Moving Chess Pieces.

Meme: Send me a (•⊙ω⊙•) if you want to interact with me but have no idea how to start.

[ ;mun speaking I’m here, I’m here! ~ Okay, more or less OTL. Unfortunately I’m still in pain - so I’ll take it slowly. Sorry about that. But I am not on hiatus anymore! In fact, I managed to write a few starters earlier! Yay. finally. Please slap me. However, I’ll continue to be a slow penguin for a while. Good night!]

                       Cᴀsᴜᴀʟᴛɪᴇs.                                       Bʟᴏᴏᴅ.                                            Cᴀsᴜᴀʟᴛɪᴇs.                                                       Fᴀʟʟᴇɴ sᴏᴜʟs ᴡɪᴛʜ ɴᴏ ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ﹐ ɴᴏ ғᴀᴄᴇ.

      The last expedition had been destructive – more than he could have imagined.       Once again those grinning shadows arose to destroy the beautiful fields, soaked        in red – a place that was the last refuge of human’s hope.       Yet this picture of solace, the shining few of a new era without invisible chains,        always shattered within a few hours, changing into a living nightmare of death        and destruction.       Truth to be spoken, Erwin did not fear this area of the reaper who always welcomed        him with the Survey Corps, but he also did not forget about those he lost.       Their faces might fade away into oblivion over time, but their names remained        in one of the countless documents he had to keep for safety.        Even with this haunting conscience the man would not stop to persuade their final        goal – even if he ultimately betrayed those who trusted him.       The price he would have to pay in the end - at the end of his string of fate, of life –        would be high enough to make up for this sin.

      After passing the first city with their carriages of the wounded, and also of the few       fallen they could collect, the air seemed to be cleaner, purer despite still being inside        the Walls.       It was always like that.       Because to the citizens they were nothing more but a farce, a disgrace to their kin.                                                             --- Heartless, dead.       Just like those they had lost in the vastness of the world outside.

      Levi was riding next to him, like he mostly did whenever they had to pass a gate and       endure the deadly glares of those who could not understand.       As Erwin started to speak his voice was low and neutral – fitting for a commander even       though what he had to say was only meant to be heard by the raven-haired.

            — »You should take care of the soldiers once we have arrived in the next town.                     Their moral is battered.                     Give them the time to grieve for the fallen. «

      This was something Erwin could not do on his own – actually he would never be able        to do that after speaking their death sentence on his own.

                             — »Good afternoon, Mike.«

       Erwin spoke commonly – it was the same type of voice he had when signing a        condolence letters or some essential documents.        His voice barely changed to the circumstances; most likely since he could not afford        anything else.       Blood was always invisibly dripping down his slender fingers, painting a picture of red       behind his traces.       The shadows mocked him. Shouting at him for all the mistakes, the sins he had done.                                -- Nᴏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ sᴇᴇ ɪᴛ. Nᴏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴇᴀʀ ɪᴛ.

                                                          N o n e   b u t   h i m .

      So what he said was nothing but a gentle lie – but a rather honest one.       The blonde man did not wish to deceive his old friend, one of the very few within the       Survey Corps who could guess what was in his mind, but even with this deep       friendship they still shared as human beings, he could not stop being a commander.       Naturally when he passed one of his soldiers, even one of his few friends, he had to keep       up this firm façade of responsibility. And he had learned this so well by now.       Even with so many things going on inside his head – regret he did not wish to feel,       responsibility, burden and also hope – he could not share it.

      Azure eyes simply fell on his tall friend as they almost passed by now, holding a few       documents in his hands.       It was not his work who kept him in hurry, but his mumbling conscience, far away       in his mind.

                      Aɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴡʜɪsᴘᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ﹐ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ.

       Sometimes the rotten thoughts Erwin secretly tried to hide away, somewhere deep        inside his head unseen by anyone, silently passed his mind for only a brief second –        it made him to feel like an actual human being again; someone who was capable of        feeling emotions.       Even fear, a state of mind he tried to avoid with all cost for such a long time already       that he had almost forgotten them, because such things were simply interfering with       his duties and goals.                                                       - A  b u r d e n   h e   d i d   n o t   w i s h   t o   p o s s e s s .       That the world they lived in was nothing more but a mere illusion was the only       logical explanation to the current circumstances; and even further the knowledge       of mankind’s betrayal was simply another reason why this fragile image crumbled       away like dried sand.       Of course this had been his final goal, with the limited amount of time he still had left,       yet the truth was simply another grinning game of fate itself - cruel and merciless.       How ironic that mankind could no longer ignore the fact that there was a high possibility       that all titans were originally humans.       What a pathetic thought considering how he couldn’t  care less about this matter       when he completely forgot about his vulnerability deep inside. But this wasn’t the       full truth.

                                       A ᴡᴀʀᴍᴏɴɢᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ғᴇᴇʟ ᴀɴʏ ʀᴇɢʀᴇᴛs.                            Tʜɪs ɪs ᴡʜʏ ʜᴇ ғᴏʀᴇᴍᴏsᴛ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɪᴛ.

            — »It has begun. Our world is changing.«

      Soft spoken voice, yet with a hidden melancholy in it.

                                                              Cʜᴀɴɢɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ…Cʀᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ…                                                                    Iᴛ sᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢ.

[ You can read more under cut - I’m working on drafts/starters and post them as soon as I have everything ready after this short-hiatus. Edit: Coming back this tuesday or wednesday! uvu My fingers hurt like hell again, but I’ll try to do at least a few starters tomorrow. I honestly don’t want to take this hiatus any longer than necessary. I will be slow so that at least my wrist will be fine, but I’ll be there.]

                                            Tʜᴇ 104ᴛʜ ᴛʀᴀɪɴᴇᴇs.

        It was no coincidence that half of them joined the Survey Corps in the same         year as the military found out of the titan shifter’s abilities -         that was something Erwin was certain of.         No, he had seen their determination even before some of their friends betrayed         them, trying to challenge mankind’s will to struggle once more.         As commander he noticed those seemingly unimportant things; but by now it was         an unshaken fact that – especially after the massive casualties they had to suffer –         those young soldiers had become the true hope of mankind.         Who was he to entrust the future of this world to children?         No, this was not quite true.         They have all matured in this short time, learning from their weaknesses and have         become the soldiers they needed to be.         Even now, at the brink of time, when the blonde man was not certain of his own life –         his own future – or that of this fragile world, he would still grasp this feeling deep within,         ultimately seeing the ray of hope.         His interest for their fate couldn’t be any greater, even if his own string of fate         wasn’t allowing him to see the result they might make possible with their actions.

                                                                                 T h e y   h a v e   g r o w n   u p .                                                  A n d   i t   w a s   j u s t   i n   t i m e …

        The current circumstances made Erwin believe that he probably had not much time         left to guide his soldiers – especially since his decision to give up the title as the         13th commander of the Survey Corps was already settled.

                                   Tʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ɴᴏ ᴛᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪғᴇ ᴏғ ᴀ sᴏʟᴅɪᴇʀ ﹣                                                    ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ sᴛɪᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ʜɪs ʜᴀɴᴅs.                      Bᴜᴛ ғᴏʀᴇᴍᴏsᴛ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs sᴛɪʟʟ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ʜᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʟᴏsᴛ ʜɪs ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛʏ.

       — »Kirstein.               You’ve followed my orders splendidly till now.               If I am allowed, may I ask you a personal question then?               Not as commander, but as fellow soldier,               I’d like to ask you if you regret your decision to join the Survey Corps?               You don’t have to be concerned about your answer.«

        A silent observer barely interacted with those he watched – no,  they rather waited         for the right time, for the right place.         This was exactly how Erwin felt whenever he ordered someone else to take         care of Eren although he was the one who had taken the responsibility for the young         man.         It was his final task – his currently only true function,  to keep an eye on him and letting         the seed of hope hatch inside the people’s hearts as long as it was possible to do so.         And this was no easy task, honestly spoken.         No one outside the Survey Corps trusted someone who could turn into a Titan – and         this fact was the only logical reaction of human beings who feared the unknown.

                                          Yᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ᴡᴀs ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ sᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴏғ ﹣                                           ɪᴛ    ᴡᴀs    ᴀ   ᴘᴀᴛʜ    ᴛᴏ    ᴘᴏssɪʙʟᴇ   sᴀʟᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.

                                                                       T o   h o p e .

        The possibilities of mankind were not entirely spent yet - and as long as they still         hold this trump card, this nightmare they lived in was only fragile and vulnerable.         It could be destroyed even after all this time full of never ending hatred…         So, ultimately, Erwin had to use Eren’s powers at all cost.         And that the young man learned to control this inhumane power was just another         obstacle on this long path to his final goal.         It was simply another move on this chess game no matter how cruel it was…

                                                        Tʜᴇʀᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ɴᴏ ʀᴇɢʀᴇᴛs.            Aғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴍᴇʀᴇʟʏ sᴏʟᴅɪᴇʀs﹐ ᴍᴀʀɪᴏɴᴇᴛᴛᴇs﹐  ɪɴsɪᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛs ﹣                             ʙᴜᴛ ᴀʟsᴏ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴs ᴡʜᴏ sᴛɪʟʟ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪs ɪʟʟᴜsɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.

       — »It seems to be exhausting, Eren.               I apologize that I – no, we - have to demand such a great deal of you.               If you don’t learn to control your powers as titan,               we might lose more than our lives.«

        Erwin’s voice sounded neutral – there was no sign of him being afraid of this         uncertainty.         His azure eyes glanced to the red, bloody marks on the young man’s hand –         knowing what Eren was trying to do under strict observation for several hours already.         Nevertheless he couldn’t feel sympathy nor pity – he simply couldn’t allow himself         to feel this way, ever.