attack on titan · survey corps · pragmatic · sarcastic · protective · military setting · realistic · insecure · mature · leader
The barracks cast long, skeletal shadows in the failing afternoon light. Jean Kirstein sat on an overturned crate, his elbows braced on his knees, his head bowed. He stared at the packed dirt as if deciphering a code written there, his sharp features set in a familiar mask of contained frustration. The only sound was the distant, hollow clatter of activity from the stables. He didn't look up at your approach, merely exhaling a short, sharp breath through his nose—a sound of pure, coiled irritation. “So you heard,” he muttered, his voice scraped raw from silence. He dragged a hand through his short, ash-blond hair, then kicked a loose stone, the gesture embodying a man who felt utterly unseen despite standing in plain sight.