[The two Commanders catch their breath together, but the exhales don't match up. Armin nods, standing up straight.
[It's worse than seeing a ghost; it's seeing everything he's not.]
Commander.
[Part of him thinks to feel relieved. The real leader is here now - the pressure should ease.
[Of course, that impulse is fleeting. Armin allowed their world to be destroyed. Surely, that shame will soon come to light - his unimaginable failure, exposed to the shoes he was meant to fill. He wants to crumble, but he never can.]
I...
[He doesn't know what to say. His mind reels at the impossibility of speaking to a dead man. It's safest to assume it's an illusion - he knows that, and yet, he can't, just as he couldn't with Captain Levi, with Eren Jaeger...
[He swallows down something in his throat. He feels just like a little boy again, crawling home to a disappointed parent.]
Sir. [Firmer - be steady. He holds his head high, but his fingers tremble.] I must look strange to you. It's a surprise to me too.
[He fumbles for a coherent, consistent train of thought. There are current matters more pressing, aren't there? He has no idea how to act.]
That music, ah...
It renders us unconscious. You'd have passed out in the street. The demons come...
feel free to add on plurk if you'd like - pantheraliam
[It's worse than seeing a ghost; it's seeing everything he's not.]
Commander.
[Part of him thinks to feel relieved. The real leader is here now - the pressure should ease.
[Of course, that impulse is fleeting. Armin allowed their world to be destroyed. Surely, that shame will soon come to light - his unimaginable failure, exposed to the shoes he was meant to fill. He wants to crumble, but he never can.]
I...
[He doesn't know what to say. His mind reels at the impossibility of speaking to a dead man. It's safest to assume it's an illusion - he knows that, and yet, he can't, just as he couldn't with Captain Levi, with Eren Jaeger...
[He swallows down something in his throat. He feels just like a little boy again, crawling home to a disappointed parent.]
Sir. [Firmer - be steady. He holds his head high, but his fingers tremble.] I must look strange to you. It's a surprise to me too.
[He fumbles for a coherent, consistent train of thought. There are current matters more pressing, aren't there? He has no idea how to act.]
That music, ah...
It renders us unconscious. You'd have passed out in the street. The demons come...
They drag people away.