Author's Note: Hello, everybody. To those who have been following me, I am back and it feels good! Let me tell you something: college is HARD! I will say no more, but let's just say my life keeps getting turned upside-down. That is why you all haven't heard from me in a while. Also, to people that have been following my other stories, read the bottom AN carefully.

So, an Attack on Titan fanfic. I never expected to get into an anime like this one, but here I am. While crossovers are fun, they are taxing to the mind when you have to work with two universes. SNK/AOT's universe is complicated enough as it is. And I get to put a self-insert—I mean, OC, for the first time. This will be fun…and tragic, given the universe.

Well, let's not waste any more time. It's time for the exposition chapter!

Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 1: A Lot of Background

"Hello, anybody who is reading my journal. My name is Dillon Amsdale. If you are reading this, provided my handwriting is still legible, then I'm either dead, famous, or have given it to my children…if I actually have children by then. Kinda have to find a girl and get married first. If you are curious, it is currently 847 and I am on my way to getting trained in the 104th Training Corps, or Cadet Corps. Whatever you wanna call it.

"So, why am I writing this? Because I may die sooner than I thought, and I want to at least have my story be told. Fair warning: there will be an aspect of me that you will not believe is possible, and I don't expect you to. There are days I find it hard to believe. Or worse, my power has been exposed and the Wall Worshippers (yes, that is what I'm calling them. Get over it!) have branded me a demon, or something stupid like that, and had me shot or burned at the stake. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and make your own decisions here. I'm not asking you to like me. I'm asking you to listen to my story.

"Before I begin, let me tell you a little bit about myself and my parents. Feel free to read ahead if this bores you, but I'm hoping someone will actually appreciate me doing this. I'm roughly five-foot-five, though Dad says I'll be going through a growth spurt eventually. I've got brown hair that doesn't get longer, but thicker, and brown eyes to match. I also have a bit of a muscular build thanks to my job as a blacksmith. Why am I giving you this description of me? Because I can't draw worth a damn, and I seriously doubt anyone would ever take the time to so for me.

"So, that's me. Now for my parents. Matthew and Carolyn Amsdale. My dad can look intimidating with that black beard combined with the muscles, but he's actually a nice person once you get to know him. I'm hoping he's still alive when you read this so he can prove it to you. He's been in the blacksmith business longer than I have. Hell, he was the one that created Amsdale's Forge. One of the best ideas he ever had.

"Still, if you think my dad is scary, you should meet Mom. Two words: defense attorney. You do not want to get on her bad side. Take brown eyes peering through glasses that I don't think she actually needs, hair tied up in a professional bun, and combine both a look that says, 'I am going to win this,' and you've got my mom. You can thank her for how good my writing is. She has the respect of the people in Wall Sina, but that doesn't extend to the Military Police. It was because of her several of their corrupt officers are currently rotting in prison. Fortunately, they can't do anything to us, what with the support of the people and approval from Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackley during a couple of court sessions. We're safe…for now.

"Like I mentioned, we live in the luxurious Wall Sina on the edge of Yarckel District. It's thanks to this factory city my dad and I were able to make a living as blacksmiths. Not only did we create swords for the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear, or 3DM Gear as I'll call it from now on, but we've made regular swords of all sizes, knifes, a couple of maces at one point, and we even make our own gun powder. While the swords for the 3DM Gear always go to the military, people still want us to make them weapons for the right price. Naturally, we keep a detailed catalog over who buys what weapons in case there are stupid enough to commit crimes around these areas. We've had a few people try to rob our store for various reasons throughout the years, and they usually got a forge hammer to the face for their troubles. They survived, but it was a message for us not to be trifled with. One person actually tried to kill me not too long ago, and my dad killed him…brutally. I didn't see him do it, thank God, but I did hear it.

"Still, it was the first attempted robbery when I was seven that my dad decided to teach me how to fight more often. Sure, a year ago, he gave a few pointers, but with the threat of people wanting to kill real, I had to learn the tools of the trade. There was only one rule my father swore to follow: never train me when he was angry. He would never forgive himself if he lashed out at me with the intention of hurting someone. That vow didn't stop the bruises, the scratches, the scars, and dislocated body parts. The most painful lesson he ever taught me was how to relocate a dislocated body part. Don't worry. I was twelve when he taught me that. I'm thirteen right now in case you were wondering. Because of him, I am well-versed in hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, and knife usage. What I am terrible at is ranged weapons. I am a terrible shot and terrible at throwing knifes. Give me a gun and I will hit everything but the target. I'm hoping the military life fixes that somewhat.

"Okay, this is the part where I say something that you will probably not believe. Again, that's your right to do so. In fact, if you choose to think of every single moment I bring it up as fantasy, you may. I won't hold it against you. Ready? I also have the ability to read minds!

"I'm hoping you didn't close the journal right there. If you haven't, thank you for hearing me out. My dad and I have this ability to be able to read people minds, an ability I've had since I was six. That's not all, though. We can look at a person and dive right into their minds to find certain memories that are important to them or us. My dad used that technique on me whenever I couldn't remember something I had lost. We can also damage someone's mind if we choose to. If we are careful, we can extract memories without hurting someone. If we choose not to be, it's going to hurt for a while. Remember that one robber my father killed? He mind-blasted him to death. The results were not pretty.

"Here are the flaws with our abilities: mind reading, memory searching, and mental attacks are draining. Lightheadedness, for one thing. We can only do this stuff for so long before we get headaches, and it's not a long time at all. Our abilities require a lot of mental focus. Without that focus, that concentration, we can't use our powers. We also had to establish mental blocks inside our minds in precise locations. Why? When I was six, I discovered I had this ability, I started receiving thoughts from everyone around me. That's too much for the mind to take and it would've driven me insane. Fortunately, Dad established said blocks to keep the thoughts out. Unless I was actively seeking them, no thoughts would flow in uninvited. I have to reestablish the blocks once every few years as my abilities grow stronger with age and training.

"I think that's everything. So, with all this information in mind, you are probably waiting for me to entertain you with my story. Let us begin

"It all started in Year 845. We were not informed of the horrors that came upon Wall Maria until a week later. The idea of Titans overrunning Wall Maria was a nightmare we never wanted to wake up to, but it happened. Of course, we were frightened. I mean, the idea of the Colossal Titan being able to loom over the wall, and the idea of an Armored Titan being able to smash through it were threats we could never conceive of until then. They were real and they presented that looming danger that threatens to wipe humanity of the face of the planet.

"Worst of all, we had so many refuges running into Wall Rose, some even making it to Wall Sina. Don't get me wrong! I was happy that there were so many survivors, considering the circumstances, but homelessness and food and water shortages were very real threats. After all, we just lost an entire wall. It was so bad that in 846, the government ordered 250,000 refugees, with some soldiers added to them, about 20 percent of the human population, to 'retake Wall Maria.' In other words, 'die so we can live.' Yeah, the government didn't have the decency to have people from Wall Rose or Sina go out there. Apparently, we were superior to the refugees. Less than 200 people made it back alive. Murderous assholes, our government. If that statement doesn't get me killed one day, I don't know what will.

"When I found out about the massacre, I decided I was going to join the military. Naturally, my parents were more than a little concerned about my choice of career, and I remember saying this to them: 'Two hundred and fifty thousand people died so that we could live! We should've been sent out there instead of those refugees. Instead, we were eating a nice meal while the Titans were having their own in form of those people. Besides, I've got mind powers, which are wasted here. I'd rather be out there fighting Titans and saving people instead of staying while waiting to hear of the next attack.'

"Okay, I wasn't that proper, professional, or good with words that time, but the intent was still there. They gave me their blessing with the promise of me writing to them every now and then. I had to wait another year until I could enlist again since the deadline passed at that point, but it gave me time to prepare.

"And now, that time has come. This is my first time venturing away from Wall Sina. I am going into uncharted territory, and I am nervous. Dad warned me my three years were going to be tough and soul-crushing at times, but he and Mom have faith in my abilities to adapt and survive this situation. It's going to be about a week before I make it to the compound. Once that happens, there's no going back.

"I hope that last statement was dramatic enough. This is a story, after all."

AN: So, really bad news and not so bad news. The really bad news is that I am not going to continue the Sky Warriors. It has been discontinued. I have completely lost my drive with that story. I know a lot of you will be disappointed, but I'm less so. If you guys like that story, feel free to read it. I am not a fan. I feel it was very amateurish and I could've tried harder to make it better. The not-so-bad news is the Jedi from Earth V2 and Justice League: The Keybearer are going on a temporary hiatus as well. I have not lost my drive with those stories, but I have hit writer's block with both and it's been really annoying trying to getting past them. FYI, this is the priority list at this time:

This story

The Jedi from Earth V2

Justice League: The Keybearer

I will finish these stories! I promise!

So, as the old saying goes, please review, criticize, and all that good stuff, but ONE MORE THING: you can comment about the anime, but please refrain from spoiling the manga in the comment section. Some people DO only watch the anime. When I start spoiling the manga, I'll give you all a heads-up. If you guys have any questions regarding that, just PM me about them.

Next chapter: A wild Shadis appears! :)