BERTOLT

[bloodread]

Comments

[bloodread]

Go for it. I've heard weirder shit. [ He announces boldly and crosses his arms over his chest. Nagako slithers past him and winds her way around the bars in a rhythmic motion. ]

[perspire]

On Tuesday, an Angel made of Dust came to me, wanting to talk. As we talked, it felt like... I was being made to listen. They told me that if I wanted to go home faster, that if I wanted to protect my friends at home, I'd help them keep order by taking out the other side.

[bloodread]

[ ....ah. His fist clenches and unclenches but he doesn't advance again; after a moment he lets out an exhale that almost sounds like laughter, but it's cut short. ]

It let you pick?

[perspire]

It did, yeah.

Wouldn't even tell me if I was right or wrong.

[bloodread]

Of course not. There any reason you went for him? There's weaker people.

[perspire]

No reason, I just picked.

It might have been easier, going for someone weaker. I could hide better. [ he stops ]

But I don't think I could have.

[bloodread]

Why not? [ On her next turn, Nagako winds inside the cell and looks at Idi, her tongue flitting in and out. ]

[perspire]

I was already killing someone, why make it worse?

[ idi tilts her head down to look at nagako, before lowering it to her and nose at her.

and she's been a giraffe for a long time today! ]

[bloodread]

[ Quietly: ]

For your friends. [ Akira's too in his own head to pay attention to what the daemons are doing which is all well and good cause Nagako curls around Idi's nose as best she can, without actually wrapping around entirely. ]

[perspire]

--Would you have gone for someone weaker?

[ idi lets nagako curl around her nose as she adjusts herself to make herself more comfortable. ]

[bloodread]

Not Furude, but yeah. [ Nagako is happy to vibe like this for the time being, while Akira just looks down but not away. ]

[perspire]

[ daemons chilling in the bg while their humans are having a moment at the cell bars.

bertolt is silent for a moment before he reaches through them and places a hand on akira's shoulder ]

I understand. I think... if I had more time to think and plan...[ he would have too ]

--I'm not a good person.

[bloodread]

[ Akira tenses at the touch but doesn't pull away; a few feet away Nagako's tail flicks slightly, the rest of her remaining still. ]

...join the club. [ He razes his gaze to Bertolt's and tilts his head to the side, he's never been the type of person to inquire or press about personal issues, but this is an invitation to elaborate if wanted nonetheless. ]

[perspire]

[ he waits for a long moment, looking at akira. if he's going to die tomorrow, if the letters can't happen, then there's nothing stopping him from talking more. idi turns her head towards them, wanting to keep an eye on bertolt as she feels what he's about to say. ]

Nine wasn't the first person I killed. I'm responsible for the deaths of... a lot of people.

[bloodread]

You're a soldier, yeah? Isn't that what war is? [ His reply comes a little delayed, not from shock or surprise, the lines of his face still tight and rigid. No, his hesitation comes from the fact that war and its atrocities are something that was taught to him, imbued in him, like any teenager from post WWII Japan even if he's far removed from the situation himself. ]

[perspire]

It's more than that... The army at home doesn't fight against people... It fights against Titans. Giant creatures that do nothing but eat humans.

[bloodread]

[ No one in their life has ever called Akira smart and for good reason, he's always been a punch first, ask questions later type of guy. But he is perceptive, sometimes deceptively so and it's the wording that catches here.

He doesn't think about the ramifications of asking before he goes ahead and does just that. ]

...which side are you on?

[perspire]

[ he doesn't answer just yet ]

There are walls that keep the titans out.

Four years ago, I destroyed one.

[bloodread]

You gonna keep going? [ There's more to it than that, he's sure of it. Nagako bristles from where she's curled, though ultimately stays put. ]

[perspire]

[ he takes a deep breath ]

There's a lot. If you want me to stop at any point, just let me know.

Where I spent the past four years, I wasn't from there originally. The people there... don't even know there's an entire world past their walls. That they live on an island. I was sent there with my friends to infiltrate and find something important.

[ a beat ]

I can turn into a titan.

[bloodread]

[ A beat and then something that almost sounds like a laugh. ]

Punching me isn't eating me, you know. [ He'll wave a hand to indicate to keep going, if there's more Bertolt has to say. ]

[perspire]

[ he lets out a short huff of breath that could be a laugh too ]

I would rather not eat anybody more. I had to eat someone to get my power in the first place. [ why is aot like this ]

It's... we trained for years, for the chance to be selected for this mission and to get these titans. We left our home in Marley to travel to Paradis Island. When we got to the walls, I transformed into my titan form and kicked a hole into it.

[bloodread]

[ Akira gives Bertolt a look that says it all "why." but he doesn't interrupt. ]

Sounds simpler than blowing it up or anything complicated. What happened after?

[perspire]

Titans swarmed into the hole and well-- what do you think happened then? In the chaos we managed to slip in, forge our records and pass ourselves off as other refugees moving from the outer wall to one of the inner walls.

[ he sees the "why" and just starts to answer ]

We needed to find something Marley needed to get stronger and wipe out the Eldians living there. [ a pause ] I'm an Eldian from Marley. We... were told that Eldians were devils. I wanted to prove that we weren't... and get my dad medicine that he needed.

[bloodread]

You did it for them. [ He unfolds his arms and then sits on the ground before speaking again. ]

Do you have Yakuza where you're from?