[Eren thinks he can sense his companion's agitation growing, and he isn't surprised. It's an agitating suggestion. He remains calm as he explains, though voice even, unbothered.]
It's the way the world works. It's the way the world has always worked. We've never known another way.
Even if it shouldn't be that way, how would we operate without? The militaries built on the backs of those children would crumble, and so, too, would the nations they protect.
[ he nods, though a flicker runs through his expression. alex's words ring like a bell. could dolph do it? maybe. maybe if alex had asked. maybe if it was framed differently. he would have burned the world for alex.
I don't know much about the world I was born into, but...
As far as I know, there aren't a lot of places that don't rely on that sort of thing. When you said, just now, that there are places that survive without...
My . . . world tried to erase all of that. Tried to make us believe it was the only world. The only way. But it's never true. It's just the powerful forcing us to believe.
[ he shakes his head. ]
But then again, I don't know much about worlds. I just know shit when I see it.
>:3c we can probably wrap here soon unless u have more - just lmk
[My world tried to erase all of that. Tried to make us believe it was the only world. The only way.
[It's almost like a bad joke; uniquely heartbreaking, learning that such things are universal, that flattening one world doesn't exterminate the problem. Eren nods, hollow.]
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pantheraliam) wrote2030-03-12 03:03 pm
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[He repeats himself:]
I prefer working.
[Aren't they supposed to be asking each other questions, anyway? Eren flips the next one over.]
A dirty secret of yours.
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Not sure I have any. Not sure I have secrets in general.
sorry for my slowness timmitas
[He has plenty of secrets, but none of them--
[Well, perhaps one.]
There's a particular subordinate I used to fuck on occasion. I don't usually advertise that information.
all good pancitas <3
What do you do? Not sex wise, job wise.
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[Scandalous, no? He's only sort of lying.]
Don't mind me concealing my specific rank, considering the conversation.
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You care about them?
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[Eh. He wants to say no; probably could, and wouldn't really be lying...]
He's one of my comrades. I care about my people.
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[The armor on his face might have been a clue.]
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Some. I was a child soldier. Rank was Captain.
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I joined the military when I was a child too. Most people do.
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It shouldn't be that way.
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You're right about that.
It is that way, though. Four is young where I grew up, but across the sea, I've heard talk of children joining as early as six.
War is waged on the backs of children. It's an ugly truth.
[Weren't they just talking about sex?]
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Still. It shouldn't be that way.
[ ugly, truthful, whatever word people want to give. it shouldn't exist. ]
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Then again, maybe it has to be that way.
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cw: horrifying takes on child soldiers
It's the way the world works. It's the way the world has always worked. We've never known another way.
Even if it shouldn't be that way, how would we operate without? The militaries built on the backs of those children would crumble, and so, too, would the nations they protect.
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Do you want a world like that?
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A world like that is a world that deserves to be destroyed.
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wouldn't he? ]
No one needs a world like that.
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[It might be pitiful to admit, but...]
I don't know much about the world I was born into, but...
As far as I know, there aren't a lot of places that don't rely on that sort of thing. When you said, just now, that there are places that survive without...
That's a surprise to me.
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[ he shakes his head. ]
But then again, I don't know much about worlds. I just know shit when I see it.
>:3c we can probably wrap here soon unless u have more - just lmk
[It's almost like a bad joke; uniquely heartbreaking, learning that such things are universal, that flattening one world doesn't exterminate the problem. Eren nods, hollow.]
It seems we've led similar lives.
That's a pretty sorry story.
sounds good <3
[ he shrugs, laconic. he's tired. ]
But I'll make the most of the dregs.
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Good luck with that.