![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
recolle regains
REGAIN REGISTRY
levi
memories
courtroom shenanigans [01] start over [02] spoooonmaaaaan [03] eren can't get hard [04] showdown at the old saloon [05] trust us! [06] i regret nothiiiing [07] i'll give you something to cry about [08]abilities
basic 3DMG usageitems
THING THING THINGappearance
physical conditioning
[01] courtroom (ch. 19, 11-end)
The MP goes first. Their leader speaks on their behalf, stating their belief is that Eren should be examined and then quickly disposed of. He explains that Eren's continued existence could spell civil war due to the opposing opinions on what Eren really is. What is Eren, really? The words "titan power" certainly provide a clue, and MP guy continues (his name is Nile, whatever) to state that their plan is to extract information from Eren and then turn him into a martyr. At this point, another guy on the MP's side—someone in a weird, priest-like uniform—asserts that Eren should be immediately executed for getting around the "divine protection" of the wall. The head guy tells him to shut up and requests to hear from the other side.
The man to Levi's immediate right introduces himself as Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps. He then states that his plan is to bring Eren into the Corps as a member and use his titan power to take back Wall Maria. At this point another guy starts yelling about how the Survey Corps needs to stop playing at heroes. It's time for Levi to speak up.
He essentially calls the man a fat pig and accuses him of ignoring both his protectors and the people who would benefit from the Corps' efforts. This sets the priest-looking guy off, and he starts yelling again about how the walls are gifts from god and that people shouldn't lay their hands on them (he kinda hates this guy already). The man at the head of the room asks Eren if he can really be a soldier and use his power to benefit the human race. Eren says that he can, but then it's brought up that, during the recent mission, Eren (in titan form) swung at Mikasa Ackerman (wait, that's his last name, too! what a mystery). The girl in question confirms that to be true, but also points out that Eren saved her twice before that. Nile then jumps back in to say that he'd been investigating Eren's background, and he discovered that Eren and Mikasa murdered three adult robbers when they were only nine years old, and that Eren's humanity should be questioned. This causes a debate in the room between various people, but when Mikasa's humanity is also brought into question, Eren speaks up.
He tells everyone to leave Mikasa out of it, and then continues to talk about how pointless this all is, and cries out that everyone should just shut up and invest everything in him. This stuns the audience into silence, and just as the MP prepare themselves to take Eren down, Levi invites himself down to where Eren is chained and kicks him in the face.
Repeatedly.
One of Eren's teeth flies out. Levi just keeps wailing on him as the rest of the room watches in shock. Eventually, with Eren's head under his foot, he says that he believes pain is the most effective punishment. He also says that the lesson Eren needs to learn right now can't be taught with words. Then it's back to the beating until Nile speaks up to say this is dangerous—what if Eren gets mad and turns into a titan? Levi throws it right back to him, saying the MP are the ones who want to dissect Eren. In titan form, he killed 20 other titans before becoming exhausted, and he has the intelligence other titans don't on top of that. "But he's not my enemy," Levi says. "Is he yours?"
Erwin makes a proposal. He says that if Eren is put into the Survey Corps' control, he will pair him up with Levi as a failsafe; he'd be able to deal with Eren in even the worst circumstances due to his skill. The judge asks Levi if he can do it, and Levi replies that he can kill him, but there would be no half-measures. In the stands, the girl they called Mikasa is giving him an absolute death glare.
Before the decision is made, Nile asks Erwin what he will do about the people of the interior who think Eren is a demon. Erwin replies that they will prove that Eren is an asset on the next expedition beyond the walls, and that Eren's future can be based on those results. So, finally, the judge gives his order: Eren is to be placed with the Survey Corps, with the caveat that he could be back here in chains depending on how the expedition goes.
Shortly after the trial, Levi, Eren, Erwin, and two other Survey Corps soldiers are in a room. Erwin is apologizing, saying it would be well worth the pain, and that Eren has his respect. As the two shake hands, Levi crosses the room and flops unceremoniously onto the couch with Eren and asks him if he resents him. Eren says no, he knows it was a show. One of the other soldiers, who is wearing glasses, points out that Levi broke Eren's tooth, and asks Eren to open his mouth. His tooth is already growing back.
[02] start over (ch. 20, 3-9)
[03] spoooonmaaaaan (ch. 25, 34-45; ch. 26, 1-11)
The rest of the squad proceeds to freak out, thinking Eren was turning on them, but Levi steps between them and Eren and orders everyone to calm down. The squad yells at Eren some more, and Levi tells them again to calm down—when asked why, he claims it's just a gut feeling. Just then, Hange comes running back, screaming in excitement. She wants to touch Eren's titan arm. It's really hot. She loses her shit about how hot it is. She notices there's a spoon in his hand. Finally, Eren realized he can pull his actual arm out of his titan arm, so he does so (with some difficulty, of course). Levi asks him how he's feeling. "Not so good," he replies.
[04] eren can't get hard
Eren is understandably disappointed, saying he won't be able to retake Wall Maria for awhile at this rate, because he couldn't harden himself. Levi speaks up, confirming that they, too, are disappointed, and that everyone's been miserable. They can't waste any more time, he says. Who knows what will happen next? It's a "shitty situation." Scarf speaks up, saying Eren did his best, but Levi continues to complain. But he's not blaming Eren, he explains. He's just being an asshole. Complaining is an important ritual. He goes on to say that it's been shit inside the walls for a hundred years, but he always thought it was normal until he went outside. It's hell out there, but it's free. Glasses cuts in and tells Eren that what Levi is trying to say is that they've successfully learned he can't harden his titan. They learned a bunch of other things, too. So, they keep fighting. Levi more or less agrees.
After a moment, Eren seems to have gotten a headache. Scarf encourages him to rest more. Glasses continues - what are their next steps? Looking into the "wallists." They know something they're not sharing about the fact that the walls are made of hardened titans (???). And Erwin, who is in the royal capital, should now know something about why the Reiss family, but not the king himself, is allowed to hear this secret.
[05] showdown at the old saloon (ch. 58)
Kenny thinks he understands why Levi joined the Survey Corps. They both lived in a "garbage dump," after all—of course he wanted to see the rest of the world. Meanwhile, while Kenny is taunting him, Levi is quietly adjusting a bottle behind the bar until it reflects Kenny's position. They exchange a few more words about killing people and then Levi swings the shotgun upside-down over his head and shoots. Kenny's hit and goes flying right back out the saloon doors. Levi tosses the shotgun back to the barkeeper, thanking him, and then throws a chair at a window and goes flying back outside.
[06] trust us!
[07] i regret nothiiiing
"You're not wrong. If you wanna do it, go ahead."
This shocks Eren and the rest of the squad, but Levi continues to explain. Eren is a true monster, he says. No matter what you do to him, you'll never be able to force him to submit. The difference between Eren's stance and theirs is experience, he says—Eren must choose whether to believe in himself, or the rest of the squad (and the Survey Corps in general).
"I don't know the answer," he continues. "I never have. Whether you trust in your own strength...or trust in the choices made by reliable comrades. No one knows what the outcome will be. So, as much as you can...choose whatever you'll regret the least."
Eren makes another move to bite his hand, but before he can, Petra asks him to trust them. Meanwhile, the titan is closing in on them, so Levi yells at Eren to make a choice. He finally chooses to keep going with them.
[08] i'll give you something to cry about
She finally falls, having been severely immobilized by Levi's attack. Her hands, which were protecting her nape, fall as they too are slashed severely. Mikasa takes this opportunity to try to take her out. Buuut that clearly was not part of the plan, and as Levi yells at her to stop, a giant arm suddenly rises again to take her out. Levi manages to push her out of the way in time, but it comes at the price of a loud crack—yeah, that was his leg. Ouch. It's time to get the hell out of here.
So he blasts himself right into the side of the titan's mouth and out the other side, making her jaw fall open. Some big slimy thing starts to slide out of her mouth and oh my god it's Eren. Levi grabs him (gross) and makes his escape, yelling for Mikasa to follow. She's immediately calling out for Eren—Levi tells her he's alive (but dirty, because that's important right now). They need to forget about the female titan for now, he says. They can't lose sight of their objective. They got back her "precious friend" after all, didn't they?
As they fly away, Levi takes one more look back at the titan, who's still mostly immobile. She appears to be crying.
Yikes.