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There is a man that Shepard doesn’t talk about, a man that I know matters to her because of this. His name is Kaidan Alenko. The day before Shepard leaves the Citadel, I ask her about him.“He served in my crew on the original Normandy,” she answers absently. She is washing the dishes. “Before that we trained together. What about him?”“I saw on the news that he is at Huerta Memorial,” I reply. “It said that the two of you had been quite close a few years ago.”She mutters something under her breath. “And?” she replies louder.“And, I was curious why you didn’t say anything about a friend of yours being injured,” I say.“The topic never came up,” she says lightly.“Shepard,” I say.“He was injured on Mars,” Shepard says annoyingly. “That’s all.”“Why haven’t you spoken about him before?” I ask patiently.“Thane, I barely speak about anything that happened to me before I came back,” Shepard sighs.“You’ve spoken about all your time with Garrus and Tali,” I point out. Shepard sets down the plate she is washing, and impatiently runs her hands through her short hair. I don’t like her new hairdo, having always been fascinated by her long tresses, but don’t tell her this as she seems far more confident with the short hair. “He was my best friend on the Normandy,” she explains, her tone annoyed. “Him and Ash.”“The girl who died?” I ask.“Yes,” she replies. “The girl who died. In the end, it came down to between the two of them, who would stay behind on Virmire. Alliance protocol decreed that it would be Ash, but that decision still cuts me. We met up again on Horizon, after I came back, but things were…tense. Now he was on the Normandy when I escaped Earth, and he got injured on Mars. That’s all.”“Alright then,” I say, shrugging. “And we also dated for a while,” Shepard continues.I bite down a flash of jealousy. “Excuse me?” I ask quietly.“It was years ago, Thane,” Shepard says. “We broke it off, then got back together again. Then I died, which, you know, soured the relationship somewhat. Then I met you.” she sees my face and laughs slightly. “You’re not jealous, are you?”“No,” I say stubbornly.She laughs again. “Yes you are, I can tell,” she says. She puts her arms around me. “You’re the one I love, Thane,” she says. “As you’ve pointed out, I could choose any man. I choose you.”..... The next morning, I go and visit Major Alenko at Huerta Memorial Hospital. Despite his bruised and burnt face, I can see why Shepard would fall for someone like him. He has a kind face and gentle eyes. He looks confused when he sees me.“I think you have the wrong room,” he says.“I do not believe so,” I answer. “My name is Thane Krios.”Comprehension dawns on his face. “I know who you are,” he says.“I believe we share a mutual friend in Commander Shepard,” I say.“You’re her…,” his voice trails off and he pulls a face. “I mean, she’s told me about you.”“She’s told me almost nothing about you,” I say.He covers his hurt with a laugh. “Well, gee,” he says. “Not sure what to say to that.”“I would not be injured by that, if I were you,” I say. “She barely talks about anything from before…before her time with Cerberus. It hurts her too much, and you are clearly important, for her to not say anything.”“Well, then I wonder why she never talks about you either,” Major Alenko snaps.“Because I am about to leave her,” I say.His eyes widen. I am forever fascinated by the expressive nature of human faces. “Then you are clearly stupider than you look,” he says in wonder. “Why would you leave her?”“You did,” I point out. “On Horizon.”“It’s not something I’m proud of,” he says. “I thought I was being set up. I didn’t know it was the real Shepard.”“You do now?” I ask, sitting next to the bed. He nods. “What changed your mind?”“Seeing her court case last year,” he says. “That mulish expression, it was so…so Shepard.”“Once she decides to do something, there is no stopping her,” I agree. We are both silent for a while, thinking about the woman we both love. “I’m not leaving her by choice,” I say at last.“No?” Major Alenko asks.“I’m dying,” I say. “This time next month, I’ll be gone.”“Oh,” Major Alenko says. “Does…does Shepard know?”“Yes,” I say. “She’s staying with me regardless.” Privately, I thought she was stupid. Major Alenko groaned. “Typical,” he says.“Typical?” I echo questioningly.“Yeah,” he says. “You know she’s a martyr right? She’ll do anything if the end goal is suffering for someone else. I finally thought that I had it in the bag with this whole nobally getting injured for her thing, but it looks like you’ve got me beat.”“You still have feelings for her,” I realise.“I wouldn’t feel threatened if I were you,” he says sulkily. “She loves you. She told me so. She never said that to me, not once. And I’ve known her for a very long time.”We are both quiet. “You know Shepard better than me,” I say at last.“Yes,” he says. “Or at least I used to.”“She went through a lot with Cerberus,” I say. “All of us did.” He rolls his eyes again, but doesn’t say anything this time. “The time is going to come where she is going to need someone,” I say. “I’m not going to be able to be there. I need to know that someone will be.”“This must be quite uncomfortable for you,” Major Alenko says.“Not really,” I reply. “She chose to be with me. I never forced her to do anything.”There’s a pause. “I’d look out for her whether you asked me to or not,” he says at last. “She’s my best friend, regardless of what happened between us in the past.”I smile slightly. “I know you will,” I say. I get up and hold my hand out for him to shake. “There will come a time where she will take you back, I think.”Major Alenko gives a small chuckle. “I think you’ll probably be a tough act to follow,” he says, taking my hand. “Until the next time.”“Oh no, I don’t think I’ll be seeing you again,” I say. “All the best, Major Alenko.”He nods once. “It’s Kaidan,” he says.“Alright then,” I say. “Kaidan.”
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Do you ever think that Shepard whispered that? Maybe the first time was when she was on Akuze, when it was cold and dark and she was trying to rescue her squad but they kept dying around her. Just a quick, whispered request into the darkness, heard by no one and nothing.The second time was when she was on the Citadel and she looked up and saw Sovereign. The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them, but quietly enough that no one heard (Garrus heard but he said nothing. He understood that sometimes, in order to become strong, you need to be vulnerable first).The third time, she managed to stop the words from leaving her mouth. She looked around at her squad, before journeying towards the human proto-Reaper, and wondered whether she would see them again. And there it was. That thought. I don’t want to die. Selfish really. She had recruited all these people on the very distinct chance that they would die, and here she was, begging for her life.The last time was just before they landed on Earth. This time Garrus didn’t pretend not to hear her. He looked her directly in the eye. “You won’t”. (Because I won’t let you. Because there is no Vakarian without Shepard. Because you have been fighting all your life. Because you’ve already died once. Because you deserve better). He repeated it, louder as though to ward off whatever was facing them on Earth."You won't."
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Jacob completes all the exercises perfectly (he is an Alliance boy too, so this is all old hat for him). The others tease him for being a teachers’ pet, but he ignores them. (Shepard is obviously thrilled to have one attentive student, although (s)he doesn’t show this).
Miranda makes as many excuses as possible. “The requisitions aren’t going to write themselves, Shepard.” “You spent all of yesterday writing requisitions, Miranda. Are you trying to tell me that we go through food that quickly?” “The rate you eat? Of course. It’s lucky you aren’t rolling away.” (“I’m a biotic, Miranda, what do you want from me?”). Of course, Jack has to get involved. “The cheerleader can’t possibly sweat her face off, Shepard. It took her TWO HOURS to apply it this morning.” “At least my face is pleasing to look at. People will get nightmares about vengeful colouring-in books when they look at yours.”
Grunt spends most of his time trying to get into wrestling matches with other squad members. Garrus is the only one vaguely willing to take part. “You are a worthy opponent, Vakarian, he he.” “Thanks, Grunt. Wish I could say the same about you.”
Thane pulls the chronically sick card. “Did I tell you that my vascular system is compromised, Shepard?” “I thought you were the type who didn’t let that sort of thing get in their way.” “Ordinarily, yes, but you do not wish to see me expire from doing push-ups, do you?” “Thane…” “I thought you needed every man for the suicide mission.” “Alright, but I swear if you can’t keep up, I’m leaving you behind.”
Garrus of course turns it all into a competition. “Is that all you got, Shepard? Only twenty lousy push-ups? I can do double that and not even break a sweat.” “Do turians sweat, Garrus?” “Don’t get excited, it’s a figure of speech.” “I’m just letting you win so that the others will be more willing to follow you if I die.” “Excuses excuses.”
Jack astounds them all be doing dozens of reps after the other, until Samara pointed out that she was coasting on her biotics. “Oh, like I’m ever going to find myself in a situation where my biotics won’t be able to help me.” “Jack, so help me...” “Jeez, chill old-timer. I swear, you’re the most boring person alive.”
Kasumi is cloaked throughout the sessions, but assures everyone that she is doing the exercises whilst checking the cloak’s reactions to extreme physical exertion. That is, until Grunt trips over her one day and they see that she is lying on her stomach, watching something on a datapad.
Samara flat out refuses to take part in the sessions, opting instead to meditate in the hold whilst the others are working out. No one pushes her to join them.
When Tali is called out for doing less reps than anyone else, she points out that she is carrying extra weight because of her suit. “Trust me, under all this, I am as muscular as you are, Shepard.” “I don’t doubt it, but you can’t get away with only doing one of each exercise.” “I have so far, haven’t I? Besides, I helped with the Saren investigation, and I couldn’t even do one burpee then.” “Tali-“ “Fine, I’ll do two.”
Mordin using the opportunity to give an impromptu physics lesson. "Push-ups are difficult because you are carrying your entire weight on arms." "That's not really how push-ups work, Mordin." "Quiet, Shepard. Am teaching the next generation."
Zaeed distracts everyone by telling long, rambling stories of all the horrible deaths he has witnessed (and has a hand in). “Zaeed, seriously, no one cares. Get to work.” “Wait, before we get started, have I told you about the first time I used Jesse?” “Several times actually. Shut up and get on the ground. We’ve wasted enough time.”
Legion (obviously) doesn’t take part, but watches all the same. “We wish to understand organics’ motivations,” it says whenever asked why he is in the hold.
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I won’t let you die. It had seemed so simple. A promise almost. Certainly a choice. But if it was so simple, how had it gone to hell so fast?A few years ago, back before Bucky remembered who Steve was, who he was, he had been told: “I’m not going to fight you.” And now Steve was-No.He couldn’t think it. Because a universe where Steve didn’t exist was a universe Bucky wanted no part of.I won’t let you die.Five words hurriedly spoken before the fight of their lives. Five words already regretted. There were many things in Bucky’s life that he regretted, more than most men in fact, but Steve had saved his life more times than he could count. If Bucky could take all that back, he would. Because now Steve was-Would it ever be easy? Bucky wondered. Would the pain in his heart ever truly leave? Or would he be forced to live with regret for the rest of his life. An old, Steve-sized friend, slung across his shoulders or around his chest.Bucky picked up the shield and strapped it to his arm.I won’t let you die.It felt like a promise.
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So, this post requires a bit of backstory...I got into gaming when I was nineteen, which I believe is pretty late, especially for the more hardcore gamers. The first game I played was Dragon Age Origins (still a top five favourite, I love that game), and I was immediately hooked...on Dragon Age Origins that is. My younger brother said to me something along the lines of: “Ok, well, you’ve conquered Dragon Age Origins, it’s time for you to try Mass Effect 2.” (Because we didn’t own Mass Effect the first one at the time and we couldn’t really find it in any of the gaming stores in South Africa, nor do we have a WiFi connection). So I tried out the first hour of Mass Effect 2 and went, “Nah, the gameplay is too difficult, and besides the story isn’t really grabbing me, let me return to replaying Dragon Age Origins a million times.” (I am still ashamed of this harsh criticism).Time went on, we purchased Dragon Age 2, and whilst disappointing (a story for another blog), I loved the rich world and lore enough to replay that a million times as well. Lil Bro the Snail eventually lost his temper with me and said, “Listen Charlie, I will disown you if you don’t give Mass Effect 2 another try.” By this stage, Mass Effect 3 had come out and he was desperate for me to play that and give him my opinion.So I gave Mass Effect 2 another whirl and boy did I take back every criticism I had for it the first time around. It became an all time favourite, and is still the best game I have ever played. But anyway, my love for Mass Effect 2 could fill several blog posts, and that’s not why I’m here.Having fallen deeply in love with Alistair in Dragon Age Origins, I asked my brother if there were any romance options in Mass Effect. He responded that there were, pushing me towards the Shakarian option. I was like, well, he seems like a cool character. I like his voice a lot. Why not?Romances are only queued to start after loyalty missions, and I decided to leave those for last, after I had recruited everyone, so obviously my wooing of Garrus had to wait for quite a while. I was excited though. Romancing was my favourite part of the games after all. And then I met Thane, and all thoughts of Garrus’ voice left my head. See, my favourite trope in books, movies, games, TV shows, music, anything really, is the “persevering despite the obvious chances of failure” one. I love a dark storyline, the darker the better in fact, because it’s in time of crisis when you can see someone’s true character. That’s when you realise why you hate the character or why you love him/her/them. Anyone who has read JSWM, my other tumblr posts and will hopefully read the Winners knows that I put my characters through hell, because I want to see how they will grow and develop. Basically, I like torturing myself emotionally. And the Shrios romance hit that dark trope perfectly.Shepard knew that Thane was going to die, from the very moment that they met, and she chose to love him anyway. She knew that, if they were to survive the suicide mission, the chances were strong that he would die before her, and she knew it would hurt. And yet she chose to love him anyway, in spite of this. Persevering despite the obvious chance of failure. When this shit goes south, I thought to myself, as it inevitably will, if BioWare continues their stellar storytelling, it is going to impact my Shepard in a very strong way. This is going to lead to character growth. At the very least, it’s going to lead to some interesting interactions with the other second and third-tier characters.Only it didn’t.Oh, the death scene was super emotional (full disclosure, I wept like a little girl). The email Thane sent was super emotional (no tears this time, although I silently applauded the person who had penned it). Alright, I thought to myself. Time to see what the others have to say about this tragedy. No one said anything. People were bemoaning Cerberus, people either bemoaned or welcomed Kaidan back, people bemoaned Udina. No one said anything about Thane. “He sacrificed himself to save the salarian Councilor,” I wanted to scream at the computer screen. “Mordin faked his death, and you were all like, what a hero, good old insane Mordin, but Thane, my Shepard’s lover, gets his death glossed over?” (Remember, I hadn’t played Mass Effect the first, Wrex was a dead krogan in my world).Now, people might say that Thane was reclusive, didn’t really make friends with the other crew, and his death didn’t really affect them that much. Only I don’t really buy that at all. Judging from the Citadel DLC (another tearjerker if ever there was one), people did have a relationship with Thane. He was clearly important to a number of crew, maybe not as a confidant, but as a source of inspiration. And even if that was not enough, the entire franchise centres around Shepard’s relationship with her crew, and her hurt would matter to them.Throughout the game, this bothered my, the fact that no one seemed to care that Shepard must be hurting from the loss of the man she loved, even if she wasn’t showing it (you know, if she were an actual person, and not made up of a bunch of ones and zeros and a pretty texture). I imagined how alone she must have felt, how much pain she must be in (ironically, this too hits my sweet spot of an emotionally dark storyline).I don’t know, it’s a game, maybe I’m expecting too much of it. Except both Mass Effect and Dragon Age put a lot of value on relationships. I felt like my friends had let me down. It still rankles me sometimes to be honest. At least we got one badass line out of it though.“That was for Thane, you son of a bitch.”
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“Happy birthday, Shepard,” Kaidan says, sitting down. He places the carefully-wrapped parcel next to her. “Another year older, eh? Don’t think either of us thought we’d reach this age.”The machines beep gently, but other than that, there is a momentary silence in the room.“Garrus sends his love,” Kaidan continues. “Yeah, he’ll probably be along later. Best be ready, he’ll have more Council war stories to tell you. We had a whole birthday dinner planned for tonight. Guess we have to cancel the catering order.” He lapses into silence again.When he speaks, his voice is tight. “I miss you,” he says. “So much. We all do. Out there, the galaxy is celebrating your birthday, the fact that we’ve found you, but no one realises that I’ve lost you.” Again.He grips her hand in his. It is deceptively warm, like those nights where he would wake up and reach for her.“Please Shepard,” he whispers. “Please come back. I...I can’t do this without you. I need you. We need you. So please. Just wake up.”She doesn’t wake up. He kisses her forehead. “I love you,” he says. “Happy birthday.”
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“Crap crap crap.” Shepard had faced down, Saren, Sovereign and even death, yet she was pretty sure she had never been this stressed. She slammed her hand hard onto the button to call the elevator. “Come on,” she muttered impatiently. Eventually it arrived.She stepped inside and aggressively pressed the button to the engineering deck. The thirty second journey felt like it was taking years.The door had barely opened and Shepard was out and dashing down the stairs to the subdeck. “Jack,” she called as she reached the foot of the stairs.An aggrieved sigh reached her ears followed by a loud: “What?”“I need you,” Shepard said, watching as the smaller girl sat up.“That’s cute boss, but you’re not really my type,” Jack replied.“Not like that,” Shepard said irritably. “Look, you use Snapchat, don’t you?”“Sometimes,” Jack said nonchalantly. “Usually to irritate Miranda, although I will deny that if she was ever to accuse me. Why d’you ask?”“Uh,” Shepard bit the inside of her cheek. It focused her mind. Somewhat. “Is there any way to delete a message once you’ve already sent it?”“On Snapchat?” Jack asked. “Nope. Why?”“So if one were to accidentally send a potentially-compromising picture of oneself, that couldn’t be reversed?”“Doesn’t work like that, Shep, sorry.”“Not even if you’ve accidentally sent it to everyone in your address book,” Jack’s omnitool binged and she opened the message, “that...that couldn’t be reversed, could it?” she finished lamely, watching as Jack’s eyes widened and a gleeful smile spread on her face.“Oh man,” Jack said.“Jack,” Shepard sighed.“Is this you?” Jack asked, ignoring her. “You’re pretty toned for an older lady.”“Jack seriously...”“And the caption says ‘at this stage I could solve the water crisis on Korlus’. This is amazing.”“Jack I swear to God...”“And you sent this to everyone?” Scarlet-faced, Shepard nodded. “How embarrassing for you,” Jack said gleefully.“Jack, I’m not above killing you,” Shepard snapped.“Hey hey chill,” Jack said. “Is that a tattoo?”“You’re one to talk,” Shepard said pointedly.“I’m just surprised,” Jack said. “You seem like such a Girl Scout.” She looked at the picture again. “Thank you for this Shepard. I’ll treasure it forever.”“It was supposed to go to Garrus,” Shepard said through gritted teeth.“Oh don’t worry, he’ll see it,” Jack said carelessly. “Him and about five hundred other people.”“Oh god kill me now,” Shepard groaned.Her omnitool dinged, and she sighed and opened the message.“It’s from Garrus,” she told Jack. “He liked what he saw.”“Please spare me the details,” Jack said, already bored.
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"You're not drinking, Lola?" James slurs slightly as he leans against the back of the sofa Shepard is sitting on.“Sure I am,” she replies, raising her glass.James lowers his nose towards its contents, misjudges the distance and knocks the glass.“Shit, sorry Lola,” he groans, attempting to wipe the spill with the sleeve of his shirt.“Don’t worry about it,” Shepard says, stifling a laugh, as James sniffs his sleeve.“This is punch,” he says.“It is,” she answers.“I thought you said you were drinking.”“And I am drinking,” she says. “Punch.”“Holy shit,” James groans. “I meant alcohol.”“Yeah I figured,” Shepard says.“So why aren’t you, you know, drinking alcohol?” James tries again.Shepard looks around the party that is in full swing. Joker is attempting to teach EDI and Javik how to do the robot in the living room. In the kitchen she can hear Traynor, Wrex and Samara discussing food. Tali and Jack are dancing to loud music in the hallway. Upstairs she hears another group of friends loudly discussing firearms.“Because I don’t want to forget tonight,” she answers at last. “I never thought I’d make it this far, much less that you would all be here with me. And yet here I am, about to see the new year in. I want to remember that, no matter how hard it gets, I will be strong enough to survive, and each day I survive makes me stronger.”James stares blearily at her for a few moments. “Ok,” he says at last. “Imma go get another drink. I’ll see you later, Lola.”She smiles. “See you James.”.....Midnight finds her standing on the balcony, staring at the lights below her. As the fireworks light up her surroundings in green, gold and pink, she raises her glass in toast. To the new year, and to better things to come
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Reiner had known that he was different for a very long time, but it was only in their second year of training with the cadet corps when he realised exactly how different. That year, suddenly all the boys could talk about was girls. Girls in the Cadet Corps with them, girls they saw on the odd days when they travelled to a village or a town, it didn’t matter. At first, Reiner couldn’t understand it. He was older than everyone else, and he couldn’t think of a single moment when his mind had been preoccupied by the thought of a girl. He convinced himself that it was because he was so focused on their mission. That worked, until one night when Mileus asked him what kinds of girls he was interested in.For some reason, Reiner glanced over at Bertolt and felt himself blush. “I’m not interested in girls,” he said in a rush.“Don’t be ridiculous,” Samuel said. “All guys are interested in girls.”Reiner forced a short laugh. “I don’t have time to be interested in girls, Samuel,” he said. “I’m trying to keep my marks up so that I can become an MP.” He knew he sounded like Jean at that moment, but he didn’t care so long as their attention moved from him.It worked, as Mileus grumbled: “Urgh you are so boring,” and proceeded to tell a long-winded story of a serving girl he had met whilst on leave in Trost. The others chimed in, making lewd comments and asking him questions.That night, whilst everyone around him was snoring, Reiner lay awake, thinking. It was true, he had never noticed girls, aside from admiring Mikasa’s strength and speed when on the ODM gear, which he was almost certain not the same as the sometimes-obsessive remarks the others made about Christa’s figure, Mikasa’s abs and Annie’s legs. The only time he had ever found someone vaguely attractive was last year, and he told himself that it was only because he hadn’t seen Bertolt in a uniform in a very long time.He told himself that the feelings he had for Bertolt were feelings that any good commanding officer would have for his subordinates. It was normal to feel concern and affection for the men underneath oneself, was it not? True, neither Zeke nor Commander Magarth had shown any such attributes, nor did he feel anything at all similar for Annie, but he and Bertolt had become friends before they were sent to Paradis, and he and Annie...well, they were yet to become friends. Of course there would be other emotions between Bertolt and he.And yet, he knew that it wasn’t normal to be fascinated by the little wrinkles around Bertolt’s eyes when he smiled, or to notice how Bertolt chewed his lip when he was nervous about something, or to feel his heart leap when Bertolt accidentally brushed against him, or to sometimes wish that he could close the distance between the two of them when they were poring over a particularly difficult piece of homework. Neither a friend nor a commanding officer should be feeling that.Reiner knew that acting on his feelings would be detrimental to their mission. Heck, it would probably compromise the entire thing. And yet, at night, when everyone around him lay sleeping, he sometimes allowed himself to fantasise about the life that they could have, no titans, no mission, no obligations, just two men who loved each other.
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Ok, so Shepard didn’t have children in the canon. At least not biological children. I (and probably most of the fandom) like to think of Jack and Grunt as her two adopted kids, so...Mother’s Day before the suicide mission she gets woken up by the sound of her cabin door sliding shut.“Yo, you awake?” A voice asks“Jack?” Shepard groans. “Why are you here? Is everything ok with the engine?”“Sheesh you’re such a fucking worry guts,” Jack sighs. “Everything is fine.”“Then why are you down here?” That’s when she smells it. “Is that...bacon?”“Yeah, I kinda made you breakfast,” Jack flushes and looks away.“But...why?” Shepard asks, bemused. “Wait, it’s not poisoned is it?”“Nah, it’s just...look, I cooked. Which I hate doing. Will you please just take this off my hands?”“Uh sure.” Shepard is no less confused but she takes the tray from Jack, who disappears back through the door as soon as she is relieved of her burden.She sets the tray down on her desk. Pancakes, bacon and maple syrup. Her favourite. But why? Why would Jack (who is arguably the most antagonistic person Shepard has ever encountered) make her breakfast in bed? Shepard’s eyes fall on her calendar and she sees the date.No. Surely not.“Silly Jack,” she murmurs, sitting down and picking up the fork next to the plate. She is still smiling when she takes the empty tray down to the mess, her stomach full to bursting
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Kaidan breaking down in tears when he and Shepard are reunited for the first time after the Battle for Earth. He thought he had lost them forever, and seeing their face again after all this time scratches a lot of wounds open.Kaidan going to all of Shepard’s physical therapy sessions.Kaidan supporting Shepard when they want to give up on therapy. “You’ve come so far, you’re the strongest person I know, one step at a time, you’ll get there.”Kaidan taking Shepard home for the first time. The galaxy has changed so much since the end of the war, Shepard is scared, but they have Kaidan. They are never alone.Kaidan holding Shepard when they wake up from a bad dream.“Remember, I promised that I would show up.” “And I promised we would see each other again.”Shepard going down on one knee and asking Kaidan to spend the rest of his life with them.Dinner parties and movie nights with the old Normandy crews.The wedding: a small, quiet affair with only the nearest and dearest in attendance.Adopting one of the kids orphaned by the war. The kid is the most popular child at school because his (her?) parents are war heroes.Kaidan reminding Shepard every day how much he loves them.Shepard not believing how lucky they are to have Kaidan (back).Shepard and Kaidan growing old together.
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“I’m here to pick up an order,” Mikasa said in her low voice.“Under whose name?” the shopkeeper asked.“Hange Zoe.”Levi glanced at Mikasa. When he had first met her, he had been amused by her, her hatred of him reminding him of a little puppy growing into its first teeth. As he grew to know her, he found that something about her irritated him (more so than most people did). With time, he realised that the thing that irritated him was that she reminded him so much of the things about himself that he did not like. Eventually that dislike evolved into a grudging respect. Say what you would about Mikasa, but she was determined.“I’m sorry, there’s nothing here under that name.” The shopkeeper returned.“Oh,” Mikasa said. “Maybe she put it under my name then.”“Which is?”“Mikasa Ackerman.”With that, the shopkeeper’s demeanour changed. “Get out,” he snarled.“Excuse me?” Mikasa said, but Levi could tell that she had been expecting something like this. He felt something strange tugging in his chest.“Traitor blood,” the shopkeeper said and he spat at Mikasa. “We don’t serve your kind in here.”“I would appreciate it if you fetched my order please,” Mikasa said evenly, ignoring the spit that was sliding down her cheek and towards her chin (Levi cringed internally at the sight, convinced that he could feel and smell it on his own cheek).“Do you need me to call the Military Police?” the shopkeeper snapped. “Get out of here, traitor, before I kill you myself. I’d be doing the world a favour. One less Ackerman about can only be a good thing.”Levi felt his feet moving him forward. “Why won’t you serve this girl?” he asked coldly.“Ah Captain Levi,” the shopkeeper said keenly. “Please assist me in throwing this girl out of my shop.”“What did she do to warrant such ill treatment?” Levi snapped. “From what I can see, her only mistake was to shop at the establishment of an idiot.”“Why, she is an Ackerman,” the shopkeeper said in astonishment. “Her family betrayed the king. They are all traitors and should be driven from her land.”“If you throw her out, you’re going to have to throw me out too,” Levi said.“Captain don’t,” Mikasa mumbled, her cheek scarlet. “I am also an Ackerman,” Levi announced, ignoring her.“What?” the shopkeeper asked. “That’s not even remotely funny.”“Do I look like I’m joking, you fucking idiot?” Levi snapped. “I kept my name a secret precisely to avoid this kind of treatment, but I will not stand by and watch as one of my family is abused by a man who is not even fit to lick her boots. Now,” he pulled a knife from one of the many secret pockets in his jacket, “are you going to serve her or am I going to have to test the sharpness of my knife?”The shopkeeper scurried back into the backroom, reappearing moments later with Hange’s order. “I’ll be informing Commander Smith that Scout Regiment shouldn’t be purchasing from your dealership anymore,” Levi said idly as Mikasa signed for the order.The shopkeeper didn’t answer, but glared at the pair of them. Levi could feel that glare burning into their backs as they left the shop together.“Captain, why did you lie?” Mikasa asked as they made their way to where the horses were tethered. “You only found out recently what your last name is.”Levi didn’t answer at once. “My mother didn’t teach my my last name because she wanted to protect me from that sort of thing,” he said at last. “I never had to experience what you did because of it. But denying it now that I know the truth would mean that I’m ashamed of her, of our family’s history. And I’m not ashamed. It made us into who we are today. You are where you are because your dad was an Ackerman. No one has the right to judge you for that.”“But you don’t even like me,” Mikasa murmured.“You’re right,” Levi said bluntly. “I don’t. But we’re family. That means we look out for each other.”Mikasa smiled slightly as she mounted her horse. “I suppose you’re right,” she said.Together, they rode back to the base, where Levi made sure that Erwin heard exactly how despicable the shopkeeper was.
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I finished my reports for Admiral Hackett, and then Diana asked if she could have an interview with me about the Citadel coup.“Do you want to do it in my cabin?” I asked.“Perhaps in the CIC,” she answered. “It will be more…cinematic.”“Alright,” I said indifferently.So she set her camera up next to my work station. “Just be calm, Commander,” she said. “The camera is your friend.”“I’ll bare that in mind,” I said.“Are you ready?” she asked. I nodded, and watched as a little red light blinked on at the top of the camera. “I am standing here in the SSV Normandy CIC with Commander Jane Shepard of the Alliance,” she said confidently into the camera. “Commander, the news of the Cerberus coup-attempt on the Citadel has just hit, and as you can imagine, there is widespread panic. Is anywhere safe from these terrorists?”I took a deep breath. “Cerberus has limited resources,” I said. The light was swimming in and out of focus, and I tried to gather my thoughts. “They used a lot, both in manpower and in credits on this attempt. I imagine that this was the first and last attack of such a scale that we’re going to see from Cerberus. I can understand a little bit of fear and trepidation from something like this, but don’t let that fear cripple you. We stopped Cerberus before they did too much damage, and now that we know their tactics and have an idea of their goals, we’ll be able to stop them should they try this stunt again.”“But the human Councillor is dead,” Diana said. I noticed that she didn’t say that he had been the one to stage the coup. “The Alliance Parliament is dead, and there are only three members of the Alliance Joint Military Council left. Humanity is getting to be pretty thin on the leadership side of things.”My head was spinning by this stage. “New leaders will rise,” I managed. “You mustn’t lose-,” the word stuck in my throat.“Commander?” Diana asked.I tried again. “You mustn’t lose-,” again I couldn’t say it. I became aware of a low, animal moan coming from somewhere in the CIC. I frowned, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but my thoughts were getting difficult to focus.“Commander, are you ok?” Diana asked in concern, as I jack-knifed at the waist.The noise was getting louder, and I was dimly aware of people crowding around me. What was it though? I wondered in concern. Whatever was making the noise was obviously in pain.“Shepard,” I heard Samantha say. “Jane, can you hear me?”It’s me, I realised. I’m the one making the noise. As I realised that, I noticed that my cheeks were wet.“Oh God,” I gasped. “Oh God. Oh my God.”“Janey?” a different voice asked, and I felt someone’s arms encircle me.“He’s gone,” I sobbed. “He’s gone.”“I know,” Kaidan said. He rocked me gently. “Move away, everyone, there’s nothing to see here. Traynor, get the camera off her. Sh, Jane. I’m here.”“He’s gone,” I repeated. My insides hurt, my face ached. I kept repeating it, as Kaidan picked me up and carried me upstairs to my cabin, cradled tight against his chest like a small child.“Oh God, he’s gone,” I kept saying.“I know,” Kaidan repeated. “I know, Jane. I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry.”
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“Listen three eyes. You’re taking me with you.” Levi’s held no venom. Instead he sounded tired, wounded, vulnerable.“Levi, you’re injured.” Hange was equally tired. “You can’t fight, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to protect you.”“I don’t care,” Levi said. “If you try to leave me, I’ll follow you.”“You can barely walk.”“I’ll manage somehow.” Finally, a measure of his old snark was back in his voice. “The point is, I’m not staying behind whilst you lot go and fight old shit beard. I want to be there when he dies.”“Levi.” Hange knelt in front of the shorter man. His face was beyond pale and it seemed he was fighting to keep his visible eye open. “I’m sure Erwin will understand if you’re not the one to kill Zeke,” they said gently.“That’s not the point,” he said.“Then what is?” He didn’t answer. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me,” Hange said.“I can’t be left behind again,” he blurted out. He was so tired. His body ached.“Levi-”“My entire life I’ve been left behind,” he said, the words spilling out of him almost frantically, scaring Hange. It was so unlike him to panic. “My mother left me when I was too little to remember her properly. Kenny left me twice. Between you and I, we’ve seen battalions of men die.” He swallowed. “Erwin left me,” he whispered. He cleared his throat, and when he next spoke, it sounded like he was trying very hard to not sound afraid. “So you can’t leave me behind, Hange. You just can’t.”“I’ve lost people too,” Hange said.“Your little ‘hard to keep moving forward’ speech might have worked on Mikasa, but I think you’ll find I’m a much harsher audience,” he snapped. He groaned, feeling his face.“If you come with me, you’ll most likely die,” Hange said through gritted teeth.“Fine by me.”“And what, am I supposed to simply accept your death wish?” Hange said angrily. “I’ve lost everyone, Levi. You are all I have left. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told Mikasa that I have to fight for my sanity. If I lose you, I don’t think I will be able to keep going.”Another voice echoed in his head. ‘We should probably avoid that’.“Hange...”They sighed. “Forget it,” they said. “I’ll have Magarth carry you. It’s about time he made himself useful.”“Hange,” Levi said louder. They turned to look at him. “Commander,” he said more quietly. “If it is your wish that I do not enter the battlefield tomorrow, then all you have to do is order it.”“What?”Levi’s eyes were downcast. “I had a conversation like this one with Erwin before we left for Shiganshima,” he said after a pause. “I didn’t think it was right for him to travel with us, because of his injury and because I suspected that he’d been compromised. In the end I decided to trust his judgement, because he was my commander and I had made the choice to put my faith in him and because Erwin Smith had never been wrong.”“He was wrong that day.”Levi shrugged and winced. “He made the right call in the end,” he said. “Point is, you are now my commander. I think it’s time I put my faith in you.”“I have made so many mistakes, Levi,” they whispered.“We all have,” Levi said. “I suppose the one comfort is that we thought we were doing the right thing. But, it would be a disservice to everyone who we have lost to sit and wallow in self-pity, wishing that we had done things differently. We keep moving forward right? That’s what you said that day, isn’t it?” They nodded. Levi licked his lips. They were dry. “So, right now, do what you have to do.”Hange nodded and squared their shoulders. “Captain Levi, I expressly forbid you from entering the field of battle or coming anywhere near the battle until your injuries have healed or I order otherwise,” they said.Levi nodded and smiled. “Understood, Commander,” he said......The next morning, Levi and Onyakopon watched as the mixed company of Scouts, Volunteers and Warriors marched towards battle, leaving the two of them behind. Despite himself, Levi found himself hoping that this time, he wouldn’t be left behind for good.
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Since his return from Fort Slavia, no, since long before then, Reiner had been waking up hours before dawn. If he was at HQ, this didn’t bother him, as he could use the extra hours to train or catch up on paperwork. When he was home however, he didn’t really have the same luxury of distraction. For this reason (and a few others) he tried to avoid sleeping at home as much as possible. Sometimes this couldn’t be avoided.For instance, on the weekend that Marley had decided to hold a festival in the Liberio Internment Zone.And really, who holds a festival in an internment zone? Reiner grumbled internally as he tried to make himself comfortable on his much-to-small bed. The sky was beginning to lighten outside and he could here the bustle in the street below his window as the merchants began to set up their stalls. He pulled the course blanket up over his head, although this just left his feet cold. He made yet another mental note to buy a new bed (the fifth one that night, probably the hundredth one since his return home four years ago).A few hours later, he heard Gabi talking loudly in the hall outside and his aunt answering her, before the door slammed behind her. Checking his watch, Reiner decided that now seemed a decent hour to get up. He washed himself in the bowl of water his mother had brought to him the night before and dressed in his uniform before going downstairs to the kitchen, pulling his armband on as he did so.Karina must have heard him moving around, for she had already set a place for him for breakfast when he entered the kitchen. “Good morning,” he mumbled, pouring himself a glass of water and sitting down.She smoothed a hand over his hair. “Morning,” she replied. “Did you sleep well?”“Yes,” he lied. “Has Gabi already left?”Karina nodded. “And Klaus has gotten into trouble again,” she said, pouring him a cup of coffee. “He’s cleaning the streets.”Reiner sighed. His other cousin, whilst only being a year older than Gabi, seemed to have chosen a decidedly different role in life. “I wish you’d talk to him, Reiner,” his mother said as she dished him a bowl of porridge.“What would be the point?” he wanted to say. Instead he said, “I will.”He listlessly ate a few bites of porridge. It was thin, watery, not like the hearty, flavourful stuff he’d eaten on Paradis. This thought was quickly followed by a surge of guilt. He quickly downed his coffee, ignoring the pain as it scalded his throat and got up.“I should probably get going,” he said.“You’ve barely eaten anything,” his mother protested.“I’m not hungry,” he said. “Ate a lot at dinner last night.” They both knew this was a lie, and Karina’s face was tinged with sadness as she looked up at her son.“I wish you’d talk to me,” she said softly.Reiner didn’t know what to say. How could he explain to his mother what he barely acknowledged himself, that she wasn’t the only one that didn’t recognise him, that most days, all he wished for was to forget, to end, to disappear?Instead, he bent and kissed her on the forehead. “I should go and find the kids,” he said. He forced a smile on his face, even though it hurt all the way down into his chest. Today was a day of celebration after all.
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Reiner had first started losing time in the refugee camp, the day that they had found the man hanging from the tree. There were a few hours that were permanently missing from his memory, but according to Annie and Bertolt, when the Military Police came around to register the refugees, he had lied so convincingly that no one doubted that they did not belong in the refugee camp. Reiner was too scared to admit to his companions that he could not remember what he had said, that he relied on Annie and Bertolt to retell the story whenever they were asked about their origins.He started losing time with more regularity when they were cadets. Sometimes, he would go to bed and not know what he had done that day. Sometimes, he would wake and several days had gone past. He didn’t understand what was wrong with him, knew of no one he could turn to about this, and so he carried the weight of his terror that he was losing his mind deep in his chest, only allowing it out at night when he was sure everyone was asleep. Through all of this, he prayed that no one would notice this change in him. He was sure he was doing a good job of keeping it all hidden until one day, when he and Bertolt were on cooking duty together, Bertolt asked why he had forgotten their mission.“I haven’t forgotten,” Reiner said irritably. “This deception is necessary. I thought you agreed with me.”“I’m not talking about our time in training here,” Bertolt replied. “Yesterday when I was talking to you about a possible lead, you had no idea what I was talking about. This is not the first time it has happened.”Reiner felt his skin go cold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he managed.Bertolt bit his lip and seemed to come to a decision. “I think you do,” he said. “I know it’s worrying you. You aren’t sleeping much anymore and you’re often confused. And you’re acting different. When you’re forgetting, it’s like I’m talking to someone else entirely. It’s like you’re...” his voice trailed off. Reiner could feel his breathing getting shallow, his heart loud in his ears. “Talk to me,” Bertolt said earnestly. “I want to help, but I can’t if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”Reiner tried to take a breath, but he couldn’t. It felt as though he was choking, his lungs were refusing to cooperate with the orders that his brain were screaming at them. He looked up at his friend in panic. Bertolt took his arm and steered him to an oil drum and sat him down. He rubbed Reiner’s back gently until his breathing slowed down again.“Thanks,” Reiner mumbled, wiping his eyes.“No problem,” Bertolt said. He hesitated. “I know that Annie and I were hard on you, but I don’t blame you for what happened to Marcel. It could have been any one of us. I doubt I would have even stopped running if I were in your position.” He paused, his eyes searching Reiner’s face. “The point is, you can count on me, Reiner. I know we weren’t really friends at home, but over here you can think of me as one.”Warmth flooded Reiner’s chest as he stared in the younger boy’s green eyes. “I’ve been forgetting things,” he said at last in a low voice. “Sometimes I forget entire days. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I…you say you can tell when it happens?” Bertolt nodded. “What am I like?” Reiner asked. “Do I…I don’t speak about home, do I?”“Do you think I’d be this calm if you were?” Bertolt asked. “No. it’s like…you believe that story you told the Military Police when they came asking us where we came from. Like you really think that happened, and that we come from here and joined up to become soldiers.”Reiner felt a laugh bubbling up in his chest, even though the situation wasn’t remotely funny. “Bertolt,” he said when he was sure that he wasn’t going to laugh. Or scream. Or both. “I don’t remember the story that I told the Military Police.”“Oh,” Bertolt said, sounding surprised. “This…you’ve been like this for that long?”“Yes,” Reiner answered.“Shit.” Reiner ground his face in his hands. “Look, it’s not that bad,” Bertolt said at last.“It’s not?” Reiner asked. “Could have fooled me.”“I know what our mission is and I’ve known you long enough to know who you really are,” Bertolt said. Reiner looked up. The younger boy looked surprisingly calm. “I’ll just remind you,” he continued.“You will?”“Yes,” Bertolt said. He smiled gently, his eyes lighting up. “I’ll keep reminding you until you remember.”Reiner felt the knot that he had been carrying in his chest for as long as he could remember loosen ever so slightly. “Thanks,” he said.“Any time,” Bertolt said. he clapped Reiner on the shoulder. “Come on,” he said. “The soup isn’t going to cook itself.”
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First there is darkness and then there was pain. The pain surrounds him, envelopes him, like a mother swaddles a baby, only swaddles are warm, aren’t they? There is no warmth here. No comfort. Only pain.Erwin tries to open his mouth. To beg. To plead for the pain to stop, to let it end. And then…floating. He feels the sensation of flying. Ah, he thinks. This is it. This is the end.But the pain doesn’t stop. If anything, it intensifies. Is this his lot? To feel pain for all eternity? (Can he expect anything else though? Given what he has done, he knows he probably deserves more).The pain reaches a new peak and Erwin’s consciousness flees......He is eight and he is listening to his father explain something. Something that doesn’t make sense. Only a few nights later, the Military Police will show up at their door and tell his mother some news. What they say makes even less sense to Erwin, and he cannot stop the tears from leaking over his cheeks as his mother wails.Her pain. His fault.But now he is sixteen and he has faced a titan for the first time. He watches as his companion is slowly slid into the titan, listens to the screams of the dying man and is hit with the realisation that only he is fighting for something beyond his own survival and the survival of his loved ones. Only he wanted to break down the walls.He is thirty four and he is so tired when a young woman comes into his office. She wordlessly hands him a document. He looks down at the writing and back up at her brown eyes. She looks tired. She looks sad. She doesn’t look defeated. She salutes, before turning on her heal and leaving.Time goes by quickly and soon he is thirty five. Mike accuses him of putting on an act. Erwin doesn’t know how to explain that it’s not an act if he doesn’t know himself who he is. Instead he apologises and promises to explain later. He learns later with regret that the time to explain will never come, that his friend will never understand his motives, his lies, his gambles. He is twenty eight again and the young man in front of him is screaming at him in a mixture of rage, pain and grief. Erwin can feel his own grief creeping up his throat, but he swallows it down as he speaks quietly to the man, convincing him not to fight, convincing him to follow Erwin, to let go of his past, to survive.Seven years later, and the roles are reversed. Erwin wonders what would have happened had he chosen to follow Levi’s advice, if he had stayed behind and let Hange lead the squad. He quickly squashes this thought. It is better like this. At least this way, there’s a chance. Someone will find out the truth about what lies beyond the wall, will venture out past them into the unknown world, and when they do, Erwin knows that the spirit of all those who have died, all the lives he has gambled, including his own, will be there to see it happen.He looks expectantly at the man before him. Erwin likes to think that he understands Levi better than most, can read the small flickers of emotion that flash across his face, too quick for most to see. He sees anger, fear, pain and regret, before his expression solidifies into determination. After all, Levi understands. This was one of the conditions for him to allow Erwin to come. “I don’t mind being bait. Use me as food.”The young man straightens (except he isn’t young anymore). “Give up on your dreams and die,” he says, and his voice is clear and steady. “I promise: I will take down the Beast Titan.”Erwin smiles. If anyone will see what lies beyond these walls, it will be Levi. “Thank you, Levi,” he says, hoping that those three words will express gratitude for eight years’ worth of loyalty......Gentle hands lay Erwin down, and he hardly feels the pain anymore as he hears voices coming at him from a long distance. After all He is eight years old again. He raises his hand.“But Teacher,” he asks, his voice clear and steady. “How do you know for sure there’s nobody on the other side of the walls?”
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Kaidan finds Shepard in the life support bay. “Hey,” he says cautiously.She looks up. Kaidan has always found it difficult to read her, but today it’s downright impossible. “I…um…I just wanted to check up on you,” he says, feeling foolish as he says it.She blinks. “Oh,” she says.“And I wanted to apologise,” he continued. “I shouldn’t have laid all that out on you earlier.”A frown flickers across her face. “Kaidan,” she says slowly. “You’re a human being. What happened on today’s mission was a terrible situation and we were forced to make terrible decisions. Of course you’d have emotions.”“But,” he begins.She gets to her feet. “You’re allowed to have emotions Kaidan,” she says. “And if the choices are between you laying them on me and bottling them inside you, of course you should lay them on me.” She smiles slightly. “I know I look soft, but I am strong enough to take them.”He wants to kiss her. Instead, he says “But what about you?”It’s clear she doesn’t understand the question. “What about me what?” she asks.“Who do you lay your emotions on?” he asks.She raises an eyebrow. “Dangerous ground, Alenko,” she says mildly.“I’m just saying Shepard,” he says. “You’re a human being too. Ma’am.” And because he doesn’t know what else to do, he salutes and then turns to leave.“Lieutenant,” she says from behind him. He turns back. There is a strange expression on her face. “Ma’am?” he asks.“What’s the date today?”He glances down at his omnitool. “April 11, ma’am,” he replies.A smile. Not a happy one. In fact, Kaidan feels mildly afraid. “It’s my birthday,” she says at last.“I-holy shit,” Kaidan says. “I’m so sorry, Shepard, I had no idea.”“Of course you don’t,” she answers. “I haven’t celebrated my birthday since my parents died. Haven’t had any reason to.” She sighs. “Heck of a day, isn’t it?” she says in a small voice. “Ash and Wrex both died today, and all I can think about is how my mother used to bake for me on my birthday.”Kaidan doesn’t usually know what to say to her. Today he does. “What would she bake?” he asks.“She baked lemon cake every year for as long as I can remember,” she answers. “It’s my favourite,” she explains tentatively. “Was. I haven’t found a lemon cake that tastes as good as hers. Gave up trying years ago.” She sighs. “I miss her,” she says. “Every day, but especially today.”Kaidan takes a step towards her, and her eyes meet his. Suddenly she looks extremely young. Incredibly vulnerable.Ah, how he longs to take her in his arms, to comfort her, to convince her that she is not alone in all this. “How old are you today?” he asks.Another smile, this one softer. “Thirty,” she says. He nods once. “Heck of a day, huh?”“Yeah,” he agrees. “Heck of a day.”
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It is the first day of spring, the cherry blossoms have started to bloom, and Kousei Arima is playing the piano. Later, his best friend, the girl who he will always see as his big sister, will ask him who he was playing for. His answer will be: “I’m always playing for her.”Tsubaki won’t ask who he is talking about. She doesn’t need to. Kousei pictures her how he first saw her, bare-footed and playing the melodica, whilst children laugh and dance around her and pigeons fly in arcs across the sky. He hears her singing: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. How I wonder what you are. She stands before him, her arms raised, as music flows silently around the pair of them and her legs tremble and shake, her face pale with the effort to keep herself upright. Snow falls in flurries, covering her bare feet and Kousei knows he will never see anything as beautiful ever again.She pulls the music out of him, every agonising note that he can’t hear and she smiles and says “But you have the music inside of you.”“You have no idea how lucky you are, not to be able to hear.”She smiles mischievously at him as she raises her bow, and when he fails, she sighs counts herself back in and keeps playing, giving him no choice but to try again, to keep trying so that she doesn’t stand alone on that stage, so tiny and frail in that large space.And around her, the cherry blossoms blow, until all everything is pink and white, blinding him, filling his lungs with their scent.“Don’t forget me,” she whispers. “Promise me.”He cannot forget her. She is in everything he loves, the canelés he buys from the bakery as a treat, the friends he doesn’t see nearly often enough, the music that has hurt him and healed him and that he can’t stop playing. They only played together once, but in his mind, every piece Kousei plays is a duet, her presence filling the room, an imaginary violin singing with his piano. He sees her everywhere, but especially in spring when the cherry blossoms bloom and the pigeons fly in arcs across the sky, and sometimes at night, when the stars are twinkling high up above him, shining down like great jewels in the sky, he whispers to her. “Today I played Beethoven.” “Remember when we raced the train and we thought we could win?” “I’m sorry I was scared. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you that I loved you. Will you forgive me?” “I miss you, Kaori.” “I’m glad I knew you. You changed my life. Thank you. I’ll never forget what you did for me.”.....It is the first day of spring, the cherry blossoms are blooming, and Kousei Arima is playing a duet with a girl long gone. Around them, the world turns pink and white, and the pigeons fly in arcs across the sky.
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Otae-is experimenting with new ways of cooking eggs. So far, she has perfected the devil’s eggs, scorched eggs, eggs burnt-to-death and hard-baked eggs. She aims to add doesn’t-go-down-easy eggs to her list of masterpieces.
Shinpachi-moved in with Gintoki and Kagura on day three of the lockdown, with three broken teeth and having had zero nutritional content since the day before the lock-down began. He has since established a daily routine and a chore-list for the household that Gintoki and Kagura mostly ignore. Kagura has also been caught talking to his glasses twice. His go-to playlist consists of Otsu’s music, and he has listened to her new song, “coronavirus is a chome-chome” on repeat.
Kondo-has been found in Otae’s bathroom, bedroom, closet, kitchen cupboard, under her porch, and eating the scorched eggs that Shinpachi secretly threw into the trash. So far, he has two broken ribs, a broken arm, a bruised cheek and a split lip.
Katsura-is leading protests demanding the lockdown to end so that he can get a haircut. Refuses to wear a facemask when he goes out, as they are the shogun’s means of controlling the population. When people point out the science behind the lockdown, he tells them “it’s not science, it’s Katsura.”
Otose-has started multiple feeding schemes, has invited numerous homeless people to sleep in her bar during the lockdown, complains online that a landlord’s income is rent, but in reality is allowing Gintoki and co to live rent-free and has even gotten Tama to take them a home-cooked meal every now and then.
Hijikata-has stocked up on enough mayonnaise to last a year. Is going through withdrawal because of the nicotine ban (I know this isn’t a thing in Japan, please indulge me). Has rewatched Sailor Moon five times. And to make matters worse, whenever he steps outside to go for his morning run, he tramples in a giant pile of dog poo on his doorstep.
Sougo-has constructed several evil and elaborate plans to cause misery to others. Was caught shoplifting twice because why not. May or may not be bootlegging alcohol. On a more positive note, he has offered to take Sadaharu out for a walk in the evening, and always makes sure that they take a route that goes past Hijikata’s house.
Sa-chan-has been found in Gintoki’s bathroom, bedroom, closet, kitchen cupboard, under his desk and sniffing his dirty underwear. So far, her air travel record has been two hundred metres, but she and Gintoki hope to improve this figure soon.
Kagura-ate all her lockdown snacks with in the first hour of lockdown and now passes the time making pointed remarks at Sadaharu about how cruel it is to deprive a child of food. No response yet from either Sadaharu or Gintoki.
Elizabeth-hasn’t been seen since the lockdown began. No one seems to know where he is. Katsura is yet to notice his absence.
Hasegawa-blew his relief cheque within two hours on pachinko. He now sleeps in a dog kennel outside of Otose’s bar, despite her telling him he’s welcome to sleep inside the bar. Posts online how much he misses physical contact with people.
Gintoki-only realised there was a lockdown when he went out four days in to buy the latest Jump and was turned around by the police. So far, his life hasn’t changed much aside from the fact that he can’t read his beloved Jump, he can’t eat chocolate and he is getting less work. He feels that the lockdown can stretch on for all eternity, so long as he can get his Jump, his strawberry milk and his chocolate.