Eren worries his bottom lip with his teeth, reminded that they are, indeed, physically only working with two. Functionally they only have one; the Colossal Titan is basically a bomb, not very mobile, extremely hot and dangerous to people in a large radius when transforming. That has uses, sure, though Eren doesn't really have the tactical head to think about that. But it's not like Erwin could join him in a battle against Reiner or the Beast Titan very easily.
Erwin says the most Commander-esque thing, Eren thinks. Avoid either scenario if possible. Sure, that sounds nice. He guesses. The thing is that Eren has never cared if their enemies died. Some of them, he personally wanted to kill.
Bertholdt's death was both vengeance and necessity, but the victory of it rings as hollow as Armin's absence.
It isn't just that, though. There's so much more that he knows now. Those two…he hated them so much, them and Annie, but they were all just kids too. They were brainwashed, taught that everyone on the island was evil. But in the end, they had been friends. Friends they had betrayed, sure, but…well, it's complicated.
Eren wouldn't have ever thought he'd betray his friends, but he will if he has to. He hates thinking about that, but if there really is no other way, what can he do?
"They hate us, sir," he says, the honorific an add-on that's almost an absent thought. "They keep blaming us for something that happened 2,000 years ago, like we had anything to do with it. They think that all of us are evil, so they teach other people like us that everyone on the island is some kind of monster. They think we're going to crush the world with the titans that hide in the walls."
That wasn't written in his father's diary, was it? He gets mixed up on what he learned when, how much of it is shared knowledge and how much is just Grisha's knowledge, how much is the Attack Titan's knowledge of the future. Either way, he knows he's absolutely right about Marley. His hatred for Reiner and Bertholdt has morphed into hatred for the place that sent them to the island to begin with.
He takes the other half of the apple and moves away to hold it out to another horse while the one Erwin is feeding is distracted. When the horse realises there's a treat involved, she immediately joins them to take the apple from his hand. He smiles softly, a look that is no longer common on his features. For a second he looks like what he is when he is not a monster: a boy, growing quickly towards manhood that time has doomed him never to enjoy.
no subject
Erwin says the most Commander-esque thing, Eren thinks. Avoid either scenario if possible. Sure, that sounds nice. He guesses. The thing is that Eren has never cared if their enemies died. Some of them, he personally wanted to kill.
Bertholdt's death was both vengeance and necessity, but the victory of it rings as hollow as Armin's absence.
It isn't just that, though. There's so much more that he knows now. Those two…he hated them so much, them and Annie, but they were all just kids too. They were brainwashed, taught that everyone on the island was evil. But in the end, they had been friends. Friends they had betrayed, sure, but…well, it's complicated.
Eren wouldn't have ever thought he'd betray his friends, but he will if he has to. He hates thinking about that, but if there really is no other way, what can he do?
"They hate us, sir," he says, the honorific an add-on that's almost an absent thought. "They keep blaming us for something that happened 2,000 years ago, like we had anything to do with it. They think that all of us are evil, so they teach other people like us that everyone on the island is some kind of monster. They think we're going to crush the world with the titans that hide in the walls."
That wasn't written in his father's diary, was it? He gets mixed up on what he learned when, how much of it is shared knowledge and how much is just Grisha's knowledge, how much is the Attack Titan's knowledge of the future. Either way, he knows he's absolutely right about Marley. His hatred for Reiner and Bertholdt has morphed into hatred for the place that sent them to the island to begin with.
He takes the other half of the apple and moves away to hold it out to another horse while the one Erwin is feeding is distracted. When the horse realises there's a treat involved, she immediately joins them to take the apple from his hand. He smiles softly, a look that is no longer common on his features. For a second he looks like what he is when he is not a monster: a boy, growing quickly towards manhood that time has doomed him never to enjoy.