[Armin is a little stunned as he enters what he assumes is a restaurant, but what looks like nothing he's ever seen before. The modern surroundings are enough to bring him pause at the front door, but he's being swept away by a hostess only moments after entering. He tries to protest as she, seeming rather mindless, guides him along to his table. Not that she's pulling him, or anything like that, but whether by virtue of being too polite, or by some otherworldly force, he's compelled to follow her.
[The strange hostess leads him to a table, then begins to walk away. Armin almost takes a seat, but...]
I'm sorry. [To Aubrey, who is seated at said table.] One second-- She--
[He turns back, reaching for the hostess as she hurries away.]
Excuse me? Miss, this table's already been taken--
[But, the hostess is gone, and this is the table she's brought him to. Normally, he'd very much just...walk away at this point, but! As if his hand is being forced by some unknown entity (the Hell Denny's at the end of the universe), he...feels he doesn't have any choice but to sit where he's told to.]
I'm so sorry - I think...I'm supposed to sit here. Would that be alright? I don't mean to intrude.
[Diner? Normal enough. At this hour? Eh, maybe in a crisis. Clocks look fuzzy, can’t remember much between seeing the place and being seated? Insomnia’s a bitch, ain’t it. Can’t even read the damn menu....]
[Aubrey does not remember how she got here, only that she is here; that alone is sparking the strangest deja vu. She was watching the weirdly-harried hostess (is she harried? she’s awfully… efficient), wondering idly if they’re vigilant about ID checks here, and then in came another lost soul. Guided to Aubrey’s table, no less.]
[The poor guy sounds frazzled, and Aubrey shoots him a bemused look for the apology. Some cape he’s got there. And she might question why he’s so sure about sitting here, but she’s compelled not to and instead offers a flippant handwave.]
You know what? Why not. [Hell, this is the most exciting thing to happen since the party. She’ll offer him a handshake.] This is hell. I’m Aubrey.
[What a nice young man. Aubrey’s handshake is lazy, and frankly unpracticed, but—]
[His name’s what.]
[Aubrey is awake now. Very, very awake. Yeah, she couldn’t picture Eren fitting in at a diner like this, either....]
Wait, wait, sorry— Armin, Survey… Core, was it? [Poor guy. Aubrey’s trying to look apologetic; she feels like she’s about to ruin his night. She’s not great at small talk anyway.] Friend of Eren Jaeger? [Or holding back, really. There’s a sort of desperation to the question—I haven’t completely lost it yet?]
[When Aubrey mentions the Survey Corps, Armin looks confused. When she mentions Eren, he looks shocked.]
Eren?
[His palms slam face down on the table in front of him as he jumps to stand.]
He's here? Where?
[Loaded question in a place like this, and Armin knows it, but he can't help himself. He's desperate. This mix of fear, dread, longing, and anger - God, but it's a cocktail only Eren's name can produce.
[She's spoken to him. She knows him.]
I...I'd really like to speak with him if I can-- No, I need to. Immediately.
[He knows that's not how it works. He knows that, but...]
[On second thought. How else was anyone at least a little familiar with Eren “oh god not this again” Jaeger supposed to react to that. Too late now, huh?]
I— S-sorry, I don’t know, [and Aubrey stands too, more out of secondhand shock than anything,] maybe he’ll get dragged in here, too? I’m surprised you aren’t him! [As in, the rando getting whisked into the liminal cafe just for her isn’t another encounter with that guy. There’s no room in the frenzy to phrase things better, alas.]
[Aubrey has not quite remembered the quote Eren attributed to Armin yet, and so for now she’s thinking he’s a pretty swell guy. Look at him, calming down first. She offers a quick nod to his first question, tries to cool it herself.
[It’s not difficult, if only because it was a byproduct to begin with—and because there’s something so damn sad about Armin’s shift of tone. Boy, does Aubrey want to ruin his day even more?]
He’s… stuck here, too, somewhere. Yeah. [She huffs out a breath, vaguely resembling a sigh. Not making eye contact.] He hasn’t been well for a while, has he? [In other words: terrible. But that seems like his default.]
[Aubrey's words stick into Armin's heart like briars. Every breath only allows them to dig themselves in deeper. He almost wants to cry, but Armin feels that way a lot - and he's been acting on it less and less.
[Still, he can't keep the emotion from coating his voice like syrup. He isn't Eren. He can't just pretend to not care. He's a good liar, but nobody would believe that one. Not in a million years.]
No.
[Armin swallows hard, then sits back in the booth.]
He hasn't...
[A deep breath; the briars burrow ever deeper.]
I'm sorry, Aubrey. I'm sure he's told you some very...unsettling things. I can't imagine he's been kind to you.
You seem like a nice girl.
[He's being presumptuous now, he knows, but...he means what he says.]
[…Ah. That’s a tone Aubrey’s awfully familiar with, holding back.
[She sits back down as Armin does, elbows on the table and both hands by her mouth—one in a loose fist, the other cupping it. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. But maybe it would’ve been crueler to drop it later. (It’s nice, unfortunately, being able to think about what’s fair and right like a normal person.)]
[At the mention of “unsettling things” her eyes go wide for a moment, but settle just as quickly back to a baseline flatness.] He’s… definitely talked about things. [Being vague about it probably says more than an outright answer would have.]
[Aubrey opts not to acknowledge Armin’s last comment, if only because it threatens to dredge up a bunch of complicated feelings she really doesn’t feel like grappling right now. Instead, after a short sigh:] I’m sorry for springing that on you, actually. He did mention you were his friend.
Yeah. It was in passing, [left unsaid: so I don’t know if he still considers you one,] but… he did.
[She narrows her eyes in Armin’s direction for a moment, remembering the other part of Eren’s statement. Would Armin really say that…?
[For now, she’ll talk around it.] He’s said a lot of stuff about… kindness, humanity, monsters. I don’t think he’s lied to me on purpose. And he keeps saying he cares about his friends[, his kin, to the detriment of everyone else,] a lot.
[The twists just keep coming. What does Eren have to say about kindness? Probably nothing good - but he was kind once too, wasn’t he? Armin wants to believe that he still has that in him…As for caring for his friends, it’s not something Armin has doubted for any significant length of time, but, even so…]
I won’t lie. I’m a bit surprised by that. Not that it’s true - just that he’d say it like that.
He’d just as soon have us think it isn’t true. I never believed that, though.
That’s… weirdly sweet. [Said without much thought.] That you never believed it wasn’t true, I mean.
[Eren’s allusion to having been “unkind” to his friends makes a little more sense now. But he really has been consistent, she thinks, about saying he cares; Aubrey’s only gotten a different impression from her own assumptions, that if he truly cared he’d listen. She’s still not sure she believes that can be reconciled, but…] He knows you disagree with his, uh, “plans.” The Rumbling, I think he called it. But he really sounds convinced he’s doing it for your sakes, in the long term. [That, and all the… cynicism, nihilist crap. Armin probably doesn’t need to be told about it.]
[Softly, and with a small smile, directed at the table:]
Of course I didn't. I know Eren. [Does he?] I have for as long as I can remember.
[Childhood friends - each other's first friends, in fact, and each other's only friends for a long time.
[At the mention of The Rumbling, Armin's face becomes pained. He nods at the table, still too wrapped up in thoughts of Eren to make eye contact with Aubrey.]
He's said as much, or...at least implied it - that his plan spares everyone on the island of Paradis.
[What Armin doesn't mention is that plenty of people on Paradis were killed when The Rumbling started. City walls don't collapse and leave no casualties. He's not sure Eren thought about that - or, maybe he did. That truth would be worse, but it wouldn't be the first time.
[If he's doing it for anyone, it would be for his friend, his comrades - not his kin like he claims. Eren is selfish...]
I'm sure he really believes that he's saving us - at least, I think he does, but...
[Armin shakes his head.]
We don't want to be saved like this.
[Finally, he looks at Aubrey. His eyes are just...sorrowful.]
We're going to stop him if we can. We can't undo the damage he's already done, but...we might be able to stop him before the entire world is crushed flat.
[The very thought makes him shudder. How many people have already died due to Eren's wrath? Countless lives.]
[Most of the rest confirms what Aubrey already suspected—that Eren certainly thinks he’s sparing his comrades, saving them from some nebulous yet all-present doom, and that they don’t actually want it. Not like this.
[Nor is it surprising that they’re trying to stop him, what with how thoroughly Eren is aware they disapprove—but one part gives Aubrey pause. Her hands lower, curling uneasily under her chin instead.] Wait, damage he’s done? [She really hates to grill Armin like this. But it’s impossible to keep an edge of worry from her voice, even as she’s already certain it’s worse than pointless.] He always talked like it was something he would do, not that…
[Her turn to stare at the table. How long has it been since their last stalemate?] How long has this been in motion?
[Armin's expression becomes complicated. It's almost...apologetic, or...maybe it's grief that's written across his face now. With all that Aubrey's said, Armin didn't stop to consider that Eren would have withheld that The Rumbling has already started. Why would he...?]
Not long.
[His voice has gone somewhat dull, clouded by disbelief and sorrow.]
Less than a day, but...[There's no point in not being honest.] The damage is already immeasurable...
[Less than a day. There’s no sense of time here. In a wild, irrational impulse, Aubrey wonders if somehow that was a breaking point—his laugh, his admitted doom. As if saying it aloud finally made it real enough to execute. (And, just as abruptly, she’s certain Eren would tell her that’s a load of self-serving bullshit. Hasn’t she learned not to take responsibility for other people’s woes?)]
[Her hands wring around nothing. He must’ve gotten real sick of touting around that shambling horse.] Why do you think we’re here? [It’s a sudden, fast question; Aubrey can’t bring herself to look back up at Armin, but she’s not just thinking aloud. There’s a more panicked question underlying this. The hostess’ nondescript eyes bore into her, and she asks something else.] Is it a punishment? Can it change anything?
[Like what? Like Hell? Armin's never really believed in that, but if it were real, he knows he'd be there - he knows Eren would be too. As for Aubrey, he really knows nothing about her, but...she must have something weighing on her conscience, if she thinks she's being punished along with monsters like them.]
I...I'm not sure. I haven't been here long. In fact, I...I'm not sure I've even spoken to anyone else other than you. My memory is cloudy - all I can really remember is where I was last time I was home.
[He sucks in a sharp breath when he thinks of it. They're all latched onto Eren right now, desperately trying to get him to listen to reason.]
It...wouldn't be the first time I ended up in a place like this, though.
[That strange world that Eren brought them to using The Founder's power - the paths that connect every Eldian.
[He's quiet for a long moment, knuckles tapping anxiously, but softly, on the table.]
It's not entirely impossible...that Eren himself has brought us here.
[Frankly, Aubrey isn’t sure if she believes in a literal Hell, either. But she’s heard more than enough from the town that is Faraway, where anyone knows everyone and the church bell rings all the way up main street, to have talk of sinners and retribution nailed into her solid.
[The purgatory they talk about is more… dramatic. Souls of the damned bathed in eternal flame, and all. But maybe true hell is being stuck in a dim-lit limbo, talking to someone you’ve never met about your deepest troubles, without a clue how you got there.]
[It calms her in the worst way, that first part. Maybe they both (all?) just fuckin’ died. Maybe Eren surrendered early, his titan steering the rest, and that’s why he’s so certain of his demise.
[But apparently Armin’s a little more familiar than that. Do all roads really lead to Jaeger?]
To a diner? [Aubrey looks back to Armin, concerned and quizzical; and as soon as that leaves her mouth she’s certain that’s not it. She shakes her head. Feels like it’s made of the same indiscriminate soup as the signage.] No, I mean… I believe you. [Somehow.] But Eren said he wasn’t here by choice.
I wish you could too, Armin. [Just barely not ending that with something sardonic, but she means it. Surely Eren’s childhood friend has a better chance of getting through to him than someone who can only get a reaction when she’s being, deliberately or not, obtuse.]
[Eren having brought Armin to some other ambiguous space hasn’t evaded Aubrey’s interest. It’s just, inexplicably, not the most interesting thing she knows about the guy; if he can control his titan powers, sure, why not that, too.
[What she doesn’t know is who he used to be.] He’s mentioned that he had… hope, once, I think. Morality.
[It’s very dark outside.] He wanted things to be different, didn’t he?
[Hope. They all had it once. He and Eren especially, or, at least, that's how it seemed. With his granfather's book, Armin and Eren would sit next to each other by the river, or under their tree, reading about saltwater oceans that stretch out as far as the eye can see; once they crossed the ocean and saw that life was more or less the same outside of the walls, something in Eren just...shattered.]
We all did.
We all just want to be free, but...for Eren...
[Armin's eyebrows pinch together in thought.]
It's different for him. It always has been. He has this passion that can't be quelled no matter what.
You see where that's led us all now...
Edited 2023-09-19 19:12 (UTC)
slides in a gif link like “i’m about to ruin this tone's entire career”
It’s strange. I feel like he knows he’s lying to himself, but he just keeps talking circles around it. [Again, probably nothing Armin doesn’t know. Aubrey’s started thinking out loud again.] It’s like he thinks this is… inevitable? Like he was bornto do it. [Her brow furrows.] He’s really always talked like that…?
[This is something that Armin finds very difficult to talk about. Eren would like all of them to believe that he's always been this way too, but is that really true? He certainly wasn't such a shell of a person back when they were both Scouts. Aubrey says she can't sense his passion now, but back then, anyone who met Eren knew instantly what his motivations were.
[Because he wasn't quiet about them. He still isn't. He wants to kill his enemy. He wants retribution. He wants freedom at any cost.
[Armin takes a deep breath.]
In ways, I...guess he has, yeah...
[God, but it's a miserable thing to admit. There's no way - no way his lifelong friend has always been the type of person who would commit genocide - slaughter men, women, and children with reckless abandon.
[Then again, it's not as if this is the first time Eren's ignored innocent collateral for the sake of his larger goal. Armin's done the same...
[He feels sick.]
He thinks it's the only option. I know that much.
He hasn't listened to reason - not yet, but I...
[Staring down at his hands again. They cradle each other.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Denny's prompt for @headhooligan
[The strange hostess leads him to a table, then begins to walk away. Armin almost takes a seat, but...]
I'm sorry. [To Aubrey, who is seated at said table.] One second-- She--
[He turns back, reaching for the hostess as she hurries away.]
Excuse me? Miss, this table's already been taken--
[But, the hostess is gone, and this is the table she's brought him to. Normally, he'd very much just...walk away at this point, but! As if his hand is being forced by some unknown entity (the Hell Denny's at the end of the universe), he...feels he doesn't have any choice but to sit where he's told to.]
I'm so sorry - I think...I'm supposed to sit here. Would that be alright? I don't mean to intrude.
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[Diner? Normal enough. At this hour? Eh, maybe in a crisis. Clocks look fuzzy, can’t remember much between seeing the place and being seated? Insomnia’s a bitch, ain’t it. Can’t even read the damn menu....]
[Aubrey does not remember how she got here, only that she is here; that alone is sparking the strangest deja vu. She was watching the weirdly-harried hostess (is she harried? she’s awfully… efficient), wondering idly if they’re vigilant about ID checks here, and then in came another lost soul. Guided to Aubrey’s table, no less.]
[The poor guy sounds frazzled, and Aubrey shoots him a bemused look for the apology. Some cape he’s got there. And she might question why he’s so sure about sitting here, but she’s compelled not to and instead offers a flippant handwave.]
You know what? Why not. [Hell, this is the most exciting thing to happen since the party. She’ll offer him a handshake.] This is hell. I’m Aubrey.
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[He slides into the seat across from her, a weak smile on his face - obliging, kind.]
Nice to meet you, Aubrey. I'm Armin.
[Then, with a cursory look around:]
This place is a little strange, don't you think...?
[His smile becomes a bit self-conscious.]
Maybe just to me. We don't have places like this where I come from, or, at least not that I've seen.
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[What a nice young man. Aubrey’s handshake is lazy, and frankly unpracticed, but—]
[His name’s what.]
[Aubrey is awake now. Very, very awake. Yeah, she couldn’t picture Eren fitting in at a diner like this, either....]
Wait, wait, sorry— Armin, Survey… Core, was it? [Poor guy. Aubrey’s trying to look apologetic; she feels like she’s about to ruin his night. She’s not great at small talk anyway.] Friend of Eren Jaeger? [Or holding back, really. There’s a sort of desperation to the question—I haven’t completely lost it
yet?]no subject
Eren?
[His palms slam face down on the table in front of him as he jumps to stand.]
He's here? Where?
[Loaded question in a place like this, and Armin knows it, but he can't help himself. He's desperate. This mix of fear, dread, longing, and anger - God, but it's a cocktail only Eren's name can produce.
[She's spoken to him. She knows him.]
I...I'd really like to speak with him if I can-- No, I need to. Immediately.
[He knows that's not how it works. He knows that, but...]
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[On second thought. How else was anyone at least a little familiar with Eren “oh god not this again” Jaeger supposed to react to that. Too late now, huh?]
I— S-sorry, I don’t know, [and Aubrey stands too, more out of secondhand shock than anything,] maybe he’ll get dragged in here, too? I’m surprised you aren’t him! [As in, the rando getting whisked into the liminal cafe just for her isn’t another encounter with that guy. There’s no room in the frenzy to phrase things better, alas.]
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[The fact that Aubrey seems frenzied as well is really not reassuring, but Armin really needs to try to get a grip on what's going on here.]
Of course you don't know-- I mean, I don't blame you. That's not really how things work around here, but-- But you've met him. You've talked to him?
[...
[The tension in Armin's shoulders releases a bit. They sink. It's a sad thing. When he speaks again, his voice is softer than it was before.]
How is he...?
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[Aubrey has not quite remembered the quote Eren attributed to Armin yet, and so for now she’s thinking he’s a pretty swell guy. Look at him, calming down first. She offers a quick nod to his first question, tries to cool it herself.
[It’s not difficult, if only because it was a byproduct to begin with—and because there’s something so damn sad about Armin’s shift of tone. Boy, does Aubrey want to ruin his day even more?]
He’s… stuck here, too, somewhere. Yeah. [She huffs out a breath, vaguely resembling a sigh. Not making eye contact.] He hasn’t been well for a while, has he? [In other words: terrible. But that seems like his default.]
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[Still, he can't keep the emotion from coating his voice like syrup. He isn't Eren. He can't just pretend to not care. He's a good liar, but nobody would believe that one. Not in a million years.]
No.
[Armin swallows hard, then sits back in the booth.]
He hasn't...
[A deep breath; the briars burrow ever deeper.]
I'm sorry, Aubrey. I'm sure he's told you some very...unsettling things. I can't imagine he's been kind to you.
You seem like a nice girl.
[He's being presumptuous now, he knows, but...he means what he says.]
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[…Ah. That’s a tone Aubrey’s awfully familiar with, holding back.
[She sits back down as Armin does, elbows on the table and both hands by her mouth—one in a loose fist, the other cupping it. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. But maybe it would’ve been crueler to drop it later. (It’s nice, unfortunately, being able to think about what’s fair and right like a normal person.)]
[At the mention of “unsettling things” her eyes go wide for a moment, but settle just as quickly back to a baseline flatness.] He’s… definitely talked about things. [Being vague about it probably says more than an outright answer would have.]
[Aubrey opts not to acknowledge Armin’s last comment, if only because it threatens to dredge up a bunch of complicated feelings she really doesn’t feel like grappling right now. Instead, after a short sigh:] I’m sorry for springing that on you, actually. He did mention you were his friend.
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He did…?
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Yeah. It was in passing, [left unsaid: so I don’t know if he still considers you one,] but… he did.
[She narrows her eyes in Armin’s direction for a moment, remembering the other part of Eren’s statement. Would Armin really say that…?
[For now, she’ll talk around it.] He’s said a lot of stuff about… kindness, humanity, monsters. I don’t think he’s lied to me on purpose. And he keeps saying he cares about his friends[, his kin, to the detriment of everyone else,] a lot.
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I won’t lie. I’m a bit surprised by that. Not that it’s true - just that he’d say it like that.
He’d just as soon have us think it isn’t true. I never believed that, though.
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That’s… weirdly sweet. [Said without much thought.] That you never believed it wasn’t true, I mean.
[Eren’s allusion to having been “unkind” to his friends makes a little more sense now. But he really has been consistent, she thinks, about saying he cares; Aubrey’s only gotten a different impression from her own assumptions, that if he truly cared he’d listen. She’s still not sure she believes that can be reconciled, but…] He knows you disagree with his, uh, “plans.” The Rumbling, I think he called it. But he really sounds convinced he’s doing it for your sakes, in the long term. [That, and all the… cynicism, nihilist crap. Armin probably doesn’t need to be told about it.]
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Of course I didn't. I know Eren. [Does he?] I have for as long as I can remember.
[Childhood friends - each other's first friends, in fact, and each other's only friends for a long time.
[At the mention of The Rumbling, Armin's face becomes pained. He nods at the table, still too wrapped up in thoughts of Eren to make eye contact with Aubrey.]
He's said as much, or...at least implied it - that his plan spares everyone on the island of Paradis.
[What Armin doesn't mention is that plenty of people on Paradis were killed when The Rumbling started. City walls don't collapse and leave no casualties. He's not sure Eren thought about that - or, maybe he did. That truth would be worse, but it wouldn't be the first time.
[If he's doing it for anyone, it would be for his friend, his comrades - not his kin like he claims. Eren is selfish...]
I'm sure he really believes that he's saving us - at least, I think he does, but...
[Armin shakes his head.]
We don't want to be saved like this.
[Finally, he looks at Aubrey. His eyes are just...sorrowful.]
We're going to stop him if we can. We can't undo the damage he's already done, but...we might be able to stop him before the entire world is crushed flat.
[The very thought makes him shudder. How many people have already died due to Eren's wrath? Countless lives.]
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[Childhood friendships are a killer, huh?]
[Most of the rest confirms what Aubrey already suspected—that Eren certainly thinks he’s sparing his comrades, saving them from some nebulous yet all-present doom, and that they don’t actually want it. Not like this.
[Nor is it surprising that they’re trying to stop him, what with how thoroughly Eren is aware they disapprove—but one part gives Aubrey pause. Her hands lower, curling uneasily under her chin instead.] Wait, damage he’s done? [She really hates to grill Armin like this. But it’s impossible to keep an edge of worry from her voice, even as she’s already certain it’s worse than pointless.] He always talked like it was something he would do, not that…
[Her turn to stare at the table. How long has it been since their last stalemate?] How long has this been in motion?
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Not long.
[His voice has gone somewhat dull, clouded by disbelief and sorrow.]
Less than a day, but...[There's no point in not being honest.] The damage is already immeasurable...
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[Less than a day. There’s no sense of time here. In a wild, irrational impulse, Aubrey wonders if somehow that was a breaking point—his laugh, his admitted doom. As if saying it aloud finally made it real enough to execute. (And, just as abruptly, she’s certain Eren would tell her that’s a load of self-serving bullshit. Hasn’t she learned not to take responsibility for other people’s woes?)]
[Her hands wring around nothing. He must’ve gotten real sick of touting around that shambling horse.] Why do you think we’re here? [It’s a sudden, fast question; Aubrey can’t bring herself to look back up at Armin, but she’s not just thinking aloud. There’s a more panicked question underlying this. The hostess’ nondescript eyes bore into her, and she asks something else.] Is it a punishment? Can it change anything?
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[Like what? Like Hell? Armin's never really believed in that, but if it were real, he knows he'd be there - he knows Eren would be too. As for Aubrey, he really knows nothing about her, but...she must have something weighing on her conscience, if she thinks she's being punished along with monsters like them.]
I...I'm not sure. I haven't been here long. In fact, I...I'm not sure I've even spoken to anyone else other than you. My memory is cloudy - all I can really remember is where I was last time I was home.
[He sucks in a sharp breath when he thinks of it. They're all latched onto Eren right now, desperately trying to get him to listen to reason.]
It...wouldn't be the first time I ended up in a place like this, though.
[That strange world that Eren brought them to using The Founder's power - the paths that connect every Eldian.
[He's quiet for a long moment, knuckles tapping anxiously, but softly, on the table.]
It's not entirely impossible...that Eren himself has brought us here.
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[Frankly, Aubrey isn’t sure if she believes in a literal Hell, either. But she’s heard more than enough from the town that is Faraway, where anyone knows everyone and the church bell rings all the way up main street, to have talk of sinners and retribution nailed into her solid.
[The purgatory they talk about is more… dramatic. Souls of the damned bathed in eternal flame, and all. But maybe true hell is being stuck in a dim-lit limbo, talking to someone you’ve never met about your deepest troubles, without a clue how you got there.]
[It calms her in the worst way, that first part. Maybe they both (all?) just fuckin’ died. Maybe Eren surrendered early, his titan steering the rest, and that’s why he’s so certain of his demise.
[But apparently Armin’s a little more familiar than that. Do all roads really lead to Jaeger?]
To a diner? [Aubrey looks back to Armin, concerned and quizzical; and as soon as that leaves her mouth she’s certain that’s not it. She shakes her head. Feels like it’s made of the same indiscriminate soup as the signage.] No, I mean… I believe you. [Somehow.] But Eren said he wasn’t here by choice.
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[It sounds silly when she puts it like that - enough to make him smile just a little, self-conscious.]
This place - at least, this specific place - is nothing like the place he's brought us to before.
[And if he doesn't want to be here either, then, surely, he wouldn't be. Armin's eyes fall to the table again, and he sighs.]
I wish I could talk to him. Even for just a minute.
[Little does he know that that won't be happening any time soon.]
I'm not sure if it's worth saying, but...Eren wasn't always like this.
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I wish you could too, Armin. [Just barely not ending that with something sardonic, but she means it. Surely Eren’s childhood friend has a better chance of getting through to him than someone who can only get a reaction when she’s being, deliberately or not, obtuse.]
[Eren having brought Armin to some other ambiguous space hasn’t evaded Aubrey’s interest. It’s just, inexplicably, not the most interesting thing she knows about the guy; if he can control his titan powers, sure, why not that, too.
[What she doesn’t know is who he used to be.] He’s mentioned that he had… hope, once, I think. Morality.
[It’s very dark outside.] He wanted things to be different, didn’t he?
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We all did.
We all just want to be free, but...for Eren...
[Armin's eyebrows pinch together in thought.]
It's different for him. It always has been. He has this passion that can't be quelled no matter what.
You see where that's led us all now...
slides in a gif link like “i’m about to ruin this tone's entire career”
[Aubrey nods, slowly. That tracks, unfortunately as ever.] You know, I’d almost say he doesn’t seem passionate about anything, but…
[“He doesn’t want his home to be destroyed. It’s funny, isn’t it?” Among other breaks.]
It’s strange. I feel like he knows he’s lying to himself, but he just keeps talking circles around it. [Again, probably nothing Armin doesn’t know. Aubrey’s started thinking out loud again.] It’s like he thinks this is… inevitable? Like he was born to do it. [Her brow furrows.] He’s really always talked like that…?
I love it
[Because he wasn't quiet about them. He still isn't. He wants to kill his enemy. He wants retribution. He wants freedom at any cost.
[Armin takes a deep breath.]
In ways, I...guess he has, yeah...
[God, but it's a miserable thing to admit. There's no way - no way his lifelong friend has always been the type of person who would commit genocide - slaughter men, women, and children with reckless abandon.
[Then again, it's not as if this is the first time Eren's ignored innocent collateral for the sake of his larger goal. Armin's done the same...
[He feels sick.]
He thinks it's the only option. I know that much.
He hasn't listened to reason - not yet, but I...
[Staring down at his hands again. They cradle each other.]
I'm going to convince him. I have to.
I can't let him do this...
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sorry for this Aubrey
NO APOLOGIES ONLY JUICE
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I have no smiling icons rip