#mikasa is their common sense

[hosharambles]

My reaction to Attack on Titan Season 1 Episodes 8&9 is premiering on YouTube as we speak!

Come help me resolve the burning question: is Eren a Titan with an identity crisis, or a human suffering from the same issue?

Or maybe he's just magic, as I've been saying since the very beginning 😁

Although with a dad like that...

Hmmmmm 👀🧐

[seeingivy]

tolerate it

actor!eren x f!reader

**part of my method acting series

previous part linked here

song: (is obviously) tolerate it by taylor swift. minor you are in love by taylor swift mention.

--

--

You can’t help but stare at Jean and Mikasa the following morning. The honey sweet smiles, the fact that they share a cup of coffee instead of getting their own – just to end up drinking two cups anyways – and the warm kisses on each other's cheeks. 

They’re in love. 

The slip of paper sits heavy in your pocket, a metallic taste in your mouth from the blood you drew from biting down on your cheek. The ring on her finger glimmers in the light. 

Colt’s at your side, a soft hand on your shoulder, as he nearly breaks you out of your trance. 

“Hey. You good?” he asks. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Why’d you ask?” you mumble.  

You drive your fork straight into the french toast as a distraction, but too hard that it squeaks against the ceramic of the plate and makes them all flinch in response. Jean and Mikasa turn their heads to you, and you shoot them all an apologetic smile before everyone turns back to their own conversations. And Jean distractedly tucks a stray hair behind Mikasa’s ear, before lacing his fingers with hers. 

“Y/N. You’re sure? You’re kind of….” 

“Kind of what?” 

Colt sighs, the corners of his mouth twitching before he speaks. 

“You just kind of had that blank stare in your eyes. Just wanted to know if you wanted to talk about anything.” 

You pause, putting your hand on his shoulder this time. The guilt sits heavy in your stomach – the never ending worry you’ve seemed to sow in both of your brothers was almost embarrassing. 

“It’s not that, Colt. I didn’t mean to freak you out. I just…it’s just about Jean and Mikasa. But…but if I needed you, I would tell you. And-and I know that sometimes I kind of scared you but I-” 

Colt breaks a smile, bringing his hands up to squish your cheeks hard, before he starts aggressively rattling your head.

That’s the thing about him. He’d never let you feel bad about it. About him taking care of you – because according to him, it was always his job. You hate that you rely on it so much. 

“Only thing scary about you is your bedhead. Or your attitude. Or that god awful-” Colt states. 

“Okay, Jesus. You’re laying it on a little thick there.” you respond, trailing your voice. 

“I’m glad you’re okay. And that your…your…Eren stuff is mostly resolved?” 

You smile. Colt and Levi have one thing in common – that they’ll always be a little bit disapproving of your relationship with Eren (whatever that is) just on principle. 

“Kind of.” 

Colt squints. 

“Well, he actually showed me the documentary after you came back from Seattle. He kind of…told me all that stuff when I asked a while back and it didn’t necessarily make sense. But watching the video, I…kind of feel bad for the guy.” Colt murmurs. 

“Me too.” you respond. 

The two of you look over at him, at the quiet conversation that he and Armin are having, soft smiles on both of their faces. And then watch those turn into devious grins as Armin digs his fingers into his glass for an ice cube – and then consequently watch Eren slip the ice down Reiner’s shirt. 

“You still like him? He just shoved an ice cube down someone's shirt and thought it was funny.” Colt asks. 

You frown.

“It is funny. And I’m kind of…putting that on the back burner.” 

“Why?” 

“I feel like I need everything else to be finished, the book needs to be shut before we….do anything again. I want to say my piece – have the documentary out, do my stupid triple threat performance – before I can even consider anything with him. If…” 

Your throat is heavy. 

“If I want anything with him again, I’ll have to do it right. I-I have to move carefully with everything from here because…a lot is riding on this. And if I’m not a hundred percent sure yet, I don’t want to push. He deserves better than that.” 

Colt smiles, a rare kiss pressed to the top of your head before he stands up. You shoot him a grateful smile before turning back to Jean and Mikasa, watching her balance both of their plates before she leaves to put them in the sink. 

“Jean?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Are you filming today?” you ask. 

“Nope. What’s up?” 

You pull the piece of paper out and hold it out to him. He reads it over, quickly recognizing it’s his, before he closes it in his fist. The look he gives you is soft, a quiet glance to Mikasa before he looks back at you. 

“I’m all yours for today, princess.” he responds. 

--

When everyone leaves for set, you and Jean find yourselves lying flat on the carpet in your room, quietly staring at the popcorn ceiling. His hands are up, holding the little slip of paper above both of your faces, an empty page open at your side, and you’re both uncharacteristically quiet. 

It’s almost strange. Trying to broach something so…sensitive with Jean. 

Because it’s not that you aren’t friends, but you were never friends like this. It’s like you two knew where loyalties lied. That Jean was Eren’s best friend, that you were Mikasa’s – and if it came to it, you would side with your person. That you had expectations for each other, that you held each other to a higher standard because of it. 

To be careful with the person you trusted them with. That Jean could never hurt Mikasa. That you couldn’t do the same to Eren. 

You didn’t hold up to your end of the deal. 

“Mikasa’s going to ask you to be her maid of honor again soon.” Jean murmurs, voice so quiet you barely hear it. 

You give him a quiet nod. 

“We’ve got a whole scheme going. Trying to make Amy quit on her own accord so it isn't family drama. It’s fun to kind of mess with her. And the second she’s gone, Mikasa’s going to ask you to do it again.” 

You can’t muster a response. You can’t even think about being Mikasa’s maid of honor. 

Because why are Jean and Mikasa getting married if Mikasa doesn’t love him half as much as he loves her? If he thinks that she doesn’t?

“I do hope for my future wife’s sake that your silence means you’re going to say yes. Would hate to see you ruin our wedding.” Jean states, a joking tone in his voice. 

You crack. 

“I’ll say yes. I’m not crazy.” you state .

Jean smiles. 

“You could have fooled me.” 

You elbow him hard in the side, as you watch the fan spin around. 

“You’re a dick.” you state. 

“You’re going to have to get me a gift you know? I’d watch your mouth if I were you.” 

“Why would I buy you a gift at my best friend's wedding?” you ask. 

“Mika’s idea. We’re sharing our lives together. Including, sharing friends. So instead of you guys getting us gifts, Eren’s going to get something for Mikasa and you’re going to get something for me.”  Jean states. 

“We’ve always been friends. You guys were always there for me.” you state. 

“I know that. But, my friendship with you was exclusive to the fact that you were my my girlfriend's best friend. We aren’t really close and I think we both know that. And Eren and Mikasa are close now, have been for some time, and…and you and I can be too. We’ve got something that brings us together.”  

You sit up, leaning against the back of the bed, as you dig your feet into the carpet. It makes sense. Jean was always there at your side, and you always felt close with him, but it was almost like you knew that you could never go further than that. 

He was Eren’s friend. So in that type of way, he couldn’t be yours. 

“What’s that?” 

“Eren. No one we love more than him, right?” 

You smile. 

“You love Eren more than your future wife?” 

He rolls his eyes.

“Shut the fuck up. You know what I meant. And we love Mikasa that way too.” 

“Not sure I did…I fear I’ll have to tell her, just on a best friend principle type of thing.” 

Jean shoves you, elbow straight to the side that makes you laugh. 

“Weirdly enough, Eren and Mikasa started getting along when they talked about me. And they always talk about how nice it is, to talk about me with each other because they get it or whatever.” 

You scrunch your nose. 

“They’re so weird.” 

“Tell me about it. The first time they hung out without me I was almost offended. Like what the fuck did you even talk about? And they were like you, Jean. Like I was supposed to be flattered or something.” 

You laugh. 

“Oh, god.” 

“Thought it was dumb. Then…then Mikasa and I started having our problems. And them being friends…it did a lot for us. Eren talked to her when she didn’t have anyone to talk to about that type of thing, someone who understood what I was like…what it was like to be close with me…sometimes I think it saved our relationship.”  

You pause, taking the little slip from his fingers, before you read it again. 

you love someone with your entire being and all they do is tolerate it 

“Jean. What happened?” you whisper. 

Jean smiles, as you lean your head on his shoulder and loop your hand through his arm. He welcomes the touch, slouching back as you both swing your legs out in front of you. 

“You only fall in love with three people in your lifetime. I just happened to do it all with the same person.” Jean murmurs. 

You’ve heard this before. A dumb thing you’ve heard parroted around - the puppy love, the one that hurts you, and the one that’s just right. 

“The first one is the one that looks right. It’s…it’s idealistic. You’re fifteen – you’re on the set, confined into this little bubble, and you think that you’re the first person to figure love out and other people are stupid for not getting it right.. That no one has ever felt the way you have, that you’re the first people to ever love and you’ll be the last ones too. That’s how Mikasa and I were at the beginning. We liked how we made each other feel more than we really liked each other.” Jean states. 

“Isn’t that what love…kind of is? Someone who brings out the best in you? Pushes you to do things that make you nervous, support you behind your back?” 

Like sending a demo of your first song to the Institute so that you could perform it. Like climbing onto the stage and playing the piano when your original pianist couldn’t. Like writing to the Institute behind your back just to make sure your dream would come true – being so firmly resolute in the fact that you were brilliant that he’d write hopeless letters just to convince them. 

Eren. 

“I liked Mikasa, from the start. I wanted her so badly that…that when we started dating, I was more happy by the fact that I was dating her. That I got to say that. Not that we were…actually together. And Mikasa, she liked the fact that I would fawn over her. That I basically worshiped the ground she walked on. And I’m not…putting words in her mouth. She’d tell you the same thing.” 

“Okay. Keep going.” you nudge. 

“The second love is the hard one. That teaches you a lesson about what love really is. And it all boiled down to a simple fact. That Mikasa and I loved each other in different ways.” 

“You don’t love her more than she loves you, Jean. She-she adores you.” you murmur. 

Jean smiles, glassy tears wavering in your eyes. 

“Don’t cry. We are still getting married, you know? And we’re pretty over the fucking moon about it.” 

“Then why would you give me that?” 

“It was Mikasa’s idea. She wanted you to write that song with me. This is what we did with Eren when we were writing songs with him. Gave him things to think about. Maybe thinking about other people will give you more insight on yourself. Help you piece things together, because you rarely have experiences that are unique to you. And it's a nice bonus to have friends who basically write the soundtrack to your life.” 

You sniffle, glaring at him through your watery eyes. 

“Of course you made this about Eren.” 

“Do you blame me? He wrote a really good song about us. Figured you could do the same.” he asks. 

You sigh, barely pushing the air through that heavy block in your chest. 

“What did he call it?” 

“You Are In Love.” he states. 

You hum in response as Jean gives you a smile, before leaning his head against yours.  

“Mikasa and I loved each other in different ways. She could be trying her absolute hardest, doing everything she could, and it would never work for me.” Jean states. 

“What do you mean?” 

“The problems from before bled in. We were too comfortable in what we had, that we wouldn’t leave each other, that it became too easy. That she could pull away and I’d still be there. And part of the problem is me – that Mikasa did no wrong in my mind. I was…enamored by her. Almost like I was lucky to even be dating her, that..that she’d leave if I did something wrong.” 

You frown. 

“I’d walk into the room and we wouldn’t have seen each other in weeks. She couldn’t even be bothered to look at me. I…I never got to see her because of work so I’d fly out to her. Just for her to be dead asleep. And it would make me happy, that I sacrificed my entire sleep schedule just to watch her breathe with her eyes closed. That it was enough for me.” 

You can’t help but think of Eren’s birthday – that you were tired from touring and that you had slept through the entire thing. That he wouldn’t even wake you up, that he’d never break what you wanted for what he needed. 

“Jean.” 

“I’d go all out for her birthday. Throw her a surprise party, have Vanity Fair film the entire process. And the small things she’d give me – calling me a pet name once in a while, giving me a kiss on the cheek. It’s almost like I was working based on a reward system. That if I was good, if I worked hard enough, she would love me.” 

You can feel the tears falling down your eyes, choking back that sound in the back of your throat from coming out. 

“I’d buy all this…fancy shit for her. Nice dinner sets, the most…expensive couches and stuff. And sometimes when I did, it…it was almost like she’d find it annoying. I would be doing interviewers gushing about her, just for her to come home and say that it was too much. It’s like I was a nuisance. Like all I did was create problems with her.” 

Jean pulls out his wallet, before handing you a picture. It’s a polaroid of the two of them smiling. 

“That was the day we got engaged. The second time.” 

“What?” 

“I broke up with her.” 

You pinch your lips into a flat line.

“I was sitting there. Watching her, like I always did. And she still wouldn’t even fucking look at me. And I was thinking so hard…why was she my whole world? My literal fucking sky? She doesn’t even give a fuck about me. So I left.” 

“For how long?” 

“We didn’t get back together until four months after. But…but it wasn’t a break. Didn’t even last a day actually without seeing each other.” Jean states. 

You smile. 

“Didn’t last very long there, Jean.” 

He rolls his eyes. 

“She came back to me, dipshit.” 

Jean takes the picture back, a fond smile on his face. 

“The third love is the one that you never see coming. It keeps knocking on your door until you're ready to answer. And if you’re Mikasa, you wait three whole months for me to come around. Ready to prove it that you’ll work to do it right. And never let me forget it either.” Jean murmurs. 

“Really?” 

“That’s right. The time apart gave us time to think. I needed that – but she didn’t. She was at my door almost everyday. Sometimes she would sit out there and just talk – and I’d listen. She was being earnest – that she wanted to love me, that she knows she did wrong. And when I let her in, the conversation we had, it was like I was seeing Mikasa, the person, for the first time. That was the person I loved. I wasn’t looking at her as some like…dream girl and I didn’t think she was some goddess doing me a favor either. She was just Mikasa. I proposed right there and it was better than the first time. Not in the idealistic, fifteen year old way. Not in the nineteen year old, all consuming way.  Loving her this time around was weightless. And I knew that it was right.” 

You smile. 

“It’s not as romantic. That we’ve loved each other since fifteen and we’ve never wavered. But…I’d argue that it’s better. Mikasa and I aren’t childhood sweethearts because we’re soulmates. We’re childhood sweethearts because we fought for each other. There’s no fate, there’s no luck, in fact the quite opposite – the love lies in the fact that we won’t let each other go.”  

He takes your hands, tears nearly collecting in his waterline. 

“Y/N. Mikasa loves me. I love her. There’s not a day that she doesn’t prove it to me now. There’s not a day that I can’t even spend without her because she’s the love of my life.” 

You smile, cupping his cheek with your hand. And you get it - that he’s right. That it’s not romantic, but it almost is. Jean and Mikasa fight hellish odds just to end up together. That fate could try its best and never get to them. 

That you and Eren being friends, that being together, is a testament to your love. That he fought his way back to you and you were intent on fighting your way back to him. 

“That’s nothing short of what you deserve.” you whisper. 

It’s enough to make him cry. 

“Thank you.” 

Jean smiles. It’s the first time that you notice that Jean’s attractive. That Jean’s someone that you really love. That he’s going to be Mikasa’s husband, that he’s going to be Eren’s best friend, that he’s going to be around forever. That he’s earnest, that he loves hard, that you’re going to stand at his side when he gets married. 

And that you’re going to give him his dream wedding if it’s the last thing you do. 

“Are you getting the drift of why Mika and I wanted you to write this song?” Jean asks. 

“I’m not a fucking idiot, Jean.” 

“Do you believe it?” 

You swallow hard. 

“If Eren and I can get back to that, when-when I’ve put everything else to rest, then yes. Yeah, we…we’d be the same. That we fought odds to be together.” 

“I’m glad your mind isn’t closed to it. That you’re open to the idea of you and him again. S’always something I’ve appreciated about you.” 

You smile. 

“We aren’t there yet, Jean.” 

“I know. But when it comes to it, I can tell you will be. He’s been my person since I was a kid, but you’re my friend too. I’ve got a personal stake in your relationship now.” 

You can’t help but beam at him. And in your newfound friendship, Jean divulges everything that Eren’s hiding from you. And you both agonize over the fact that Eren’s so painfully stupid – that he always hides his great gestures of love, moves in silence behind your backs to love you. 

--

You gather everyone around later that day, with Jean seated at the piano at your side. You shoot him a thumbs up as they all sit criss crossed around the piano, excited smiles on their faces. Falco and Gabi doing their secret handshake, Hange and Levi sharing a chair - it makes you smile. 

“Are we ready?” you ask. 

They all give you a nod, as Eren and Mikasa sit next to each other, whispering in each other’s ears. Jean did as you promised – warned Mikasa beforehand that it was this song – and she all but gave a golden stamp of approval, contingent on the fact that Eren sat with her while the two of you performed it together. And you give the two of them a nod before you take the little slip in your hands.

“The request is you love someone with your entire being and all they do is tolerate it. And it’s from Jean.” you state. 

The group of them all give affirmative hums, before you take a seat next to Jean at the piano. 

Eren’s stupid songwriting exercise – it was something that he had planned for you, on purpose. That it meant more for you than for any of them – that all of the requests are intended to be of this nature, something personal for you to work with. 

Eren asked them to help you in whatever way they thought you needed. 

For Jean, and Mikasa by extension, it was that they thought you needed living proof; that you could weather the storm and still be together. That you could come out stronger because of it. 

And it’s also why Jean got mad at Connie in retrospect – and Reiner too apparently – who gave more tame requests. But in their humble defenses, Jean said that they gave those so that you wouldn’t get emotional whiplash.

They thought you needed someone to give you the ease amidst the storm. 

You love all of them. Painfully so. 

Jean starts with the tiny piano composition he prepared, before you sing the song. 

I wait by the door like I'm just a kid Use my best colors for your portrait Lay the table with the fancy shit And watch you tolerate it

If it's all in my head, tell me now Tell me I've got it wrong somehow I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it 

I made you my temple, my mural, my sky Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life Drawing hearts in the byline Always taking up too much space or time You assume I'm fine, but what would you do if I Break free and leave us in ruins Took this dagger in me and removed it Gain the weight of you, then lose it

If it's all in my head, tell me now Tell me I've got it wrong somehow I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it

I sit and watch you

Mikasa and Eren are the first ones to crush you and Jean in a hug. And when you lock eyes with Mikasa, you can’t be more than happy to be attending their wedding – in whatever way they’ll have you. 

--

“On a scale of one to ten, how pissed will you be if Connie gets drunk before the reception?” Eren asks. 

He’s shuffling through the itinerary, per Jean’s request, and the mix of an open bar and a Connie tasked with literally nothing to do in the two hour waiting period is a mess waiting to happen. 

“You should give him something to do. Something stupid like getting flowers that he can’t mess up.” Eren adds, before stacking all the papers together. 

“Knowing Connie, those flowers wouldn’t even make it out of the parking lot.” 

Eren looks up to find Armin standing at his door, an awkward smile on his face, as he gives him a little wave. The camera that he gifted him – or left on his desk with a sticky note when he was filming without a word being spoken – is hanging around his neck as he pads into the room. 

“Fuck, my bad. I thought you were Jean.” 

“I figured as much. We both know that I’m smart enough to not overlook something like that.” 

Eren smiles. Armin takes a seat on the bed across from Eren, retreating his legs back into position as he fumbles with the camera in his hands. He can tell that Eren’s on edge – that Eren always feels around him that way – and all he can do is try to muster his best smile. 

“Remember the Met Gala where Jean and Mikasa got super drunk?” 

“God. Don’t remind me. I’m genuinely concerned that they’re both going to get alcohol poisoning at their bachelor and bachelorette parties.” 

“God. I wouldn’t even drink if I were you.” Armin states. 

“I’m like a thousand percent sure that Y/N and I will be on sober duty.” 

“Y/N?” 

“Yeah. Jean and Mikasa are so insufferable that they’re doing a combined bachelor and bachelorette. But it was my idea. They just get so clingy when they’re drunk that I just decided we should combine the party beforehand instead of trying to coordinate it when everyone’s already too drunk to function.” 

Armin smiles. 

“Taking your best man duties very seriously. It’s going to be great.” Armin affirms. 

“The anxiety helps. I’m already stuck thinking about like every worst case scenario, but now I can create contingency plans for anything bad that happens. Like if Mikasa somehow ends up in Mexico, I know that Southwest will get here the fastest on the day of the wedding.” Eren murmurs. 

There’s an awkward silence. Eren said too much. And his chronic case of foot in mouth syndrome, especially when it came to fucking Armin, has him reeling. Eren’s positive that he’ll spend six hours ruminating about it tonight. Eren can see Armin fidgeting with the camera, running his fingers on the notches at the top. 

“If the camera’s broken, Y/N was the one who bought it.” Eren states. 

Armin laughs, the smile lines appearing around his eyes, and Eren relishes in it. 

“It’s not broken.” Armin states. 

“Okay, then it was me. She didn’t do anything.” Eren states. 

“Noted. It’s a…it’s a nice camera. The old one, the film got stuck sometimes. Strap got kind of worn out after all of these years so it was..it is nice to have a new one. Thank you, Eren.” 

Eren smiles, scratching the nape of his neck, as he feels his throat bob. 

“Nothing to thank me for. It’s the least I could do.” 

It’s quiet. Eren doesn’t know what to talk about. Should he ask about Annie? Or how filming has been? Or maybe he should just shut up before he embarrasses himself for a second time?

“How’s Y/N?” Armin asks. 

Eren deflates. Thank god he bit the bullet first. 

“Good. We’re good.” 

“Are you guys…?” 

Eren smiles. 

“Everyone seems to be asking that.” 

“In the overbearing way?” 

“No, not really. You’d think that, but…it seems like a natural question for you guys to ask. She doesn’t seem to mind it either. But, I don’t know. We’re good. I’m glad she’s back. And…and Colt thinks she’s doing good too, so.” Eren states, leaning back against the headboard. 

Armin seems to follow suit, the two of them awkwardly eyeing almost everything else in the room but each other. The books on the shelf, the pictures on the wall – literally anything except for that giant elephant in the room that neither of them want to touch. 

“Are you going to try and date her again?” Armin asks. 

“Not unless she asks me first.” 

“Makes sense. Ball is kind of in her court with the documentary and all that.” 

Eren’s throat feels dry. 

“Oh. Did you watch it?” 

Eren had offered it to him the second it was done. Because some people were more easily swayed, more quick to turn to his side when he was finally ready to ask for help – Levi, Hange, and Jean. But other’s needed to be convinced, needed to see it as it was to actually understand it – Mikasa, Historia (before she was in it), and Colt. 

Eren knew that Armin would be in the latter. But when he had offered, Armin opted to break the disk in half instead. 

Eren figures it was what he deserved. 

“Yeah. Y/N. She gave it to me when she got back. Told me that she would never talk to me again if I didn’t watch it.” 

Eren laughs. 

“She would talk to you. She’s just being dramatic.” 

“Well, she spent an entire two years ignoring all of us. So I wouldn’t exactly put it past her.” Armin states. 

“That’s very true. But really, I feel like she was kind of using that to her advantage. She wouldn’t do it again.” 

“To your advantage. Though I suppose for you two, your wants have always been the same.” Armin adds. 

Eren eyes the picture on the wall – of Lana, Connie, Sukuna, him, and Teddy all swamped around Connie’s little cake – as he looks back at Armin. 

“I’m sorry for breaking the CD when you gave it to me. I should have watched it the second you offered.” Armin states. 

“That’s okay, Armin. I probably would have done the same thing in your position.” Eren states. 

“No, you wouldn’t have. You…you were always better than me, than all of us, in that sense. Always really quick to forgive. I know it’s…it’s because you expected little from people after what happened with Zeke, but…we should have given it to you. Should have done more.”  

Eren fights the urge to scoff. The premise of the statement is ridiculous to him. Those type of rules don't apply to him. And as perceptive as Armin is, he knows that’s exactly what Eren is thinking. 

“We’re serious. There’s…there’s a lot of people you didn't have to forgive. And…and some of us didn’t even ask and you did it anyway.” 

“I know your intentions. I broke your fucking camera, you had every right to do-” 

Armin’s almost exasperated. 

“You know how you were quick to forgive Y/N, for not talking to any of us when all of that stuff happened with her music and all that?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Why’d you do that?” Armin asks. 

“Well, she had a lot going on. I’m just thankful that she came back to us eventually. And…and it’s already hard to hold anything against her, she…she always does the right thing. But that specifically. I can’t hold it against her if other things are going on.” Eren states. 

Armin nods. 

“That’s what I mean. You’ve always thought about everything like that. Given grace where it deserved. I’ve never had a shred of that in me. You…you did what you did and I didn’t even think twice about what it had meant. I mean hell, even Y/N had a little bit of an inkling that something else had to have happened. I just fully believed it. And even when you tried to tell me, I still didn’t consider that you could have been going through something else. Not until she came to me and advocated on your behalf.” 

Eren smiles, putting a hand on Armin’s shoulder. He makes a mental note to thank you later. You prove time and time again that you’re far too good for him. 

“That’s not your fault for believing it. I’m just a really good actor.” Eren teases. 

Armin rolls his eyes, shoving him lightly to the side. 

“Oh, fuck off. I’m fighting the urge to strangle you right now. And how’d you even come up with that bullshit anyways.?” Armin asks, referring to what Eren had said to you back in Seattle. 

Eren grins.

“You have to promise you won’t tell Y/N.” 

“What? You haven’t told her?” 

“No, no. She knows everything but I refuse to tell her this part because she’s going to gouge my eyes out.” 

Armin tilts his head to the side, confused. 

“Do you remember when we were at the birthday dinner and Vinh kept asking her if she was dating Sukuna? Going on about how you can’t fake chemistry like that?” Eren asks. 

Armin’s perceptive. 

“Holy shit. You got the idea from her.” 

Eren nods. 

“That’s right. Her whole ‘I’m an actor, this is part of my job’ defense was like the first thing that came to mind when I knew I had to send her away. And that’s just what came out of me at that moment.” 

“Good move on your part. I wouldn’t tell her that either.” 

Eren rolls his eyes. 

“It’ll be short lived. I’m sure Sukuna will tell her the first chance he gets.” Eren adds. 

The two of them marinate in the silence, the weight of the conversation sitting with them. It seems pretty lackluster to an outsider – that if you were there you would have forced them to hug it out – but they were hardly the type to communicate with their words in the first place, the meaning was all the same.

They had made up. 

“You have to give credit to Y/N. Your girl is trying to ride as hard for you as you did for her.” 

Eren frowns. 

“What do you mean? Because she got you to watch it?” 

“Yeah. That. but also the award show thing? I’d be scared shitless if I was Scott Clarkson. Whenever she talks about it, it kind of freaks me the fuck out how much she doesn’t seem to care about what people think. Though in hindsight, that was always kind of her thing.” 

“What awards show thing?” Eren asks. 

Armin pales. 

“She didn’t tell you?” Armin asks. 

“No.” 

Armin shakes his head. 

“All in good time.” 

Armin pushes off the bed, giving him a quick look over the shoulder, before consequently flashing the light of the camera in his face. Eren sees the polaroid front and center – his eyes pinched shut in shock – on the wall the following morning. And the caption makes him smile. 

eren jaeger redemption arc. circa 2024. 

--

“Have something for you two.” Levi states, slamming a manila envelope right in between you and Eren – startling you both from what you were doing. 

Eren was playing a very aggressive game of Cup Pong with Lana on iMessage, claiming that the two of them have been playing for the past three years, nonstop. And you were busy finishing up Gabi’s request that you had pulled out of the little bowl this morning, so excited to play it for them tonight. 

write about the bestest of friendships!!!! like so good that you can’t even stay away from each other bc of how fun it is to be together. 

Recruiting Falco to sing one of the verses with you later – because you were almost positive that this request was about him – felt like cheating, but your humble gamemaster Eren approved it. 

“Jesus, Levi. What the fuck do you have against the postman? He make a comment about how short you are or something?” you ask, flipping over the little envelope in your hands. 

“Look at the sender.” Levi seethes. 

You look over at Eren, as the two of you catch sight of the little name of the corner, almost positive that your eye was twitching now. 

Scott Clarkson, Stone Studios, 15th Street, New York City 

It’s addressed to both you and Eren. 

“What the fuck?” you seethe. 

Eren takes the envelope from your hands, nimble fingers sliding open the little seal, and a magazine falls out. Eren takes it into his hands, nearly groaning, before picking up his phone and shooting a quick text. 

It’s a picture of Scott Clarkson – sitting on a literal throne with a crown on his head – with Lana and Eren leaning on the little handles at the side. 

Scott Clarkson: King of an Industry – How This Businessman Jump Started the Careers of the Institute’s Frontrunners 

You look at Eren at your side, quickly clocking that it’s Lana and Sukuna that he’s texting. 

“You’re kidding.” you state. 

“It was stupid. We refused to let him run it at the time. I’m guessing he got wind of what’s happening this weekend and wanted to get ahead of the curve.” 

It was simple. Eren’s documentary was going to come out on Friday. Hyla just happened to have a song featuring Ricky James releasing on Saturday. And almost too perfect, the sixth episode of Attack on Titan – your first of the season – was going to release on Sunday. 

And with Levi’s approval, you and Eren were going to attend the Institute Awards pre-show and the event itself next week to put an end to them for good. 

“How could he have known?” you ask. 

“He has eyes and ears everywhere. They’re preparing to distribute the film – I’m sure he must have seen it shuffled around in the paperwork somewhere.” Eren states, shrugging. 

You turn to Levi, staring into his steely gray eyes. You eye the magazine, now lying flat on the table, before looking back up at him – knowing for a fact he understands. That he has the same thought as you. 

“Do you think that we could do it in time?” you ask. 

Levi looks at the picture, corners of his mouth twitching, before he turns back to you. 

“I’m positive he knows a guy. We’ll make it work.” Levi states. 

You give Levi a smile, looking back at the magazine. It’s a comforting press to the shoulder, accompanied by Levi slamming the keys on the table at your side. 

“Take Eren with you. It might rain.” 

“You got it, Levi. Thank you.” 

Levi cups the bottom of your chin with his hands, a warm smile on his face, before he shakes his head and walks away. You turn to Eren, giving him a lopsided smile, before you jingle the keys in front of his face. 

“Wanna go for a drive?” 

“I’m pretty sure Levi just demanded that I go with you.” 

“I was trying to be cute and you just ruined it.” 

“Can it even be considered trying if it’s already something you’re so effortless at?” Eren jeers, snatching the keys from your hand as he pulls you up. 

“You don’t have to be so patronizing, Eren.” 

“Leave it to you to confuse my affections with ill will.” 

Eren swings the door open, and at the first burst of chilly air, aggressively wraps the extra scarf left on the hook around your neck before shutting the door. 

“Where are we going?” he asks. 

“The airport.” 

Eren features curl in confusion as he opens the door for you, tucking you into the seat before taking his at your side. 

“The airport? Who’s coming?” 

You bite your cheek. Becuase Eren does that thing – that thing that guys do when they reverse out of a parking spot. His arm is spread out on the back of your seat, his face close to yours as he looks out in concentration, and you take the chance to fully ogle him. Only you start searing with embarrassment when his eyes flicker over to you – giving you a wink in recognition. That he knows you were fully checking him out.  

“Some friends of mine. I..I kind of owe them a favor. And contingent on that, they refused to ride in the bus with everyone else.” 

Eren squints his eyes, the stoplight's red glow reflecting on his features. And when he looks over, his eyes are so pensive that you feel bad for keeping it from him for so long. 

“It started out simple, I guess. When…when we came back from Seattle, I felt like there was so much…floating around in my head. So much I was finding out, so much I was realizing, that I could barely come to terms with all of it at once.” 

Eren’s gaze shifts, focused back on the street, as the little drops hit the glass. 

“I wrote it all down. Everything I learned, what I can’t forget. That I can’t live my life when I’m untouchable. That the wound is where the light enters. That you can’t learn your lessons for people, that sometimes you just have to be there to catch them. You can have grace for yourself but keep yourself accountable too – those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. That hardship can be good – that sometimes it can even make the good times feel even better.” 

You look over at Eren, the red reflecting on his skin. 

Eren’s smiling at you – like he’s proud of you. That he knows that you’re repeating the words – his words, Michael’s, Levi’s – everyone who has been pushing you forward. 

That you’re taking them to heart. 

“That I’m going to make them pay for what they did to you. And to me. I don’t know what’ll happen, but I refuse to be silent about it. I’m done doing that.” you whisper. 

You reach for his hand, leaning closer. And he follows your suit, your noses nearly brushing against each other, stilling your blinking – just so you don't have to tear yourself from his green eyes. 

“Are you with me, Eren?” 

“Think it’s impossible for me to be anywhere else.” he whispers. 

The warmth in your throat is suffocating. 

“Eren?” you whisper. 

“Yeah.” 

You pinch your eyes shut at the horrible timing. 

“The light is green.” you murmur. 

Eren’s eyes falter, a curt nod, before he releases your hand and continues to drive forward. 

And takes you all the way down to the airport, the quiet silence enveloping your space. 

You open up the car door, a light sprinkle and the earthy smell in the air, as you lean against the hood, hands tucked into your pockets. Eren follows suit, taking the spot next to you, as you watch your breath visualize in the cold, crisp air. 

“Back in the day, Satoru Gojo did me a favor. He had the chance to do an ensemble showcase, and he lent that time to me, so I could make a point.” you state. 

Eren turns his head towards you, and immediately looks at the group of people piling out of the airport – the distinct white, green, and pink hair catching him off guard. 

“It’s time for me to make a point again. I figured I could use all the help I could get.” you state.

Eren fights the urge to bite his cheek, the glimmering smirk you give him before pushing off the hood of the car making his heart pound. He watches as you excitedly run up to Satoru Gojo – and Suguru Getou by extension – wrapping your arms around the two of them and pinching their cheeks. 

And it only gets worse when his favorite kid comes running out shortly after – followed by Lana and Sukuna berating him – and clings straight onto his legs. Eren’s exasperated, bringing his hand down to Teddy’s curly hair just to make sure. 

That they really were here. 

“Eren! Eren, pick me up! Pick me up!” 

“You could say please, Teddy. He drove all the way here just for you.” Lana states, giving Eren a warm smile as she places her hands on her hips. 

“Please, Eren!” 

Eren smiles wide, the warmth in his chest reverberating, as he reaches for Teddy’s sides and gets a wet kiss to the cheek from him return. There’s a deep yearning stinging in Eren’s chest as you walk up, looping your arm under Sukuna’s as you press your cheek to his bicep. 

Eren can barely contain it. He’d strangle you if he could. 

And Satoru Gojo’s quick to follow, aggressively leaning his weight on both you and Sukuna, as he gives Eren a bright smile. 

“Eren Jaeger. Just the guy I wanted to see.” Satoru sings. 

“Is that right?” Eren asks. 

“We’re all going to battle for you, kid. How do you feel? Your vicious guard dog plans to leave no corner unturned.” he responds, ruffling the top of your hair as Eren watches you shove him off. 

Eren frowns. 

“You don’t have to…do something for me. I’m not exactly sure what it is you’re doing, but you don’t have to.” 

You smile. It was almost aggravating how cute he could be sometimes. 

“Don’t worry kid. I love to stir shit up. I have a feeling this one’s going to be in your favor.” Satoru states, giving him a lingering smile before getting called up to one of the cars lingering in front. 

Eren turns to his side – Teddy wiggling in his arms – as he watches you excitedly smile at Lana and Sukuna. And when you turn to him, the pale fluorescent light making you glow, you stand out more than anyone else standing there. 

Eren swears Satoru’s chanting “fuck a bitch named Scott Clarkson” in the car ahead of him and realizes that Levi’s probably in for the biggest headache of his life. 

“Ready to go?” you ask. 

Eren gives you a quiet nod, as you reach forward with your grabby hands for Teddy and buckle him into his seat at the back. Lana and Sukuna are at his sides, Eren watching them smile at each other through the rearview. 

Eren tries to stamp it out the best he can. That glimmering flare of hope that’s burning in his chest. 

And for the first time in years, he fails to do so. 

You were keeping his candle alight. 

--

You know for a fact that things will work in your favor, this time around. 

Hyla Clarkson, in her extreme annoyingness, moves the release date of her song up to that night – ruining the perfect plan that you had written out. Satoru’s more upset about it, that she ruined the perfectly cinematic moment that would have been.

Her new debut song smushed in bewteen Eren’s documentary and your comeback. 

But then you listen to the song and relish in the fact that karma is real. That all of the bad is canceled out by good – and that when it came to them, sweet justice was going to be served. 

There’s no such thing as bad PR. And from your standpoint – people talking about you, you being the center of attention, was the one thing that you needed leading up to the awards show. 

It’s almost too perfect. 

You had every intent to milk the fact that Hyla Clarkson just released an entire song about how big of a bitch you were. 

And make her regret it. 

Starting by releasing a song the following morning, your first in three years, to ensure hers won’t occupy the top spot. 

--

--

next part linked here

an: ARE YOU READY FOR IT (revenge era for someone who actually deserves it)

(hyla clarkson you will develop a cough in three days for naming your album pop princess pretending like you don't know the entire aot cast calls y/n princess BC she's a pop princess...)

(I plan to write at least a chapter a week so we can wrap this sweet baby up!)

taglist: @k0z3me @kayleegomez @yihona-san06  @bsenpai @sweetenertea @mykyoon @violetmatcha @rebeccawinters @cutiejg @bokutosthings @bookwrmm @mblrrr @wheredidmycrowngo @somethinginyoureyes7 @chilichopsticks @okaystopwhore @you-always-made-me-blush @itzmeme @firelordazulaaa @whoami-72 @g-ghostly @intimacywithceline @erensmoodygf @cocomellxn @princess-ackerman @jaegerfiles @cacapeepee @rui-0836 @moonmalice @invisible-mori @sofiasber @bbybeeb @timetobegone @tee4str @ttokki @leave-rae-alone @ec3lipsy @officialsimpp @gojojang @yookayyo @lordbugs @multiplefandomthings @iobeyfandoms @camilo-uwu @justanotherkpopstanlol @mel-star636 @fvckingeetar @ttalgi @najaemism @ilovekimchi123 @youraggedybitch @xoyumiqls @leafguitar @dreamy-carat @spiidergirlsworld @luvs4kim @levin4nami @florichun @hoonmyluv @cowgirlikets @dreamxiing @mamamammarga @tangerine-neonlight @th0tformikasa

pls comment on this post or any of the chapters if you want to be added to the taglist <3

[daisynik7]

you’re killing me with all this angst!! 😭 any possible unrequited but happy ending with Eren when you have the time and will? Or just anything fluffy really, just to put a dinosaur print bandaid on all the broken hearts 😭

🎶 You've got my heart bursting at the seams, maybe you're the boy of my dreams. 🎶

Title: Dream Boy

Pairing: jock!Eren x shy!reader

Word Count: ~3.5k

cw: unrequited crush, fluff, college au

Summary: You’ve had a crush on Eren Jaeger for a while now. He’s the captain of your university’s swim team who also happens to be a fellow engineering major, like you. For months, you’ve admired from afar, letting yourself daydream about being his girlfriend. But that’s all it is: fantasy. Until one day, when you’re invited to a beach outing with friends, and he happens to be there too. 

Author’s Notes: Thanks for the request, anon! Going with a common trope here, hope you don’t mind! I’ve always been a sucker for popular jock x shy nerd, so I hope you like this one! Also, fair warning, I have never surfed in my life, and I had to do some research on this, so major apologies if I got any of these details wrong, please don’t be mean to me LOL. Title is inspired by the song "Dream Boy" by Beach Bunny! Listen if you want to set the mood right. Divider credit to @/saradika.

With the weather getting warmer and the sun shining brighter, a trip to the beach sounds like the perfect idea to get away. Midterms just ended and finals are fast approaching in a few weeks. This is the only weekend when it makes sense to relax before you have to start the grind once more.  

It’s your roommate, Sasha, who originally plans this little weekend getaway. When you’re not too busy studying, you’re hanging out with her. She’s become your closest friend since you first lived with her freshman year, always friendly and making the effort to include you in all her social affairs, even when you decline so often. Through her, you met Mikasa and Annie, who have been nothing but kind to you, despite having strong personalities. You’re excited to get to know them even better by going on this trip with them.

With Annie’s car packed with all of your belongings, the four of you set out on the hour-long journey. Mikasa offered her parent’s beach house to stay at which works out perfectly for broke college students. Using your meal plans, you collectively purchased enough snacks and beverages to last the next two nights. So far, everything is working out swimmingly. 

You arrive to your destination, stoked to be spending the weekend with the beach as your backyard. Mikasa points out the other car parked in the driveway, groaning. “Oh no. Eren’s here. And he probably brought the rest of the boys.”

Sasha turns to face her. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“That’s his car. And those are their surfboards on the rack. They’re definitely here.”

Your roommate directs her question at you. “Are you okay with this?”

You smile, a little taken aback that you’ll be sharing a home with a few strangers, but fine overall. “Yeah, should be fun. By the way, who’s Eren?”

“Eren Jaeger, my brother.”

Upon hearing his full name, you do your best to swallow the strangled noise in your throat, playing it cool. Eren Jaeger? Captain of the school’s swim team? Fellow engineering student and your classmate for two of your current courses, three last semester? The guy you’ve had the hugest crush on since you first laid eyes on him freshmen year, when you used to live a floor above him? That Eren Jaeger? 

“Oh, cool,” you say, totally not meaning it. Still, you have to keep your composure. Knowing this information has you feeling self-conscious. You didn’t pack your best clothes, under the impression this was just a girl’s trip. And you realize that he might see you in your swimsuit, which you’re horrified about. Internally, you’re freaking out, unprepared for this recent development. You contemplate calling a taxi, faking an illness to avoid any possible embarrassment you’ll display in front of him. Before you can, Sasha drags you into the house, both your bags in hand, announcing your arrival. “Eren! We know you’re in here!”

Mikasa and Annie follow, carrying the rest of the luggage with them, inspecting the house. “Hey, Jaeger. Get out here,” Annie demands.

He strolls in from one of the hallways, hair down, in a white t-shirt and basketball shorts, slides on his feet. Looking as cool and attractive as ever. You hide behind Sasha, cheeks already hot. 

“What are you doing here?” he asks Mikasa, placing a hair tie between his lips, fingers running through his hair to put it up in a ponytail. 

“Carla and Grisha said I could use the house for the weekend. What are you doing here?”

“Brought the boys to surf and chill. I guess I should have asked Mom and Dad first.” He shrugs, unfazed.

Mikasa rolls her eyes. “You should have told me you were coming. I have guests.”

He glances at the rest of you. “So? It’s just Sasha and Annie. What’s the big deal?”

“My roommate’s here too!” Sasha mentions, stepping aside to reveal you. “And it’s weird sharing a house with boys!” 

You give him a small wave, a weak grin on your face. “Hello.”

He steps towards you, squinting as if he’s studying you carefully. “Hey! It’s you!”

You blurt out a confused, “Huh?”

He says your full name, shocking you further, before he continues. “You’re in my class. Physics and Materials Science, right?”

You’re surprised that he recognizes you, that he even knows your name. Up until this point, you were convinced that you were invisible to him. You nod, momentarily speechless when he smiles at you. “I’m sorry for showing up like this. We can leave if you want us to.”

“Yeah, maybe you should,” Annie comments, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Before anyone else can speak, you say, “It’s okay. You don’t have to leave.” If you’re going to grow up and move on from this crush, you can’t chicken out on things like this. And besides, you don’t want to be the one person who ruins all the fun. 

“Are you sure? It’s not a big deal. It’s just an hour drive. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine. The more the merrier, right?”

He grins. “As long as you’re okay with this.”

Mikasa, on the other hand, says, “Well, what if I’m not okay with this.”

“Fine. Then you be the one to kick out Jean. He was really looking forward to surfing today.” At the mention of that name, Mikasa blushes, not responding. The rest of you girls have an idea about Mikasa’s crush on Jean, so it’s not surprising when she doesn’t pester Eren anymore. Even Annie’s eyes light up when Armin comes out of one of the rooms, greeting you. 

After settling in, everyone gathers in the living room, planning what to do next. Collectively, you agree to head outside to relax on the beach while the boys surf. You try to contain your excitement at seeing Eren in a skin-tight body suit, holding onto the giant board, hair tied in a messy bun like a male model for Billabong. 

You lay towels and blankets all around the sand, setting up umbrellas to block out the blistering sun. Annie dumps all the snacks in the middle, while the four of you stretch out comfortably. You hide yourself under a towel, self-conscious about in a bathing suit in front of Eren, who probably doesn’t notice anyways. 

Sasha plays music on her Bluetooth speaker while you and Mikasa open your books, reading. Annie watches a movie on her phone, headphones plugged in. An hour later, Eren comes running up from the shore, dripping with ocean water, hair matted, still gorgeous. He glances at you first, flashing his brilliant smile. “Hey, do you want to try?” He knocks his fist against the surfboard, waiting for your answer.

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll be good at it. In fact, I think I’ll be very, very bad at it,” you admit.

“It’s okay. I can just show you how to sit on it. We won’t actually ride the big waves. You know how to swim, right?”

You nod, placing your book in your bag. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially since it means quality time with him. However, you can’t help but feel nervous, expecting to make a fool of yourself. Sasha encourages you. “You should go try it! It’ll be fun.”

Mikasa adds, “Yeah, Eren is surprisingly a good teacher.”

Convinced, you stand up, hesitantly letting the towel fall to expose yourself in your swimsuit. You avoid his gaze, too flustered worrying about what he thinks of you. He leads the way to the shore, you following close behind him. The rest of the guys sit on the sand next to their boards, chatting. When they see you, they wave, giving you some motivating thumbs up. 

Eren turns to face you, pausing. “First, you have to attach the leash.” He squats down, hands near your foot, peering up at you. “Do you mind?”

Unaware of what the leash even is, you remain calm, trying to ignore your excitement with him this close to your bare skin. “Go ahead.”

He wraps the Velcro around your ankle, fingers brushing against you delicately. He readjusts it three times, asking on the third, “Is this too tight?”

“No,” you answer, still staring out towards the sea, unable to meet his gaze.

He stands back up to explain the basics of surfing. It’s all too much to retain in a short amount of time, but you listen and appreciate how well he describes each step, memorizing the most important details. 

“We should practice getting on the board first before we enter,” he suggests, placing it flat on the sand, beckoning you to get on it. “Just lay on it, face down, and get used to how it feels against your body.” You get down, pressing your stomach to the deck, gripping to the sides. 

“Good job.” He squats again, level with you. “Once we’re in the water, you’re gonna want to move fast. You have to push the board forward against the force of the waves, then quickly hop on. It might be a little tough, but I know you can do it. The waves are strong, so if you can’t get the timing right, make sure you lift your board up with the peak and hold on tight, so that you don’t get dragged with it.”

You nod, getting increasingly anxious. With the information locked in your brain, you follow Eren into the ocean, board floating steadily on the surface, your hand on the center. He isn’t exaggerating; the waves are intense, even the tiny ones close to shore. Once you are waist deep, Eren, who’s farther away from you now, turns up the volume of his voice louder, cupping one hand around his mouth, the other pointing to the incoming wave. “It’s coming!”

It approaches fast, almost too quickly. Before you know it, the force drags you backwards, falling in. Wet from head to toe now, you resurface, grabbing the board to reposition yourself, grasping both the tail and the deck, remembering his instructions from earlier. 

“Are you okay?” he yells out, concerned.

“Yeah!” you respond, preparing for the next one. With more determination and confidence, you push forward, hopping on successfully when the wave rushes in. 

“Great job!” he exclaims from behind you. Your chest swells with adrenaline and pride. There’s no time to waste as the next wave approaches. The next task is to straddle. You get in a push-up pose, grasping the side rails. It’s not enough though; it slides out from under you, knocking you back, a stream of salty water flushing your nose causing you to choke momentarily. Eren ruses over as fast as he can, waddling in the water, worried. “Are you okay?”

You laugh, an electrifying buzz coursing through your body. “Yeah! Let me try again.”

He smiles brightly, amused by your resolve. “Okay. Hold on really tight and make sure to slide the board slightly forward as you sit up.”

It takes you a couple more tries, salt water now burning your nose and throat, until you finally manage to straddle the board. You raise your fists in the air, turning your neck to face him. “I did it!”

Beaming, mimicking your celebratory gesture, he happily yells, “You did!” When the waves come, you and the board flow with it, bobbing up and down on the water. After minutes of struggling, covered in sweat, dripping with ocean water, you finally feel at peace. You enjoy riding a few more waves, dehydration slowly sinking in, surely from all the salt you’ve unintentionally swallowed. You glance at Eren, who’s watching you from a short distance away. “I think I’m good for the day! I need some water.”

He walks over, standing next to you. “Oh yeah, definitely. Great job, by the way. That was awesome seeing you like that.” He pats you gently on your knee, grinning. 

You giggle. “Thank you. So, uh, how do I get off this thing?”

“Well, this is going to the last thing I teach you, okay? You’re going to paddle out and towards the shore. Think you can do it?”

With whatever leftover determination you have, you nod, leaning your chest down to the board. He helps you readjust yourself so that you’re facing the sands. “The wave is coming! Get ready to paddle!”

Like a dog trying to swim, you flail your arms as if your life depends on it, successfully riding the wave until it comes to a stop on the shore. Armin, Connie, and Jean, witnessing this still sat in the same spot, cheer. When you stand up, your equilibrium is all off, losing balance. Luckily, Eren runs up to catch you, steadying you. “That was awesome. You did so good!”

Catching your breath, tired from all the physical exertion and adrenaline, you breathe out, “Thank you,” giving him a weak smile. The two of you walk to the rest of your friends, Eren’s hand on your back, in case you lose balance again. As you approach the girls, they applaud, beaming with joy. 

“That was epic!” Sasha exclaims, handing you a water bottle. 

Suddenly, he’s gripping your shoulders, squeezing affectionately. “She’s the best. Never gave up, totally committed.” He turns his head to look at you, voice lower, speaking directly to you. “You were really great out there. I mean it. I never doubted you for a second. You’re the smartest person in class, so I knew this would be a piece of cake for you.”  

His last statement almost leaves you speechless. Voice trembling from exhaustion and his kind words, you reply, “Thank you. You’re a really great teacher.”

He gazes at you, seemingly forever, sliding his hands down to your elbows, lingering for just a moment longer until he lets you go. Clearing his throat, he announces, “I’m going to catch a few more waves with the guys. I’ll see y’all later.” Is it your imagination or is there a slight blush on his cheeks? It’s most likely from the sun, so you disregard it, not wanting to get your hopes up. 

You spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing beside your friends, like you had originally planned. The novel you started earlier is open in your hands, your mind definitely not focused on the words. Instead, you daydream about Eren, relishing what just occurred. All those times in class, fantasizing about different scenarios with him, always convinced that nothing would ever happen. Now, you can’t help letting your imagination run rampant. Still, when you all pack up to take the short trip back to the house, you let those fantasies disappear. There’s no way he feels anything for you beyond friendship. And you’ll just have to live with that. 

Later in the night, with everyone sun-kissed and clean from beach residue, you collectively decide to get cozy in your pajamas. Mikasa ignites the fire pit out on the balcony, perfect for the cool breeze. When four boxes of pizza are delivered, the eight of you huddle around the flames, enjoying the meal as you laugh at the stories being shared. Connie tells a hilarious tale about him and Jean streaking in the dead of night for a dare that resulting in almost exposing themselves to the university’s president. Annie mentions her roommate, Hitch, and how she slapped a creeper at a frat party, who wouldn’t stop annoying her. Sasha asks for advice on how to approach her crush, Nicolo, the young chef at the campus cafeteria who makes her breakfast burritos especially tasty. 

After a while, Eren suggests, “How about some s’mores? I brought the ingredients to make them. What do you say?”

Everyone hums in agreement. He directs his attention to you. “Can you help me in the kitchen?”

You obliged, surprised that he chose you specifically. Following him, you slide the door closed, quiet inside the house except for the muffled voices of your friends outside. In the kitchen, he reaches up for one of the cabinets, grabbing two bags of marshmallows, two big bricks of chocolate, and a box of graham crackers. In another drawer, he retrieves metal sticks to roast the marshmallows. In the meantime, you search for a large baking tray, eventually retrieving it from the oven. “Maybe we can set everything up on here so that It’s easier.”

He smiles at you. “Good idea.”

At the counter, you start unwrapping the chocolate, breaking them into sectioned pieces. Eren does the same with the graham crackers, the two of you working beside each other in a comfortable silence. Halfway through, he asks, “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun! Thank you again. I really had a blast.”

“I did too. It was a lot of fun hanging out with you today.”

“Maybe next time, I can actually learn how to surf for real,” you say, not thinking anything of it. 

He leans closer to you, arm brushing yours as you lay out the chocolate on the pan. “Yeah, next time.”

It’s silent again. You finish the chocolate, washing your hands clean to move on to the marshmallows. One bag in your hand, the other in Eren’s. “So, um, do you have a boyfriend or something?”

This catches you off guard. “No, I don’t.”

“Cool, cool, cool. I’m single too. In case you were wondering.” You’ve never heard this type of nervous energy in his voice before. It’s unusual to hear him like this. You’re unsure how to respond, unprepared for where this conversation is possibly heading. 

“Well, if you ever need someone to study with, I’m always available. The season is over, and I get tired of my teammates sometimes,” he says with a laugh.

“Do you want to study with me?” you ask, genuinely curious.

“I’d like to do a lot of things with you, actually.” There’s an undeniable blush on his cheeks as he pours the remaining marshmallows onto the tray. This can’t be just a sunburn, can it? 

Butterflies flutter in your belly. You look at him, smiling. You can’t chicken out now. Not when he’s giving you this chance, this opportunity. You need to go for it. “Can I be honest with you?”

He faces you, eager. “Of course.”

Sucking in a deep breath for this leap of faith, you confess. “I’ve had the biggest crush on you ever since freshman year.”

His smile widens, brilliant teeth on display. “What? When we used to live at Reiss?”

“You remember?” Your mouth hangs open, shocked that he recalls living in the same dorm as you. 

“Yeah, I do,” he answers. “You’re a hard one to forget.”

“I thought I was invisible.”

He shifts closer, tipping his head to meet your eyes. “Not to me.”

You face him, understanding that he’s always noticed you. He leans forward, lips inches from yours. “Can I be honest with you, too?” You nod, desperate to hear what he has to say.

Even closer now, lips grazing your ear, breath ticklish on your skin, he whispers, “I really like you. I’ve always been too nervous to do anything. I thought you’d only see me as a dumb jock.”

Immediately, you pull back, replying, “Never! I never thought that of you! I think you’re so smart.”

He laughs, eyes crinkled with admiration. “I think you’re so smart, too. And really, really cute.” 

You stare at each other for a moment, wishing this would last forever. Wanting to pinch yourself to confirm this is real. 

“Is it okay if I kiss you?” The pink hue on his cheeks gradually turns into a red.

A little too eager, you respond, “Yes!”, resulting in him giggling again, pressing his forehead to yours. The contact sets your skin on fire, body tingling with a different type of adrenaline than from earlier. With your eyes shut, you close the gap, lips brushing seamlessly into a delicate kiss. His hand slides behind your neck, sending you shivers as he pulls you in closer.

Suddenly, there’s loud banging on the sliding door, startling you two apart. Mikasa and Annie have their fists on the glass, yelling out something incoherent, Armin tugging on their sleeves in an attempt to stop them. Connie, Jean, and Sasha holler with huge grins on their faces. 

Eren laughs, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you respond, smiling at him. 

You gaze at each other for another couple of seconds, cherishing this special moment before returning outside to your friends, carrying the goods. They all talk at once, hyped about what they just witnessed, berating you with loads of questions and advice. You and Eren sit beside each other, politely redirecting each inquiry and comment until your friends get tired of non-answers, eventually changing the subject. He lays out a warm blanket for the both of you, legs covered, knees touching while everyone begins to roast their marshmallows.

By the time the s’mores are completely assembled, mouths sticky and full of ooey-gooey sweetness, you and Eren munch on your treats happily, holding hands beneath the blanket. 

[squidzillaa]

Levi DID NOT reject Hange

An explanation and analysis 🦑

First things first, 5 key factors:

1. This scene is from Levi’s pov (another reason why he looks sad and upset, while saying his goal is to kill Zeke.)

2. This chapter parallels to Eren and Mikasa’s “What am I?” scene in chapter 123.

3. Wanting to live with another, is a common trope in AOT. (Isayama’s love language. 😉) 🏠

4. This is one of the most romantic scenes in AOT, I don’t know how this flew over SO many people’s heads?? 😂😂 It’s right in front of your face!

5. Isayama parallels chapter 126 to chapters 52 and 53. (These chapters contain some of the most important interactions between Levi and Hange):

“Right, Levi.?” (Hange knows what Levi meant. 👍🏻)

“Right… …Levi?” (Does Hange know the answer here? 🤔 Guess… 😏)

Next, in both these chapters, they are being hunted:

Chapter 52: Hange suggests, “Just for now.”

Chapter 126: Hange suggests, “But for now…”

Chapter 52: Levi states, “If we do nothing but run, then all we can do is get caught.” He knows if they stay, they’ll get caught and possibly stabbed.

Chapter 126: Levi questions, “If we keep running and hiding, what will that get us?” He knows the possible consequences of running away, so why does he ask anyway? 🤔😏:

Now, explanation:

Levi was only “pretending” to be asleep, in order to hear Hange’s dream. If Levi Was meaning to reject Hange, he WOULD NOT have brought it back up and then avoid the question she asked (while blushing) which was, “Oh so you heard me?” He’s not going to admit that he heard her because he is a TSUNDERE and, like Isayama said, is awkward and clumsy when it comes to romance. ;)

Hange blushes, because she confessed her love to him thinking he was asleep. In the Japanese culture, asking someone to live with you is a way of proposing. IFKK. (If you have common sense 😉, you can recognize that her blush alone shows that she meant it romantically.)

The other main ships also include a similar situation of wanting to “live” with their love interest:

(Obvious one) Eren to Mikasa

Falco to Gabi

Annie to Armin

Hitch to Marlow

Ymir to Historia

Jean to Mikasa

Eren even brings this up in an interview ⬇️, straight up telling viewers that Hange’s line was a proposal and confession! (Another big factor: Eren and Hange parallel each other, just like how Mikasa and Levi do. That’s a BIG character plot point that a lot of fans don’t recognize or realize. Which in itself already tells you who the 2 main lovers of the story are. Cue “Call Your Name.” 👥)

Levi could have interrupted her if he wanted to reject her proposal or could have straight up said “No we can’t”, “I can’t do that.”, “I don’t want that.” But he didn’t because he Wanted to live with her as well, and was probably imagining a life of just the two of them living in the forest. 💭🌲

He knows that Hange is already preparing to pull him around, so after Eren’s Rumbling announcement, that’s when he decides to get up and ask where Zeke is. He sits up because he wants her to come over to him so he can pop the question of “running and hiding.” Especially because he knows that Eren’s announcement will make Hange want to stop Eren asap. Levi needs to hurry and reask her question before they’re out of that forest and have to focus on their plans, rather than their feelings.

He asks where Zeke is to make her think he was asleep the whole time. (Buttt he blows his cover right away when he asks her what running away will achieve for the 2 of them. 😂)

Levi asking where Zeke is was NOT his first thought, because he was awake the WHOLE time. (Stop trying to make everything about Levi in connection to Erwin and his promise, this scene has nothing to do with him. 👾)

In this chapter, they both have a moment of doubt and confusion:

Hange wasn’t sure if she should continue her duties as Commander, because she’s unsure if they can stop Zeke and they’d be on the run for the rest of their lives.

Levi wasn’t sure if killing Zeke was worth it, because Zeke was willing to die.

Levi restates what Hange said, as a question, because he wanted to know if she Had a good enough reason to leave it all behind.

Levi doesn’t go against Hange’s ideas and encourage them often. Levi loves and trusts Hange SO MUCH, that he was willing to give up on his promise to Erwin and his comrade’s, if Hange had given him a good enough reason to stay. But of course he knows Hange can’t stay out of the action and that they have their promises and duties to achieve first. ☹️🤝🏻🌲 (Along with the guilt that would come with it.) To what ifs.. 🥂

In conclusion, Levi and Hange’s “freedom”, are each other. KAWWW 🦅

(Looking at Their Freedom)

[daryascurse]

He Makes His Hot Roommate Suck Him Off!! ~ Eren Jaeger x Reader

In which Eren Jaeger is a pretty scummy roommate...

. . .“I think watching pοrn on the couch is a reasonable thing to bitch about,” you snap. “And yeah. I don’t need to see your dick out on my pillows.”

“I put your pillows on the chair,” Eren says with a short nod of his chin towards the other side of the living room. “You sure, though? I’ve never heard any complaints about my dick.” . . .

version one (scummy eren) || version two (scummy reader)

reader: POV second person, AFAB (*non-specified in part 1, will be specified in part 2), nongendered pronouns ⟡ content: modern AU, scummy sIutty roommate Eren, use of "bitch" as a verb, pοrn, oraI (male recieving), mentions of weed, mutual pining ⟡ wordcount: ~3.3k ⟡ ao3 link ⟡ recommended mood playlist: red velvet cake

ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴍᴅɴɪ. I have a very strict adult-only interaction policy. Ageless, blank, and clearly minor-run blogs that interact will be blocked. If you have questions about what that means, please read the byf in my pinned post.

Author's note: This is my first time trying an AU as someone who usually is glued to canon..! It's a fever dream that hit me drifting off to sleep the other night and has consumed me since. I almost wanted to make it so Mikasa and Armin are the pοrnstars he’s watching but I don’t want it taken as an insult to them (just a fun little hey-there) so I did not.

“Ah! Oh my god yes – fuck – fuck! ”

The sound of it is unmistakable, embarrassingly unmistakable as you stand frozen in the foyer with shoes half-kicked off. You squeeze your eyes closed and wordlessly thank whatever cosmic force gave you the good sense not to invite your friend into your home today. Because your roommate, Eren Jaeger, is slouched in the corner of the sofa watching pοrn on his phone. 

Normally, he’s just a kinda bad housemate. He isn’t the worst you’ve had. That honor goes to that girl from freshman year who puked in your closet and wasn’t shy about bringing home guys from the bar on school nights. But he’s comparable. Eren drinks the juice straight from the carton and puts it back in the refrigerator empty. He lets dirty dishes soak a day too long. He takes over the common area like a second bedroom, scowling at the television as his thumbs scuttle across the controller. He’s asked you to leave the small lodging on multiple occasions for privacy reasons. But, all of that being said, Eren pays rent on time. And, on those sheepish occasions you’ve locked yourself out, he only rolls his eyes when he opens the door and quickly goes back to muttering into his headset. 

And up until now, you thought he made up for it enough by being eye candy.

“Oh - mmm- fuck yes right there - ”

The back of his head is to you, hair slipping from his loose knot over his hunched shoulders. His elbow is pressed in the back of the couch in a way that must be uncomfortable, but it’s the perfect angle to pinch his phone in one hand and hold it up to his face. The other hand is out of sight from where you stand. The glare on the screen hides whatever he’s watching so avidly that he didn’t hear you open the door.

Unless he didn’t mind you opening the door.

“Dude,” you say, and your voice stutters. What the fuck can you even say to - ? Your mind goes fully blank. You try again. “What the fuck are you doing?”

That works.

“Oh,” Eren says by means of greeting without even turning his head. “I’m not gonna jizz all over the sofa, don’t worry. Nowhere close yet.”

You push your shoes to the side with your feet. “Better not,” you say, with all the disdain you can muster. “But man - come on. Are you… actually doing what I think you’re doing?”

He lifts his phone up and waggles it, the visual jostling before your eyes. 

“Why?”

“‘S comfy out here.”

You stay, bound by your horror, in the foyer. “Do you do - this,” you say, almost stammering over your words, “regularly?”

“I don’t have a set schedule,” Eren says. “But yeah, sometimes, if you’re out of the house for a while.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Your words are punctuated by tinny “mmm - yeah - ah!” sounds from the phone.

Eren sighs irritably, and finally turns his head to the side. His eyebrows are slack, his cheekbones only barely starting to flush as he fixes that heavy-lidded gaze on you. “Are you going to stand there and bitch all day?”

“I think it’s a pretty reasonable thing to bitch about,” you snap. “And yeah. I don’t need to see your dick out on my pillows.”

“I put your pillows on the chair,” Eren says with a short nod of his chin towards the other side of the living room. “You sure, though? I’ve never heard any complaints about my dick.”

It’s so absurd you snort. “Don’t be a dumbass,” you say. “Don’t joke around.”

“Not joking,” Eren says, and he lowers the phone. There’s a light clack on the screen as he mutes or pauses the video. He pushes his elbow further into the couch, angling to look at you straight-on past the thin slope of his nose. “C’mere.”

You realize you’re breathing out of your mouth.

This is not what you expected. Actually – it’s not what you expected now. Because the tension has been there. Of course it has been. Every time he slouches shirtless into the kitchen with a threadbare towel ruffling his hair dry over his shoulders, you pointedly stare at anything that isn’t the lean muscle of his stomach. At least once a month, he knocks on your door for a trivial manner when you’d pointedly announced you’re spending the night in the bubble bath. Sometimes girls stay over after house parties. You can’t deny pausing at the wall to hear how he groans. You wonder if the performance changes once you slam the front door shut on your way to seek refuge elsewhere.

All things you’d only admitted to your best friends over bathroom counters sworn to secrecy and vodka sodas. Things fantasized about in half-jokes, and nothing you would have thought come to fruition on this random afternoon.

Oh. He absolutely did this on purpose. You wonder what expression is on your face, because Eren just looks back at you with eyebrows lifting at the corner.

You’re padding across the carpet, stepping over the mess of his socks, the lid of the silver grinder. The rest of the contraption sits open on the coffee table with glinting spikes winking at you. You frown at the dirty pipe next to it.

“Oh, you’re just stoned,” you say dryly.

“I’m actually not,” Eren says, throwing your tone back at you in a mocking half-question. That’s another familiar little crack of tension – the conversations so automatically sardonic you can barely keep your thighs from trembling and lips from curving into a grin. You smirk back absently even now, despite the electricity shuddering through the room and you turn towards the couch.

Your eyes had been a little too fixed on the pipe, your brain chanting something about the ashes, the filth, the need to just soak the stupid thing in rubbing alcohol to get it back to whatever color it should be, and it takes a half-moment to register him. Eren’s hands are at the waistband of his forest green gym shorts. He looks up at you with those eyes deeper than a summer storm, a curve of hair falling in front of his forehead and joining those strands cascading around his neck as he hunches against the arm of the sofa. The hem of his black hoodie has scrunched higher up his stomach below his phone resting precariously, to reveal a snaking ribcage of hair branching down to where his thumbs meet the shorts. His forearms are tense, red aching at the tight cuffs of his rolled-up sleeves.

“Take it off, then,” you hear yourself say, and Eren’s lips twitch in a smile.

His thumbs curve, knees drawing up as he lifts his hips. He hesitates a moment, as if daring either of you to chicken out, and then it’s as if you imagined the pause because he’s pulling those green mesh shorts down. He kicks them off the cushions and you sway to avoid the motion as his heather grey boxes follow in a tangle. Eren pushes his hips down on the sofa, sprawling to take up the entire length. His foot braces against the back of the couch, and his other settles on the floor. He rolls his knee out, framing a perfect patch of rug for you to kneel on.

Well.

Your shitty roommate is right. Who could have any complaints about his cock?

Eren’s eyes burn on you as you hesitate between his sprawled legs, adjusting your knees on the carpet, your elbows against the couch. He doesn’t reach forward to guide you, to pump his already half-hard shaft in his palm. He shrugs his shoulders and picks up the phone again, tapping the screen again.

“Mmm- that feels so good, yeah!”

You lick your bottom lip. Eren has the phone lifted in a way that blocks his face from you, or yours from him. You pause another second and raise your hand to him.

When you wrap your fingers around his cock, the taunt muscles of his stomach tense. His Adam’s apple shivers in a swallow. Your fingertips squeeze at his firmness, your thumb slowly sliding hider as your fist rises up. You pause, running your thumb around the tip. A bead of slick precum slides where your skin meets his.

It’s that oily slip that makes this whole thing actually real at last, makes the breath hitch in your throat and makes some pressure beat hard bellow your belly. Your knees push into the carpet. You adjust your other forearm on the cushions for balance, leaning in closer as you flutter in a delicate circle again across his sensitive head.

“Fuck,” Eren says as if the word bursts from him.

“Ohh yeah!”

The air is cut with heavy breath and the cries from his phone.

Your hand is moving without thinking, your eyes hazy and locked on your first. His cock is actually fucking pretty, smooth, large, the vein fluttering under your palm rising with urgency. You bend into the couch, reaching forward with your other hand and stretching to support it, giving a brief dancing squeeze of your fingers. You withdraw your dominant hand and raise it to your lips, drawing a breath, and spitting messily.

“Mmm!”

“Oh – ” but the breath comes out of you as you bring your hand webbed with silver down to his cock again. Eren’s skin is silky under your touch as you smear up and down him, rubbing up to his head again and mixing your fluids together. And Eren groans, a low, musical sound that breaks at the end.

That’s an aching you haven’t heard behind walls and closed doors. You tense your hand and pump faster.

“Suck it,” Eren says suddenly in another strangled blurt, interrupting the moans of the pοrnstars.

You look up, and his phone has slipped in his palm, showing the darkening of his dilating pupils as he stares at you with a thirst. His cheeks are flushed high. Drool involuntarily pools over your tongue and you look down and hunch yourself closer, as his knee straightens on the floor besides you to open more space.

Kneeling before Eren, you can track the contours of his skin in a way more intimate than just roommates should normally know. His thigh muscles are taunt, strong, dusted with wiry hairs that gather closer and closer the higher they climb. The shadow of his hipbones flexes as he shifts into the couch. And you look up again, just as Eren reaches out with his hand not gripping the phone.

“Wow – wow oh fuck, I’m so close - !”

More hair has fallen loose from the bun, enough for his hair to be half-down and framing the strong angle of his jaw like a dark halo. His eyes are sunken deep, and staring at you, wide. You keep eye contact, leaning on your elbow, and sink your mouth onto his cock.

Eren’s hand closes at the back of your head, and your arm slides into his leg, a warm, strong barrier pushing your bodies together in this collapsed tableau of fallen angels. Your first stroke of your tongue is light and short, your second dragging a little longer, before your lean for the and take his head fully in a long, languid, slurping swirl.

He tastes sweeter, cleaner, than you would have thought.

The sounds suddenly cut off as the video ends, the last smack of your tongue loud in the abrupt silence. Saliva drips from your mouth as you drag your tongue down to his balls in a fat swipe, and back up.

“Fuck,” Eren mutters. His hand drops, shifts his back and hips rock into the couch as he takes the phone in both hands again. You adjust your fingers, sliding at his base and rubbing along the shaft neglected by your mouth.

There’s a muffled click-click-click and the volume rises. It sounds like he found a new video, this one full of a gruff masculinity and a gasping crescendo.

“You like that? You like how that tastes?”

“Ohmygod yes, yes, I love it mmm – ”

Your eyes slip down, demurely, and then with a breath squeeze shut and force yourself lower.

“Mmph,” comes from your lungs, and Eren moans in turn.

Your lips are dancing, tongue licking continuously in desperate sucks down his cock. Eren is breathing shallowly, little gasps coming from him. His elbow angles into the couch, dipping the cushion below you to the side, and you can hear the phone speaker almost directly above your head. He must be staring at the screen, his chest rising and falling rapidly that you can feel through him.

“Yes I love that - oh - fuck me harder - ”

And of your own body, cramped against the cushions and the couch frame? Every time you can tell Eren responds to your motions, you clench the delicate muscles of your cunt – and every time you can tell that he’s responding to the stupid video he’s watching, it makes you rush and pulse. Sweat prickles at your shoulders, across your forehead. Your body is tense with arousal, the groans slipping from your lips aching whimpers.

Actually, some of your sounds might as well be coming from the phone too.

Eren throbs in your mouth, and you force your head all the way down his cock. He hits the back of your throat and you clench your fingers into a fist that scratches at the rough cushions. You inhale, closing your cheeks into a hollow suck and bidding him further down your throat.

“Oh, oh – god damn – ” Eren says, and his voice is absolutely raw. “Oh, fuck.”

“You like that?” the man on the phone says again.

Eren’s thighs turn towards you as you pull yourself up, gasping for breath and trying not to cough. Water pricks at the corner of your eyes. His eyes are low, staring at the screen with a slack mouth and harsh breath.

You lean, lowering yourself again, running your tongue in light agitation over and over his tip again and again before widening your jaws and taking him in again.

“Mmmm,” you whimper in a suffocated tone around him, pushing your hips harder into the floor.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eren groans. “Yeah, right there.”

His other falls hand on the back of your head again – not to push, but, to brace, as you feel his hand steel himself. You take him fully out of your mouth again to lick his length and Eren’s hand moves with you with each dip and turn of your head, hesitating as you take another shuddering breath and then locking in again when you go back down.

You can feel it, you don’t need the cues of the video, or even Eren’s own beautifully desperate voice. He’s close, filling your mouth, your senses, as your hand slides up and over and over where your lips just can’t reach in these faster motions. Breathing is harder, the shallow reserves of air coming shorter and shorter.

“Fuck – I’m gonna cum – ”

The words were the woman’s, not Eren’s, but he groans a harsh, ragged, “fuck” in turn.

He tightens his stomach muscles, turning into a half-crunch as his hips thrust up pathetically, helplessly, in a primal attempt to fuck into your mouth. You’re so painfully aware of your own hips shifting in response, your neglected cunt wet in response as you choke and gurgle sloppily around him.

And then Eren cries out your name, your name so anguished on his lips –

So much sharper, so much louder, than anything you’ve heard come from his room –

The tears stream from your eyes as Eren gives one last thrust of his hips into your mouth. His hand is strong at the back of your head, the taste of him suddenly more and more bitter. It’s something you feel through him. You freeze, your hand holding him and lips sealed around as he comes, hot and sharp to the back of your throat.

“Mm,” you choke.

“Oh, almost, almost,” Eren groans, and tenses out another spurt.

His cock gives a last twitch in your mouth as your tongue gently washes around him as your lips release. You guide him out and swallow again, and again, every last bit of flavor dancing around your mouth.

“Fuck,” Eren says.

Your breaths are a cacophony together.

“Oh – oh – oh!” the artificial orgasm screams from his phone continuously. You clear your throat, and give an inadvertent cough. Eren hurriedly pushes at the screen until silence falls over the room again. He looks at you, and smirks his usual grin, but something about it lacks the familiar sass.

“You know, you look good down there,” Eren says.

A thrill goes through you, and you try to play off the shudder of glee.

“Ew. Cheesy. Stop watching so much pοrn,” you say with a not-too withering glare. You reach behind you, fumbling for his shorts to wipe your lips with one leg, your eyes with the other.

“No,” Eren says, and the word stutters short as he cuts himself off with a deep, sucking breath. You look up at him. And to your surprise he looks so kind somehow for a moment – some innocent yearning beaming in his eyes breaking down whatever walls he’s built around him; walls that you somehow hadn’t realized before now had been carefully kept high and strong.

“I. I want to – ”

And in that moment, the phone rings a shrill tone.

“Oh, shit,” Eren says, staring at it.

“Great timing,” you say as you feel your heart drop into your stomach. “Saved by the bell, you could say.”

“No, no,” Eren says with a sigh and a glare at the screen. “It’s my brother, and – I mean, if he’s calling, it could be important.”

“I get it,” you say, waving your hand and sitting back on the carpet, wrapping your arms around your knees and ignoring both the ache pushing at your cunt and adrenaline racing through your veins. “It’s okay.”

You toss the shorts in your hand at him, and Eren takes them in one hand, absently tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder. It nestles in his hoodie as he speaks a greeting into the phone, eyes settling somewhere in the middle distance. He sits up, feet on the floor, and begins to pull them on.

“Hey, Zeke. What’s up?”

You turn your head, giving him a moment of privacy that feels strangely appropriate, for all of that that just transpired. There’s a groan of the couch cushions as Eren stands. You see his boxers, abandoned on the carpet, and feel an involuntary grin break across your face.

What a turn of events.

You rock forward on your knees again. Eren walks behind the couch, his voice carrying the conversation into the kitchen. You reach forward on the coffee table, finding a mailer advertisement under the dirty pipe, a marker. Flipping the paper over to the blank side, you scrawl a quick message.

It’s harder to stand than it should be. Your bones creak as they unfold from that hunch into the sofa, your muscles and hips weak with desire. But you make it swiftly to the kitchen, where Eren has the fridge open. He leans on the door, phone still in the crook of his shoulder, one sleeve slumped down to his hand and the other still pushed up to his elbow as he unscrews a bottle of cranberry juice. He casts his eyes to you as he lifts the bottle to his lips and drinks, listening to his brother.

All you do is slap the paper to the refrigerator with the first magnet your fingers encounter, and walk to your room without a second glance back.

My turn next.

.

Author's note 2: So I actually wanted this to be MEANER! I wanted MEAN SCUMMY EREN! But I think it ended up being a little soft… and maybe for this, it worked the best? Please please let me know what you think!! If there's interest, I would absolutely do a part 2 in inverse where it's actually Reader being the naughty roommate? :)

[umeoniii]

aot women beige flags!

٩( 'ω' )و

mikasa, hange, annie, sasha, ymir, pieck

~

mikasa:

☆ gets super sick easily

and these sicknesses literally beat her ass

she just has a super weak immune system

can go out one time then when she comes back home she’s literally stuck in bed like it’s her dying days.

a common cold for her is like the plague

it seems as if she’s an old victorian child lying in her bed asking her mother for bread and water.

☆ somehow physic

not so much now, it’s not like she has powers

but she has a ‘6th sense’ and she can tell when something bad is going to happen

first time she did it you thought she was joking around

but then she was right because the building next to you caught fire (cooking error…)

you were totally scared of her after that bcs what if she was behind it

then you forgave her (she did nothing wrong?) and tried to convince her to give you a fortune

then she proceeded to tell you that’s not what the sixth sense is for

hange:

☆ really likes playing games

hanges a sore loser though.

this is super funny

super competitive with stuff like board games and video games. and she takes it seriously.

when she loses she takes it to heart.

she’ll throw a temper tantrum and get upset and everything.

she’ll do anything to win as well. cheats and switches the game all she wants, especially when she’s actually winning. but when you try to do it it’s all “no no that’s not how you play!”

you DO NOT want to play uno with hange. enough said

☆ makes impressions of people in public.

let’s say you’re in the car parked and you see a couple sitting on the bench talking.

she’ll give them names and make a voice and act what she thinks is their conversation.

it’s far funnier than it sounds.

if she sees a couple and their friend,

“eh barbra? i didn’t know you were gonna invite your annoying friend, you know how much i hate her!” she’d snicker while staring at the three people

and there’s actually times where you hate it bcs of how unserious she acts.

sometimes she would invite you along to voice someone else

and she would just sit and laugh like it’s the funniest thing ever!

annie:

☆ bargain queen

has coupons for everything in the whole wide world

she has all the apps for everyplace she goes so she’ll get some kind of deal.

her total at the grocery store would go from $135 to $80 bcs she’s a diehard user of coupons

she makes u use them as well and stuffs some in your wallet

she’s a karen for these things as well

if the price tag says it’s ‘$3.12’ then it’s ‘$3.12’ whether the seller says “well that’s last weeks price”

she’ll say “well maybe you should’ve changed it, how would the manager feel if i told them you’re not doing youre job?”

and she’d get it for $3.12

☆ greets an animal before she greets a person

if she seems someone she knows walking their dog she won’t even look at them let alone speak to them

she’ll crouch and pet the dog and start baby talking to them before she gets up and says something to the walker

she actually likes animals a lot

more than ppl

she’d have some kind of shirt displaying that as well

“im more of a dog person than a people person”

sasha:

☆ cant stay on track in a conversation

she could be talking to you about something she heard about someone. then she’ll be like, “speaking of her i remember when me and her went out for these awesome burgers.”

THEN she’ll say “wait because i was actually contemplating going vegan…. what do you think?”

the whole convo switches topics every 2 minutes or so.

you get so confused as to how the conversation went from work drama to when she thinks the world is going to end.

☆ takes the first bite of your food

it’s an unspoken rule.

she doesn’t even say “to test it for poison” she just does it because she wants

trying something new? she gets the first bite. you haven’t ate all day? she still gets the first bite. it’s your favorite food in the whole wide world? two words: first. bite.

and it’s not even a small bite, it’s the BIGGEST chomp she could take.

you’ve gotten so used to it that you don’t care. you just shove it in her face.

because if you were being honest if she just suddenly stopped you’d be concerned and sad.

ymir:

☆ cannot take some things seriously

she could be out w you at a restaurant and see this waiter’s name on their tag

“gaylord”

it’s not even pronounced “gay lord” but “gaylerd”

she’ll turn around and start hysterically laughing she doesn’t even care that the waiters right there

you can tell her a story from work or something that’s completely serious and she’ll still laugh no matter what

☆ lies out of her ass for no reason

you could tell her you tried some cool new exotic food and she’ll be like

“oh i had that when i was 5 and i almost died because i’m allergic to the spices in it”

and it’s kind of obvious it’s a lie but you don’t even say anything bcs she rides hard to defend herself and say it’s the truth

she’ll even go as far as editing photos and calling other people so it would be more believable

she sometimes doesn’t even lie to be funny but just out of habit

these aren’t bad kind of lies and she tells the truth when needed but she still b lyin..

pieck:

☆ cannot save money for her life

she can put aside some money for important stuff and it would be gone in a flash

worst part is the money is wasted on totally useless stuff

like finger puppets

what are you gonna do with finger puppets when you’re stranded for miles?

tries harder to not let it happen

then it happens again and she tries to justify it by saying that maybe a corn butterer was a great investment

(it wasn’t)

☆ can sleep anywhere at anytime

we all know this don’t we…

but it’s horrible

restaurants, floor, toilet

she could probably go to sleep in the club if she’s tired enough

she doesn’t look dead when she sleeps (unlike connie)

she looks very calm whether she’s in a deep sleep or taking a power nap

and she probably gets a decent amount of sleep at night, she just naps bcs… she wants to?

♡

a/n: at least 3 of these stories are actually real things i’ve faced with friends and family LOL so this is so funny to me. some of these aren’t even beige flags and are lowkey hcs, let’s just pretend alr!

[suspiciouslypinkrosegarden]

𓆝 𓆟 Armin Week 2024 𓆝 𓆟

Day 7: Hair Cut

Description: As winter turns into spring, you see a change in Armin too.

A small little something for this prompt. Maybe one day I'll add more to it. I'm still not done with Armin week, I've got more prompts coming!

It was March now, bright flowers flourishing amongst the greener grasses that surrounded where you and your fellow soldiers were currently stationed. The loss of winter’s cold was welcomed by you, happy as the snow melted off the trees during now much sunnier days. The trade from blanketed white to lively colors stirred a sense of joyfulness in you, feeling as if your heart did somehow bloom like the plants with all this change. You enjoyed the shift in weather during your outing to the marketplace, warm light dancing upon your skin as the breeze still kept you cool. You returned home with a basket of bread in your hands, Jean, Sasha and Connie carrying the rest of the groceries. 

You and your fellow soldiers adorned casual attire today, ODM gear stored away as you had time off duty. After returning from your outing, the common space quickly became cheery as a few of you sat at the dining table, Sasha and Jean unloading the last of what was brought with you. He scolded her as she snuck herself something for later, and laughter like bells filled the room aside from Levi shaking his head gently at Sasha’s familiar antics. This was put on pause as the three friends not present finally made their appearance, Armin slowly peeking his head out of the bathroom. Like the weather, you saw a change in him too. 

You smiled at him as he shyly stepped out of the bathroom, a few stray hairs still sitting loosely upon his shoulders. Mikasa followed him out, clearly proud of her work with the way she seemed to present him to the room, nudging him forward. Eren joined them, leaving the bathroom last. Gone was the boyish haircut he once had, taking on the one of someone more of age. 

You admired the look, eyes transfixed on the way his face was differently framed. The snow outside did melt, layers of hair gone to reveal new, brightly colored life. A jawline that was clearly sharper, face still round and full in a way that made him so youthful as he reached adulthood. Kissed were his cheeks littered with faint freckles and peony pink blush. His gaze was downcast as the entire room let out audible reactions, approval all around. 

You silently hoped your stories would last longer than the life of the fresh flowers at the center of the table, continuing to see him flourish beside you. 

Through the windows light did pour, and his blond hair seemed to illuminate as if haloed. You saw it now, his blue eyes the freshly painted sky and his hair the sun. Although you were now indoors, you found yourself staring at spring’s new day. 

[arminsumi]

okay i have to ask.. have you ever seen narnia? and if you have.. can you imagine armin in the narnia world?! i feel like he would be prince caspian but like.. instead of prince caspian being himself, armin would be him instead.. yknow what i mean?

it’s 1:12 in the morning i need to sleep 😭

anyway, i hope this made sense 😭😭

˗ˏˋ꒰ 👑꒱ prince armin

Armin x princess!reader

Content; royalty au, fluff, prince armin and princess reader

A/N: ahhh I vaguely remember the first film as a child and having a massive crush on that one guy who ate sweeties and betrayed his friends?? anywaysss i decided to write about prince!Armin, i hope that's ok? 😭 i just don't know anything past the first narnia film but i still wanted to fulfil ur request so i took the words 'prince' and 'armin' and RAN lol

Prince Armin is almost always the main topic of discussion among the commoners in Eldia, even in Marley. He's amiable and handsome, even the princess of Marley can't deny that she has a crush on him — but that is a hushed secret, because what would her subjects think if she revealed affection for the enemy's prince?

The whole Eldian kingdom buzzes with excitement. "Oh, did you hear? Prince Armin is visiting the village today. Apparently his hair is as golden as the sun, and his eyes as blue as the sea!"

He exudes pleasantness, like the legend of King Arthur. A strong yet humble man, as gentle as they come. He visits the village by the sea with his childhood friends and to-be knights, Eren and Mikasa. Waving at the crowd, answering the kid's curious questions about his past battles, smiling brightly, kindly speaking, laughing shyly when girls ask to be his future queen.

But Prince Armin has eyes for the Marleyan Princess. What he'd give to have your hand in marriage. If only the two kings could get along. If only you and him weren't utterly and totally forbidden from loving each other, then you wouldn't have to resort to such secrecy and meeting in the still of night in the palace courtyard.

He kneels and takes your hand, promising that one day, after the war, he will be your king.

[blueparadis]

❝ TIMELESS TWILIGHT ❞ + ARMIN ARLERT

CWs —» afab!reader with s!her pronouns,semi-linear plotline,  suggestive themes, royal au + supernatural au ( reader is a supernatural being ), strangers (to childhood friends) to lovers, slowburn, light angst, mention of corruption, violence and murder, temporary unrequited feelings, implicit smut descriptions,sappy romance and happy ending.

+. PLAYLIST—» moonlight ╾╼ somebody that I used to know ╾╼ rewrite the starts ╾╼ until i found you ╾╼ miel

PRECIS —» Armin was a chaser of eternity while she was a slave of it. One yearned for it, the other despised it until a thread of tragedy tied them together, forever.

+. NOTES —» this is for @dearbraus via @suyacho ’s gift exchange collab. hope you like this piece. I was confused between noé and armin but settled with the latter because this idea was originally thought for him.

I got this idea around april but finally, i could write this thanks to eden for that <3; also, this fic was partly inspired by the song moonlight by dhruv. I'm very much sleep deprived, so lemme sleep while y'all have a happy read. Merry Christmas (⁠＾⁠∇⁠＾⁠)⁠ﾉ

Special thanks to @orchid3a, @sailewhoremoon & @chosovixen for ß’reading this. also, you can read this in AO(III) ; browse more of my works through navigation links.

Museums, sculptures, libraries, books, songs, stories, poetries, paintings— all these had one thing in common: that is, they were eternal. They carried so many memories with them and yet were so defunct. And then, there are humans that live and die like flies. Ever since Armin was bestowed with the ability to walk he would only use it to go to the library or to sneak out through the back door of his room into the garden, or anywhere that does not remind him of the burden he has to carry till his last breath, the burden of protecting each and every person around him—  the burden of this whole kingdom that his father ruled.

He never asked for this life, the luxury, the fame, and the power that came with it. His father had told him that everything that the light touched belonged to him, but only one thought crossed his mind: for how long? Armin did not have to ask anyone to find the answer to that question. He saw it, he lived it. The fragility of his life. 

At that moment, when he was on the brink of destroying thousands of lives in one blow, hesitation overpowered his senses; the man kneeling in front of him, waiting for death to embrace him to save him from such shame, gutted him in the stomach. So annoying, Armin thought and slashed the head of the ruler of the kingdom. 

He was nineteen when he owned a new kingdom, a hefty crown adorned with the most lustrous jewels in the city, and the queen that was promised along with it. To his father’s disappointment, he denounced it, the kingdom, and the kingless queen. Oh no, that does not mean he did not enjoy the greater pleasures of life. He did, through and through, he is the crown prince, and anyone who denied his demands would be rendered lifeless, a mere memory just like stories, books, and sculptures.

He was desired by many, even males. Some people knelt to him to please him, while others were doomed to become an unpleasant distant memory. There was no in-between, no mercy came from the heart of the crown prince. He was not cruel, just a rageful young boy who desired things that seemed impossible to achieve, at least in this life. He envies lifeless things that do not have a lifespan. How utterly foolish!

Sometimes he would laugh at himself, thinking he had been born cursed, a little sick in the head, but his diary told otherwise. He kept it in the library, the journal with sapphire covers and his family emblem. It rested among those massive books that carried the history of great generations and his ancestors so that none, even Mikasa and Eren would not be aware of him, his truth, his true self. Half of him was amused by how all his writing mocked the rich legends that his father boasts at every royal dinner, while the other half, wept like a wounded creature for not being able to make his dreams come true. He is the crown prince, the prince yet all that power fell short of his dreams to achieve; to hold someone in his arms timelessly and to fall in love limitlessly.

Armin could think of only one name, y/n l/n. The girl who left him without finishing her stories. The girl who met him only during Twilight, smelt like forever, and looked like one of those decaying sculptures of Rome.

The Library, that place has always been a wonder to her, y/n. Books stacked beside one after the other embedded with lores and legends from all over the world. Most are sugar-coated, few are the resultant of figmentation and truth but none told the bitter truth. The poets lied, love is not a prince saving princess, love is a princess waiting for the prince for eternity; love is not sharing kisses under the starry night, love is being burnt by mere words. Love is not divine, rather it is the most wretched curse.

Ever since she discovered the existence of the library, she had been fond of how lies are woven so slyly that even the witness failed to separate the truth from fallacies. She had been the witness to how all the kings confiscated the castle, slaughtered the innocents, and had all the women as baits for bodily pleasure, but those rusted pages of the book told how the ferocious warriors, ‘envoys of justice’, ‘harbingers of peace’, or so they liked to call themselves; those warriors killed so many cruel kings and saved the people of the kingdom from their madness. Same lies, different names, different times.

Eternity was nothing like she imagined it would be. It was never a promise of happiness, but rather a promise of loneliness. Heck, even promises faded with time, yet this followed her like a shadow. Even love failed to fill the hollow space she had in her heart. She stopped believing in good but did no evil. Indeed, she had the power to rewrite history, but that could endanger her life, even if she was at the edge of death. But hope can be a dangerous thing for a girl who has lived through an aeon, and it shone miraculously on a full moon night.

There was a particular book that caught her eye. The spine was slim, with a plain sapphire spread and a logo embedded on one of its ends. She perfectly remembers that a few days ago the book was not there and a certain someone is a fool enough to keep it among the books that have all scarlet bindings. But she should not let that bother her so much. Besides, she is here to read; read about how her lover turned against her, exchanged her to get a few coppers and silvers a century ago yet died at her hands. It was tragic, of course: to watch your beloved betray your love and trust, but ecstasy gushed into her veins when she killed him by burying her fangs into his neck, absorbing the life out of him. 

At first, eternity was a boon, and now it is a bane. At first, killing was out of rage and now killing was the only way of survival. She took a few steps back from the family shelf of Tyburs, and stood in front of the Arlerts family shelf. For a minute, she let her fingers run through the books and halted at the sapphire one, which had the royal emblem of the kingdom. She took out the book, thinking it would not hurt to spare an hour or two, after all, she had all eternity.

It was a journal. The handwriting was neat and artsy. The front cover read, “my daily dose of dread.” What a child! She thought, but alas, she could not open the journal. She presumed that it was sealed with magic. And, just like the cascade, the emotions that she locked away when she buried her lover in a grave gushed in her body, through every vein, through each vein. She felt alive again.

The next day, y/n spent the whole day outside observing the humans in the town, gathering some intel. After two weeks, when night befell, she made her way where she wanted to be all this time, the library, the very palace where she loved to sneak in and read those great lies and laugh at the dead. She waited till she heard footsteps, to her surprise it was a boy of fifteen, the son of Duke Arlert. It has been almost a century since she had any human interaction. And now, a boy of fifteen with all the life ahead and innocence intact became alien to her. It thrilled her.

“Who are you?”, the boy asked with aimless, oceanic eyes that had the tragedy of the great Gatsby. She jolted, blinked and took a few steps forward, bowed down in front of the boy and whispered, “I’m the new cataloger, your highness.” And that day, a new friendship was born. Only the moon and the stars were the witness of it.

Unbelievable it seemed to her, for how Armin warmed up to her so quickly. Y/n used to wait for him during nighttime at one corner of the library till he would come to her. Gradually he learnt to use the loopholes in the rules of royal court just so he could hear stories from her, stories that were not written on any of the books, stories that talked about the origin of fairies and monsters. Some days Armin refused to go to his chambers just to hear such stories from her, some days he fell asleep in her lap while she was reading out stories to him. The very stories that he despised so much became engaging to him. He started to take interest in royal duties too.

Sometimes, Armin waited alone in that library but he never asked questions like, ‘Why do your eyes change color? How come I do not see you when I come during the day?’ He was kind to y/n, kinder than most people she had met, killed, or had to betray, but at the same time, those questions weighed heavy on her heart and died at the tip of her tongue whenever she came to visit Armin. As Armin grew up, her visits became less frequent. With all the agony and anger in him, Armin never bothered to ask why. Moreover, he didn't want to cease those pixelated visits from her, however fleeting they became, they belonged to him and only him.

On his twentieth birthday, y/n went to the main court to join the celebration, mostly at his request. Amongst so many souls you felt lifeless as if you were a sculpture. And then, you saw the boy of fifteen who has reached his peak of youth. 

Armin still has those eyes of tragedy, that would tell you nothing except stories that never ended, stories that were abandoned by their auth,or or where the author had died before finishing it. But today, those blue eyes were not blue anymore. They were gleaming in hope and yearning as he watched you walking towards him surfing through the crowd.

Armin was sitting on the throne, with his cape flowing down past his ankles with the crown that sealed many fates of varied rulers. There was a line of visitors to meet him, you were one of them, just for today. Your turn came in “Happy birthday, your highness. Congratulations on your coronation. I wish you the very best of life.”, you uttered as you handed him the gift. He smiled. With a bow, you left his sight. That was it; nothing special happened. There were no secret smiles and stolen stares. It ended so soon, happened so fast that all you felt was remorse. But you did not let that linger on your mind since you knew that, late at night, when everyone would be asleep, Armin would come to visit you. He was not a creature of the night. You were. But it turned on you that very day when you waited for him till dawn.

A girl who had eternity started counting the days. 

Four weeks and three days have passed yet Armin neither came for a visit to the library nor wrote about his days in his journal. You remembered how he told you that you should not read his journal, it’s personal, he said yet would sometimes read from that very journal, just some musings. A few days later, you could hear his name in waves and in whispers, that he conquered several kingdoms, that he won many wars, and perhaps would conquer the whole world. The entire kingdom rejoiced at his success, however, you could not. You missed him. You mourned a living person since he never wrote about such dreams in his journal. Maybe that person was long-lost, somewhere in the pages of the books that anyone no longer bothered to read.

After almost five years, Armin returned home. He had abandoned all sorts of hope to see her again. The only girl who could feel what he was thinking, the only girl who could see behind his eyes, and live in between his bedsheets. He had desired her day and night, at each passing moment, in every way a man could ever desire a woman. He remembers the feeling, the feeling that has always haunted him since childhood, people called it love while Armin could call it burning, burning with desire, yet remained lifelessly indifferent about it. True love, as they said, but Armin thought it was punishment.

He was on horseback with his sword tucked in his belt which was made of gold and silver. His mantle shrouded the armor, which had witnessed many battles and mishaps, and was embedded with rare gems and pearls carving his family emblem on the mantle spread. His blue eyes wandered everywhere, he looked every bit of regal he was. 

His own home city felt foreign to him except her, except you, who stood young and beautiful amongst several bouquets of flowers receiving smiles and coins in exchange for said flowers in broad daylight. Even after five years, you look just the same; just like how he saw you that day on a full moon night for the first time. So many things to tell you, so many things to write in his journal yet all he could do was to watch you from a distance. 

Armin dismounted from the horse, and a gust of wind swayed his hood off, revealing his blonde hair that kissed his shoulder blades. There he was, standing on the opposite side of the lane, with his right arm resting on his sword, his azure eyes locked on you while everything around you seemed to evaporate. When you shifted your gaze from the customers onto him, his lips took an upward curve and your heartbeats ceased to exist. 

The lane between the two of you was filled with people that lead their life without being aware of the tragedies evoked by two distant souls. The dusk was approaching; the crimson sun rays fell short on them, for it witnessed two polar souls burn with desire for each other. It seemed like an endless twilight where only they could exist and none other. Armin took a step forward to cross the lane while all the flowers in the shop closed their petals as if they were to witness the greatest kiss of timeless love, but alas! Tragedy befell them.

It happened within a blink. When y/n opened her eyes, she watched Armin fall to his knees with a wound near his heart. The crowd became unruly; while everyone was fleeing from the scene your feet moved on their own to save him, to stop his bleeding, to do anything, anything at all that would save his life, but before you could barely cross half of the street, your senses betrayed you. It was such a mighty fall, for both of them.

“Oh! You’re awake?”, a bold voice, ruptured your eardrums that could still hear the screams of the locals. A finger traced your face as you opened your eyes, and you saw the face that you have mourned for so long, so silently, that you failed to realize the budding love at the bottom of your heart.

“Yo-you are okay?”, you gasped, blurted out in a hurry to check his wound. It was not there anymore. What actually happened back then?

“How can I not be?”Armin stated, taking a seat near you at the edge of the bed, “What was the last thing you remember, y/n?”, his fingers found their way irrevocably in between yours.

“... that you were bleeding. Everyone was running…to save …”, Armin placed his index on your lips saying, “I was wounded before I came to see you. I wanted to see you for the last time…”, he leaned against your forehead, continuing, “... but you, you y/n saved me.”

It must have been the power of love. A voice mocked the back of your head, but then  Armin showed you a pendant; the very pendant that you gifted him on his coronation day. It was embedded with magic. It carried the untimely dead souls, people who departed before their time came. 

“This. This has been saving me every time.”, Armin smiled looking at your astonished face. 

“You knew about me? All this time?”, you asked, a little offended by the childish tantrum he pulled. 

“Of course, love.”, he reported meekly before kissing your lips that he had been dying to taste. You moaned as he advanced his way, his hands palming your face. His touch was so tender and soft that it felt as if he was afraid to touch you, what if you break again?

You looked at him as your lips whispered, “Even before you touched me, I belonged to you, Armin. All you had to do was to look at me. I was right there, with you, the whole damn time.” 

—

@tokyometronetwork

[bish-plz-haha]

Hajime Isayama is a genius. And here's why: a tangent

The fourth season of Attack On Titan (AOT/Shingeki No Kyojin) is the epitome of

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Keep that in mind as you, if anybody, reads this.

Eren's villain arc makes total sense. Don't get me wrong, the ending was fucked. But it made so much sense.

With the entirety of the series being about freedom and him having the Attack Titan's power to "see" the future, Eren—as dumb and idiotic as he can be—realised, I think, that in order for the world to stop seeing Paradis as their foe (for the world to stop seeing Eldian's in general as their foe) and for them to have the freedom he so desperately dreamed about from the day Armin showed him that book, they needed a common enemy. But there wasn't one: there was just hatred and violence towards others who were just a little different. So he realised that, in the end, he had to become that. He had the strength and power, and he knew that. He could be that for the people. He could be the reason that the people of Marley and Paradis unite and fight side by side instead of fighting each other. He honestly even told Armin as much.

ARMIN: It was all to push us away from you... and make us into heroes who save humanity from extinction by taking you down?

EREN: Yeah. You guys will become saviors to all that's left of humanity. You turned your backs on Paradis in spite of being "Island Devils," and sided with humanity to the end.

Eren became what no one else wanted to. What no one thought he'd become. For the sake of the people that meant the world to him: Armin, Mikasa, Connie, Sasha, and even Jean (side note: I loved their rivalry. It made things light and fun even in dark times). He says that in order for things to go the way they needed to, future him sent the titan towards his mother instead of Bertholdt. Eren had to do the hardest things of his life towards the end: one being becoming someone he's not for the sake of the greater good (poor babies. Honestly, he was convincing as the villain: he had all the justifications to be that person. But he wasn't, down to his core, mean and cruel as he so convincingly portrayed himself to be. He even had his best friends fooled. Up until Armin heard about the eradication plan. At that point, Armin called his bullshit—which is fair).

He showed his father memories, fake and real, of what's to come to make him convince Zeke, which was very clever. He controlled Yimr enough—with Zeke's help of course—to make her attack his friends with titans from the past to put on a good show, not knowing whether or not they'd make it out alive (he hoped and his hope and knowledge that his friends—no, family—were skilled enough to stay alive). He definitely knew his death was coming, and he knew he had to continue on, even if that meant causing his loved ones pain; the pain of his death moreso than anything.

Eren made Marley team up with Paradis. To fight an enemy they both had in common instead of each other. To make Marley and the rest of the world see sense (though as Historia said: "The fight will not end even after the Titans have vanished. Eren told me everything about the future he knows. Even if he can't see the future past that point, he was able to see this future vividly. I'm sure this outcome was not just the result of Eren's choices. This world is the result of the choices we all made. We must fight. So we won't have to fight anymore. Even if it means to live a living hell devoid of peace...")

Hense the reason I say that the fourth season is the epitome of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." He knew that if they had a common enemy, they'd unite and fight together, not against each other. There was no need for senseless killing. He didn't want that.

Oh and don't even get me STARTED on the symbolism. My GOD that struck me like a fucking truck. Like, the shot of the scouts saluting Levi as he sat against that bolder only for the camera to pan to the Wings Of Freedom on Erwins back as he disappears along with them. UGH.

And then the biRD PULLING AT MIKASA'S SCARF ONLY TO FLY AWAY. LIKE, WHY WOULD YOU SHOW ME THAT??? Im CrYiNg!!!!!

Eren is finally free.

[aruanimess]

I was reading @diam-etrical's inspired by The Hunger Games AU (which by the way is amazing and you should go read it if you haven't already) and had some thoughts on Peeta and Armin as mirror characters, mostly in terms of what this comparison brings to Armin's characterization (since I obsess over aot at the moment), which I decided to share with y'all.

So Armin is and isn't Peeta Mellark. They're both highly intelligent, skilled orators and perceptive. They have the ability to read people and to sway them in their favor. Also, especially in comparison to their more self-centered love interests, they both have a strong sense of morality.

However Peeta's thesis in the beginning of THG (which follows him throughout the story and shapes his character arc) is the line "If I'm going to die, I want to still be me," which is fundamentally antithetical to Armin's maxim "someone who can't sacrifice anything, can't change anything" (in the context of Erwin losing his own humanity for the greater good). What's more, Peeta's story proves Armin's philosophy wrong. Peeta very clearly defines the outcome of the games by his commitment to his beliefs and principles, by preserving what makes him human and when that is lost (in mockingjay), we as readers but also katniss as a character in the story, mourn this side of him and understand it to be a loss too great.

The thing is though, Armin's story also kind of proves him wrong (to a degree). On one hand, Armin is incapable of letting go of Eren and the image of him he remembers from his childhood: the strong, brave Eren who fought for justice. Ultimately, this inability to accept that Eren has changed is what clouds his judgment concerning Eren's motivation until it's too late. On the other hand, Armin ends up disagreeing with Eren that the Rumbling was for the better (I'm disregarding the "thank you for becoming a mass murderer" line because I interpret it to be for Eren's benefit--meaning that Armin was trying to comfort his best friend at that point). His last actions in the story are about him being opposed to Eren who deemed  the outside world worthy of sacrificing for the greater good of the Paradisians. Therefore, even Armin himself by the conclusion of the story is not willing to sacrifice everything.

And yet, Armin is not entirely wrong. Armin makes great sacrifices to achieve peace and to do the right thing. He is willing to risk his life, his friend's lives, the chance to be with the woman he loves, Eren (both in the sense of Eren's life and in the sense of Armin's idea of Eren). Armin is even willing to besmirch his own reputation (in his eyes) by naming himself Eren's killer; it is a burden he's willing to bear for Mikasa, but also to pacify the Marleyans. These sacrifices are crucial in order to prevent perpetual conflict.

In the end, Armin's quote is more about compromising than about giving up your humanity and empathy.

So the main takeaway from paralleling these to characters, at least for me, is that there are things that are worth sacrificing (toxic beliefs, your personal comfort, an oppressive status quo) and things worth preserving (ideals, life, love). Violence may be necessary to enact change, but in order to maintain the positive impact you created, you need to be able to drop your weapons and find common ground.

[sunlightandsuffering]

It's kind of cute how Fratboy Eren begs Mikasa to come to his frat parties every time even though he knows she'll say no

CHIVALRY IS ABOUT BUYING THE GIRL AN UBER IF UR GONNA HAVE A BOOTY CALL LOL !!

Eren has never been one to indulge Mikasa, he can’t, she’d be spoiled rotten if he did everything she said, gave her everything in the world she deserved, the most perfect, beautiful– stop, he’s getting a little carried away. 

He simply can’t indulge her though, or she’d be a brat, which is ironic seeing as how if anyone was spoiled he was, a nepo baby and richest kid on the block, but he doesn’t think it’s changed him too much. 

On the other hand, Mikasa is already kind of a brat, maybe if he had indulged her when they were younger she wouldn’t have turned into this angry little feminist spaz. 

Maybe she’d be sweet and loving, and his girlfriend hanging on his arm. 

But as he tries to picture it, he simply can’t, can’t get that patented murderous glare out of his mind, how just one glance gets him hot. 

No, he likes her just as she is, full of burgeoning rage at the patriarchy, and hypocritical just for him. 

The contrast of her is fucking beautiful, and who would have thought that his tenth-grade vow to become a sexist asshole in pure spite of her would reward him so well. Because where other men receive her rabid dislike, Eren receives her reluctant affection and nothing is hotter than her showing up to his frat house in an uber at 3 am, after repeatedly telling him no. 

Nothing is better than being the only man she’ll make an exception for. ​​

That hit of dopamine every time she rejects him, knowing she’ll make an exception in the end, that she’ll turn up on his door step spritzed in light perfume, freshly showered and shaved, wrapped up in sweats and an old oversized sweater just for him. She’s like a present to unwrap, and he adores it. 

So, he texts her, against all common sense, despite the fact that there is an entire sorority in his house right now, a girl with tits the size of melons trying to hang off his arm, he does it. Eren, 11:18 pm

come over, miss u, kinda wanna get my dick wet. 

And although he wonders if the last statement was a little bit much, imagining her enraged reaction makes him practically giddy, how she’s probably fuming about it right now. 

And sure enough, seconds later, like she simply couldn’t wait to respond. 

Mikasa, 11:18 pm

Fuck off Yeager

Women are not objects I will not be coming over now, or ever

The typing bubble continues for a while and he watches in amusement as it appears and disappears several times before she finally stops responding. 

Eren decides to throw fuel on the fire as the blonde with melon tits leaves him, deciding he’s not worth the effort, and privately, Eren agrees. 

Eren, 11:30 pm

i’ll let you suck me off

God, what he wouldn’t give to facetime her right now, watch her respond in real time because he can only imagine the shocked outrage. 

Mikasa, 11:31 pm

That’s not the win you think it is Yeager. 

Eren, 11:31 pm

could be… if you show up 👅

Eren receives nothing else from her for the next several minutes, and before he can stop himself he’s ordering her an Uber, because you know chivalry isn’t dead after all. If he’s going to get her to come over mid-party for a booty call, he might as well be a gentleman about it.

[chackyxyooj]

It Wasn’t Just a Dream

Spoiler Warning: Attack on Titan’s second part of season 4

Jean storms away from the campfire, his fists bloodied from beating Reiner’s face to a pulp. Of all the people to come looking for him, of course it was (Y/n) - one of the four Warriors who’d betrayed Paradis. What better time to have a heart-to-heart talk with your enemy than when the world is about to end?

__________________________________________________

What does it mean to be brave?

The definition of bravery is someone who’s ready to face and endure danger or pain; it’s defined as a show of courage. That is the most common perception of bravery, but is that all it means to be brave? Of course this definition is sufficient, but one can’t help but wonder if they really are brave. One can’t help but ask if they truly display bravery.

Someone who sleeps with the lights on might consider someone who sleeps with them off, brave. People who are afraid of spiders take someone who can kill a spider as brave, but people who keep spiders as pets are deemed crazy. Where is the line between the two?

What is the difference between being perceived as brave and being perceived as a fool?

This question was a familiar one for Jean. Back in his youth, he often wondered what bravery was. He believed he knew what it meant to be a coward, but that didn’t necessarily mean he knew what it meant to be brave.

There was once a time where Jean equated honesty with bravery. To speak your mind bluntly without being scared of another person’s judgement had certainly seemed brave to the young soldier - especially since he was someone who wasn’t afraid to say what he wanted.

In his youth, Jean considered himself brave because he wasn’t afraid to admit when something seemed ridiculous or outlandish. Everyone in the 104th Cadet Corps knew of Jean. He was the one who ‘courageously’ declared that he would be joining the Military Police as soon as he graduated. Unlike the people who were set on joining the Survey Corps, Jean was working hard to earn a life of luxury. He believed that being scared of death didn’t make him a coward, it made me smart. Maybe the praise from his peers went to his head, but for a while Jean really considered himself as brave.

An honest person can certainly be brave, but being honest didn’t always imply bravery.

After seeing Titans with his very own eyes, Jean once again began to question what it really meant to be brave. Honest words weren’t going to drive away the Titans. He wondered if being brave was putting your life on the line for others, but risking your life so someone else could live had seemed stupid. Why would anyone risk their own well being for someone else? It hadn’t made any sense to the young and naive Jean.

Maybe in the eyes of others, risking their life was a way to prove something - to prove that they were above others enough to put their lives on the line. Yet in Jean’s opinion, it only felt like they were brave enough to do something as stupid as die for nothing.

Putting your life on the line is certainly brave, but it’s really only perceived as brave when it’s your life for the many.

In both of these cases, and for a majority of his life, Jean considered bravery to be someone who goes out of their comfort zone. It wasn’t always something as extreme as sprinting into battle to pull a comrade out of the line of fire, but it was something new. Doing something that you wouldn’t have done before or that he himself could not do was what he thought bravery was.

When Jean was someone who hid behind the goals of joining the Military Police, he considered himself as brave. When he was stranded in the middle of Titan infested streets and only Mikasa stepped up to fight them, he considered her brave.

So what about now? What does it mean to be brave?

Jean’s eyes traced the outline of the fire. It cracked as it crumbled under his gaze. He sighed before taking another log and quickly dropping it across the surface of his fire. It was the last of what he’d gathered before. He knew he’d have to go and gather some more eventually, but right now, all he wanted to do was rest. He didn’t want to have to think about… anything really.

Tonight was a particularly cold night. A cold night for a regular human like him, anyway. He’d heard from Armin that Titan Shifters have a higher body temperature than regular people. It was strange though. For some reason, he felt like he knew this even before Armin told him.

The memory was more like… a dream.

That night had been a cold one too. Jean couldn’t recall what his room looked like, or how the moon had looked, or even what time it had been, but he remembered that it had been the day before Annie’s capture. Is that why he remembered it?

Was he remembering a night like this because of the similarities it had to this one? What a joke. He knew for a fact that he was remembering because of her. It was always her.

“Kirstein? Are you still awake?”

Speak of the devil and thou shall appear.

Jean leaned against a tree for a while. He hoped that (Y/n) would make a decision on her own accord, but she didn’t. She didn’t attempt to leave nor sit. She didn’t even try to check whether or not Jean was sleeping. If Jean waited long enough, she might leave. Then again, she might stand there all night. But alas, Jean was the one to break first.

With a deep sigh, Jean replied. “If I say no, would you leave me alone?”

“Wouldn’t it be cruel for me to leave you while you’re lonely?”

“I’m not lonely.”

“But you are alone.” (Y/n) placed a small pile of dry wood beside Jean before sitting down beside it. Both of them were quiet for a while. (Y/n) was content with this, but Jean was not as content as her.

To say Jean felt conflicted about working alongside the Warriors would be an understatement. Even before he knew that basically all of the Warriors were responsible for Marco’s death, teaming up with the Warriors wasn’t something he would’ve imagined. They were the reason for so much death. It wasn’t even limited to Paradis! It was everywhere. He’d seen it with his own eyes.

How could she sit beside him right now? How had she ever sat beside him knowing all of the things that she had done? How could Jean let himself sit beside her now, knowing the things that he had done?

(Y/n) picked up one of the small kindling she had brought and slowly placed it across the fire. Steam rose from the girl’s hand as she pulled it away, but her face showed no signs of discomfort.

“Didn’t that hurt?” Jean wondered.

“I’ve gotten used to the pain. We all have.” replied the Crystal Shifter. She held her hand up for Jean to see, and he watched as the steaming parts of her hand turned from red back to their natural hue. “You know, the punches you threw at Reiner were pretty ruthless. If you had used that kind of force with anyone other than a Titan Shifter, they likely would’ve died.”

Jean turned away. He didn’t feel like taking a lecture from anyone right now. Especially not from (Y/n). “Why are you here, (Y/n)?”

“Why do you think I’m here?”

“To make sure I’m not contacting Floch or something? I don’t know.”

“That is a valid reason, but no. I have no reason to suspect you of working alongside Floch. Even if I did, I have no right to tell you what is and isn’t right.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Which was?”

Jean leaned back and gave (Y/n) a look as if to say ‘really?’

The girl chuckled to herself before meeting Jean’s gaze. “I came out here to make sure you were okay. Do you see me as such a manipulative person that you assume I have ulterior motives for checking up on one of my comrades?”

“A comrade, huh?” Jean teased. “Not even a friend anymore?”

“Did you want me to consider you a friend, Kristien?”

“Not really, but it’s… complicated. I’m definitely not the same kind of comrade the Warriors are to you, but I’m also not the same as Armin or Connie.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“Well for starters, you’ve already gone back to calling Armin and Connie by their first names, but not me. As a matter of fact, I’m the only person who you refer to by last name. Did I do something to you to deserve this?”

(Y/n) pursed her lips, her gaze back on the fire instead of Jean. How frustrating. But it’s always been that way with (Y/n), hasn’t it?

Before anyone knew about traitors or Titan Shifters, life had been simpler. Jean had been a boy who was constantly vying for the (h/c)ette’s attention just like everyone else. Unfortunately for him, his best friend was Marco. Now, Marco was as good of a friend as anyone would hope to have. Sometimes Jean considered himself lucky for having someone like Marco be his friend in the first place, but things weren’t very cut and dry.

Marco and Jean had been infatuated with (Y/n). (Y/n) had been drawn towards Marco. There was no room for Jean in that scenario. It was just him, watching someone he liked show interest in his best friend. It was almost pitiful how each time he’d manage to steal (Y/n)’s attention, Marco would inevitably take center stage.

Marco wasn’t a malicious guy, and Jean knew that well, but every time it happened Jean could only be frustrated with himself. It’s probably why (Y/n) had been drawn towards the freckled boy in the first place. Both of them were people who wore their hearts on their sleeves. Jean was someone who kept his heart under lock and key. Jean had never stopped liking (Y/n), but he was smart enough to know when to back off.

Sometime between Marco’s death and (Y/n)’s betrayal, everything changed. Obviously (Y/n) had lost people who she had been close to, but she always had a distant look in her eyes. She was always searching for something that no one else could see.

That was really the worst part of it all - falling in love with someone who wasn’t really there.

Something that was a cross between a laugh and a sigh suddenly escaped from Jean. He couldn’t even tell what he had wanted it to be, either. “Doesn’t tonight remind you of back when we were cadets? Or, I guess back then we were rookie Scouts.”

“I don’t really know what you’re getting at.”

“The night before we captured Annie. How I joked about you sleeping in the same bed as me, and then you did. It feels so long ago, you know?”

(Y/n) glanced at Jean, letting him catch the curious expression which rested on her features. It was curiosity and nothing more - not even a hint of familiarity.

“What about that other time?” questioned Jean. “It was around the time we were preparing to head to Shiganshina. I was throwing up in the bathroom at night, but then you showed up and we talked. You remember that, don’t you?”

“Well…”

“And what about tonight?”

“What about it?”

“Are you going to forget tonight like all of those other nights before it?” Jean sighed. He knew he was just taking shots in the dark, but he wanted it to be true. “You know, everyone I tell those things to say that I was probably mistaken - even you told me I was crazy at one point, but I really do remember it happening.”

“I’m not saying that I remember any of those things happening with clarity, but I won’t say whether or not they’ve actually occurred. I have so many different memories swimming around in this head of mine that I might mistake one of my predecessor’s memories for my own, but I also don’t think you’d lie. You’re not that kind of person.” (Y/n)’s expression seemed softer in the light of the fire. Perhaps at this moment her expression was softer, but Jean wasn’t sure.

“So then… what kind of person am I?”

“You’re honest, and empathetic. Kind with an almost naive outlook on life. And don’t get me started on how you wear your heart on your sleeve.” (Y/n) picked up another piece of wood and placed it in the fire. When she finished, she looked at Jean with a soft smile. “And you’re brave.”

“Brave?” repeated Jean. “I don’t think I’m a very brave person.”

“And what do you consider ‘bravery’ to be?”

“Being brave is being able to endure pain and having courage in general.”

“And that’s what you believe bravery is?”

“Well… not entirely.” Jean pulls on the sleeves of his jacket as he meets the (h/c)ette’s gaze. “I’ve actually never known what bravery is. I mean, I know what it is in general, but it’s never meant anything significantly different from what anyone else believes it is.”

“I see.” (Y/n) turns away from Jean, and the boy can feel his shoulders relax. “I believe that bravery is a combination of a lot of things, but two things specifically come to mind. Since the most obvious opposite of bravery is fear, I believe that part of being brave is to act in spite of fear. Don’t get me wrong, fear is a natural survival instinct so just acting out instead of being scared is not what I consider brave. It’s more like… stepping up to a challenge, even if you don’t think you can do it. Kind of like when you chose to join the Survey Corps instead of the Military Police.”

“And the other thing?”

“The other fundamental core I associate with bravery is having the strength to do what is necessary. Obviously my views have been skewed from growing up in a world that wanted me to be a perfect tool, but my views of bravery are far from what they taught was brave. Gabi, Falco and Emanon are naive and maybe a bit stupid at times, but I also believe that they’re brave. Becoming a Warrior is depicted as a selfless act because you’re dedicating yourself to Marley, but protecting others is what actually makes it a selfless act. I guess I’d call it necessary justice. Though, it’s taken me a long time to understand what ‘necessary’ is.”

“And what’s necessary to you?”

(Y/n) suddenly grinned, catching Jean off guard. “I didn’t realise you were so eager to learn about this kind of thing. I thought I was talking your ear off.”

“Not really. I’ve always wondered what it means to be brave, so knowing what you consider brave is… refreshing? I don’t even know what I’m saying.” Jean looked up at the sky through the gaps in the branches and leaves. “I feel like I’m having an out of body experience.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I feel like I’m experiencing deja vu. Here I am, after four years of hating you, talking to you like we’ve been friends all this time! It doesn’t feel right.”

“And what would feel right?”

“I don’t know. Fighting with you? Hating you again? It just feels unfair for me to be sitting here with you while Eren is… about to crush the world for us.”

“Why do you think Eren is crushing the world for you guys?”

“You do realise that we’re talking about the guy who, at age 15, was going to kill every single Titan with his own two hands. Now he’s using Titans to crush the whole world. It’s such a messed up turn of events.”

“Isn’t that why we’re going to stop him? Because it’s messed up and unfair?”

“Why are you doing that? Why do you keep answering my questions with more questions?” Jean ran his fingers through his hair impatiently. It seemed his body wanted to know the answer more than his mind, and the only way to speed up the process was to keep moving. He knew it wouldn’t, but boy, what he would’ve done to get a straight answer right now.

The Crystal Shifter tilted her head, “would you prefer I answer your questions a different way?”

“Of course.”

“And how would you like me to answer instead?”

Jean scoffed, “with answers, obviously.”

“Is it really that obvious?”

Of course it was obvious. Questions were supposed to be answered with answers. Heck, answers were so important that even unanswered questions, like rhetorical questions, were questions with implied responses. At this point, continuing with the conversation seemed redundant.

Jean knew better than anyone that the person sitting beside him was no longer who he had once known. But oh, how her eyes shone with the same warmth he’d always known them to have. She no longer hid her eyes behind the cold blue of her Crystals. Now they were back to what they had once been. After four years of being perceived as a monster, she was here as the human she’d once been.

Or maybe she’d always been human, but Jean had convinced himself otherwise.

How cruel of him.

Jean was back to tracing the fire with his eyes. He was back to thinking about anything and everything. He wondered if he would’ve been better off telling (Y/n) to leave him alone, or if coming out here was the right thing to do at all.

“Sometimes I wonder what life would’ve been like for me if I had stayed in Paradis instead of going back to Marley.” Confessed (Y/n). “I wonder what would’ve changed if I’d been able to save Mina, or if I hadn’t helped the other Warriors kill Marco. I really don’t think I was strong enough to make a difference, but still… people like us can’t help but wonder.”

“What do you mean ‘people like us?’”

“I’m not lumping you in with the rest of us Warriors, if that’s what you’re asking. Rather, people like us are people who have the strength to cause change. I know for a fact that not everyone agrees with the idea of Eren crushing the world; there are even people in Paradis who are against the idea, but those people cannot change anything. It’s not their fault that they don’t have the fundamentals required, but that also doesn’t mean that they can’t change things. It’s just… different.”

“I hate to admit it, but for a while I was genuinely considering siding with Floch and living a luxurious life within the walls. I guess old habits die hard.”

“To be fair, no one really wants to be the villain. As someone who has been forced to fight dozens of battles, I’m sure that many people have depicted me and the other Warriors as villains. I guess the craziest thing about it all is that at the end of the day, Warriors are deemed heroes because Marley is the nation that gets the final say in things.”

“Isn’t that just the kind of world we live in? The world is a place where winners are the ones who get to tell the story, not the losers.” Once again, Jean found himself leaning back and gazing at (Y/n). He didn’t like how he kept looking back at her. “Hey, I’m sorry for hurting Emanon.”

“It’s nice that you’re apologising, but you really should apologise to her and not me.”

“I know, and I will. It’s just that the two of you are really close so…”

(Y/n) hummed, acknowledging Jean as his sentence trailed away. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to save Marco. I knew he was your best friend but still couldn’t-”

“No, I get it. It was Marco or the Warriors. There really wasn’t much competition, was there?”

“Not when the Warriors tried so hard to get me to remember them, no. Every single one of them has been there for me. It wouldn’t be fair for me to just toss them aside and let them fend for themselves.”

“What was it like to grow up with them in…?”

“The Warrior Program?” (Y/n) sighed to herself for a moment. “It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, that’s for sure. It was like going through the Cadet Corps training but three times harder while also being three times younger. Kids like us grew up training and fighting. It was a twisted relationship where we were friends, comrades and rivals all at the same time. But that was our way of life. It was all we’d ever known.”

“You guys seem alright. I mean, that newest generation of Warriors isn’t half bad.”

“Yeah, but it isn’t half good either. Our generation and their generation has always been referred to as adequate. Our individual skills are all there, but none of us are really ‘leader’ material. It’s probably the main reason why our mission to Paradis fell apart so quickly. We were tools. We weren’t able to think for ourselves or make proper decisions. We were just… kids.”

The Crystal Shifter picked up a piece of kindling and picked at it. “Annie and Pieck have always followed orders. Bertholdt was too timid to really step up and lead the group which was what made him such a perfect vessel for Titan powers in the first place. Porco was a good fighter, but he was always comparing himself to his older brother - the one who was supposed to lead our mission on Paradis. Zeke is… well, you already know what Zeke’s done.”

“What about you and Reiner?”

“I’ve always cared for Reiner. When he was a kid he was pretty soft spoken. He has always wanted to do what he thinks is best. Unfortunately for him, he grew a proper conscience; as a matter of fact, we all did. It was different for all of us, but one day the things we were doing caught up to us. We knew the things we were doing weren’t the right things to do, but we also didn’t have a choice in the matter. We simply had to keep moving forward with our lives because, well, why else would we be living?”

“You saying that kind of reminds me of Eren.”

“Well yeah. I probably inadvertently picked it up from him. I understand where he’s coming from and why he feels like crushing the world is the only way forward, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s right. I’m not trying to become a martyr or a hero by opposing him, either. I’m just trying to live.” (Y/n) stood up and dusted off her pants.

“You’re going now?” asked Jean.

“I want to make sure Emanon is okay. She’s been through a lot in the past few days, so I want to be there for her.”

“And Reiner?”

“What about Reiner?”

“Do you care for him, too?”

(Y/n) smiled at Jean, placing the kindling she’d been picking at in the boy’s hands. “I always end up saying way more than I mean to when I talk to you. Did you know that?”

“Not enough, apparently.” Jean mumbled, earning a short laugh from the girl.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“How do you know I’ll come back?”

(Y/n) shot one last glance at Jean over her shoulder. “Because you’re someone who’ll do what he thinks is right.”

Jean listened to the Shifter’s footsteps as she disappeared into the night. A part of him wanted to go back to the others right now, but he knew better than to return in his current state of mind. Once again, he was reduced to tracing the outline of the fire on his own.

The wood (Y/n) had handed Jean was warmer than his own hands. Despite how the Crystal Shifter had been feeding the fire, its glow was rather dim.

How could she be so certain about him? How could (Y/n) be so sure that he would return tomorrow when even he wasn’t sure about returning? Was he simply that predictable? Jean liked to think that he’s significantly changed in the past four years, but his conversation with (Y/n) felt like any other conversation he might have had with her before. But was that really a bad thing?

Jean held the wood overtop of the flames. Even if some vindictive part of himself wanted to prove the Crystal Shifter wrong, he knew that there would be no merit in it - not that he was doing things for the merit. If he was going to go back, he was going back because it was the right thing to do.

In that moment, as embers from the fire landed on the piece of wood in his hands, Jean once again wondered what it meant to be brave.

Was it honesty? Going outside of your comfort zone, or acting in spite of fear? Or was it, perhaps, something as simple as having the strength to do what was necessary? Jean didn’t think he could say which of these it might be, let alone what else might contribute to bravery, but he did know that it was okay to be unsure.

Jean dropped the piece of wood he held into the fire. It was a pretty cold night, and he didn’t want to catch a cold before tomorrow.

[onigiri-dorkk]

Hi I'm new to the fandom and not gonna lie for a long time I was confused about why would anyone ship Rivamika because it always seemed like Levi was barely aware of Mikasa and Mikasa hated Levi or disliked him. I started reading the manga last week and I'm honestly surprised by how little changes made a huge different. WIT always made it seem like Mikasa didn't care about anyone other than Ereh and I believe they are the reason why everyone makes fun of Mikasa for being obsessed. I genuinely thought "I love her but she's very ungrateful and rude sometimes, their strongest soldier hurt his ankle when they needed him the most because of her and all she cared about is Ereh" but it's not like that in the manga. She actually feels guilty and responsible which is a great panel to show how character development. A 3 seconds scene would do so much good to Mikasa's character but WIT somehow didn't want to include that scene. Even in S3 it seemed like they would like to keep them apart and don't let them interact even though there was a huge reveal about them. And I think it's not only WIT. Even Isayama himself is almost afraid to let them interact and I'm not talking about shipping here. Imagine finding out that someone experienced the same things as you did, have this weird mysterious power thing going on and that person is your Captain whom you made it clear that you trust and respect now. It's crazy to me that they don't even talk and compare their experiences etc???? Again, it's not even about shipping, it pisse me off because it feels like Mikasa isn't allowed to have anything of her own, the reason why Mikasa ships aren't popular isn't because she's not loved, it's because Isayama, WIT and even Mappa didn't let her have many meaningful interactions. Hell, even with Armin (they are supposed to be a trio) it sometimes feel like they were just hanging out for Eren. Ughhh they could at least let Mikasa have Ackermans for her own. She could interact more with Levi and even with Kenny for a sec. So disappointing :(

Wow!! Anon, welcome to the fandom and thanks for sending this! I never get asks and it’s always exciting 😂 We’re glad you’re here!

The “I didn’t get how people shipped rivamika” thing is common tbh, don’t worry! I was on that train too until I stopped to think about everything implied between the lines—most of it being in the manga, as you said. I know people say things like we ‘grasp at straws’ but there is realistically fantastic depth we can assume from their closeness as comrades alone. The magic of Rivamika as a ship is it takes more deep knowledge of the characters to understand why it WORKS so well. And when you get it, gosh, it’s amazing!

We definitely agree too, that WIT cut such crucial scenes to Mikasa’s character. I will never understand their choices… And I’ll forever grieve it 😭 That scene of self-reflection and guilt over Levi’s injury/absence is important because it’s the first time she finally thought outside of her tunnel vision of Eren. Ultimately, she learns to care about what happens to others as a result of her actions, which quite literally starts with Levi.

I also agree, it seems like Yams started the Ackerman reveal + arc but decided midway not to commit to it or develop it. It explained their strength, but that was it. It’s strange that even in the anime they chose not to explain that Ackerman’s are Titan DNA hybrids. That seems like a crucial piece but I wonder why they didn’t think it was important. Because then the whole “Ackerman’s are immune to x and x” has no narrative proof at all.

I like to think Ackertalk happened behind the scenes. I like reading everyone’s versions of it—but always a shame we never got that in canon. It’s even strange because they both lost their entire families, so finding out you’re from the same people should at least create a sense of bonding or they’d take on a slightly familial role, or SOMETHING. (Though I’m glad it didn’t go that route because people would REALLY think they’re cOuSiNs lol) But it’s just strange Yams introduced these things that ended up really having not much purpose, or none at all. (Don’t get me started on the Azumabito shit)

I still hope and manifest for some sort of Ackerman spin off that explores this. Can you imagine? Levi and Mikasa (the cash cows of AOT, we say!) venturing off post-war to discover more about the Ackerman’s? Or to retrace and find surviving Ackerman’s outside the world?

[shingekinohyrulewrites]

Lips of an Angel

You and Eren had dated, but the two of you were horrible for each other, and the relationship ended horribly. The both of you moved on, but a single phone call has the two of you falling into each other's lives again.

Read on AO3 here

To say that you and Eren Jaeger were far from being a match for each other was nothing but a severe understatement.

Eren was hot-headed, stubborn, aggressive, and quick to fight others anytime they disagreed with him. You were also stubborn but blunt, sharp-tongued, and always putting people in their place when they crossed you. The two of you, despite having very strong personalities, somehow ended up falling for each other and getting into a serious, albeit messy, relationship.

It was your friend Marco who introduced you to Eren at a barbeque that their friends were holding. The host, Reiner, was a beefy, blonde guy who had an apron saying “Kiss the Chef!” wrapped around his stacked frame. He had greeted you with a wide grin, pulling you into a tight hug as he introduced himself.

“The name’s Reiner. Pleasure to meet ya! Marco has talked a lot about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” you greeted him.

Reiner had continued to man the grill, leaving Marco to steer you towards the rest of his friends. Jean was quick to greet you two, greeting you with a hug just like Reiner and a flirtatious smile. Connie and Sasha were next, and you were quickly enraptured by their bright personalities and sense of humor. Historia greeted you with a blinding smile, her girlfriend Ymir trailing behind her protectively. Armin and his girlfriend Annie welcomed you gently, each giving you soft, friendly smiles. Mikasa was quiet but introduced herself, while Bertholdt gave you a quick wave before running past you to Reiner.

The last person to greet you was Eren. He had been standing at the back of the group, hands tucked into his jean pockets as you studied you quietly. Armin and Mikasa had scolded him for being rude before grabbing him and pushing him towards you.

His handsome looks were the first thing you noticed. Luscious, chocolate brown locks were pulled back into a messy bun, a few loose pieces framing his tanned face. A pair of thick brows were pulled together in a frown before his expression relaxed, turquoise eyes peering down at you. His full lips tugged up into a slight smirk as he extended a large hand.

“Eren Jaeger. Nice to meet you.”

His voice was deep and smooth, a hint of a teasing tone to it. You narrowed your eyes at him before opting to simply greet him with a nod and a quick utterance of your name. Surprise flicked across his face before the frown from earlier returned.

The barbeque was actually really fun, and you were glad that Marco had invited you out. You got to know each and every person, getting to know their personalities, what made them laugh, and what to avoid to prevent them from getting pissed off. Besides Marco, you were quickly getting close with Mikasa, who you had a lot of favorite things in common with. The two of you laughed while drinking beer, chattering about your jobs and gossiping about your recent escapades with dates.

“Jaeger, I told you to keep my name out of your fucking mouth!”

The sound of a scuffle breaking out had the both of you turning your heads. Jean and Eren were holding onto each other’s collars, faces dangerously close to each other. Armin and Marco were behind them, trying desperately to pull them apart.

“Eren, stop it! You promised you wouldn’t do this,” Armin groaned.

“It’s not my fault Jean always talks shit about me!” Eren yelled.

“I wasn’t even talking about you, dipshit! You think that the whole world fucking revolves around you!”

“That’s a fucking lie!”

Rolling your eyes, you took another sip of your beer and looked back at Mikasa.

“They both seem really obnoxious,” you stated.

She sighed, taking a swig of her beer as well.

“They’ve been like that since middle school. They’re frenemies. They’re best friends but also beat the living shit out of each other.”

She sighed again.

“The amount of times that I’ve had to step in and pull Eren away . . . I wouldn’t have to work a day in my life if I got paid for every time I did it.”

The two of you giggled, falling back into your previous conversation. A loud slapping sound filled the air, and you both turned again to see Eren and Jean now fighting. They were grabbing onto each other’s collars still, but it seemed that Eren had punched Jean across the face. Blood was gushing down his face, amber eyes wide with anger as he punched Eren in the gut. Armin and Marco were now trying to pull them apart with more urgency now, with neither being successful.

“My time to shine,” Mikasa said, standing up and cracking her knuckles.

She strode across the backyard in a few steps and easily pulled them apart. The two boys still tried to paw at each other, but Mikasa slapped the both of them on the back of their heads.

“Enough,” she scolded them. “You’ve both made a fool of yourselves. Go inside and clean up.”

The two boys glared at each other before complying. Mikasa wrapped an arm around Jean’s waist and led him inside. Eren continued to stand there, glaring at Jean’s retreating back. He had a scratch above his eye, blood slowly leaking down over his eye and his cheek. Sighing, you walked over to him and gently grabbed his arm.

“Come on, big guy. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“I don’t need your fucking help,” he snapped, yanking his arm away harshly.

“Well fuck you too,” you spat. “I’m just trying to fucking help you.”

You turned to go back to your seat and continue drinking when you felt him grab your hand and whirl you around.

“Wait, I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I’m still pissed.”

Raising an eyebrow, you crossed your arms. He sighed again, offering his arm and gesturing for you to lead him inside. Jean and Mikasa had disappeared, and you figured she was cleaning him up somewhere else. You turned your head this way and that in the hopes that you would magically be able to find a bathroom.

“Reiner has a bathroom upstairs. I can walk you there,” he muttered.

He slid your hand down into his, interlacing your fingers as he led you up the stairs. Your heart began to pound at the feeling of his larger hand in yours. The bathroom was at the end of the hallway. Stepping in, he flicked on the light and sat on the toilet seat. You rummaged through the cabinets until you found bandaids, rubbing alcohol, and other first aid materials.

Eren’s hair had fallen out of his bun, his dark hair falling past his shoulders. Cocking your head to the side, you placed the supplies down and took a step closer to him. You gently brushed his hair back with your fingers, pulling the scrunchie from his tangled locks before rearranging them back into a bun.

The scratch above his eye was now more visible with his hair out of the way. Dabbing the alcohol on a facecloth, you grimaced at him before warning him it would hurt. You saw him clench his jaw as you lifted the cloth and began dabbing at it. A low hiss of pain escaped his lips, one hand reaching out to grab at the counter. You continued to dab at it until it was cleaned up. After patting it dry, you carefully put a bandaid over it. With the other side of the facecloth, you wet it and began washing the rest of his face.

“There. All better!” you cheered.

His expression had softened the entire time you had been cleaning him up. He was peering up at you with such a tenderness you felt your heart ache. He reached down to interlace your fingers together again.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

You couldn’t help but nod, transfixed on his face. His other hand moved to slip the cloth from your hand, tossing it onto the floor and then moving up to cradle your face. Before you could process what was happening, his lips were on yours, capturing them in a fiery kiss. It wasn’t long before you were bent over the sink and he was thrusting into you, hands tangled in your hair as he pulled you back roughly to kiss him.

That night was the start of your tumultuous relationship, a relationship that lasted three years and ended on a sour note. Now, nearly two years later, you had moved on, erasing him from your life and now settling down with someone new. You were a new person, free from someone who constantly made you angry and you found yourself to be much more patient, willing to learn, and making sure to treat everyone with kindness.

That all changed after a single phone call.

[noroi1000]

Hello! Hello! Can I have matchup if it’s open?

I would like a Jjk male matchup. Let’s start with the basic:

Personality: I am an INTJ Slytherclaw, Aquarius and a Type 6 when it comes to anagrams. I am a huge overthinker and stress a lot with anxiety. People tell me that I can be blunt which results in people thinking that I can be cold but in reality I try to be a kind person when it is needed. I am a realist and many consider me to be intelligent, often asking me to help with their work. I’m incredibly passionate about things I like to do and have a thirst to know everyone’s opinions as I feel that if someone is left out. I’m a creative person but sometimes my brain just goes blank, I hate when it does. I sometimes follow the rules and can be serious if I wish to be but normally I like to goof off and break rules, adrenaline rushing through my body is just a different feeling I can’t explain. I have a really dry sense of humour that usually is a mix of sarcasm, fandom jokes or self degrading jokes. I’m not that good at describing personality but here are a few kins if it is helpful : Navier, Mikasa, Regulus Black, Annabeth, Shinobu, Shoko ( Jjk), Geto etc.

Looks: I’m slightly chubby and have a pear body shape. Upon seeing me, many people point out my eyes which are hazel with slight flecks of many colours such as green and amber being the prominent ones. I have a button nose and thin heart shaped lips. My face is round and my eye shape is almond. I am approximately 5’3. Two small moles are fixated on my right cheek and underneath my lip. My clothing style tends to be anything comfortable and classy. I prefer to wear black and colours that are darker, you will never find me wearing orange or neon colours. My clothing always consists of a dress of some sort. 

Likes: Chocolate, Anime, Reading, Drawing, Strawberries, Smell of Rain, Sleeping, Being the Best, Baking, Daydreaming, Murder Mysteries, Romance , Name hunting, Pinterest and Flower Languages.

Dislike: Loud noises, Jerks, Slow Walkers, Insects, Studying, Fake People, Self-pity, Getting below 90% in a test, Coffee, Snow and the feeling where your brain is blank and can’t tell what you feel like.

Love Language: Physical Touch and Quality Time

I hope this is enough information

Sorry you had to wait so long! I had it in the editing queue and completely forgot because I had your matchup in another note.

I think your matchup is Itadori Yuji

I chose you a boy with a sunny smile.

Not everyone has to be the same for someone to fit together. Just like your case. You are not identical, but you have something in common.

Yuji calls himself stupid. But his wisdom is also demonstrated in other ways, not only as intelligence on basic topics. He is intelligent and strong. But he keeps telling himself he's stupid. He would like to constantly put others above him. He cares about someone more than himself. This is where his social intelligence shows. Seeing that someone deserves help. Seeing that only he can help in some way. And coming up with an idea so that no one gets hurt.

For some time he had clearly known that there was death and life. He didn't paint life as the most beautiful and perfect. There is everything in the world that people would not want. He became a positive realist. Life is cruel and you can't pretend otherwise. But you should focus on what can make you smile, right?

It cannot be denied that he is a sociable person and tries to establish a common language with everyone who is closer to him. He never wanted enemies. But he doesn't like people who are fake and mean. But they are part of the real world. Wanting to lead a carefree life and not have to look at the horrors, he cannot forget about everything that ensures safety and happiness. Rules can be broken. If these are the rules that make you unhappy. If you're safe even if you break it, what do you have to worry about? The most important thing is that nothing bad will happen.

He will do everything necessary to make his loved one smile.

Yuji doesn't like idleness or anything slow. He has so much energy that cannot be exhausted. Anyone could be tired or bored. But he still doesn't lose his energy and will run around like a playful puppy. That's why whenever you want some wild experience that will make your heart beat so fast, you can count on him to go with you. First of all, he will go with you so that you don't go alone. Secondly, he will go with you to know that you are safe and sound and will return home. Third, he will go with you to have some fun.

When it comes to volume, he can be really loud. But you can turn his volume knob to make him quieter. Once he senses that you don't feel comfortable with loud sounds, he will turn it down as much as you want.

As I mentioned, he has a lot of energy. With it you won't be bored, and there won't be anything monotonous and slow. Perhaps he will want to have a little competition with you? But knowing your passion for winning and being the best, he will definitely let you win just to see your smile. He could pretend to be the person with the worst results just to keep you happy.

He is addicted to everything you like. He likes almost everything. There is nothing he hates. He will adapt to any food and activity. He is so flexible in the relationship that he can be anything.

Best friend and beloved.

His favorite love is certainly spending time together and touching.