Levi needs cash. And fast.
To put it simply, he's fucking bankrupt. He's barely making 50 dollars per month from his two shitty jobs, and despite how desperately he tries, all of his attempts at finding better ones have been rejected.
Maybe he could've toughed it out a little bit. If he weren't a college student. Now he's balancing student loans, regular loans, and two jobs, without any sort of outside support.
Something's gotta give.
Now, when Hange suggested it, Levi's first thought was to fly up in their face and punch the living daylights out of them. They knew that Levi had gone through poor experiences with sex work. It was the thing that had slowly drained the life out of his mother. He'd be damned if he let it happen to him.
But the more they explained it, he couldn't help but be a bit tempted. The idea of selling his body to some sleazy older person was as excitable as a rock trampoline, but considering how desperate he was for some spare change...did he even have a choice? Was getting evicted worth keeping his pride? Was losing his chance of education a better option than closing his eyes and letting some creep fuck him for a few hundred?
The thought weighed on his mind a bit. But finally, he caved.
The night was cold and windy. The apartment didn't have proper heating, so often Levi's best bet was curling up into a burrito and shielding his face from the biting cold with muffs and masks.
Right now, he was just pitying himself.
Pitying the wretched state of the place he lived in. Pitying the pathetic attempt he had to make to keep himself warm. Pitying that in about three hours or so, he'd have to get up and go back to slaving himself out at the gas station.
What a wonderful fucking life.
As if his fingers were on autopilot, he didn't realize that he had searched up the dating site Hange had mentioned earlier.
Deep down, he knew he shouldn't have been so hard on them. They were just trying to help him out, since he refused to accept any sort of financial help from them.
He looks at the Google description.
"KissFantasy!!"
Levi scoffs. Real cheesy for a hookup site. Or a sugarbaby site. He isn't too sure.
The reviews were all from perverted people raving about the cute 'kittens' they had met on the side. Levi shuddered. Was this the type of crowd he'd be meeting when he downloaded?
Hold on. When? As if he had already decided. To be honest, he knew that stubbornness and perseverance wouldn't push him through this rough time alone. Despite how fucking badly he wanted it to, it wouldn't.
So what if he tried something? So fucking what if he had to make a sacrifice? He needed this. If he got evicted, then it was fucking over for him.
Before he could stop himself, he clicked the button. Watched as the download took a painstaking 5 minutes because the internet here was pure unwashed ass. Watched as the pink, girly icon popped up on his phone. It looked like fucking spyware.
The app itself was saccharine sweet. As if desperately trying to disguise what this was. It was sex for money. Money for sex. And Levi had willingly integrated himself into this bullshit.
"Welcome to KissFantasy! Find a suitable purrtner today!
"Purrtner." Levi repeats, sardonically.
He didn't even bother putting his face on his profile. He decided to keep his introduction short.
Sadly, Levi's first few 'Purrtners' were nothing short of nightmare fuel. Levi rarely matched due to the lack of face, and any sort of interests with the few that did were quickly lost when they learned of his 'outgoing' personality.
Quite frankly, Levi was ready to put down this stupid phone, call in sick for work, and go to sleep already. But as if to prove a point that the only way he could ever survive was through suffering, he decided to click 'match <3' one more time. To prove how unlucky he was.
LEVI: hey.
Wonderful introduction, really.