#beane

MARIS • Salt Lick Sessions Artist Interview with Beane

Good Night, Dear and Sweet Dreams Vol. 05 Hange Zöe

"Squad Leader! …Please get up, Squad Leader Hange!!"

"Hnngh?!"

Hange Zöe woke up inside a tent placed over the Survey Corps' barracks courtyard. The sun was still high in the sky.

"How long…was I asleep?"

"I believe you said yourself to wake you up after two hours had passed."

"Oh… I guess I did."

After growing tired from performing experiments on captured Titans to learn more about their ecology, Hange had gone to the tents built in the special area for these studies…and gave in to their aide's strong recommendation…and took a nap.

"What's the matter? You look pale."

"…I was dreaming about something, Moblit," Hange said, pulling their goggles back down onto their eyes and scratching their head.

******

Hange was in front of the Titans in their dream.

"Hey, Hange…"

Strangely enough, they weren't scared.

That's why Hange didn't find it strange even when one of the Titans opened its mouth and began speaking in clear, human language.

"They don't taste good…"

"Humans don't taste good…"

Hange happened to look behind them, and there they saw a carriage stuffed with food supplies. They grabbed a potato from the top and tried offering it to the Titan.

"What about vegetables, then? Or beef or pork? We have bread, too. C'mon, eat up…"

But the Titan showed almost no interest whatsoever in Hange's hand. It held its head and began to groan.

"Unngh… No… Don't want to…"

The Titan nearly tore its head in two, and its eyes set deep in its skin looked straight at Hange.

"Save me, Hange."

******

"…Well, that's the experiment you've been running all day," Levi, who had been helping the experiment as an assistant, said. Moblit chimed in while he looked at the materials in his hands.

"That's true. We've already tried giving the Titans more than thirty kinds of foods in order to see if they show interest in any food other than humans.

"Oh… And maybe that's why I had that strange dream… Okay, let's keep going. More food, Moblit."

Hange shrugged off the rest of their dream and faced the Titans they were experimenting on, fixed in place by ropes and stakes.

"Lookie here… Stewed pumpkin… And it's as big as a person! C'mon, try eating it…"

The vegetable had been tied to the tip of a pole and was being brought up to the Titan's mouth. But just like the dream, the Titan showed almost no reaction whatsoever.

"Hey, you're too close…"

"Whoa!"

Hange felt like they were stepping up to the Titan with care, but then they were suddenly grabbed by the scruff of their neck and dragged backwards. The Titan was trying to bite into Hange's head, not the vegetable.

"Haha, that was dangerous!"

"Squad Leader, please don't waste food. Or your life, either!!" Despite the desperate please of Hange's aide, they only kept laughing before trying to continue.

"Ah… It really does seem like they're not at all interested in eating anything but humans. Do humans really taste that good?"

Having finally let go of the stick, Hange sat down in a wooden crate stuffed with food and began to talk to the Titan.

"I don't want to eat you, Hange."

"What…?"

******

"…Wake up, four-eyes! Are you trying to get yourself eaten or something?!"

"Huh?!"

Hange woke up from the sensation of their head both nodding off and getting smacked.

Was that…a daydream?

They had only spaced out for a moment, but Hange had nearly become Titan food again by being so close to the rope-bound Titan.

"Sorry. Let's continue the experiment."

"No, we're out of all the food we brought," Moblit coolly showed Hange a list, showing concern for his superior. "If anything, Squad Leader, shouldn't you get a little more rest…? It feels like you might cause an accident."

"…Is that so?"

Now that Hange thought about it, they had barely slept for the past few days. They stretched before having no choice but to turn their back on the Titan.

"Hey, Levi."

"Yeah?"

"…I wonder. Was that just a dream I saw? Do they really eat people because they want to?"

As Levi told his subordinates that the experiment was over and prepared to leave, he found a free moment to look at Hange with displeasure.

"You're doing this research to figure that out, aren't you? It's up to you to find an answer to that question."

Hange was shocked for a moment by the answer before nodding quietly.

"Yeah… You're right."

"I don't want to eat you, Hange."

The Titan plea wouldn't leave Hange's mind.

…That voice still rings in my ears. I know it might be nothing more than my wishes, but…

Hange looked back at the restrained Titan.

…But it might be the spark we need for humans and Titans to one day understand one another.

Still not free from the odd dream, Hange took off their goggles and headed to their room.

some Hange Zoe icons!

from the AoT Junior High Anime

The parallels of the 2021 Super Bowl season and events of this season are difficult to ignore. The 9-2 Los Angeles Rams are getting a phenomenal season out of their veteran starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, are showing a respectable defense, and have unbridled success. But one of the missing landmarks from that 2021 Super Bowl run was the mid-season replenishment of the roster by trading…

Beane – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL – March 29, 2024