titanscience | Seasons inbox

[ Doing this in person is a bad idea for a multitude of reasons. There isn't enough trust on either side; anything could go wrong. So Reiner resorts to using new technology, having already seen that Hange knows how to use it.

When the video clicks on, it shows Reiner seated at a table, his hands folded in front of him. His clothing is plain enough, his long-sleeved shirt the classic dark green he favored in Paradis. But there's one addition: on his left arm, he wears a red armband with a nine-pointed star. A Warrior's armband. ]

Commander. [ There's no hostility in his tone; he sounds calm, respectful. ] I'd like to discuss a mutual non-aggression pact.

Reiner?

[Hange's response is nowhere near the formality of Reiner's, the device evidently being held up with one hand as the other is being used to prod around some food sitting on a plate.]

A non-aggression pact? Huh?

[blink blink. But everyone's been getting on rather well, haven't they? Well. Maybe not since Reiner arrived, if they had to take a guess?]

What are you proposing?

[ If Reiner thinks anything in particular about Hange taking this video call during a meal, he doesn't show it beyond a quick blink. It's not as though he gave them any notice, did he? And at least they're willing to listen.

So he continues, voice still calm and measured. ]

Several members of the Survey Corps have assured me that they don't want to fight me here. That's worked so far in that no civilians have died yet. But it's not ideal. So, I want to negotiate a formal agreement between your people and mine, for now and in the future.

[ A pause, then: ]

Do you know what I mean by "my people"?

[ A concession to the fact that Reiner has accepted Hange is likely from the future, uncomfortable as the concept makes him feel. ]

[The particular wording has Hange frowning, pausing to set down the fork.]

No civilians are going to die, period. Who have you been fighting with?

[Let's just make that clear right here. The people in this world have no reason to get caught up in whatever drama this is, but it sounds as though things have happened that Hange has missed.]

I don't want us to fight either, so we can talk about it. Though you may need to be more specific regarding what you mean by 'your people'. Are you referring to your 'Warriors'? Eldians? Or the people who lived in Marley, in general?

[Because they know all about it.]

[ Belatedly, Reiner realizes that his choice of words may have come across as a threat. He shakes his head, already wishing that Pieck or Zeke were here to do this. ]

Nothing has come to a fight. [ Well… ] Jean punching me in the face a few times notwithstanding.

[ Not that Reiner sounds angry about that. Faintly resigned, at best.

His fingers flex on the table as he suppresses the urge to fidget, or maybe curl his hands into fists. It's beyond bizarre, hearing Hange use those terms so casually. It drives home how little information Reiner has about his enemy's intel. Ironic, that, since it used to be the other way around. ]

As for who I'm referring to: all of the above. Anyone from an Eldian internment zone. Anyone from Marley. Any Warrior or Warrior Candidate: Bertolt, Annie, Zeke Yeager, Pieck Finger, Porco Galliard, [ a hesitation, then, ] Marcel Galliard, et cetera.

[ off screen, Levi stares at Hange's face while he shakes his head and draws a finger across his throat in imitation of slicing it open at the mention of Zeke's name, letting them know his opinion about entering any sort of non-murder agreement with that fucking monkey again. ]

[Similarly off screen, Gabi is sitting with her hands in her lap a short distance away from Reiner, but out of range of his camera. She's making sure to keep very quiet, as per Reiner's instruction, but she doesn't even try to hide her "just bit into a lemon" face at the mention of Zeke's name.]

I suppose it could have been worse..

[The mental image of Jean punching Reiner however brings up a forgotten memory, of a similar fight when they had all been sitting around a campfire. Marco. It was only a month ago that Hange got to experience Jean's memories, of finding the corpse of his friend rotting in the street.]

Does he know the truth behind Marco's death?

[Yeah, spoilers, Hange also knows about that. But if he hasn't found out yet, there may be a few more punches headed Reiner's way some time in the future, and Hange couldn't really fault Jean for that.]

[Reiner lists off the people he wants to protect, and it's all very well and good until one particular name has Hange frowning, their jaw tightening at the sound of it. Their eyes flicker off-screen momentarily before facing the camera again, taking a few seconds to try and formulate the best diplomatic way of saying 'fuck Zeke Yaeger'.]

I have no issues with the rest of them, and I don't believe anybody else will, but Zeke Yaeger is going to be a hard sell. He's pissed a lot of people off, on both sides.

The others I can give the benefit of the doubt, in fact I wouldn't mind seeing Annie or Pieck again, but nobody from Paradis is going to be able to trust Zeke Yaeger.

[Well.. Eren, maybe? Who knows where the two brothers stand with each other..]

[ At the mention of Marco, a ghost of something haunted flashes across Reiner's features, just as it did when they spoke in the Research Center. The expression vanishes a second later, and Reiner inclines his head. ]

Yeah, Jean knows.

[ Then Reiner's brows furrow, lips pressing together for a moment. Distracted by both his cousin's face and the idea that Hange wouldn't mind seeing Annie and Pieck. Is that a threat…? It doesn't sound like one, but…

Fucking timeline bullshit.

When Reiner speaks again, it's with the slow, measured pace of someone trying to grasp a concept that they genuinely cannot. ]

You have an issue trusting Zeke but not me, Bertolt, or Annie—the ones who broke your walls and infiltrated your military.

[At least Jean knows, and nobody got into too much of a mess because of it. Hange supposes it was the best outcome, all things considering.]

[Now on to the ~~monkey~~ elephant in the room, a topic which is going to be more problematic.]

I'm not suggesting that I trust you outright, as you are now. But the circumstances are different. You were children sent to carry out a mission behind enemy lines. Do you intend to continue it here?

[Bertolt and Annie are not here anyway, but Reiner is. The only need for hostilities is if he provokes it. Hange has nothing against him personally; yes he broke their walls and doomed countless innocents into becoming titan food, but their own side can hardly play the innocent victim here considering the destruction they caused in Liberio when "rescuing" Eren.]

Zeke Yaeger betrayed what little trust we offered to him, and countless lives were lost. Did you know that betrayal also carried over to your own "people"? Next time you see Gabi, ask her about Falco. See if she trusts Zeke.

[Maybe it's harsh to involve Gabi in this, because Hange genuinely likes her a lot! But it's needed to sow the seed of doubt in Reiner's mind. Not only is Zeke untrustworthy, but there's no way in hell that Levi isn't going to immediately slice his head off the moment he shows up here. If he shows up here.]

[ Reiner frowns, but his eyes don't immediately dart to Gabi, especially after he picks up her body language in his peripheral vision. He's not going to make her explain this, especially if it concerns Falco; not unless he has no other choice. Instead, he laces his fingers together, weighing Hange's words, gaze remaining locked on the camera. ]

If we're going to make any progress here, I'll need to know the specifics. What was the betrayal? When and how did it happen?

And if you haven't already, I think you should decide whether or not you still consider me to be a child. Because from my perspective, our attack on Trost District was only a few months ago.

Edited 2023-06-18 15:19 (UTC)

No, I don't consider you a child.

[Childhood represents innocence and naivity, and that is something lost by not only Reiner, but all of them, a long time ago.]

[Hange is silent for a moment, intentionally ignoring the first questions in favor of debating the pros and cons of what to say. How much information to give out. What Reiner should know versus what is better kept quiet for now. In the end, they decide to give a brief rundown. Hange just told him to ask Gabi, so he is going to find it out soon anyway.]

The main point of the story is that we decided to work together, in a sense. Zeke willingly came to Paradis. While we didn't trust one another, we kept him under observation, I really thought at the time that we may be able to put our differences aside in order to focus on the bigger problems faced by our peoples.

[Namely the persecution and the threats and potential invasion and a whooole lot of other things Reiner has no idea about yet.]

Of course he repaid our hospitality by contaminating crates of wine with his spinal fluid, which he had generously gifted to all our officers, and government officials, you name it.

[This part doesn't need to be explained, surely. Reiner must know the effects of titan spinal fluid.]

And he didn't care who became collateral damage. Not even his "own people". Not even if they were children.

[Surely you can connect the dots with the last part, Reiner. Zeke's moves were dirty, and it spelt death for far too many people. A fate worse than death, perhaps, because those affected would eventually be turned into Titans and be slaughtered before they could eat innocents.]

[Of course there is a lot more to the story, and a lot of it is much more personal. Levi almost dying, Erwin dying, that one day that decimated almost the entirety of the scouts. But bringing up the events of Shiganshina is not something Hange wishes to do right now. Reiner is too involved in that.]

My point is, for those who know who he is, nobody likes Zeke. If he somehow appeared here he is receiving worse than a punch, and he would deserve it.

[ Reiner listens attentively, though confusion flickers in his eyes. Marley must've sent Zeke to infiltrate Paradis, as it once sent four kids. Why the drastic change in approach? Notably, Reiner appears startled by the mention of spinal fluid in wine: it's not a tactic he ever saw deployed, having left for Paradis shortly after his Titan was first tested in war. Then Hange mentions Zeke's own people, children, and—

Reiner's gaze darts to the side, just long enough to see Gabi, then his eyes drop to his hands. His fingers are still laced, his grip tightening as the horror of it washes over him. Somehow, that contaminated wine got into Falco, then Zeke's scream turned Falco into a Pure Titan. Did Zeke know it would happen? Was it deemed an acceptable loss? Was Gabi there to witness it?

For a long moment, Reiner just stares at his hands, visibly sickened. Zeke was never kind to Reiner when he was a kid, not by a long shot. But Zeke looked after them. He led the younger Warrior Candidates, guided them, acted as a mentor. The Boy Wonder. The one person whose fanatical loyalty to Marley outstripped Reiner's own. How could Zeke have harmed another Warrior Candidate…?

Finally, Reiner speaks, his eyes still on his white-knuckled hands. ]

All right. When you're from, Zeke is a real piece of shit.

[ A break from formality, Reiner's disgust and anger permeating the curse.

It's hypocritical. Reiner's actions have killed countless children in Paradis. But he's not thinking of that. He's thinking about how happy Gabi looks when she talks about Falco. He's thinking about a promise that he and Falco apparently make in the future. He's thinking that if Falco stopped being a Pure Titan, it was likely because Falco ate him.

He thought he wouldn't know who inherited his Armor for years. It's good that it's someone Gabi cares about so deeply.

But then Reiner takes a breath, letting it out slowly. He deliberately relaxes his hands, eyes flicking up to find the camera again. ]

… But when I'm from, he's never even met you. Before that, he was someone I grew up with.

[ Whatever "collateral damage" Zeke caused in Paradis can't stretch so far into the past. The Zeke that Reiner knows is a jerk, sure, but Zeke is still a Warrior, his loyalty to Marley unquestionable. And Reiner can't throw Zeke to the dogs—or Captain Levi's blades, as the case may be. Reiner's loyalty goes far too deep.

He lifts his chin, pressing forward. Focusing on the situation at hand. ]

If Zeke arrives here, the first step should be assessing when he's from and what he's done, not decapitating him. [ Then he frowns slightly. ] To be honest, decapitating him would probably cause more problems than it fixes. If the dead return in … flowers … [ which is still so fucking stupid, he hates even saying it, ] … then all you'd achieve is pissing him off. I don't know if you ever witnessed him in a real fight, but he can cause a lot more than just collateral damage.

[ There's a note of respect in his voice. A note of fear. It wasn't long ago that Reiner fought Zeke one-on-one to try and rescue Annie, only to have his ass handed to him.

He blinks, seeming to return from whatever memory pulled his focus. ]

That's part of the point of a mutual nonaggression pact: preventing collateral damage.

[Yeah, Zeke is a piece of shit alright, but Hange can't allow themselves to feel smug or pleased over Reiner conceding to that point. If they knew that Gabi was there listening to this, they would certainly feel ashamed about dragging her into it, making her relive those awful moments, but as it stands it was a weakness to be exploited, that emotional connection between the cousins being the best hand that Hange had been dealt in order to cultivate a seed of doubt in Reiner's mind as to how much respect should be afforded to one Zeke Yaeger.]

[Hange continues to listen silently. Reiner is right- if Zeke showed up here, and that's a big if, the first step would definitely be to establish a timeline as to what he knows and what he has done. And while Hange hates the idea, really hates it, they also believe that they cannot necessarily punish him for something he may or may not have done yet.]

[If they allowed it to happen, wouldn't that make them this world's worst hypocrite? They haven't punished Eren for what he eventually does after all, and that is a million times worse than anything Zeke conjured up, even though the emotional damage may be just as severe. These last two months have been an attempt to make progress, as assurance to Eren that this world is about making a choice, about forging a different future away from the mass murder he eventually commits, that being here is a chance to do better.]

[The same should be offered to his brother, right?]

[Man, Levi is really going to hate this. Hange can't even glance over in his direction right now.]

I agree, the first step should be to find out what time he came from, that is if he is summoned here at all. We know all too well the devastation that can be brought about by that beast, and even I can admit that pissing him off unnecessarily will lead us down an troublesome road that will be difficult to rectify.

[Hange is choosing their words carefully here, agreeing to parts they can agree to while being very careful to not make promises they don't know can be kept.]

I'll have to discuss it with the others. As you know, it's going to be a hard sell.

[ Reiner nods, realizing that's the best he could reasonably hope to achieve. Better, maybe. He'd prepared himself for worse scenarios than this; half the reason he's wearing his Warrior armband is that it's an anchor, helping him remember just in case he started slipping. So he doesn't push for a definite answer now, even if he'd prefer the security one would offer. ]

Understood. [ Then, in a tone that sounds slightly more off the record: ] For what it's worth, it sounds like it could be a hard sell on my end as well, depending on who shows up next.

[ Not "if someone else shows up," but "who shows up." In Reiner's mind, there is no if, only when. He won't remain the only Warrior here forever; he's sure of that. ]

[Yeah, at the very least they are going to be fighting similar battles...]

I hope Gabi is doing well! Next time you see her, you have to tell her I said hello!

[And since they are discussing arrivals..]

I suppose it should be expected that other people who we know also arrive here, given the number that are already gathered.. I wonder how they go about picking people for their magic, exactly..

[Its weird to imagine that out of an entire world, its a small group of heavily connected people that woke up here. Then again, it's not as though Hange has gone onto the network and asked about it. Maybe there's some kid from Wall Maria here, or a baker from Liberio who has no idea who any of them are, who knows.]

Ah- one last question, it's unrelated to the treaty but I'm simply curious about it. Where did you wake up, Reiner? The beach? In the snow? Somewhere else?

[ Reiner nods again, somehow keeping his gaze from flicking to Gabi. He has more to tell his cousin than a "hello" from Hange, but who knows, maybe Gabi appreciates it.

His lips twitch in amusement as he asks, ]

Are you wondering if I'm another Summer? [ He shakes his head. ] I'm Autumn. Woke up in a forest feeling like it was exactly where I was meant to be.

[ What a wonderful, fleeting feeling it was.

Then he hesitates for a second. Hange is eccentric, he knows, but maybe it wouldn't be bad to share his thoughts? Another olive branch of sorts. ]

… Personally, I think the magic chooses people tied to significant events. [ He shrugs. ] But you're the researcher, not me.

[You guessed correctly, Reiner.]

Autumn? So it isn't fire, or water.. It's different from Eren's..

[They're mumbling to themselves more than directing it towards the video. Maybe, just maybe, they can sort all of this mess out and become friends and then the important things can begin. Namely, attempting to convince Reiner to go through the same experiments Eren did. What do autumn powers mean for titan transformations? Oh, the possibilities!]

[It's Reiner's next words that finally pull the Commander out of that little daydream.]

Significant events? [...Huh. They hadn't thought of it that way. It's true there have been plenty of significant events, but not all have been present for them. Then again, with how time works, just because they shared a specific moment together doesn't mean they would be pulled from that same point.. Hange had been so focused on the points of time themselves, they had admittedly glossed over the fact that perhaps it is easy to pick the person, but not their particular place on the timeline.]

Significant events... maybe when their own world has been is peril....

[Huh. it's certainly an avenue to explore...]

Could be. At any rate, it's something worth exploring.

[ If nothing else, it may give them a better idea of who might appear from their world. ]

Thanks for hearing me out, Commander, and sorry for interrupting your meal. I'll let you get back to it.

[ Right now, he wants to check on his cousin. ]

Oh you don't have to apologize, it's fine with me!

[In fact now that the tension is over, Hange goes right back to munching on the food beside them.]

I'll send you a message when I have an update. Talk to you later, Reiner.

[Likewise, Hange wants to deal with the inevitable conversation that is about to happen the moment the feed ends....]

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