[ He learned...a little. Maybe. This comes off shittier than he means it, but Eren gotta Eren. He doesn't enjoy killing people, exactly. But he can't do something like make a vow that he will never kill another person. ]
I know what you mean. People like us deserve worse but people don't get what they deserve. That's not how the world works.
[ He should know, killing a shit ton of people who probably didn't deserve it. Not yet, but that's semantics at this point. ]
We're not the only people who are violent. I met a soldier who had been through a pretty brutal war. I've met other people who don't care about killing other people. It just seems like us because you know us best.
On the other hand, some people here have never known any kind of conflict. I met a guy who plays some kind of game for a living. Can you imagine? Playing a game and that's your life? A sport, I guess? I can't picture it at all.
To be honest with you, Eren, that's something that I'd try my best not to be judgmental about, but I can't help but feel a little bitter. That's not something I like about myself - I shouldn't fault people for not suffering - but it's a difficult instinct to squash.
Still, I wouldn't fault them for it.
It's easy to forget that there are those from our world who also had relatively easy lives. Even for those people, though...
Well, you know. Our world is a cruel place. [And they've both made it crueler...]
The people here, I guess I don't really think about it a lot. It surprises me how many places are so different, but I got used to that in Folkmore. I only really met a couple other people who I felt related to anything we'd been through. They were persecuted for their bloodline, too.
Even in the walls, some people had it easy. Oblivious. Comfortable. They would have thrown all the rest of us away to keep it that way, though. Not everyone is like that, I guess, but sometimes I guess I wonder.
[ Hypocrisy, though, just like so much about him. He would let people here die too if it kept his friends safe. He would never choose anyone above them, not here, not at home, not the world above a handful of lives. The difference, maybe, is that he will not actively condemn anyone here to death either.
Never say never, though. ]
It's hard to imagine a crueller world. If there is one, I don't even want to hear about it. I don't think I'd feel better knowing there's an even shittier option.
That's an interesting way of looking at it, actually. I can't say that I disagree with you. I certainly don't like the idea of other people suffering. If it came off that way, I didn't intend for it to...
[Armin Arlert, speaking to Eren Jaeger, afraid that he's the one who sounds cold. But he blamed the both of them in that memory, didn't he? And he does now. He's just as much of a monster. On bad days, he feels even worse.]
[ Maybe Eren dared to imagine it too, long ago before he fucked up his own brain and committed to dying. Since then (whenever that was), he hasn't really had hope.
He still doesn't quite get there, but it's closer than it was. ]
I hope you're right.
[ He almost doesn't say it back because he's Eren, but he's also aware that he's about to go on some mission to who the fuck knows where. He has no plans to die, but you never know. (Not that death is permanent. Not that death would hurt others less.) ]
[Eren's death will destroy Armin in any timeline or universe, permanent or not.
[He isn't expecting the reciprocation; doesn't need it, really. He meant it when he said so. He knows that Eren loves him. Throughout their lives, he's shown it in a thousand ways.
[Still, his stomach flips. Sorry, Eren, but these words are being immortalized forever in the form of a screenshot. He'll look at it while Eren's gone.]
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I don't want you to kill anyone for me, Eren.
[Have we learned nothing?! NOTHING?!]
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[ He learned...a little. Maybe. This comes off shittier than he means it, but Eren gotta Eren. He doesn't enjoy killing people, exactly. But he can't do something like make a vow that he will never kill another person. ]
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Hopefully we won't have to worry about that here. We haven't had to so far.
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[ He's not good at peace but he can appreciate the difference. Also people don't stay dead, which means there's less motivation for revenge! Maybe! ]
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I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that.
You know...sometimes I feel like it's us - the people from our world - that are the only non-peaceful thing about this place...
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[ He should know, killing a shit ton of people who probably didn't deserve it. Not yet, but that's semantics at this point. ]
We're not the only people who are violent. I met a soldier who had been through a pretty brutal war. I've met other people who don't care about killing other people. It just seems like us because you know us best.
On the other hand, some people here have never known any kind of conflict. I met a guy who plays some kind of game for a living. Can you imagine? Playing a game and that's your life? A sport, I guess? I can't picture it at all.
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Still, I wouldn't fault them for it.
It's easy to forget that there are those from our world who also had relatively easy lives. Even for those people, though...
Well, you know. Our world is a cruel place. [And they've both made it crueler...]
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[ Eren's bitterness is bone deep, after all. ]
I resented the outside world for existing.
[ He still does, whoops! ]
The people here, I guess I don't really think about it a lot. It surprises me how many places are so different, but I got used to that in Folkmore. I only really met a couple other people who I felt related to anything we'd been through. They were persecuted for their bloodline, too.
Even in the walls, some people had it easy. Oblivious. Comfortable. They would have thrown all the rest of us away to keep it that way, though. Not everyone is like that, I guess, but sometimes I guess I wonder.
[ Hypocrisy, though, just like so much about him. He would let people here die too if it kept his friends safe. He would never choose anyone above them, not here, not at home, not the world above a handful of lives. The difference, maybe, is that he will not actively condemn anyone here to death either.
Never say never, though. ]
It's hard to imagine a crueller world. If there is one, I don't even want to hear about it. I don't think I'd feel better knowing there's an even shittier option.
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[Armin Arlert, speaking to Eren Jaeger, afraid that he's the one who sounds cold. But he blamed the both of them in that memory, didn't he? And he does now. He's just as much of a monster. On bad days, he feels even worse.]
I'm happy to be here with you, Eren. Right here.
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I'm happy to be here with you too. It's better than I would have ever dared to imagine.
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[It's a great comfort.
[Maybe Armin had dared to imagine something as beautiful as this once, but he understands what Eren is saying. In ways, Ellipsa really is a paradise.]
I know what you mean. Of course I do.
It can only get better too. That's what I think.
We'll be okay. When's the last time I could say that with confidence? I really believe it.
[He thinks so, anyway. He hopes.]
I love you. Very much, Eren.
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He still doesn't quite get there, but it's closer than it was. ]
I hope you're right.
[ He almost doesn't say it back because he's Eren, but he's also aware that he's about to go on some mission to who the fuck knows where. He has no plans to die, but you never know. (Not that death is permanent. Not that death would hurt others less.) ]
I love you too.
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[He isn't expecting the reciprocation; doesn't need it, really. He meant it when he said so. He knows that Eren loves him. Throughout their lives, he's shown it in a thousand ways.
[Still, his stomach flips. Sorry, Eren, but these words are being immortalized forever in the form of a screenshot. He'll look at it while Eren's gone.]
When are you heading out?
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I'm gonna go meet Reiner in like an hour. Don't worry, though. We'll be okay.
[ He says that, completely at odds with his reasons for bothering to say I love you. Hypocrisy, aka, #justerenthings. ]
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