maskormenace

[ She doesn't doubt Annie is here alone. Neither Levi nor Armin have told her about a young soldier named Annie.

Or warned her. ]

Seems like we both don't like to make spectacles of ourselves.

[ Something Annie would find interesting. But that, as with many things, Annie doesn't know. ]

I've never been a fan of unnecessary actions. Spectacles included.

[ But spectacles of adults, maybe. ]

Have you been alright since?

[ Define "okay." ]

I've been adjusting. I wasn't on the beaches for the attack with the sharks, but I was called out for the mess with Lucifer. And you?

I wasn't anywhere near Miami either. Or that trouble with Lucifer.

[ A lie, of course. Where lives were in danger she was punching monsters in the face. ]

It's been some adjusting you've had to do.

I could have done without the explosive start.

[ There's a certain lack of subtly Annie's engaging in among imPorts. For her, it's a different sort of survival mechanism. ]

But what I want or don't want isn't usually what matters.

It's not very Cold War-like.

[ In her world, the Soviets didn't resort to mechanical sharks. ]

I'm glad to hear you're alright.

It's a ludicrous name for a war. What is it supposed to be like?

[ The Soviets... all this insanity of world hitting countries of people going to war on each other - creating an environment of fear that should be surprising... yet never really is. ]

...Ah. There's... no need for that.

Mainly political tension. Ideologies clashing.

There were wars over region in other countries, no actual fighting on US soil.

[ Sounds a little too familiar. ]

Why? To the latter, not the former. The former speaks for itself.

Communism versus capitalism.

But the Cold War ended in 1991 where I'm from.

Economics?

Ah... and it's continued on for decades longer here. Have you been able to find any reasons for why it didn't end here like it did for your world?

The most obvious case is the treaty wasn't signed.

Otherwise I'm not sure.

What does that mean for the present?

Spying on each other.

Now there's been an attack on US soil, but it doesn't look like the government's going to declare war.

Why the restraint? No enough clear evidence to support a full scale war? A knife at their throat they can't dislodge before taking action?

Politics is a messy business.

[ Translation: even she doesn't get it. ]

[ Politics are hell. Eugh... it makes Annie even more certain of the tenuous nature of their presence here.

Grand. ]

Life is a messy business. Politics reflect back on the society they're formed within... plural now, that is. Societies. Things act globally here in ways I've never imagined before.

[ Annie's unusually sharp for her age.

And something else catches Kate's attention. ~~Stalking my other character' thread.~~ ]

Are you from Armin's world?

[ ~~HDU!~~ She's been wondering if anyone was going to get around to drawing that explicit connection. Annie isn't hiding it; she's not hiding where she's from, much like she isn't saying all she could about who she is. She is surprised that Armin's name is the link.

It makes her hesitate. Kate will hear that. ]

Yes, I am.

[ ... but that's all. She doesn't want to say more, not knowing if there's some greater reason for Kate asking outside of making the connection. ]

[ It explains a lot about Annie's line of thinking. Levi and Erwin failed to mention certain issues as a result of humanity walling themselves in from the titans.

She catches Annie's hesitation, but says nothing of it. ]

I've heard a bit about your world. The culture shock must be something.

[ Annie's nothing if not honest when she's masking what it is she's stepping around saying. She's blunt; on things like this, she has no reason to be less than forthright. ]

It's overwhelming. I feel like I'm drowning sometimes, before things even out again and I find my feet again. Things people take for granted here can't be found anywhere in my experience before, and being surprised by them surprises people too used to them to see how they're not a natural part of the order of the world. Or weren't always. It's... difficult.

[ At length: ]

Are you angry about it?

[ Is Armin? She wouldn't be surprised and just maybe, can't blame them for feeling this way. There is a lot they take for granted. Even she's guilty of it. ]

Some things you'll get used to bit by bit. Like technology.

[ Is she? Annie has to look inward. She doesn't like to; herself is not a place that's all too kind on the eyes. ]

... Sometimes, yes. It's pointless anger. I let it go as it comes.

[ Said with a sigh following a few beats after. She does get angry. Frustrated. But it's strange - that she can, over things which are too big to be handled on her own, is grounding. It's a facelessness she can be bothered by and accept as the immovable mountain it is at the end of it all. ]

And indoor plumbing. That one's been a pleasant surprise.

Indoor plumbing, heh.

[ God bless. ]

It's a lot take in at once, but I don't doubt you will find your feet.

[ Annie's smart and more than capable it seems like. ]

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