently poked her head.
…But Mina and Hannah looked unamused, as though they had been deceived.
“Um… That’s not what we meant…”
“We wanted to hear a story about…well, a different kind of person, I guess…”
“What, that wasn’t good enough for you?”
“No…it did help us wake up, but…”
The disappointed recruits suddenly realized something. Couldn’t the trio’s trust in one another and their close teamwork be the cause of their high marks?
“…I guess that means we should be more serious about training, too, instead of just trying to hear about silly love stories.”
“Hmm? Mrrgh…”
“…It is plain annoying that the hero of that story is out cold right now, though.”
And so, the night marched quietly on in the girls barracks.
This Idiot finally gave in and browse their copy of Shingeki no Kyojin: Short Stories 3 to confirm the AU Smartpass Stories published inside it!
Ps:Can’t read Japanese, so matched names to website listing via Japanese Characters Shape, so dun expect me to translate the story till Kodansha USA release it in English! (シ_ _)シ
Original Release Date: December 28th, 2020 Retail Price: Various (See below)
TSUTAYA has released previews of its SnK merchandise for 2020! The second half of the various items feature Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Sasha, Connie Annie, Historia, Levi, Hanji, and Zeke in new GraffArt character designs, including:
Hard phone case (2,178 yen)
Character pass case (1,518 yen)
Can badges (12 types; 528 yen each or 3,168 yen for box of 6)
Large acrylic stand (1,760 yen)
Leather charms (12 types; 748 yen each or 4,488 for box of 6)
Postcard holder (1,650 yen)
Smartphone character ring (1,518 yen)
Tote bag (2,200 yen)
Mug (1,650 yen)
Washi tape (550 yen)
A series of 7 collectible postcards are also available randomly to any customers who buy over 2,200 yen worth of merchandise.
