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lucaaazd · 29 days

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Snippet of a (not so) little Aruani story I’ve been working on. I love it so much and it’s helped me through some real trying times. Don’t have an ao3 account yet so thought I’d share a chapter on here :)

Premise: A decade after the Rumbling, Armin and Mikasa share a rare moment away from their families in the shade of their childhood tree. Armin opens up about his struggles to connect with one of his children, which leads him down a path of remembrance and reflection.

Ships: primarily Aruani, but a lottttt of other ships get a cameo as well. Eremika, Jeankasa, Jeanpiku, Mikannie, Reijean & more !

TW: (just in this chapter) mentions of abuse

Canon-compliant 💚

“

Life happens.

Annie told him not to worry. She told him how years of physical and emotional abuse, compounded by the multitude of medical experiments Marley conducted on her had likely rendered her infertile.

Looking back, Armin realized he wanted to believe her more than he really did. Why risk it? It’s not like him. He’d read books about the human body and its resilient, unpredictable nature, especially when it comes to the uterus. He remembered flipping through some vividly illustrated pages fervorously at the ripe age of twelve when the librarian with the broken nose caught him, threatening to tie him up for the bit of inappropriate reading he’s doing. The town of Liana, an idle green village tucked away in the thickets of elms and cedars native to Northwestern Wall Rose, wasn’t exactly sizable. Armin often sought shelter in the only library in an hour’s horse ride, which was affiliated with the prestigious Askatu Institute of Science and Liberal Arts. He might have even gone to college if not for what happened to their hometown. Gran was already gone. No one cared if he read a couple books he’s too young for.

Still, ten years later, he’d let Annie lead him into those dark, unused train cars at the wee hours of dawn, words like fallopian tubes and ovulation burnt into his retina. How lame. Was he supposed to be thinking of those when the hand around his was soft and warm and he could feel the urgency in the way it squeezed and tugged him?

Armin's one of those boys who didn’t hit that growth spurt till about 15, with tiny prepubescent shoulders and a squeaky voice that stayed that way when everyone else was going through changes. Annie on the other hand - pretty much everyone had found themselves stealing glances at her at one point or another when they were kids, including Armin. There’s things he’d never even told Mikasa or Eren, including the time when he took it one step too far.

It was way before they became soldiers. He was eleven. He didn’t even know her name. All he knew was that she was an orphan with no one looking out for her. He just wanted to make sure she’s okay.

At least that’s what he told himself.

Him and Annie had reached the unspoken agreement of feigned forgetfulness regarding their encounters, if you could even call them that, back in those days.

One of the first nights after their enlistment, some dude made a tipsy remark along the lines of: “What’s her name again? Elaine? Right, Annie. Annie’s just cool man. There’s just something cool about her.” There was always a lot going on in the mess hall due to certain recruits still getting the hang of respectful communal living, but that comment in particular stood out against the rest. In all the wolf whistles, laughter and murmurs of agreement that ensued, Armin kept his mouth shut. He was kinda hoping they were talking about some other Annie. Come to think of it, he’s not even sure her name was Annie. It definitely wasn’t Elaine. She’d talked maybe twice since their first day and when she did, she was quiet like a mouse.

He couldn’t even remember that dude’s name or face now. He had a feeling he never figured out what exactly was cool about Annie. Probably squashed under her foot like a fly in Stohess. Soldiers from all three factions, including a lot of their fellow cadets, perished that day.

Still, a good number of well-intentioned admirers refused to believe Annie was a cold-blooded mass murderer long after her cover was blown. The rest harbored a justifiable burning hatred towards her based on the conclusion that she’s an insane, sadistic psycho bitch who deserved to get cut up slowly.

Armin knew for a fact that Annie herself leaned towards the second theory, no matter how much she tried to make it seem otherwise. He knew that since the day he watched her hungrily from his hiding spot behind a willow tree as a child, wonder decaying into horror when he realized what she was doing. He knew when she broke down into a manic fit of laughter at the mouth of the underground passageway he had hoped to lure her into. His initial trepidation bubbled into anger, then disgust, then a burning desire to see her bonded and gagged and find out exactly what lay behind those hollow, listless pupils. Her story, one he pieced together with what little could be extracted from her obstinate silence, was punctuated with way too many contradictions for one cohesive meaning to be teased out.

The art of deceiving was not a specialty of hers, hence the muteness. In that way and many other ways, she’s not at all like Reiner or Bertolt, who spewed out lie after lie with all the ingredients of a good story, combining fair quantities of truth and well-phrased speculation with a sprinkling of theatrical alterations to stir the flavors. It took Armin hours of studying Annie’s unresponsive form in the crystal, opening up time and unrolling it to its full length so that he could single out a quiet scoff, the clenching of a fist, replaying the moment frame by frame for signs of mental fissure or psychosomaticism. He kept descending the stairs to the basement where she was held captive, long after spectators’ footsteps grew farther and fewer in between and eventually diminished to the echo of one lone pair of boots, his own.

.”

This chapter is very stream of consciousness but I promise it’s not all gonna be like this 😭 anyways, if u made it this far, cheers and have a good day 💚

Luca 💚

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk #aruani #armin arlert #annie leonhart

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kissagii · 1 year

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here’s a request idea.. armin always checks books out from his local library then one day he sees you working the counter and all of a sudden all his afternoons are being spent in the library and at some point he doesn’t even go there to read he’s just admiring you and mustering up the courage to ask you out

so sorry this took so long for me to write this ;-;

cw: gn!reader, 0.4k words, armin is a shy baby, it's just fluff <3

Working part-time at the local library was often boring, but you found ways to entertain yourself. Mostly, you spent your time behind the counter people watching, noting down who came in when, what they liked to read, where they sat, and who they came with. Some of the regulars were particularly entertaining, like the family that came in every Friday whose three children were unbelievably unruly.

But your favorite was a blonde young man about your age, a nonfiction enthusiast whose reading speed decreased exponentially over the months. When he first turned up, he’d devour half a book before leaving. But now he’d only get through a few pages, if that. I wonder… is he okay? He seems absent-minded. But you’re just the librarian, it wasn’t your place to get involved.

Until the day when he was shaking when he came to check out a book.

As you scanned it in, you asked, “Hey, are you alright? You’ve seemed a bit off lately.”

“Oh,” he said with an awkward giggle, “You’ve noticed?”

“Well, I like to keep tabs on the regulars, and you’re easily the most regular of them all. It’s kinda weird, but you start developing a concern for them, you know?”

“I see, I see, that’s actually really sweet.”

“Good, I was worried that you’d think I was insane,” You said with a laugh, “So, for real, are you doing alright?”

The young man - Armin, if you remembered correctly - nervously fiddled with his library card, looking in just about every direction but at you. “Yeah, but, I’ve been absent-minded because… you see… I was wondering if… maybe…. I could get your number? Or maybe take you on a date? Because you’re always really nice and patient with the unruly kids and you never look at me weird when I want a book about marine biology or military history and you’re just so pretty and- ohmygod I’m sorry I should’ve rambled like that I’m so sorry you probably think I’m crazy.” He ended his ramble abruptly, pink-cheeked and grinning in embarrassment. You felt a warm flush creeping into your cheeks.

“Hey, don’t apologize. Here,” You slip him a piece of blue paper with your name and phone number on it, “I’ve been meaning to slip it into one of your books but I just never had the confidence to. I get off early today, let’s meet at the café down the road in an hour or so.”

“Yeah, definitely!” Armin smiled brightly, then darted off with his books. As you returned to checking out books and helping customers, you noticed his sparkling blue eyes trained on you, watching in admiration as you worked.

That last hour couldn’t’ve passed faster.

©king-of-dreamers 2022

#imagine ⋆｡°✩#armin #armin x reader #armin arlert #armin arlert x reader #snk armin #armin fluff #armin x reader fluff #armin aot #armin drabble #aot x reader #attack on titan x reader #armin x gn reader

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arminsumi · 1 year

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I love your Armin writing so much, thank youuuu 😙

May I politely request promt #2 "Clumsy!char always dropping things around crush!Y/n" with Armin please?

I can totally seem he being overwhelmed by his crushes presence haha

😌💕Ty love! So happy that you enjoy my stuff hehe

"Librarian"

Prompt 2 / Armin

Each time you visit the library where Armin works, you walk home with a new book; one that he clumsily dropped.

Cws; fluff

Notes; gn!reader, modern!au

♫

"He's a neat and composed boy," that's what Armin's friends would say if you asked them to describe him. "He never loses his cool, and is never lost for words."

Well, all these descriptions don't uphold when he's in your company.

Before he sees you, he's zooming down the aisles, feet precariously perched on the book cart like a risky scooter, swiftly shelving stacks of books away.

When he glides past an aisle and sees you, his composure completely disappears.

"Uh! I — hey!" He stutters out, feeling his heart beat prominently in his chest.

"Hey." You smile at him.

His stomach drops when he hears your voice, and then whatever book is in his hand, that drops too. If he had a nickel for every book dropped by him, well, he wouldn't be a millionaire but he would surely have a ridiculous amount of nickels.

One day when you invite him to the nearby cafe, he nearly falls onto his ass when trying to sit. The poor boy, you have to forgive him, he was distracted by your eyes.

But then he also spills his cappuccino, and the creamy brown liquid fills up the saucer. The poor boy, forgive him again; he was too invested in your story and so his finger missed the cup's handle.

One day when you invite him over to your apartment for a chess match, he nearly elbows a vase of flowers right off the table. He even backs up into the full-body mirror and jumps in fright.

"Sorry!" He giggles, "I must be sleepy." He always excuses, blaming his lack of sleep instead of admitting that you cause him to be clumsier than he actually is.

His cheeks are searing with heat whenever he drops something that you hand over to him.

On his birthday, he dropped the card that you gave him, and fumbled with the carefully wrapped present box.

And his awkward giggle after he nearly drops something is so sweet, it reminds you of a wind chime sounding in a breeze.

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ewkatsuki · 1 year

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armin having the cutest crush on the librarian’s assistant because he’s a nerd and goes there every day to the point where you two are friends and it just blossoms like AHHHHH

YEAH. BRCAUSES HES A NERDY DORK AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

• it would probably start off the same just going there because he has pretty big make turns coming up and obviously he needs to study, studious lil guy

• and as much as he goes there, he sometimes there’s no wor things are so he came up and asked you if he was a librarian because he saw you putting away books. “yeah! i’m not the main librarian but i do work here! what do you need?”

• he would just be so smitten with you oml. even after midterms, armin found himself leaving the main group because “guys i have a big test coming up, i have to study” and the rest of the group would be like 🤨 eren and jean investigating him like “are you SURE you’re going to study? because or seems like you have ‘big tests’ every damn day”

• then just one day eren has the GREAT idea to suggest that “you know what guys! armin has to study like all the time so let’s go with him! it’s probably boring there anyway” but little do they know armin literally spends all his time in the libary talking to you, quietly giggling about literally anything and all in all he’s just with you.

• then the day they all go to the libary armin manages to sneak away saying, “i’m just gonna grab a book real quick” and yet he snuck off to see you, but he wasn’t that slick.

• “so THATS why you go to the libary everyday huh” jean nudges his shoulder, armin rolls his eyes while his face flushed a pretty pink. “he’s blushing! you really like her!!!” mikasa chimes in, “what do we get to actually meet mystery girl???” eren grins, “we’re not even dating guys shut up…”

#armin arlert x reader #armin x reader #armin x reader fluff #armin arlert x reader fluff #attack on titan x reader #snk x reader #attack on titan fluff #snk fluff #— unedited whoopsie daisy ✿

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theflrn · 4 months

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AOT modern AU careers

Eren - game streamer

Mikasa - gym instructor

Armin - librarian

Jean - designer

Marco - math teacher

Sasha - ASMR mukbang youtuber

Connie - Sasha's video editor

Niccolo - chef

Floch - lawyer

Historia - florist

Ymir - tattoo artist

Erwin - history professor

Levi - cleaner

Hanji - biochemistry scientist

Moblit - Hanji's assistant

Reiner - firefighter

Berthold - nuclear plant engineer

Annie, Hitch, Marlowe, Boris - police officers

Pieck - journalist reporter

Porco - cameraman

Zeke - psychologist

Yelena - model

Onyankopon - pilot

#note to self #aot #snk #modern au

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melishade · 1 year

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A strange question, but what if instead of Optimus and Megatron, Megatronus and Orion Pax (before talking to the council) went to the world of Aot? By the way, happy birthday

Well this is late. Thank you btw. But if there wasn't a parallel with Eren/Armin and Megatron/Optimus, there definitely is now.

I'll be generous and say the two of them get dropped together during the Battle Trost because the council wanted to get rid of the both of them for their involvement in the revolution. Or Alpha Trion's bullshit ends up getting them landed there in the first place. In this house, we hate the shady librarian voiced by George Takei.

Both see the chaos around them, and because Megatronus is still kinder and isn't snorting space crack and Orion is someone who's non-violent by nature, they both immediately take action. Orion helps with evacuation since he's not a fighter, and Megatronus immediately goes after the titans. He has some difficulty killing them before figuring out the weakness is the nape of the neck.

However, Eren's titan form is still going ballistic, attacking everything titan he sees and almost kills Orion when he's helping the recruits in the fortress, since Orion is much smaller and has no fighting experience. Megatronus intervenes and nearly kills Eren, but just barely misses his nape and it's revealed that he's a titan in human form. Both Megatronus and Orion are confused because "Is this normal?" Mikasa's reaction says other wise.

They do manage to secure Trost, but the court hearings go a lot differently this time around. Megatronus and Orion don't know where they are, they don't know what humans are so they don't have a holoform, both of them are canonically ground vehicles at this time, and the revolution on Cybertron is probably panicking without them. Megatronus' priority is to get back to Cybertron as soon as possible. Orion says maybe it's wiser to wait this out. This world seems to be on the brink of extinction and they don't know how to get back to Cybertron right now. Soundwave will probably be able to manage everything for the time being.

"Soundwave isn't a leader, and I believe he might have a previous conflict of interest with the council in the past," Megatronus retorted.

Megatronus and Orion are grilled by the government opposition that what to dissect or get rid of them, and both are quickly reminded of the council's mannerism of ignoring the plight of the people and keeping the wealth to themselves. The vibe is really a:

Because humanity is on the brink of annihilation and this is who's governing you? This is some bullshit. They are prepared to leave, but Erwin manages to convince them to stay in order to help each other out. Erwin brings up the innocent people who will end up suffering if the titans win, and it strikes a cord with both Megatronus and Orion and the sufferings of their own people. Megatronus more so because he's been through the ringer.

So a few notes:

-Megatronus and Orion are smaller than the average titan and titan shifter, specifically Eren's titan form. But that doesn't stop Megatronus from wiping the floor with Eren and all the others every time. Motherfucker is a gladiator. He's fought opponents bigger than Eren with ease.

-Speaking of Eren, Megatronus still hates Eren, but for entirely different reasons. Instead of hating Eren because he's just an annoying brat who thinks he's special, Eren tried to kill Orion, and Orion is still his brother. Megatronus will actively make threats about killing Eren, which Orion has to calm him down for because Eren is still a kid.

-Hanji is crawling all over them it's ridiculous. Megatronus is reminded of Shockwave, if he was happier, and Orion is extremely nervous around her. Both are extremely cautious.

-Megatronus has to train Orion to defend himself. It's not an option. Because if someone like Eren exists, what ae the chances that there are more nefarious forces like him. They can't take that chance. Megatronus also has to train Eren, which he is not fucking happy about. He is going to break this kid.

-Orion is more cautious of Eren, since he's never fought and his first interaction with Eren was him trying to choke him out. They don't have that same close bond that they would originally have is it was Optimus.

-Megatronus and Levi get along. I know. Shocker. Again, Megatronus hasn't done fucked up shit yet. Megatronus is kind of like Levi right now. Just more charismatic. Levi likes the fact that Megatronus cares about those less fortunate.

-Do Megatronus and Orion hate humans?...They definitely take some getting used to since they've never seen them before. But they grow on them. Megatronus is definitely not as biased as he would be.

-The coup is where there is definitely a rift between Megatronus and Orion in terms of how to handle things. Because Megatronus hates the government. He hates Rod, and he significantly likes the Survey Corps more because they are willing to resort to torture, murder, and overthrowing the government for the betterment of the people. Orion believes in a peaceful option and both argue for a while about it. They don't talk civilly for a while. But when Orion sees the damage and the lives affected, he cannot ignore it. And Orion accepts that a revolution, even a violent revolution is necessary.

Definitely affects how Orion thinks when those two do go back to Cybertron. Alpha Trion is a little mortified.

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johnyorks · 8 months

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Leverage and Star Trek Deep Space Nine, TNG, and Voyager - have had some actors in common. For instance, Will Wheaton played the evil super hacker on one episode of Leverage. Jeri Ryan was on Leverage for quite a few episodes. Then there are episodes with Brent Spine and Armin Shimmerman (Quark). At least one episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes, I think. Or was that the Librarians? Levar Burton was in an episode as well.

Next time I'll do a post about the connections between the Librarians and Trek.

#star trek #deep space nine #star trek voyager #leverage #wil wheaton #jeri ryan #brent spiner #armin shimerman #jonathan frakes

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touyyes · 1 year

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ship your moots and assign them a trope?

hell yes. finally i get this ask.

including the moots ive interacted with the most! as well as some lucky draw ones (whom i haven't interacted with much). if you weren't included im sorrry (ᐡ ̥_ ̫ _ ̥ᐡ) next ask i get you'll be added!

@sailewhoremoon + sasuke uchiha ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . childhood besfriends! + miscommunication!

@vilsoo + michael afton ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . stripper au! + dark web au!

@satorhime + gojo satoru ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . fake dating au! + highschool teachers!

@garoujo + nagi seishirou ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . manager x player au! + camboy au!

@sirenh4ll + armin arlert ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . reincarnation au + librarian au!

@saetoshis + kunigami rensuke ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . arranged marriage au + blind date au!

@playgrl0 + aki hayakawa ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . friends with benefits au! + coworker au!

@katanaski + katsuki bakugou ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . rivals to lovers! + haunted house au!

@suget + getou suguru ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . god x worshipper au! + coffee shop au!

@toji-bunny-girl + toji fushiguro ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . domestic au! + assassin au!

@munsonsins + tengen uzui ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . star crossed lovers au! + bodyguard au!

@bbiemilk + kageyama tobio ‧₊˚♡

the trope i choose is . . . snowed in au ! + established relationship!

#𝐃𝐎 𝐈 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝑬 𝐘𝑶𝐔 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝑶𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝑹𝐊𝐘? ⸼ ׁ꒰ ᵐᵘᵗᵘᵃˡˢ ꒱ ׁ⸼#my stomach aches but here you go!#i dont think ik enough tropes HHHH

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m-jelly · 2 years

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Country Living AOT town

Collab event!

So, I and a few other creators on Tumblr made a whole town! Each AOT member that people make oneshots on has a role within the town.

The following are those who worked with me:

@ladycheesington @postwarlevi @hauntedhousecat @chaotic-nick @lucysarah-c @levisbrat25 @charlotteplsdosth @levi-supreme @ack3rlady

Now we have a town, we can all have a little fun! Pick an AOT character and write a oneshot about them in this town. It can be with or without the reader, it can be self-insert, OC or just a nice story about how they interact with each other. You can pick anyone you want and write multiple ones!

Anyone can take part.

The townspeople and their roles:

Erwin: Mayor

Levi: Sheriff

@yakaaamoz Work here

Mike: Pub and inn owner

Hange: Doctor and pharmacist

Moblit: Art teacher and weekend firefighter

Sasha: Butcher

Jean: Vet also works at the local diner

Connie: Chicken farmer and grocer

Niccolo: Resturant owner

Eren: Firefighter

Mikasa: Firefighter

Armin: Librarian and town records

Historia: Teacher and volunteers at Hange’s practice

Yimir: Gas station owner

Hitch: Member of the town council

Marlowe: Judge

Zeke: Defence lawyer

Pieck: Herbal and tea shop owner, also teaches yoga

Porco: Mechanic

Marcel: Barber

Reiner: Personal trainer

Annie: muay thai instructor

Bertholdt: Baker and helps Pieck out sometimes.

Kenny: Town drunk

I started this with the others because I wanted to do something fun together as a group. I wanted to write together and make this wonderful fun town filled with silly events and interactions. I wanted people to place themselves into this town and imagine what life would be like. It's just something fun for all to do and to collab on.

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mommypieck · 2 years

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⌗︙・librarian armin ⸜⸜・

visiting your boyfriend armin in library during your lunch break has become a tradition. u would always eat your lunch with him in the back while he talked about new books. and u weren't sure how u got into his situation today, but your panties are currently to the side whole your blonde haired boyfriend is fingering your cunt. he takes his time with exploring your inside with his fingers. making sure to massage your g spot but also avoid it when he feels that u are getting too greedy. u want nothing more than to lower your pussy on his cock and ride him until u squirt, but he's not having it today. he wants to make u cum just so he can masturbace after closing hours to the imagine in his head. don't get me wrong, he loves being in your cunt but he also loves making u wait for it.

#aot smut #aot x reader #attack on titan #snk #aot headcanons #attack on titan smut #armin x y/n #armin arlet x you #armin aot #armin arlert #armin x reader #armin headcanons #armin arlert smut #armin arlet x reader #armin arlet x y/n #armin arlet imagines #armin arlet smut

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crisalidaseason · 1 year

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The blooms of our mind

Summary: Armin and Erwin's eldest daughter meet (part 2)

Read Part 1 here

Content warning: talks about a dead person, grief mentioned, anxiety (armin is an anxious boi).

“tell me, Armin” Nadi said from the other corridor of the small library “do you believe in sea monsters? Like the ones from the stories you told me”

Armin was helping Nadi organize some new books and documents that arrived recently, he was put on cataloging duties while she placed the books in their correct place.

“I think it’s possible that large creatures exist, but also the travelers could have exaggerated a little. They did sail drunk for the most part” he answered.

Armin heard her chuckle.

“Give the poor sailors some credit, we lived among giant creatures roaming on this island. Maybe a large and vengeful octopus is completely reasonable”

She went to the front desk again, where Armin was sitting, and picked up another pile of books.

“Do you want some fresh tea? Cora is probably brewing some, I can ask for two mugs”

“I’d rather not, she might poison my cup” Armin replied.

Cora was a very mean lady that cared for the building. Everytime Armin went to visit or help Nadi, the middle aged woman judged him silently as if he was very unwelcome there.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to pour the tea myself and spare you from the unnecessary healing”

With that, Nadi left the small library and Armin resumed cataloging the books. He smiled and shook his head, who would have thought that two months after their tea shop encounter he would be regularly visiting Nadi? He suspected that commander Hange was up to something, they were often sending Armin to the area for odd favors, but he was not complaining. As much as he enjoyed exchanging letters, the joy of seeing her in person would never be matched.

“Two steaming mugs of lemongrass tea” Nadi appeared again.

Armin thanked her and took a sip of his tea. He used to drink lemongrass tea with his grandfather almost everyday, until his military years took this small indulgence from him. It was nice to share the sweet beverage with a good friend again, at least he liked to think they were already on this stage, even if they have known each other for a short time. Armin and Nadi connected fast, even sharing some personal information, which was far more than Armin ever achieved with someone in such a short frame of time.

He had learned she was the oldest of two sisters, but didn’t live on the Smith’s family home anymore, choosing to stay close to her job as a librarian. In exchange, Armin told her about his friends and his military years, even a little bit of his routine with Hange and titan training. One thing they never discussed was her father. Armin was relieved but also anxious about that, he believed Nadi knew who he was and what happened that day. A small part of him wondered if she didn’t know anything, which was even scarier because their friendship would be ruined if Nadi ever found out. He decided that living with the anxiety was better than risk losing their companionship.

“Armin” her voice brought him back “when you return to the headquarters, could you deliver a message to your commander?”

He nodded. She handed him a small envelope with her beautiful handwriting saying ‘to commander Hange Zoe’. He wondered what kind of message it was, maybe about the plans for the spears?

“Are you curious?” she said, smirking “I know you are”

Armin blushed furiously and denied. Nadi chuckled.

“It’s just a formal document granting the Survey Corps the ownership of the thunder spear project sheets”

“Wait what?” he said “doesn’t it take away your credit on this?”

“Yes, but my…” she hesitated “my father once told me that it’s safer to never perpetuate my name on military weaponry”

Armin understood right away, considering her father was almost executed by the government once…it makes sense for Erwin to be cautious. Armin knew well how the higher ones loved to target families.

“Makes sense” he said “keeps you safe”

Her eyes were a little distant, and the frown on her brows gave up her sadness.

“Armin, can I ask you a question?” she said, still not looking at him “you don’t need to answer if I make you uncomfortable”

He nodded.

“How…how was he?” she began “my father, how was he as a commander? Hange told me you worked close with him”

Armin sometimes thought he was very unlucky, Hange really had a problem with not holding their tongue sometimes.

“He was very stoic, inspiring to many people, some would even call him charismatic. He listened to me when nobody would ever spare me seconds, but he also carried a weight on his shoulders”

“The weight of his decisions” she said, now looking at him “I’m glad he heard you, many lives were saved because of your thoughts”

He should be happy, she seemed to not blame him, but he never felt more miserable. How could she look at Armin and not scream that he’s the reason her father will never come back home?

“Look at the time!” Nadi stood up “let’s finish this, I don’t want you return late in the night”

They finished putting the books away and Armin left with the remaining sunlight still in the sky. He couldn’t forget Nadi’s distant and sad features when mentioning her father, he wanted to comfort her, tell her that Erwin was a good man and would be proud of his daughter. But Armin wasn’t sure he had the right to do it.

He arrived later than usual on the headquarters, with heavy steps, noticing that Hange had already left the office so he decided to leave the message on the commander’s desk. Trying to sleep was not working, as usual, but he felt better remembering that he would see Nadi again in two days. He was holding the latest letter she sent him, his fingers tracing her handwriting, remembering all the times he would eagerly check his post office box. Mikasa was so curious whenever Armin asked to stop by to pick up his mail, constantly trying to peek at the envelope. He would eventually tell her, but he wanted Nadi to be something only he knew for a little while.

The next two days were a blur, with Armin doing everything on autopilot to the point Hange noticed.

“Armin, for the walls sake, are you half asleep today?” they said when he dropped the paperweight for the third time that morning.

“Sorry commander”

“Take a break, boy, sleep seems to hate you these days”

“Indeed, but I’ll push through” he said, sitting on the chair and closing his eyes for a moment.

He heard a chuckle from the commander. Oh no.

“So, how are dates with your girlfriend going?”

Armin opened his eyes and stupidly stuttered.

“She isn’t-I mean we-” he sighed “not dates, not girlfriend”

“HOHO” Hange threw their head back “you can’t even form sentences!”

Armin tried to hide his face with his hands. He should have expected that, knowing how Hnge poorly concealed the fact they plotted this whole situation. Deep down, Armin was thankful that Hange was a nosy person, especially with him and Levi, but he would never admit.

The next time he went to see Nadi, he was actually off duty. Armin was panicking, Nadi had never seen him without uniform and picking civilian clothes opened up the gates of anxiety. What if she thinks he looks silly? Armin’s clothes resembled an old man’s: baggy linen shirt and thick fabric pants. He almost wanted to cancel his visit, but decided against it. He hoped she could see past his horrible sense of civilian fashion.

“Look at you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without uniform” she said as soon as Armin crossed the library’s door “blue looks wonderful on you”

“Ah, um, thanks” he half said, half choked.

“I will be done with the last entries really soon and then we can head to the teashop”

They had planned to return to the same teashop, just to enjoy each other’s presence and talk without a task or Armin’s curfew to interrupt them. They took a small table on the outside area of the shop, it was a sunny but not overly warm day after all.

“What can I bring to the couple?” a sweet old lady asked them.

Armin’s brain just fried at that point. He was certain his face was extremely red, even his neck, if the heat was any indication.

“I would love a cinnamon and cream bagel, and unsweetened green tea” Nadi asked, still smiling at Armin’s complete lack of words “would you like me to pick something for you, Armin?”

He nodded, not risking saying anything back.

“He would enjoy a blackberry tea with one sugar cube and a plain rain bun”

The lady took their orders and left. Nadi turned to look at Armin again.

“Are you alright? I can change the order if you don’t-”

“It’s perfectly fine!” he said, a little too loud “I-um-I liked it”

She smiled again, trying to hide it with her hands.

“You know, I don’t blame her, we do look like a couple now”

He suspected Nadi was trying to kill him with embarrassment.

“Does it make you uncomfortable? I can stop”

“No, no” he said “It’s just that I am a little too new with everything related to…to you”

“So am I” she said “but I think it’s perfect this way”

They were interrupted by the lady with their orders in hand. Once both were served, they paused to enjoy their tea.

“You know, I was a little worried for a moment” Nadi commented “your face was so red that I genuinely believed you would faint”

He laughed.

“I do get red easily, but I never passed out before. Only when seriously injured”

They spoke occasionally, between sips of their teas and bites of their treats. Armin loved to see her laughing, her hand gestures loud and excited, her reactions to his stories and Hange’s shenanigans. Soon enough it was time for them to go, and Armin offered to accompany her home.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to stray you too much from your path”

“Of course, I don’t mind at all” he said “besides, it gives us more time to talk”

“Indeed, I enjoy our conversations very much” she said.

He walked alongside her, making sure to keep her shielded from the road, the passing people and carriages. She lived in a small pension, only a few meters away from the library. It was a beautiful place, with a calm neighborhood.

“What a lovely place” he said.

“Yes, it is a little expensive, but also worth it when you want to sleep in on sundays”

“If I ever leave the military, I would definitely live in a place like this”

“Tell me when you leave, I can ask mister Silas for a room close to mine. I would pester you forever”

Armin laughed, shaking his head. He would enjoy it very much.

“I think this is where we say goodbye” Armin said “for now”

They were in front of her building, but Nadi turned to face him instead of going inside.

“You know, Armin” she started “I really enjoyed our day, in fact I like all of our days, even the ones we only speak through paper”

She took his hand.

“I would never demand anything from you, but I hope you enjoy what we have as much as I do”

“I do, genuinely” he said, already feeling his face warm.

She smiled again, but it was a wicked smile, as if she was planning a small evil action.

“Please, don’t faint” she whispered.

She got closer and her lips touched Armin’s left cheek, very softly.

“Good night, Armin. Thank you again for today”

Armin was too stunned to speak, the place where she kissed him still tingling. He contemplated never washing his left cheek ever again.

“Good night” he stuttered.

Nadi went to the door, but turned back to face him again.

“Send me a letter?”

Armin looked at her, heart almost jumping inside his ribcage.

“Definitely”

#armin arlert #armin aot #armin fanfic #armin x reader #armin x you #armin x yn #armin imagines #aot #aot fanfic #attack on titan

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skrunklybf-archived · 2 years

Text

summary: you come from a polished home, and an even more polished family. armin makes an impression during tea time.

tags: established relationship, family fic, toxic family dynamics, age gap (armin is in his early 20s, reader is almost 30), misogynistic comments, a lil hurt/comfort, fluffy fluff at the end, stylized lowercase

wc: 1.7k

note: this started out as something completely different and sat in my drafts for ages so..... i reworked it ((: hope you enjoy my lovelies xoxo

part of my welcome to the family series

✨ masterlist & tip jar ✨

you had a way of making armin feel like a man.

clutching the crook of his elbow as you walked together; searching to hold his gaze after large claps of thunder; calling him late at night to soothe your anxieties after hearing some mysterious noises in the deep dark of your rather empty home.

you made him feel more than wanted, you made him feel needed. made him feel strong, important, chivalrous.

but for a few fleeting moments, adjusting himself in the confines of a plastic-lined armchair, armin felt juvenile. simply a boy, nervously twitching away under scrutinizing eyes that didn't include your own honeyed gaze.

the sound of ceramic clacking together broke the seal of quiet. "so, you're a waiter." the suck of teeth, a small chuckle.

and armin stiffened. his back was ramrod straight, afraid that if he wrinkled the plastic any further he'd simply be disintegrated on the spot, those laser-like stares hard on his generally soft person. "while i finish school, yes." he replied, hashing out simple words and holding the bite.

before him, perched along a similarly wrapped loveseat, your parents sat with a considerable distance between them. your mother's leg was crossed delicately over her knee. she arched a finely plucked brow. "school? what are you studying?"

before armin could reply for himself, yet another chuckle sounded from against the bookshelf-lined wall opposite of him.

"i'm sure it's something very useful and productive, like philosophy," clad in a suit a size or two too big for him, your brother fiddled with some little cherub trinket that laid among the droves of untouched literature. armin watched his profile for a moment, eyeing the smirk that played over his features.

the blonde released a sound, something between a sigh and a chuckle. this was the longest bathroom break in the history of bathroom breaks. normally, he'd be fine socializing without you at his side, but this felt more like a bleach scented interrogation, tinged with distaste over everyone's tongues.

"library science, actually. i've always loved books, ever since i was young." he could have asked your brother about the decaying law firm he had opened up and subsequently abandoned after a few messy dui charges landed him in a fit of hot water, but he didn't. armin knew just how messy this eerily prim herd of a family was, under carefully folded wraps. he was dating the black sheep, after all.

and your brother returned the cherub to a shelf it didn't originate from, turning his back to armin without a reply. his mother, your mother, took the helm of conversation once more. "a librarian? how interesting. do you enjoy working with the less fortunate?"

"mom," a savior in glowing light, a beacon, an angel -- you descended upon them with feverish taps of your shoes against the polished wood, looking unamused under your meticulous makeup. armin's face perked up, his eyes training to you as soon as your body passed the threshold into this stuffy powder room he found himself trapped in.

"easy, darling, your mother's just curious." a baritone armin was not prepared for dripped into the space between you all. your father, wrapped up in a rather crisp looking sweater, uttered his first words of the evening, leaving your eyes rolling to the back of your head. it took only a few seconds for you to rejoin your clammy boyfriend, poised on the arm of his chair like some trophy wife. your parents watched with tight expressions as you combed a delicate hand through armins golden strands. "i must admit, i'm also curious, but not much about public libraries," your father cleared his throat, blinking through thin rimmed glasses at the object of your affections, "how old are you, armin? being a college student slash waiter and all."

you shot him your best even-eyed stare, one that went unheeded as armin coughed beside you. "he's a few years younger than me." you said, short and curt. as your parents glanced across that wide expanse between them, your brother chortled away.

"robbing the cradle are we?" he mused. "just as well," your mother chirped, smiling at her son behind her, "you can train them better that way!" despite the underlying playfulness in her tone, you still sat still, unamused. armin shuffled again in the hot seat of the evening and watched you throw your family a look of disgust. "he's twenty-two. i'm only twenty-nine." your body felt much too rigid perched on what should've been a throne, but ended up more like a bed of needles.

but your brother held his hands up, looking defensive as he moseyed over to the back of your parents loveseat. "i don't blame you! that clock is ticking--"

"clock? you can't be serious." you gaped.

"you can't argue with science. and once the factory shuts down, what's left?" he turned those hands into kitten paws, clawing at the air and feigning a pout. "cat lady."

"okay, we're leaving." armin stood, offering an eerily squeaky clean smile to the three gawping at him. you faced him in a look of awe. but he only offered you an arm, extending his other toward the rather ornate front door wrapped in silver accents. "are you ready, angel?" voice smooth, tone so even you could glide on it, you watched armin with eyes the size of moons.

the car ride to your home was quiet, deafeningly so. words tipped themselves over in your mouth, stumbling and messy and incoherent enough that you had to work to keep your lips shut, try your hardest to keep any nonsense from spilling out. armin held your thigh. his hand was warm, soft, as always, and so incredibly loud with unspoken affections. he fanned his thumb over your flesh in soothing semicircles, his other hand remained tight on the wheel and cerulean eyes stayed steady under passing lamp heads.

you dripped with embarrassment bordering on grief. one could only imagine what had been said when you weren't present, but the exchange you were privy to burned a nasty little hole in your brain, sour like cigarettes.

not a word was spoken until armin pulled into your empty driveway.

"i'm so sorry."

"are you alright?"

your mouths fell shut just as synchronized as when they'd opened. armin, so gentle the way he always had been with you, offered your leg a squeeze. he searched your eyes much like he did when you were first getting to know each other over steaming coffees and the smell of old book glue. "you don't need to be sorry. i just want to know if you're okay."

a breath you didn't know you were holding leaked from your nose as you drew your lips tight. they quivered anyway, despite your best efforts.

"oh, baby," if there were a collected sort of panic, armin embodied it in that moment -- he deftly unbuckled your seatbelt and made his way around the car to retrieve you from the seat you began to puddle in. hot, prickly tears gathered across your waterline as he, in turn, gathered you in his arms.

armin smelled nice. he smelled like clean clothes and something warm, like vanilla. he smelled familiar and kind and so, so comforting.

you allowed him to hold you in the relative darkness of your driveway, let him pet fingers across the back of your neck, careful not to mess your hair.

"i'm sorry. i knew they'd be awful, and i took you there anyway," you hiccuped into his shoulder, cringing away from the little wet patch that quickly formed under you. "i just... i love you, so much. i'm so proud of you. i just wanted them to be proud of me, of us."

"sweetheart," armin smoothed into your ear, tucking you even further into his torso, "i love you, too. more than anything. that's why i couldn't just sit there and let them talk to you like that. i'm sorry if i upset you," he began to sway, taking you with him in a little lazy, unpracticed waltz.

your hands gripped at the back of his dress shirt, the one he wore just for the night at hand. "you didn't upset me. i'm sorry my family is so..."

"esteemed?"

"i was gonna say snobby, but, sure." you giggled weakly. "let's go with that."

and armin, in all his golden glory, pulled away just enough to swipe the fat globs of salty tears that trickled down your warmed cheeks. he offered a grin and kissed your forehead. "c'mon, let's get inside. i think we both earned a little desert."

obediently, you trailed behind him as he let himself into your home with the extra key you gave him. "y'know, for being such a sweet young thing, you sure sound like an old man sometimes."

the blonde scoffed. "some would say i'm wise beyond my years." but in your doorway, he caught you with a hand on your lower back, dipping you down in a backward curve to pepper kisses over your face. "i don't think such a refined young woman like yourself would go for just any naive college boy."

"alright, alright," came out amid a fit of giggles, "get me some ice cream before i crumble to dust in your arms."

"yes, ma'am. anything for you."

armin felt most like a man when he could take care of you. maybe he couldn't financially -- not yet, anyway, and not like you needed it -- but he marveled at the way you'd melt into his hold, relax into his soft words, make a home in his presence. that's all he wanted for you, for you both. he wanted to be the man you wanted. and as you gazed at him over matching bowls of ice cream, glowing under the dimmed kitchen lighting, he never felt more at ease.

#attack on titan #aot #aot x reader #armin arlert #armin x reader

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arminsumi · 1 year

Note

Those prompts are wholesome! Could you do Armin with prompt 1?

Ngl I made that prompt with Armin in mind hehe (￣ω￣)

Textbook

Prompt 1 / A. Arlert

"They're distracted by you while studying"

You and Armin study in at the local library, but his attention keeps slipping off the textbook.

Cws; fluff, pre-est friendship, Armin crushing on reader

Notes; crush!gn!Y/n, college au

Rec ♫ : Textbook

When the golden afternoon light streams in through the windows like this, you can see the dust particles drifting across the library like little fairies. It's a cramped yet cozy library, and right now you happen to be studying at the table where you first met Armin two years ago.

That's the thought that always seems to snatch Armin's attention from his textbook. It's been two years, and yet he has said nothing about his (very obvious) crush on you.

When he takes a small glance at you through his blond bangs, he wonders if you notice.

But you're leaning over your textbooks with an expression of deep focus set into your face.

Just that little glance fills his chest with pangs of affection.

But he takes a small inhale to steady his heart, and tries his best to force his attention back onto his notes.

There's a cozy textbook smell all around you; it mixes with the passing hints of the nearby bakery. It fills you with motivation, and so you can keep studying.

But Armin? Well, his attention crumbles like sandcastles in the sea, over and over again.

Armin's eyes blink away from his notes to you, and then blink back at his notes.

"Armin?" You call his name gently, but he still jumps a little.

"Hm?" He raises his brows, worried that you caught him staring.

"Are you alright?" You ask.

"Y-yeah!" He swallows sharply, and fluffs his hair nervously, "Yeah, I'm good."

"I'm just asking because... well, you made a mistake there..." You point at his notes, and...

And oh my God did he really just make such a silly mistake?

"What? Oh! Oh my God..." He smiles lopsidedly, feeling his face starting to burn, "That's embarrassing..."

You smile at him, "Should we take a break? We've been at it for a while now..."

"Yeah! I — w — h — yeah, yeah let's take a break." He stutters out in agreement, "I can't focus anymore..." He chuckles. Ah, if only you knew.

Oh boy, it takes every shred of courage in his body to ask what he's about to ask you.

"Um, how about we... go out — uh — to the — bakery? They have really good bread..." He speaks, but his voice cracks and he nearly chokes on the word 'bakery' and... oh, he's a precious mess.

He could kick himself. 'They have really good bread?' Seriously?

You could see in his expressive eyes just what a great feat it was to ask you that, so you give him a sweet smile.

"Okay, let's go then." You agree, and rise from your seat.

"Mm!" Armin hums excitedly in response.

You really have to restrain from giggling at how quickly Armin packs his books away. He even drops one, and plucks it up and stuffs it in his backpack all within the time of a heartbeat.

Then he slaps a textbook shut, and it resounds down the aisle.

Oh that was loud. So loud that he grimaced in embarrassment. So loud that it warranted a glare from the librarian.

"That was loud." Armin whispered.

"That was loud, very loud." You nodded, breaking into a giggle while speaking.

Well, your giggle is infectious to him, and soon you two dash out the library before annoying the librarian any further.

While walking down the street to the bakery, you notice that Armin has a spring in his step.

Because he totally asked you out. Well... well not really, only sort of.

Ah, but sort-of is good enough for now, he thinks. If he could muster the courage once, he can do it again.

Writing this motivated me to study and then I did like 12 maths questions on a coffee high

#˗ˏˋ꒰ 💌 ꒱ prompts #🐬Ocean Prince #Prompt 1 #gn!Y/n #wholesome #fluff #aot #snk #armin #armin fluff #armin arlert #armin x reader #armin arlert x reader #college au

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ravenya003 · 1 month

Text

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Puppet Show, E01E09

My favourite season one episode!

If Angel was a turning point in the show's mythos, then The Puppet Show is a standalone example of what the show can be on a weekly basis: high concept premise, clever twists, genuine pathos and a great guest-star. It’s also the only episode in this season (barring the finale) that moves away from the “high school metaphor” format and just focuses on being a fun supernatural murder-mystery.

These days it would be classified as filler, since it’s a Monster of the Week story that’s entirely self-contained, though it does herald the arrival of Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder. And it’s about the time-honoured high school tradition of annual talent shows for students who have very little actual talent.

It starts off from the point-of-view of the monster, with a scary voiceover and a creeping “monster-cam” that crawls through the backstage dress rehearsals of the auditorium – and it’s a total cheat since we see Morgan, Sid and Marc from this so-called demon’s perspective. I mean, if it was just the first two, then it would be a clever indicator that they’re not in fact the demon that Buffy is looking for. But Marc is there too, so whose perspective is this scene coming from?

Ah well. Giles has been put in charge of overseeing the show by the new school principal (or as he puts it “our new furore”) and is slowly dying as he watches Cordelia’s terrible singing performance. I can’t fathom the thought process that would lead Snyder to deciding that “the school librarian should manage the talent show,” but he needs to be involved for plot purposes, so whatever.

Snyder arrives just in time to hear Buffy, Xander and Willow make fun of Giles for his new responsibilities, and promptly informs them they’ll be participating in the show as well.

Just to make sure we’re all paying attention, he also rattles off a boatload of continuity: reminding the trio that his predecessor was eaten, that the three of them left school yesterday (to fight the robot-demon in “I Robot, You Jane”) and that he’s sick of all the strange occurrences in the school, including: “suicide, missing persons, spontaneous cheerleader combustion...”

So I guess poor Dave is going to be remembered as the guy who hanged himself.

There’s a fun musical cue when Buffy sits down glumly right on the final note of the tuba-player’s performance, and Giles tries to hide his amusement.

The next act is a student called Morgan Shay with a ventriloquist dummy by the name of Sid. He’s pretty bad at first, until all of a sudden (which is made out to be part of the act) the dummy starts insulting him. Morgan’s lips aren’t moving, though the jokes still aren’t worth the amount of laughing that’s going on.

Meanwhile, Buffy says of dummies that: “they give me the wig.” Bless, they’re still trying to make “wiggins” happen. They’ve even shortened it.

Once rehearsals finish, we get the monster-cam vision again, as a ballet dancer packs up her stuff and then makes the fatal mistake of investigating a noise and calling out: “hello, is someone there?” instead of just booking it. Who cares if someone is there? Just leave.

The following day, our trio have decided on performing a dramatic scene from Oedipus as the least painful way of getting through the show, and once again Morgan – apparently – starts speaking as Sid in order to make some suggestive jokes. Thankfully, Buffy shuts down the horny dummy shtick (it was dated even in the nineties) only a few seconds before everyone hears a scream.

Emily the ballet dancer’s body has been found, minus her heart. Everyone is suitably sober, though because this is Sunnydale High, the mutilated corpse of a peer found on campus is not enough of a reason to send the rest of the student body home for the day.

Giles approaches the trio and tell them that Emily’s heart was removed, and that the murder weapon was a knife – which suggests a human culprit. Everyone is appalled at this, even though they’ve dealt with a human would-be killer in the past (the zookeeper from “The Pack”). Buffy doesn’t buy it, though given the location of Emily’s death, the obvious first step in any investigation is to question the rest of the talent show participants.

(As has been mentioned before, any police presence would obviously severely hinder the writers’ ability on a Doylist level to just let the show’s main characters solve this particular mystery, but their complete absence in this episode is pretty weird. They’re represented by a bit of police tape and a faceless extra and that’s it).

Everyone splits up to interrogate the rest of the talent show, and everyone from the juggler to the magician to the tuba player point the finger at a single suspect: Morgan. Apparently he’s been muttering to himself lately and acting like he’s in pain, and was the last to speak to Emily before she was found dead.

And hey, one of these characters in this montage is played by a Black actress, which takes the number of Black people living in Sunnydale up to a grand total of three (the other being Blayne’s friend in “Teacher’s Pet” and the girl whose mouth disappeared in “Witch”).

Seeking out their prime suspect, Buffy finds Morgan in the auditorium, seemingly in an argument with his dummy. He covers by telling her that he’s practicing throwing his voice, and there’s a nicely staged little scene between the three of them in which Morgan has to negotiate a conversation with Buffy while also pretending to be speaking for the sentient puppet that won’t stop interjecting!

Rich Werner actually does really good work in this role, having to act constantly distracted and twitchy in a way that points just as much to ill health as it does to demon-related shenanigans. As with Dave, I feel desperately sorry for Morgan in regards to what happens to him.

Buffy decides to break into Morgan’s locker to search for more clues, but is caught by Principal Snyder, who makes some thinly veiled threats. I’d totally forgotten that the script treats him as a candidate for the killer!

I support a girl’s right to wear whatever she wants, but wow, that’s a tiny dress.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Morgan and Sid are watching them from behind a half-closed door, and they’ve seen Buffy’s super strength in busting open the lock.

Throughout the episode so far, there’s been some cute double-meaning talk between them, from: “right now you and me gotta be on the lookout. Figure out who's gonna be next,” to “you saw what she did, how strong she is. She's the last! Just this one more, and I'll be free.”

It’s dialogue that matches either one of the theories that Giles and Willow have come up with: that the killer is a type of demon who must steal brains and hearts every few years to keep up their human visage, OR that a dummy like Sid “already possessed of consciousness” could act upon their desire to become human by harvesting organs.

And yet, not all the pieces fit. As Giles points out, Morgan is getting weaker, not stronger. And if Sid is the demon, why does he need to be in league with Morgan? Morgan certainly acts nervous and edgy, suggesting he’s afraid of his puppet, but what exactly is his purpose in this partnership?

The truth of what’s really going on makes all this clear, but for now at least, I love it when stories introduce theories that get discarded when the evidence doesn’t fit, when the audience is exposed to disparate clues that don’t add up; all leading to the characters finally reaching a solution that accounts for everything they've witnessed. For some reason, logical wrongness in fiction is fascinating to me.

In a bit of padding that also serves as a reminder that Joyce still exists, there’s a cute little scene between her and Buffy in which Buffy talks her out of attending the talent show. Later that night, she’s convinced something managed to break into her bedroom – and the open window supports that claim.

The next day I’m thrilled to meet yet another member of the Sunnydale High faculty: a history teacher called Mrs Jackson. She seems passionate about her chosen field and is nice to her students, so I hope she made it out of her teaching tenure alive and well.

In this scene Sid does a Natalie French-level neck-swivel to stare at Buffy, and when Mrs Jackson can’t get Morgan’s attention, she takes Sid from his desk to stash in a cupboard for the duration of the class. Once the period ends, Morgan attempts to retrieve him, and gets incredibly flustered when it's revealed that he’s disappeared.

This time the culprit is Xander, who must have performed a fairly impressive slight-of-hand to remove Sid from the cupboard without Mrs Jackson seeing him. He’s brought Sid to the library to ascertain once and for all that he’s absolutely a puppet, and though Buffy isn’t impressed with his fooling around, takes the opportunity to find and talk to Morgan without his appendage.

Unfortunately, all she finds is Morgan’s body backstage in the auditorium – his head sliced upon and his brain removed. (And a brief confrontation directly prior to this once again asks us to believe Snyder might be responsible).

Before she can do anything, there’s a snapping sound and the chandelier falls on top of her. Okay, why the hell is there a chandelier hanging from the ceiling behind the curtains of a high school auditorium? While she’s pinned to the floor, Sid rushes up and tries to stab Buffy with a knife – she manages to fend him off, lift the chandelier, and then pin the psychotic dummy to the wall with her arm.

Sid: You win. Now you can take your heart and your brain and move on.

Buffy: I'm sure they would have made great trophies for your case.

Sid: That woulda been justice.

Buffy: Yeah, except for one thing: you lost, and now you'll never be human.

Sid: Yeah, well, neither will you.

[beat]

Buffy and Sid: What?

It’s a great Bait and Switch, and it cuts through all the red herrings and misdirection that the episode has thrown at us. Sid is not a demon, but a demon hunter under a curse. Morgan wasn’t in the puppet’s thrall, but just a nervy teenager trying to assist Sid in his mission to kill the last of the demon brotherhood. Sid referring to “freeing himself” referred to his chance to lift the curse that turned him into a dummy. The reason they targeted Buffy was because from their point-of-view her super strength made her the prime candidate for the demon. It answers every question but one: if neither Sid nor Buffy is the demon, then who is?

Sid is sure it’s someone from the talent show (which is about to start) and so instructs Giles to form a “power circle” with all the participants in attendance. Since the demon has obtained his heart and brain, then whoever’s not there has to be the demon.

Problem: everyone is there. More red herrings: Sid disappears and Giles spots Snyder lurking around backstage. But he’s got no time to confront him – the show must go on!

And in her search for Sid, Buffy finds a brain. It’s obviously Morgan’s, who was a very smart guy, so why did the demon reject it? Willow checks his school records and discovers he was suffering from brain cancer – which explains all the headaches he was having and why the demon is still on the loose. It still needs a healthy, intelligent brain.

That’s easy, decide Buffy and Xander. All they have to do is protect Willow, the next smartest person they know. Unfortunately, this doesn’t take Giles into account, who is currently demonstrating that he’s not actually that smart by assisting Marc in his magic act by willingly allowing himself to get strapped down onto a guillotine.

Yes, the demon was Marc the whole time! Wait, who? Well, he was one of the contestants that the gang interviewed after Emily’s death, and he’s popped up a couple of times after that in a comedic capacity given that he’s absolutely no good at stage magic. I’d say his haplessness was meant to be a clue as to his true identity, but the episode has been at pains to demonstrate that none of these students have any talent.

Having realized that Giles is in imminent danger, the trio arrive just in the nick of time. As in, Xander catches the rope attached to the guillotine as it is falling, while Buffy fights the demon and Willow tries to loosen Giles’s bonds.

Um, where on earth are the rest of the talent show contestants while all this is going on?

Buffy manages to behead the demon with his own guillotine, but Sid reappears to tell her that he has to take out the heart for it to die properly. Then, his curse will finally be lifted. He does the deed, and the dummy slumps over. As he told her earlier, his body has long-since turned to dust. For him, “freedom” from the curse is the freedom of death.

I actually like how quiet and almost anti-climatic his final moments are: no drawn out speeches or flashing lights, not even a glimpse of his human self in spirit form before he ascends to the afterlife – just a methodical doing of what needs to be done. And the rest is silence.

Until the curtains open on Buffy holding a mannikin in the Pietà Pose, Willow brandishing an axe, and a headless demon. Snyder is not impressed. It’s such a great ending, that I’ll withdraw the question of where the heck the rest of the talent show participants disappeared to.

And hey – look! It’s a post-credit scene! This is the only episode in the show’s entire seven-year run that contains such a thing, and it’s the trio attempting to pull off their dramatic reading of Oedipus while Snyder and Giles (and the entire audience) watch to varying degrees of bewilderment and/or exasperation.

Xander forgets his lines, Buffy is utterly fed up, and Willow rushes off when stage fright strikes. It’s cute.

I love this episode because I generally love puzzle-box plots – when they’re handled properly and all the disparate pieces come together into a coherent whole. “The Puppet Show” pulls it off: the misdirection, the double-meaning loaded dialogue, the careful seeding of plot-points such as Morgan’s intelligence (“you’re one of the brightest kids I’ve seen in a long time”) and his waning health (all the headaches), the fun twist that’s predicated on our aversion to ventriloquist dummies. There's also a twinge of fairy tale ambiance about it, which is always going to get you extra points in my book.

I’ve no idea what exactly inspired writers Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, but other famous dummies of the era include Slappy from R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books, and Scarface from Batman: The Animated Series. Both had their first appearances in 1993, predating Sid by four years – though obviously there have been hundreds of other examples of the classic ventriloquist dummies in pop culture before and since “The Puppet Show” first aired in 1997.

And Sid is a great character, so much so that if they ever make a Buffy the Vampire Slayer prequel (I envision a miniseries that focuses on one of Buffy’s distant predecessors) it would be very cool to see his backstory play out in full. The script wisely but tantalizingly only gives us a rough sketch of who he was as a human: a demon hunter who was cursed into the body of a dummy, and who has been hunting down the seven members of the demonic brotherhood ever since.

We don’t get much more detail than that, only that he was friends (perhaps more?) with a Korean Slayer back in the thirties. So he’s been around for a while, and for all we know, that was a love story of epic proportions. Talk about Hero of Another Story potential!

Has his backstory ever been explored in more detail in any supplementary material? Because I have the vague inkling he turned up in one of the video games. [Quick Google search: something called Chaos Bleeds, where his soul is put back into a dummy by the First (!!!) before he’s finally freed at the end of the game. Huh.]

They build a strong rapport between Buffy and Sid in a surprisingly short amount of time, so much so that I felt a feeling when he slips away.

While we’re here, let’s also pour one out for Morgan. I feel desperately sorry for this character for so many reasons. At first, we’re led to believe that he’s either a demon, or a guy in cahoots with an evil dummy that has some sort of hold over him, forcing him into being an accessory to murder. Turns out he’s a perfectly decent guy struggling with brain cancer and trying to do the right thing by helping Sid hunt down the final demon.

How’d he meet Sid in the first place? Was he involved in Sid’s successful killing of any of the other demons? Why was he so certain the last demon was in the talent show? Where were his parents during all of this? And what kind of psychological impact would all this have had on the poor guy? Imagine trying to hunt down a demon while fighting brain cancer and knowing that your bright future is in jeopardy on two fronts.

And then he’s horribly murdered, and no one even cares! Sid doesn’t mention him at all after he’s killed, and (despite setting up a preexisting friendship, or at least amiable acquaintance with Willow) the rest of the Scoobies only discuss him in regards to the ongoing mystery. Heck, they demonstrated more grief for Emily, who had barely any screentime.

We don’t even see his death – he’s last seen freaking out about Sid’s disappearance in Mrs Jackson’s classroom, and then he’s brutally murdered by Marc off-screen. Come to think of it, he was probably backstage because he was looking for Sid. It’s all very, very sad.

But I still love this episode. A great guest star, a twisty-turny plot, a fun subversion of the Demonic Dummy trope, and a solid introduction to a recurring antagonist. I’m still chuffed that Snyder was heavily hinted as being the demonic killer for a fair portion of this episode.

And like I said, it’s nice to move away from the “high school is hell” metaphor and just have a quirky murder-mystery for a change.

Miscellaneous Observations:

Early on, Giles is given the line: “A demon is a creature of evil, pure and very simple.” Um, really? Cos we’re eventually gonna meet a WHOLE lotta demons who don’t fit that profile.

Cordelia is on comic relief duty for this episode, and new viewers would be forgiven for wondering what the point of her is at this stage. But her time will come. Also, no Angel for the second episode in a row.

There is a particular emphasis here on Buffy, Willow and Xander operating as a trio, which I always appreciate, from Giles saying: “oh, you three” when they turn up to mock him, to Snyder pinpointing them as “those three.” That relationship really is the crux of the show at this point: those three against the world, who are identified as such by friend and foe alike.

Armin Shimerman is given a special notation in the title sequence, in which he’s identified as a “special guest”. Does he keep this honour for the duration of the show? I can't recall.

Xander jumps at the sight of a mime, which mildly foreshadows his fear of clowns in the next episode (which has otherwise never come up before).

Willow apparently plays the piano, something that has never been mentioned before, nor will be ever again.

In hindsight, it’s actually pretty funny at just how little Sid gives a shit when it comes to talking of his own volition in front of other people. He did it constantly. I suppose he knew Morgan was just going to take the blame, and what was anyone going to do anyway? Believe he’s real?

What do you think the Scoobies did with Sid’s “corpse”? Bury it? Mount it on the wall? Give it to a travelling circus? Kept it in Giles’s basement as a souvenir?

This is the episode that taught me what a “power circle” was – when you get everyone involved in a show to gather in a circle pre-curtain and rev them all up. I’ve since used it in real life.

A recurring feature of this episode was that Buffy’s instincts were consistently correct, despite everyone else’s skepticism. She doesn’t believe that a human being was responsible for Emily’s death, and she’s right. She thinks that Sid is a sentient being, and she’s right.

Later, she believes that neither Morgan nor Sid are the culprits behind the murders – and she’s still right. Usually a story would have the protagonist assert a belief in order to demonstrate how fallible she is by proving her wrong... but in this case, the Scoobies would have done well to trust her instincts from the get-go.

When Buffy, Xander and Willow burst out of the library and go rushing down the hall to save Giles, there’s a brief glimpse of someone in the hall behind them. A janitor? An extra? A crewman that wandered into frame? Until I got the screenshot I assumed it was Snyder and that a scene had been cut which featured him slowing them down somehow, but apparently... it's just some guy in the hall.

As stated, there’s not much evidence that Marc the magician is the demon beyond the fact he’s really bad at magic, which might just be the weak note of the episode. There’s no satisfaction to be found in the reveal – it’s just a random guy who made a couple of appearances throughout the episode. It could have just as easily been the juggler or the mime.

I enjoyed Giles psyching out Cordelia by staring at her hair, mostly because the idea was suggested to him by Xander, implying that a friendship is building up between them. Speaking of, Xander gets his first real Big Damn Heroes moment by catching the guillotine rope and saving Giles’s life.

In his confrontation with Buffy, Snyder tells her: “there’s something going on with you. I’ll figure it out sooner or later.” It’s a shame this never really goes anywhere, despite some later-episode hints that Snyder know more about the supernatural side of Sunnydale than he lets on... but we’ll get there.

Buffy gets the line: "OK, everyone look at me like I’m in a bunny suit 'cos I feel so stupid saying this." It’s funny because three seasons later, Anya will turn up in a bunny suit for Halloween.

Best Shot: Loved this one:

Best Line: After Snyder overhears the trio telling Giles they’ll be there to “watch” and “mock” and “laugh” over his efforts in the talent show, he tells them: “I know the three of you will come up with a wonderful act for the school to watch. And mock. And laugh... [awkward pause] At.”

It’s quintessential Snyder: summoning a certain degree of menace and then instantly blowing it. He’s so threatening and yet so pathetic.

Most Random Scene: When Buffy interviews Lisa, the tuba player, about Emily, the ballet dancer, they have this exchange:

Lisa: I didn't know her too well. There's that whole dancer/band rivalry, y'know? Buffy: I've heard about that.

HAHAHA. I want to know more about this dancer/band rivalry! They say it so matter-of-factly!

Best Reaction Shot: The Scoobies see Sid talk of his own volition for the first time:

Death Toll: Lisa, killed by the demon. Morgan, killed by the demon. Sid, sacrifices himself to kill the demon. The demon, killed by Buffy and Sid.

Grand Total: Fifteen civilians, fifteen villains, one ally (Sid).

#buffy the vampire slayer #rav's watching log #buffy rewatch

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