Why SNK's ending failed us in every conceivable way.
-SPOILERS AHEAD-
first of all, let me get this off my chest- the way hange died. is that a way to send off a legend? so unsatisfying and an absolute waste of potential.
what was the whole point of the liberio attack and getting the war hammer titan? just for revenge? or for scaring the world to protect paradis? like that worked. it's like eren had no objective in any of his actions in s4.
speaking of eren. post time skip eren is character assassination. he's a whole new person and there was no satisfying way to justify his actions.
what was the whole point of eren discussing his plans with floch and historia (2 idiots) and not with his best friend armin who is a strategic genius? even if he knew that his friends would oppose his plans, doesn’t that mean they actually have a freaking point and his plans were shitty in the first place?
historia did absolutely nothing as queen except get preggo with farmer boy.
why didn't zeke stop the rumbling which he was totally against by just exiting paths and running away or killing himself? he only did so when armin told him to.
annie was given a happy ending when that sadistic wench spun around soldiers like a yoyo while reiner suffered from mental anguish and bertolt died a horrific death?
the hallucigenia (weird spine creature) started this whole thing and we know nothing about it. is it natural? magical? Is it the devil? Is there another one? could it create another founding titan? did it choose ymir or was it an accident? this thing kicked off the entire mythos of the series and we know nothing about it and no one seems to care.
ymir's actions are incomprehensible. why did ymir choose eren over royal blooded zeke like it should have when eren wanted to start the rumbling? what made him special?
why did ymir make titans according to human rules? why did she make titans for the marleyans, who opposed the royal bloodline? what sort of rules governed all the titans?
why did she disappear in the end? was she in love with that rapist king and was looking for a way to detach from him through mikasa killing eren? did she seriously not find closure through another couple in the past 2000 years?
now back to eren- if you start a genocide why would you half-ass it??? what’s the point of the rumbling if you stop midway? killing 80% of the population and angering the rest of the world further while making eldians more subjected to hate and left totally defenseless is the height of stupidity.
if eren thought that people would truly believe the alliance to be capable of killing him then i have no words for it. there is no way the rest of the hundreds of millions of people on earth would ever look at them as the good guys if they know that eren himself allowed them to be victorious & they didnt actually see the battle to prove otherwise.
what tf was eren’s motivation? freedom? revenge? an eye for an eye? did he achieve anything at all? was paradis saved in the end? what was the point of making dina eat his mom and his father killed the reiss family? did he even try to influence or change the future? the time travel stuff was unnecessary and served no purpose except to tell us that eren was a genocidal maniac. but apparently we learn that it wasnt the case. he actually was doing paradis a favour 🙄
what did isayama try to even prove with this ending? there’s no true freedom in this world or that war never ends? eren just went from being one of my favourite protagonists to a senseless plot device, albeit an attractive one, i’ll give him that for his man bun and his rippling abs.
Working out was never really Armin’s thing. He hated how weak he felt compared to everyone, how much harder he always seemed to have to try in comparison. But with you around- well, it was a different story. You were always so supportive. So sweet. You made working out more fun, easy even. You made him want to work out.
Or maybe it was all just because he secretly wanted to impress you.
Armin’s deep ocean eyes flicked up to yours and back to the bar above him. His arms were dead. Every muscle in them trembled uncontrollably. But there was still work to be done.
“C’mon, ‘min, just one more set, and we’re done,” you encouraged Armin with a sweet, tired smile. You stood above him as he lay on the bench. “ I know you got it ‘min!” You slid your hand under the bar with a feathery touch, supporting him. “You’re so close, just two more ‘kay? Can you do that for me?”
Your words lit a fire in Armin. That sweet, silky voice of yours warmed his cheeks- warmed his whole body, really. The bar felt practically weightless above him. “I-,” he huffed as his shaky arms brought the heavy bar down to his chest and sluggishly pushed it back into the air. “Y-yeah, I think I,” he trailed off as his sweat-drenched brows knitted together in concentration.
You watched the muscles in his arm go taut in awe. For someone who looked so lean- scrawny even, watching his toned muscles work was always a sight. You just wanted to run your fingers across every dip and curve. You loved seeing the parts of him so many people refused to see. He wasn’t some weakling who only had his head stuck in a book he-.
“Done!” Armin cheered over the clanking of the bar settling back in its place. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked up at you.
“See,” you cooed, “Told ya you could do it.” You gently brushed his sweat matted hair off of his forehead. “Good boy.” The words spilled from your lips mindlessly. It felt natural praising him lip that.
“I-” Armin’s eyes went wide before a shy smile formed across his lips. “Can you, um- would you mind helping me do another set?”
You stared at him for a moment with a puzzled expression. You raked your brain, trying to think of what could make the man who you had to drag to the gym suddenly want to do extra reps. Your eyes fell onto the blush resting on his cheeks.
“I could,” you cooed as you leaned in closer to him. “But there are other ways to get me to call you good boy again.”
“I- wait, but.” The blush on his cheeks deepened, quickly spreading to the tips of his ears. “Please.”
I can honestly say I would’ve been a good deal less angry if it had been CONNIE taken out in that fucking episode/chapter that should never exist in the place of Sasha if that waste of space known as Gabi Braun absolutely had to be in this fucking story. (She still isn’t relevant, you apologists, but I digress for the moment.....)
Everyone knows Sasha was infinitely more popular, and infinitely more interesting and likable just because she was such an adorkable but also perceptive character. Connie Springer......what did he honestly have at ANY point in this series? While neither of them were the main drivers of the plot, Sasha absolutely had more going on for her than Connie, the one who lost his whole family sans his mother but this plot point never really gained much traction! Nor did he gain any new connections by it. Connie never had a true plot at any point in the series, most egregiously in season four where he honest to God had no point in remaining alive. His survival was a joke. Much like everyone else’s after Chapter 138 was setting up for the opposite.
But by taking Sasha out, Isayama negated the relevance of Niccolo, Lisa Braus, Kaya........and Connie himself. The reality is much like how Mikasa’s character has been too fundamentally tied to Eren for her to actually be her own character, Connie relied on Sasha to carry him because Isayama did not even attempt to give him anything else to go about and without her, he was a waste of space. Sasha though could’ve carried her own easily. And her own family and friends would not feel like a long slew of plot devices who suffer from their lack of meaningful interaction with Sasha. Like how much time did she and Kaya actually spend as legit family together?
Garbage Braun is a piece of crap. The defenses for her are ALL dogshit. And the adoration for her by her defenders is insane. Much like those fans out there who insult other anime fandoms because they are so gung ho for AOT. The problem is she, in order to force her story to work pretty much turned everyone else minor and major into plot devices. Just as an excuse to keep her in the picture.
But if anyone had to go it SHOULD have been Connie. If Gabbitch absolutely had to stay put, that would’ve been a slight less bad. Same effect achieved in story but probably far less of a furor out of the story. And I would’ve been WAY more interested in Sasha’s side of the story if she had to deal with the aftermath of that. Nicosasha would’ve been real and less of a joke that’s for sure. SHOW, DON’T TELL, Isayama you damned fool. Nothing of any value was gained by that fucking episode, fucking chapter 105, but if that route had to remain, there was another less damaging course. As is, it’s just one massive insult.
Bias towards Sasha? Yes. Yeah it is. But let’s not pretend Connie had a point. He had even less of one than that fucking little Mary Sue and her phonyass “character development”, which pretty much meant squat in the end.
A Hermione from 2021 gets stuck in the AOT world instead.
A fun play on my fanfic “Night Changes” (linked in the pinned post on my page)!
...............................
Tags: Sexual Tension, Flustered Armin, Fluff and Humor, Protective Levi Ackerman, Black Hermione Granger, Blushing, Roller-skates, music
Word Count: 562
Song used is “Stunnin’” by Curtis Waters ft. Harm Franklin.
I suggest listening to it while reading!
...............................
“Ice on my neck that’s incoming.”
She skated her way across the open space of her temporarily expanded tent.
While those unlucky Scouts did their daily training in the scorching heat, Hermione got to roller skate in the cool space of her tent. She spun around, arching her back, raising her arms to the sky.
She’d picked it up as a fun way to exercise, but now it was a passion of hers.
She swayed her hips to the beat. Skating to music was always the best way to go, it helped keep her engaged and made the experience more fun.
“Hey, good pussy sound like pasta, I got young dick, call the pastor”
She was surprised by how well her phone worked in this world. As long as she kept it charged with some tweaked electricity spells, she could play music all night long!
Hermione spread her arms while she glided across floor. She bent her knees to make a turn. Then twirled into a glide once again. She caressed her body as she skated, feeling the music.
“She got a peach on her but she ain’t a princess”
She fluffed up her hair, closing her eyes and swayed her hips once more.
“I’m a pretty boy, I’m stunning”
She stopped skating to dance to the rest of the song in place, pulling out her favorite disco moves.
It’s a shame I don’t have a pair of flares on right now, but my bum sure does look good in these shorts she smiled to herself.
She heard a familiar cough come from the entrance of her tent and she almost fell on her ass in surprise. I thought they’d be training for at least another 30 minutes...
She turned around and placed her hands on her hips, “How may I help you?” She drawled.
She noticed that the Captain was joined by Armin who sported a bright red blush, “Oh- Hello Armin! What brings you here?”
Levi rolled his eyes at the drastic change in mood. “The Commander’s asking for you. So hurry it up, lazy ass.”
She shrugged, “Okay, let’s go,” she started skating towards them.
Both Levi and Armin made a go at stopping her- though in completely different ways.
“Not like that you aren’t.”
“Uh, m-maybe you should change first?”
She looked at them as if they were crazy.“What’s wrong?” She looked down at her shorts and long sleeve shirt.
“Oh- well, I mean, as long as you’re oka-“
“You can not walk around the base like that.”
“Well, why the hell not?” She asked, her look becoming more severe.
“Your literal ass is out. It’s unseemly.”
She scoffed, “You’re just a prude Uncle Levi. Right Armin? My ass is not “literally out”.... Right?” She strained her neck to take a look at her bum in those shorts, accidentally giving them an even clearer view in the process. She then looked to Armin for an answer but he just spluttered in response. Was it that out?
She sighed, recognizing a defeat when she saw one.
She acciod her wand and transfigured her shorts into a pair of high waisted flares that hugged her ass just as good, “Alright- now, let’s go.”
She skated past them, successfully avoiding any further nitpicking in the process.
To complete the trio of general info, here is the post on Amelia! I saved her for last since I felt like hers was going to take time to write since she has a lot and trying to condense things down didn't sound too fun. This took sooo long to finish, But I hope y'all enjoy reading!
I'll do my best to try not to include any spoilers as well! Hope you all have a good day/night wherever you are 💙
Backstory
Her mother, Evelyn, is a part of the Reiss family. The sister of Rod and Uri, but she separated from her family at a young age (Her own choice because of differing opinions from her family, etc) and moved to Shiganshina to stay with a relative (not a close one, but they became closer as she lived with them)
That's where Evelyn met Carla and Armin's mother, becoming close friends with them both as they grew up (a bit separately though)
Her father Jonathan also lived there near Armin's father and grandfather, but he didn't get to know Evelyn much growing up.
They both got closer when they joined the cadets and over the years until they became scouts. Around the same time as Erwin Smith (his friend) and Nile Dok.
Her mother though was training to be of use as a medic/nurse for the scouts.
Eventually though, after some years as a scout Evelyn fell pregnant and decided to withdraw from the scouts to raise their family. So she returned back to Shiganshina, and around this point is when her two childhood friends were pregnant with their sons as well.
After Eren, Amelia was born a couple months later, then eventually Armin. Unlike Eren and Armin though, Amelia was around both boys when they were babies since her mother's close relationship to their families. So they literally grew up together.
Her mother had her younger brother Xavier two years after Amelia and her baby sister was born a couple months before Wall Maria fell due to the titans.
When Armin's parents eventually planned on going to see beyond the walls, Evelyn wasn't a big fan of the idea but promised them to look after their son.
When they didn't return, she still kept her word. She would help out with watching and taking care of him with his grandfather. She'd often have the two come next door for dinner and meals in general. Something she did already, but more often when her friend didn't return back home.
After Wall Maria fell, when Carla passed as Grisha soon went missing Evelyn would step up and take Eren and Mikasa in to take care of. She knew the kids deserved better and she couldn't stand the thought of having her friend's children becoming orphans.
She originally worked with Armin's grandfather to take care of the kids while also trying to figure out what to do, but he was soon called out for duty. After losing him, she would once again just take Armin in as well.
So on top of her own three children, she would take care of three more.
Thankfully she had connections as a baker in Shiganshina with a baker in Wall Rose after evacuation, getting her and the kids a place to stay.
They would live with an older couple, the baker and his wife who was a seamstress as well as their older white cat. They would take two rooms out of the couple's home, in one Evelyn would have a bed for her and Jonathan when he was able to see them as well as sharing it with her youngest children. The second room the older four would share.
She tried to get more help from her brother, Rod Reiss, but besides sending some old clothing for the children he didn't need anymore he didn't help too much.
Jonathan tried so hard to help while working with the scouts. Doing whatever was necessary to help provide and be there for them all when he could.
Misc
Big fan of sweets, her mother becoming a baker definitely helped with her love for the sweeter food.
Similar to enjoying sweets, she also loves fruit.
Pretty extroverted, likes people and being around loved ones.
Looks like she wouldn't really belong in the survey corps, but in my au with her I see her getting into the top 10 (replacing Historia's place in the ranks, probably after or before Jean)
Not like it matters since she planned to go with her three friends into the scouts. Not just because of Eren, but because of her own dreams to see the outside world and to try to make a positive difference. She just really wants to make a safer place for her loved ones, especially her younger siblings growing up.
Likes both cats and dogs, couldn't choose if she had to.
She named her first horse River. Something that reminds her of the ocean and Armin.
Had a stuffed rabbit back in Shiganshina that she slept with. Whenever she had to sleep alone she practically clung to it. Unfortunately she had to leave it behind once Wall Maria fell.
Has pretty vivid dreams, but also has issues when it comes to having nightmares.
Her nightmares would get so bad it would damage her sleep schedule often. Would get worse after events like Trost and dealing with the female Titan. Mainly nightmares of the memories of the loss as well as seeing people she loves like Armin, Mikasa, and Eren in the places being hurt.
Terrified of losing her three friends and family. Her biggest fear to be honest.
Doesn't like being alone for too long in general, just kind of needs someone around at least or she just finds herself feeling lonely and can get down easily that way.
Loves reading and likes to indulge in art and crafty sort of hobbies. Especially when she can make something for the people she cared about.
Her father would tell her and the others stories when they were younger when he could visit. A lot of them involved the scouts, but not as gruesome as it actually was and mainly of his comrades.
Stories of Levi were her favorite.
Her brother Xavier See's Eren as an older brother sort of figure and generally just looks up to him a lot. He wanted to be like him but also as strong as Mikasa.
Her baby sister Elizabeth on the other hand absolutely adores Armin. She said his name before Amelia's which became an inside joke of the family.
Relationships
She's someone who tends to get along with most people, there's not really anyone she dislikes or anything (except maybe Floch in the future lol)
Her closest friends are Armin, Eren, and Mikasa to no one's surprise.
She grew up closer to Armin out of the two boys, probably helped since she was his neighbor and everything. Obviously she still loves Eren and everything, but she just found herself spending more time with the blond.
The three would have sleepovers often, but even then there was times where it would just be Armin and her (plus her younger brother if it was at her home). She loved making blanket and pillow forts where they would read together under.
He also taught her how to play chess eventually, he would always win and still probably does.
When Mikasa moved in with Eren's family, she thought she was SO pretty and welcomed her with open arms, treating her as if she's just always been there since the beginning. Since then developed an extremely strong bond to her. Especially since she was the only female around her age growing up to be friends with the other two boys.
She'd join their sleepovers but she'd also try to have sleepovers with just Mikasa or to hang out with her separately. If she stayed at Carla's place though, Eren would probably join them or he'd go to Armin's. Sometimes it would lead to all four of them having a sleepover that way as well. Not that they would mind either way.
She basically tells her friends everything, but she tells Mikasa the most as her girl best friend. Sometimes about their feelings it talking about girl things in general. Just an extremely close friendship and bond between the two girls.
Honestly Amelia probably had a crush on her at some point, but didn't even realize because she mainly thought she liked Armin and knew she liked Eren.
On top of asking her father for self defense tips growing up, I see her going to Mikasa to ask her to help her get stronger. Even in the cadets and scouts the two would find themselves training together one on one.
As much as Eren can be pretty hot headed, Amelia always adored him and couldn't help but admire that passionate drive about him.
Often times though she's trying to talk him into not doing anything too reckless. Tries to keep him in check, especially when it came to bullies.
Before Mikasa arrived she was the main one stepping in trying to alleviate problems passively until she felt like she'd have to defend her friends physically.
Amelia would get along pretty well with Sasha, indulges in her love of food and would offer to make her some when they get older.
Also would get along with Sasha and Connie's humor and personalities, just finding them SO fun to be around. Jean would try to tell her to not encourage them but she knows he enjoys it as well.
She and Jean seem like they'd be good friends as well! Same with Marco. So on top of her main squad of 4 with her childhood friends, she'd mingle with their friend group as well from time to time.
Lehya thought she was a little annoying at first when they met, but she appreciates her connections and her behavior with everyone. Even when she feels poorly about herself, especially after training, Marco and Amelia would be the main ones encouraging her and she just doesn't know why.
Amelia liked to call all the people with freckles in the cadets the 'freckled friends'. Ymir and Lehya thought it was dumb but Marco found it amusing yet sweet. She had a motto about the 'freckled friends' sticking together' which she tried to show throughout their time together. Even in the scouts she tried to keep that attitude with the remaining girls which at that point they didn't seem to outwardly mind as much.
Reiner couldn't help but be reminded of Mariana when he was around Amelia. Especially when he watched her with Armin, being there for the other blond as he struggled with training reminded him of how Mariana tried to be there to help himself. Because of that, he couldn't help but find himself having a soft spot towards her.
When paired up together for fighting training Reiner almost didn't want to be too rough because of that and their size difference, but she quickly was able to tell when he was holding back and kept trying to get him to knock it off. Usually uses her size to her advantage to take him down.
Bertholdt was aware of that with his friend, so he tried to avoid having a similar feeling towards her. They still got along well though, Amelia trying to break through his timid shell which ultimately reminded him of Mari either way. They got along pretty well.
Annie was also reminded of Mariana with the girl. Amelia would try to get closer, offering to be there for her which was something Mari did back home. Amelia admires her in a way that she admires Mikasa, and similar to Eren tried to take pointers from her moves to add to her own abilities.
Christa/Historia is her cousin because of her mother's side, she is unaware of it when she meets her but knows that a girl named Historia Reiss is her cousin because of her mother. She just isn't sure where exactly.
Either way I see them getting along well, Ymir seems indifferent but was treated well regardless of her attitude.
In general just a very good relationship with her comrades in the 104th, she didn't really dislike anyone or had many issues if at all like that.
Would get along with Hange pretty well, I see her being very fascinated with her research. Would even be willing to offer some help with anything, something Moblit tried to earn her against since it can be intense but she didn't mind.
In general the veterans would probably get along well with her, it probably helps since her father is one of their friends and everything. On top of her father, she gets along most with Hange and Moblit, but deeply respects and admires Levi and Erwin. She'd try to have a pretty good relationship with them all if she could.
* Armin comes from a long line of German pure bloods but is the first half-blood so he went to Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang
* Eren was his childhood best friend, because he too is a shunned half blood with a neaveux rich father who used to be married to a high society pure blood, but married a muggle (Eren’s mom) in his second marriage
* Armin secretly makes friends with Hermione because he doesn’t like to see someone so smart and talented (and so useful) be made fun of
* She’s skeptical of his offer of friendship but grows to respect his equal prowess in the classroom, so they start studying together in secret
* Academic rivals... half in fun, half in utter seriousness- almost to death really
* As they study and hang out, they start to find each other’s company actually appealing, and Armin stops seeing her for her usefulness and Hermione stops keeping a firm respectful line between them
* Armin has his trio: him, Gryffindor! Eren, and Hufflepuff! Mikasa (who falls for Eren when he stands up to Draco Malfoy for her on the train)... Hermione now has her own trio, Gryffindor! Harry and Gryffindor! Ron
* Armin’s friends know about their friendship- Hermione’s don’t... yet
* Hermione let’s Armin in on the philosophers stone, etc. late into the school year
* Armin ends up telling Eren and Mikasa and somehow both trios are now helping at the end of the year
* That’s when Harry and Ron learn about Hermione and Armin’s friendship but have to get over it fast to get through the obstacles and by the end, they begrudgingly respect Armin, Eren, and the Armione friendship
* Tied for best grades and they are exited about it- inwardly and outwardly- however they both secretly make a promise to themselves to do better than the other next year
* Write very long, detailed letters to each other over the summer about things they’ve learned and experienced, and also... book recommendations!!
AU of my Armin x Hermione fic where Hermione gets stuck in the AOT world and has to find a way back, but can she, does she even want to?
Idk, read my fic to find out👀 linked in the pinned post on my page!
Ever since Armin was a child, he's dreamed of seeing all the places he's seen in his books. But what happens when he meets someone else who dreams beyond the walls?
Warning: Fluff, Angst at end
You'd been through a lot these past few years, you lost your sibling, you lost your father, your mother.
To those titans, and each death you helplessly watched.
You were the only one who survived and you felt guilty. Why couldn't I help them?
But...since you were the last of your bloodline, the least you could do is fight...and live. You've snuck around and seen what you shouldn't have.
Mountains, Deserts, Oceans, flowers so big they tower over you, so many creatures you've never seen.
You wanted to see it all, but, did anyone else know about such things?
You never met anyone like that, even your family wouldn't know what you did.
It was forbidden after all.
You glared ahead as you stood in a line with other cadets, each of you were looked over, you knew why... to weed out the weak ones. A scare tactic.
But you refused to feel weak and helpless anymore, you would fight, fight for your family, fight for yourself, fight for your dream.
Your dream was to see a beach, wiggle your toes in the sand. What did it feel like?
As he looked you in the eyes, you stared back, he must have seen something satisfactory because he didn't say anything to you.
☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆
You sat at your table, half munching on your stale bread.
Suddenly a boy named Eren made an outburst and you sighed, loud boys annoyed you. You preferred being around calmer, quieter people.
Then your eyes met blue, a pretty, bright blue.
You smiled, giving him a little wave.
He jumped in his seat, his cheeks tinting red before he looked away.
You chuckle to yourself, he must have been a shy one. Cute.
☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆
"Hey, you're Pretty Eyes from before."
He yelped, looking up from his seated position.
"Y-you're the one that--that waved at me last night, right?"
You smiled, "Yeah. I'm [Name]."
"I'm...Armin..." then he went cherry red, "Wait...what did you call me?"
"Hm?" you shrugged like it was casual, "I called you Pretty Eyes."
He shyly looked away, covering his face with a book.
"I mean, it's true. Has anyone ever told you how pretty your eyes are?"
"I-um..."
"What'cha reading?"
He glanced down at his book, "Oh, um, The Lost Passion."
You tilted your head, "That sounds nice, what's it about?"
He then went into an adorable ramble.
"And they sink into the grainy dirt but somehow they fight it...I'm rambling, sorry."
You waved him off, "Nah, it's cute. I don't mind."
A little smile broke onto his face, it complemented the blush he wore nicely.
"By the way, you mean sand, right? Grainy dirt? You were talking about quicksand, most likely."
"You...know what sand is?" He asked with wide eyes.
You....didn't mean to say that...But wait...
You raised a brow, "How do you know what sand is?"
He gave a nervous chuckle, "Ah...promise you'll keep it a secret?"
"I have no friends, who would I tell?"
"...I used to read forbidden books when I was younger..."
You blinked.
"Oh, yeah, same," you said with nonchalance.
"You have?"
"Yeah. How else would I know what sand is?"
His blue eyes glittered in awe, "I want to see the ocean. I've read it's the biggest type of body of water. The water is clear, it glitters in sunlight...I want to see it."
You looked down at your hands, "...I...I want to see the sand. I want to wiggle my toes in it..."
"...Cute..."
You glanced back over at him, "Huh?"
He reverently shook his head, "N-no, nothing-"
"Hey, Armin?"
He looked into your eyes, the bright blue almost took your breath away.
"Since you want to see the ocean and I want to see the sand, let's survive and see them together."
His eyes shined in excitement, "And we'll wiggle our toes in the sand too."
You rested your head in your hand, "And if there's no sand, I'll just run around barefoot and enjoy the view with you."
"The ocean...It's more beautiful than I could've dreamed," Armin whispered into the air. "What do you think, [Name]?"
You pouted, "I'm a little bummed there's no sand, but you're right the ocean's beautiful...Now I know what I can compare your eyes to now."
Armin giggled, "You flirt." He smiled, "We dreamed of this, it's one thing off our list. You said you'd kiss me here, didn't you?"
"I know, I promised."
Armin sighed and looked back out to the ocean again, "And you broke it, you left me alone."
"...I know..."
"You know I love you, right?" He whispered.
You smiled, "Yeah, I know. I love you too," you walked over to him a kissed his cheek, "Goodbye, Armin."
A tear ran down his cheek as you faded away.
"...Goodbye, [Name]."
I'm mad this didn't turn out better, but then I remembered I've only slept two hours, I've been easily irritable the past few weeks and the people who are annoying me aren't purposely doing it, and I'm just tired. So, I hope it's still okay.
Edit: Btw for those confused, yes, [Name] was dead at the end.
#aot x reader #gentle#aot fluff#snk fluff #snk x reader #attack on titans x reader #attack on titan x reader #armin arlert x reader #armin arlert fluff #armin x reader #armin fluff
"i was thinking of another day thinking how i didn't see it coming"
prisoner's dilemma
"a prisoner's dilemma is a situation where individual decision-makers always have an incentive to choose in a way that creates a less than optimal outcome for the individuals as a group."
the inability of two individuals or groups to cooperate, although it will result in the benefit of both, is called the prisoner's dilemma.
we can see this in the conflict between eren and zeke or the people on paradise island and the eldians in marley.
if we move on eren and zeke;
they both actually pursue the same goal. saving eldia even if their perspectives are different. we can call it getting out of prison in our dilemma.
"the gander and the hunter and the gatherer feel like a traveller from another planet"
causality dilemma
the dilemma in which the person will have difficulty in making a clear choice, and both options are interdependent.
if rumbling had never been started by eren, eren would still have few years left to spend with his loved ones, and because of paradise island's notorious reputation, a peaceful life would not await them either while he was alive or after he died. but if the rumbling started, he would have to die earlier than planned, but he would have left a peaceful life for his loved ones and kept the promise he made to himself when he was little.
"hey now now you say it's gonna be OK"
moral dilemma
choosing one state violates the other. will give positive results as a result of the work done, but will be morally wrong.
eren, who chose to start rumbling in the previous dilemma;
will save paradise island and his loved ones from their suffering, cleanse the whole world from titans, and establish a new world order. but in doing so, the destruction of a large part of the world and the death of many innocent people caused the world balance to deteriorate.
"want to be free it will last forever eternally"
sophie's choice dilemma
one of the choices ends with death and the other with extinction.
This dilemma includes the reason for starting from the rumbling eren direction.
if he had turned a blind eye to all this and followed zeke's plan, his own race would have been completely wiped out from this world. if he carries out his plan, he will have to be killed by the people he loves. no matter how we look at it, eren has taken his own interests out of these options, which has no good exit on his side, and has reached a decision based on his values.
𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 // armin likes to collect flowers and you’re his favourite <3
𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 // manga spoilers, a tiny but of angst but tbh it doesn’t really count, fluff, armin being the best character
𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 // 757
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 // armin arlert
𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒 // i did this at 12am with a cold and didn’t proofread it so this might actually just be nonsense idk - also yes i did delete this and then reupload it just pretend y’all haven’t seen it if you did..
𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 collect flowers. he never had a reason for it, he’s simply wander through the grass on the hill, waving in synch with his golden hair and pick the prettiest ones he could find. then again, he thought every flower was pretty, he simply couldn’t choose. he’d pick and pluck the delicate things from the earth until he could fit no more between his fingers, not wanting to crush the skinny stems, and smile to himself on the way home. eren never questioned his friend’s love for the daisies and the - well that was the only one he knew, but he thought he might understand later on or something. armin loved nature and learning about the world, anyway. maybe there would be more in the icy deserts, ones that weren’t mentioned in the brown pages of his grandfather’s dusty book.
armin wondered about that too. about the other pretty flowers he might find when he escaped the towering walls of his home town. for now, however, he was satisfied with the ones he knew of already. sometimes armin would put a few in a glass of water by his bed, when he almost started to feel bad for snatching them from where they’d been thriving previously. some he slipped between the pages of his favourite books to keep them safe. to protect them from god-knows-what lurks outside the soaring walls that only birds had the pleasure of witnessing.
he wasn’t sure what he’s do with those flowers, really. keep them to himself to admire? when you asked him what he wanted to do with them, though, he immediately wanted to offer them all to you, every single one, even his favourites. he knew he’d never find something as pretty as you, not even those silly little wilting petals that were crushed between old, battered, dusty pages could never compare to your beauty. once he had found you, he wanted nothing more than to pick you and take you away to a place where he knew you’d be safe from the rest of the world, like you were a flower between the pages of his books. armin wanted to be your book, to protect you from harm, even if he wound up bettered and bruised by the end of it.
then the walls came tumbling down and he lost all his flowers. the ones that drooped and wilted sadly on his nightstand were crushed and the others were obliterated, along with the books that kept them safe. although he lost the silly petals he prized, you never even came close to wilting, even if you wanted to. even when the world became nothing but a war zone, a land of death, a realm of all things bad, with no flowers, it did not harm you. you weren’t crushed or turned to dust like so many people. he liked to think it was because of him but he could never be sure. then again, could anyone ever really be sure about anything in the world they lived in?
there were many things armin didn’t know. eren always said he was a genius, the smartest kid he knew, the boy that would save the world. he never thought that was true until now, when it had become reality. well, perhaps not all of it, though everyone insisted it was. he didn’t save everyone. he didn’t know how to - armin knew how much he loved his flowers but didn’t know how to stop them from drooping and dying. he supposed that was the same for those he loved, or maybe it was out of his control and always will be. maybe he couldn’t keep eren between the pages of his book forever, safe within his arms.
that’s why he was never quite sure how you hadn’t left him. he’d lost almost everyone, after all. he never questioned it though, oh god no, he never questioned it. he was quite content laying under the grand, old tree with you. his pretty flower.
“i like this one, too. i don’t know why… ‘s pretty.’ he handed the petals to you, forming a small collection on your skirt, like a bouquet. he was pretty, you thought. a rare, golden flower, only ever heard about in stories and tales, the prettiest anyone could ever find, and you had found that flower. he was yours and you were his, and nothing could ever withdraw you from the pages of each other’s books or the water from the water of each other’s cups.
