Day 6
The sun ascended leisurely above the urban expanse of Trost, its rays infiltrating a smog reminiscent of the factory fumes the inhabitants had grown accustomed to. On the other side of the wall, a rampant inferno devoured the neighboring forest, beyond the grasp of the vigilant soldiers stationed there. It would be days before the fire reduced the entire woodland to embers, leaving nothing but a desolate path for the flames to traverse. Amidst this landscape of scorching blazes and ash-laden remnants, the aftermath of the previous night's clash remained.
"Y-Ymir, what the hell are you going to do?!"
In a crescendo of lightning, a resounding thunder, and the bloodcurdling cry of a savage titan, Sandra vividly recalled every minute detail. Alongside her comrades, she had witnessed the recently unveiled Ymir tilt the scales of the battle in their favor. Her aid had empowered the less-experienced Yeager to push the armored back, leaving it at a clear disadvantage. Recognizing his imminent defeat, Reiner elected to flee, cutting his losses with Bertholdt to rescue Annie from the group of scouts that had her surrounded. Eren's titan succumbed to exhaustion by that point, and by the time his face plunged into the earth, Ymir had mysteriously vanished into thin air.
How could so many hidden titans have infiltrated their midst, their true identities concealed from all? Who else within their ranks was also a titan? Why were Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt waging a war against them? How did Floch come to possess such damning knowledge? To what extent was he entangled in this treacherous web?
Sandra wondered when this would all start making sense.
Her understanding of these titan beings was meager, but she knew they benefited from an astonishing healing ability, capable of mending the most grievous wounds. Ruth's words echoed in her memory, recounting Yeager's miraculous healing of his lower half. The confirmation came later, when they bore witness to Floch's arrival, his clothes drenched in crimson and the body of Ymir in his arms emanating visible wisps of steam. Her brows furrowed, a crease etching its way across her forehead and a shiver running down her spine as she retraced the events leading up to Ymir's transformation.
The prospect of Floch being a titan made her mind spin with anxiety, a seed of doubt stealthily infiltrated the recesses of her mind, germinating with silent persistence. What would it mean for him if he were, for the rest of them as well? She shook her head, It wasn't fair to him for her to assume these things without trying to understand first.
She knew better than to surrender herself to wild speculation. Yet, that night at the camp resurfaced, its vivid scenes playing out like fragments of a fractured dream. His words, harsh and firm, reverberated through the chambers of her mind. Since that day, she struggled to understand the person he had become. The pages of their connection, once open and inviting, had sealed themselves away, elusive and impenetrable.
That anger she saw in his eyes.
A part of her felt afraid of him.
Despite reaching her limit internally, Sandra maintained a stoic facade, concealing her exhaustion and weariness beneath a composed exterior. The strain on her face was occasionally betrayed by a slight furrow of her brow or a subtle twitch of her eye at the sight of Ackermann. Despite her best efforts, She found herself teetering on the edge of an overwhelming wave of nausea, barely able to suppress the roiling turmoil within her, but she held on and in turn kept the contents of her stomach to herself.
Gradually, the cadets were led away from the top of the wall, bidding farewell to Floch, Eren, and Bertholdt as each of them was escorted to different destinations. The scouts whisked them away for an extensive round of questioning, detaining them for several hours before eventually releasing them back to the safety of their headquarters. The group were under the arches of the courtyard, making their way inside. Strangely enough, no one among them uttered a word about the events that had transpired.
Yet.
"So, are we gonna talk about what the hell just happened, or what?" Sandra's heart skipped a beat as Gordon's voice cut through the heavy silence. Heads turned, fixating on him. "All this silence is driving me nuts, somebody say something!" he demanded, his words laced with frustration.
Jean scoffed. "Like what?"
Connie seemed dazed, his words stumbling out. "Reiner for starters... he's a titan-"
"S-So is Bertholdt!" Sasha interjected, her voice still tinged with disbelief.
Ruth's voice was barely audible. "And Annie-"
"-And Ymir," Krista murmured, her troubled expression betraying her words.
Marco furrowed his brow, breaking his silence with an observation. "That's really a lot to take in all at once... Floch seemed to know about Ymir all along," he noted, concern etched on his face. "But how long has he been keeping that a secret? With how Ymir ran away, it didn't look like they were planning on revealing that any time soon."
Ruth's voice trembled as she added, "He didn't seem right when he brought her to the top of the wall. He... looked so lost."
Sasha's eyes widened, and a sense of awe tinged her voice as she recounted the encounter. "I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that look on Ymir's face. They were surrounding her from all sides, yet the way she glared back at them... it gave me goosebumps. Like a predator being cornered, instinct taking over, survival mode engaged."
Armin's sudden input caught everyone off guard. "We won't get to know all the details without asking first, still.. I wouldn't hold it against them, there's a lot of things we don't understand but," he interjected, his voice filled with empathy. "Imagine being a titan, knowing that people close to you would suffer because of it. It's understandable why they never told any of us." Krista's eyes widened as his words sank in.
"Holy shit," Gordon breathed out, his voice filled with a mix of shock and disbelief, capturing the attention of those nearby. "He knew about them both... that incident a few years ago during our retrieval mission, the bloody boot, Ymir's torn pants... Floch must have known since that day, and Eren! When Ruth led him to us at HQ, he called out his name when he saw his titan!" he revealed.
All of the cadets looked stunned at the startling revelation, especially Mikasa and Armin who shared a quick glance. Was that why he demanded to speak to Eren privately that day? But the question remained, How? How did he know about Eren, when they themselves had no clue whatsoever? Through Eren's own admission, they learned that not even he knew about his own abilities prior to the breach.
Sandra's voice trailed off, her expression contemplative. "That... makes a lot of sense now, why they were always off by themselves." she finally managed to articulate, the words tinged with astonishment. Her head snapped to Ruth's direction, and the redhead nearly jumped out of her own skin because of it.
"I know nothing about this, I swear!" She nervously defended herself.
"That said, it still doesn't explain how he knew about Eren." Armin noted with a frown.
A momentary silence enveloped the group of cadets, their thoughts hanging in the air. Jean watched intently, his eyes narrowing as he processed the new information. Sasha frowned as she thought back to that day, the words she heard Floch say before he ultimately passed out. Her eyes scrunched with concentration, what could it mean?
"So, now what?" Connie's voice broke the silence, filled with a sense of uncertainty.
"Mikasa and I won't leave Eren behind, we move forward for his sake." Armin answered, thinking back on the previous night. "There's no doubt in my mind that he will be under the custody of the Survey corps from now on, if that operation we got caught up in was anything to go by. So that's where both of us are going."
"F-Floch too, he always intended to join them." Ruth added.
"Joining the Scouts, huh?" Connie breathed out, all of them seemed to be giving it some thought, the weight of the decision hung heavy in the air.
"If it brings us a step closer to finding out more about what's going on, then I guess I'll do it." Gordon said, his words tinged with determination, earning him a pointed look from Sandra. "A-and for Floch too!" he added quickly, looking sheepishly at the annoyed Sandra.
"Tsk, whatever. Good luck with that." Jean scoffed dismissively, his voice laden with bitterness and frustration. He turned away from the group, striding purposefully towards the barracks.
"Hey, that was a little rude! What gives, horseface?!" Sasha called out from behind him, Jean came to an abrupt halt, his body tense, as if the words had struck a nerve he didn't want to acknowledge.
"What gives is that I've noticed the start of a bad pattern, and I'm pulling myself out before it's too late," Jean replied sharply, his voice cutting through the air like a knife. He turned to face his friends, his weary gaze meeting theirs. "It's always been just those two, trouble follows them wherever they go. If I'm not seeing that idiot making an ass of himself, then I get Floch in my ear to remind me about it. And you know what? I'm sick of it. I don't care, nor do I give a shit about what those two are hiding, much less wanting to get dragged into all the insanity that's been happening around them."
"Jean-" Marco tried to intervene, concern etched on his face, but Jean held his hand up to silence him.
"No. You see, I was really comfortable when we didn't bring this up on the way here because I was ready to put this entire damn week behind me for good—no more adventures, no more close calls, no more titan bullshit," Jean hissed, his words dripping with frustration. His eyes swept across the group. "I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime, thanks a bunch! Heh." A dry chuckle escaped his lips, devoid of genuine amusement.
"Not that I haven't considered joining. I have, at one point," Jean continued, his voice softer now, laced with a touch of vulnerability. "That bastard nearly convinced me back at the mess hall, nearly." He narrowed his eyes, his gaze piercing as it landed on Connie and Sasha. "You wanna join? Fine by me, but even if by some miracle I ended up going with you, I honestly can't say that I trust any of you to watch my back out there."
He turned towards Connie, his gaze penetrating and intense, causing Connie to momentarily flinch. "I was a hypocrite for getting angry at you for what you did... what you didn't do," he admitted, his voice tinged with a mix of regret and understanding. "Because, truth be told, I nearly made the same mistake. If it weren't for Floch, I would have been no different. So, I don't hold it against you, Connie."
Sasha shifted uncomfortably, as Jean turned to her. "Sasha, I know that you didn't trust any of us enough to clue us in on what you heard. You went by yourself, risking your life in the process." Jean's voice softened as he addressed the trained huntress, a flicker of remorse passed through her features, an acknowledgment of the potential consequences. Turning his attention to Mikasa, his tone carried a hint of disappointment and resignation. "And you, Mikasa. I know now that if it came down to it, you'll prioritize Eren over everything, even at our expense." He paused, his words hanging heavily in the air. "You could have killed Floch last night, the same guy who dragged us away from those rooftops and led us through hell. And you nearly decapitated him over a misunderstanding."
Mikasa's eyes widened, her usual composed demeanor faltering as guilt washed over her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words failed to materialize. A frown etched across her features as she took a couple of steps back, seeking solace behind the protective presence of Armin.
"I...I'm.." Mikasa tried to say, but her words failed her.
Jean's gaze softened with understanding, realizing the weight of his accusations. "But that's enough of that," Jean sighed, weariness seeping into his voice. "I can't go around pointing fingers at all of you, especially since I'm just as half-assed as the rest." He turned to Marco, seeing the troubled look in his eyes, then he turned back to face the group with a steeled expression.
"If you're all determined to go through with this, then make sure you can confidently say you trust the person by your side. That's what those Scouts are all about." His words carried a sense of wisdom. "And you've seen what happened to them. I know I'm not the only one who could smell their flesh burning in that forest. At the very least, don't stand there and pretend that some of you don't want to rip each other's head off." His gaze lingered over Sandra and Mikasa.
The group fell silent, the weight of Jean's words sinking in. In the face of their own flaws and now fractured trust, the decision to join the Scouts became more than just a path towards answers—it became a test of their faith in each other. He sighed and turned around to leave. "As for me? I'm an honest man, with modest dreams. I'm not a titan or a crafty lunatic, I'm just me. And after the events of this entire week, I'm more confident than ever that I don't want any part in this. The very least you could all do is be a little more honest with yourselves, it'll go a long way." He finished, leaving all of them in a stunned silence as he made his way to the barracks.
The first to depart was Marco, reluctantly following suit, torn between the weight of his responsibilities and his concern for his comrades. Mikasa and Armin, with their own burdens to bear, left. Sasha and Connie hastily excused themselves and left as well. Gray eyes turned to the one of the last remaining cadets, though Kirsta's passive expression betrayed nothing, Sandra intuited that there was more to her than met the eye.
Krista looked up at both of them, a determined look on her face even after everything they heard. "All of us have our own problems to deal with, but for now I only have one goal and It's Ymir." She began, her eyes scrunching with discomfort. "Floch can bring me closer to that, so I won't give up until I bring her back, and hear everything she has to say. I'm sure it's the same with you three when it comes to him. I made a promise not long ago, for her, for myself." And with that she left, leaving the three alone under the arches.
"Well..." Ruth trailed awkwardly. "What about us?"
Gordon hummed. "What about us?"
Ruth shifted uncomfortably, averting her gaze. "Uhhm.."
Sandra placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let Jean's words get to you, that's just how he feels. Us three, Hannah, Floch.. We're all together in this, It's different."
"But what he said about you and Mikasa wasn't wrong." She pointed out, causing Sandra to wince.
"I..." She trailed uncomfortably. "I don't like her, sure, whatever! But that doesn't mean I'll turn my back on a comrade when they need me the most, even if said comrade is an abnormally strong psychopath."
"Women." Gordon scoffed, before being silenced by their glares.
He held up his hands in the air defensively before he sighed. "Honestly, joining the Scouts is probably going to be the second dumbest thing I've ever done right behind becoming friends with Floch. That guy's been really determined to make himself a headache for the rest of us, but we're used to it so why stop now?" Gordon joked, earning him a light punch in the arm from Sandra. "Ow, bitch!" causing her to punch him again.
"Language!" She hissed, before she huffed. "We really need to get that idiot to explain himself though." A sad smile tugged at her lips.
"After all he's done for me, he told me that I didn't have anything to prove by following in his footsteps." Ruth muttered, she looked up from the ground to meet their gazes. "But he's wrong, after what happened in Trost... I don't want anybody else to go through that ever again. I want to... help others, even If it's so frightening." The duo looked stunned for a second, before they both smiled at her. The moment passed and Ruth's confident exterior quickly shattered as her face went red from embrassement, making the other two laugh at her expense as she began to splutter incoherently.
Sandra smiled. "Then I guess we all know what we want to do."
And for everybody else, life carried on. Their daily routines only tinged with an added layer of inconvenience, courtesy of the dense smog billowing from the blazing forest beyond the protective confines of the wall. Sandra looked up at the dark smoke on the other side of the wall that was making it's way up north thanks to the winds, a determined look on her face.
She made up her mind.
"Have You Decided Which Branch Of The Military You're Gonna Apply To? I've Decided. I-I'm, I'm Gonna Join The Survey Corps." - Jean Kirstein 850 AD , at the burning of the fallen in Trost.
"Welcome aboard."
The two words Floch didn't know he wanted to hear until now, and in a way, it was... disappointing.
His journey through time was not the idyllic escapade he had imagined at first. Returning to the past had unveiled a bitter truth: expectations, no matter how lofty, were often eclipsed by the unforgiving reality that enveloped the world. It wasn't quiet like playing poker at a roundtable, holding all the right cards one could only pick up through sleight of hand. Ymir (the founder) knew he made plenty of mistakes, by god he did, yet what he failed to acknowledge was the avalanche of fresh missteps that awaited his journey.
The allure of rectifying his past had seduced him, to right those wrongs seemed an enticing prospect, and as he played the part of a hero and saved lives from imminent peril, an unsettling truth gnawed at his conscience. For every soul he saved, every life he guarded, there existed an equal measure of sacrifice and suffering, borne by those who had not treaded the path of anguish before.
He tried not to think much of it, chalking it all up to his own interference causing a divergence in the events that established the reality he originated from.
So why was he repeating the same mistakes?
He should have known better than to avoid the past; the faces of those he could have spared haunted his thoughts, their pain etching deep furrows upon his conscience. Those civilians should have been reuinted with their families, Franz need not have forfeited his life for one as flawed as him, Samuel shouldn't have met such a grim fate, and Rashad should never have succumbed to the clutches of death in that forest.
He often wished praise could wash away the blood that coated his hands.
Ymir was gone again, even with everything he did nothing had changed about that. He breathed a sigh of relief when Zacharias informed him she hadn't gone with the warriors but how long until fate laughed in his face, how long until history repeated itself? What was he supposed to do with Historia and the rest who undoubtedly would ask questions? And Eren? What would he tell him when the time comes? His head threatened to burst thinking about all of this, he couldn't quite control the way his hands trembled.
He clutched his trembling hands tightly, and took a calming breath as he sat alone in a secluded room after having spent the last twenty-four hours in a cell. He was chosen to return here, he couldn't afford to crack under the pressure. 'It' chose him to return here, dammit. Not Armin, not Hange! Not even the damn lord and savior Eren Yeager! But HIM.
Floch fucking Forster, The man of the hour, the brave knight in shining armor. The prodigy his comrades looked up to with naive admiration, the capable cadet commanders considered a valuable asset to their cause.
But he knew better.
He alone knew the Floch Forster who served his purpose as canon fodder, failing time and time again to be just that. Avoiding death at every turn, and watching as greater men fell in battle before him. The Floch Forster who couldn't take down a stationary boat to save his life and the lives of thousands, dying away from his homeland in a pool of blood and uncertainty.
Here he was now, in a new reality where he was only slightly less pathetic than what he used to be, surrounded by people who have this false impression of him. Watching helplessly as everything began to slip through his hands again.
Dependable? Courageous? An inspiration? Hah! If only they knew, if only they'd seen him turn his back on Erwin Smith the night of their graduation ceremony. Perhaps then, Sandra and Ruth would cease their adoring gazes, their starry-eyed admiration replaced by a piercing gaze of discernment. Maybe they'd begin to perceive him as Hannah had—a monstrous creature masquerading as a man, a hollow vessel devoid of humanity.
But that's what they wanted him to do wasn't it? Gordon, Sandra and the rest, they didn't want him to live this kind of life, they didn't want him venturing out of the walls. Maybe that's why he was chosen then, because even a self-proclaimed coward like him refused to be held back in pursuit of this grand goal he had set out to achieve.
Was it simply his life's mission to ensure Eldia had someone to shoulder the burden of all those souls they would claim?
Was there more to him being here?
Or was he just a fool?
He wasn't going to turn his back on Erwin's cause this time around, but he wouldn't be looking up at him from below the stage with the other cadets either. He landed himself a place in the background with the other scouts, and it disappointed him to no ends. He wanted to be there shoulder to shoulder with the rest, and stand tall and proud like the fucking idiot he was as they welcomed him into the fold.
It was the thought that counted after all.
At least, they were still willing to have him on their side all things considered.
"...You're saying that since I am the most knowlegeable concerning the titans I'm an invaluable asset to humanity's victory, as anything else would simply be a waste of a perfect opportunity."
"Correct." Erwin Smith replied.
"So by knowing as much as I do, and helping as much as I did, you'd like to offer me a personal invitation to join your regiment. And in doing this I'll be offered protection from the interior's persecution for omitting what I did."
"Correct."
"And you're not worried about me being a security risk because you have men who could easily put me down."
"If you phrase it that way, then yes."
"Why do you put so much faith in me?"
"You've brought me closer to this dream of mine, so call it intuition if you will. Now then, answer me this, after everything we spoke about, are you scared?"
"I'd be a fool not to be, I've just gotten better at hiding it."
"Good, that's the way It's supposed to be. I am looking forward to seeing what you can bring to the table, Floch Forster, this is a genuine salute."
"Yes, sir."
"Welcome aboard."
Day 9
"Today, you choose which division to join. The reason I'm up here is to invite you to become a part of the Survey Corps."
The days passed, and the news about their operation spread like wildfire, literally. Much like Eren, Floch had been assigned to a squad who on paper were his team, but in reality were nothing more than the people who were assigned to keep an eye on him. The only silver lining there was that he was already familiar and on good terms with one of his squad members, Henning. So here he was, standing next to them behind the scenes of the stage as Erwin delivered his speech to the cadets below, to Floch's right stood Eren, both of them wearing their regiment cloaks to conceal themselves.
"They didn't give you a choice did they?" Eren whispered beside him.
"None, you?" He whispered back.
"Obviously not, not that it was necessary, right?"
"It's what we wanted."
"Yeah, things worked out in the end... So, about that talk."
Floch turned to face him with a face devoid of any emotion.
"Are you going to be more open-minded this time?"
Eren nodded, slowly.
Floch turned his head away. "Soon. It's been on my mind a lot recently, I want Krista to join us too."
Eren's eyes widened as he gaped at him, remembering the blonde's apparent involvement. He composed himself and nodded, then they both resumed their silence as they listened to Erwin.
"But I should warn you. In the recent titan attack, everyone here experienced what the average excursion outside is like. I'm sure nothing else in your lives came close to it. Though you're trainees, you experienced sacrifice."
Floch raised a brow a this, this speech was going the exact same way he remembered it the first time around. Was the commander really saying all of this off the top of his head or was it rehearsed?
"As a result, I'm sure you came to know...Your own limits, and the terror of the titans. Nevertheless..."
He was sure this was the exact same speech. He took a couple of steps forward and took a peek around the curtains, noting the many gathered trainees, his eyes roamed the masses until they fell on the forms of Sandra, Hannah, Ruth, and Gordon. His face lit up with surprise seeing all of them standing there, why the hell are they all here?!
He caught a glimpse of blonde hair from behind a few shoulders and his stomach sank.
"You better keep her safe, or I'll kill you."
Floch took a deep breath and retraced his steps back next to Eren, earning many strange looks in the process. He furrowed his brows as he gazed at nothing in particular, figures Historia would join if it meant going out there to find Ymir, of course.
"While It's true we suffereed heavy losses in this attack, the human race has advanced towards victory like never before. By now, everyone is aware of..."
loch mentally tuned out the commander's voice as he went deep in thought, what the hell was the next step now? If he remembered correctly, he revealed Ymir and the warriors a month in advance, and to make it even better they had the Colossal in custody somewhere far from their reaches. The official word was out, their world knew about what had occured, albeit it being a warped retelling of the events. The Survey Corps and Military Police Brigade's decisive actions have brought humanity their second victory over the titans, all thanks to the genius and cunning of the acting premier Darius Zackly!
The public was overjoyed, even those bastards from the inner districts who were getting worried about the notion of the outer cities rebelling against them with Eren's powers. In the people's eyes, Eren Yeager has proven himself a hero and an ally to humanity and the scouts have proven themselves to be an effective force. To say Nile Dok was fuming about the current events would be an understatement. Floch was there with Eren inside the war room as all three branches discussed the mission report from the recent operation, all under Zackly's supervision.
He didn't know how Erwin had done it, but he had managed to convince them to keep both titans under their custody, much to the displeasure of the MP's. To his surprise, the scouts had omitted the little incident with Ymir from the report so he remained as nothing more than another pawn in the game. Only receiving glares from Nile Dok for deceiving the man a few days prior inside of the court, and none have been the wiser about the true extent of the premier's involvement.
By the end of that meeting, the government had given Eren a new lease on life to prove himself, not that he had anything to prove at this point. And everyone got what they wanted for the most part, Erwin a chance to pursue his dream, Eren a chance to fight, and as for him? Well, he didn't know exactly how to answer that yet.
"-But even through all of that, we have managed to come out on top in the end. With the help of Eren Yeager we defeated one of our biggest enemies and took one into custody at the cost of more than sixty men and women. Thanks to their sacrifice, the colossal titan is no longer a threat to us."
There were no gasps or looks of astonishement, the news had already been made public beforehand, Floch thought back on that day he was recruited into the Survey Corps after their surge in popularity. Two months, that's how long it took for them to reach Shiganshina the first time. And he knew well what happened in the time it took to reach that city. But Floch knew better now, he couldn't allow anything to stand in their way, not even an entire shadow government hellbent on self-destruction, or a bunch of misguided soldiers set on eradicating their own people in service of an empire that loathed their existence, nothing and no one.
"So after you've heard all of that, let me reiterate... The majority of the people who stay here and enter the Survey Corps will likely die. Ask yourselves if you really have it in you to sacrifice your life for humanity. That's all. Those of you who wish to join the other divisions are dismissed."
One second passed, then two, then three. Floch watched, as cadets expectedly began making their way away from the stage. His eyes wide as they fixated on a specific groups of cadets, he opened his mouth to speak but the words died in his throat. What the hell were they thinking? It can't be right? Floch frowned as he continued to watch, a minute later and only a fraction of the people gathered remained, and Erwin spoke again.
"If you were told to die would you do it?"
Yes.
"I don't want to die."
What's another death to him?
"I see... Everyone, you look good." The devil smiled. "Very well! I welcome the newest members of the Survey Corps! This is a true salute, Dedicate your hearts!" He saluted the cadets passionately.
"Yes sir!"
None of them looked like they wanted to be there, none.
"I see thirty members in the one hundred and fourth Survey Corps who have given the salute. You have withstood your fear well, you are all brave soldiers. You have my utmost respect."
Mikasa Ackermann, Armin Arlert, Connie Springer, Sasha Blouse, Krista Lenz, Sandra Köhler, Gordon Mayer, Ruth D. Kline, Hannah Diamant, Mylius Zermuski, Mina Carolina.
New members of the Survey Corps.
Not a lot happened, but we got Floch introspection and the cadets beginning to question Floch and a spicy Jean dialogue shutting everyone down so there's that! Next chapter should be interesting, I'll take it as an opportunity to calm things down a little before the storm again. Maybe readers like to read non-stop action but you gotta take a breath every once in a while!
But yes, to address the elephant in the room, Jean and Marco will join the Military police and they're going to have their own thing going on with Marlowe and Hitch. Since Marco hasn't died this time around, one of the driving reasons for Jean to join the scouts is gone and with that the two will set off together on their own adventures against corruption and uhh... bureaucracy?
Fun fact, since Ruth is basically an OC because she only appears once and it's when she's already dead in the manga, her personality was entirely derived from her last name. "D. Kline" and that's why she starts as this meek and shy little girl. (Since Kline or "Klein" means small in german.)
Fun fact #2: Gordon doesn't have a last name cannonically but I gave him the name Mayer as a little easter egg to batman but then I remembered that Gordon is a commissioner not a mayor so it kinda didn't work lol.
Weird fact, the entire Trost arc where the cadets are holed up in the HQ is inspired by a camping trip I had last year's february where me and a bunch of friends got stuck on top of a car for an hour surrounded by rabid dogs until law enforcement came in and handled them.
Sad fact, on average, somebody or something dies every three-four chapters. :)
I stayed up late to finish writing this, so if I messed somewhere I'd very much like to know about it hihi.
Thank you all for reading, and see you next time!