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maxmagi · 3 years

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A List of My OTPs

because it's 11 and I can't sleep.

Enjolras x Grantaire a.k.a. Enjoltaire a.k.a. ExR- Les Mis

How I fell into this I don't remember now. I vaguely remember reading a crackfic of this and then everything just went sideways.

This was also the fandom that helped me realize that I wasn't exactly straight and that it's okay to not be loud about my sexuality, that I can just be.

I think that explains my attachment to this ship, not to mention just the movie's Grantaire (played by George Blagden) also shipped the characters and played his character like how he thought it should be, Grantaire loving and pining after Enjolras without the revolutionary knowing it.

Except in the fan fics, Enjolras returns his feelings and they work it out, even though it's not easy because they're both stubborn as mules. Ah, ultimate fantasy I guess. And the number of great fics here, *whistle*

Also, the Les Amis? Is amazing? Especially in the modern AUs? Like they're great friends? I love this fandom so much! Permets-tu!

Shen Wei x Zhao Yunlan - Guardian / Zhen Hun

C'mon, Zhu Yilong & Bai Yu's performance and emotions? Plus just the fact the fanfic writers of this ship are absolutely amazing? Please, escape from this pairing is impossible!

Best opposites attract trope for me. An academic by day, superhero by night in love with a roguish police chief who has no powers but whose charisma, wit, and heart can get him to toe to toe with the legends.

Also, Professor Shen Wei constantly acting like an innocent civilian and lying badly? Gold!

Loki x Tony Stark a.k.a. FrostIron - Avengers

How did I honestly get to this ship? I really can't remember what started it all. I think it must have been a Loki redemption fic where Tony Stark and Pepper broke up and something something happened. Let me tell you, the writers of this ship have written sagas and ballads of epic and sometimes confusing proportions, and that is why I fell deeper into the pit. I mean, they gotta give justice to two brilliant but chaotic characters, right? Angst. This ship has sooooooooo much angst.

Eiji x Ash - Banana Fish

My god, if you want to keep your heart intact and not be reminded of all that's ugly in the world, DON'T WATCH OR READ BANANA FISH. YOUR HEART WILL NEVER HEAL!

If you're gonna watch/read it anyway, make sure to watch something fluffy and sweet after. There's a reason that people from this fandom go, "If you've seen Banana Fish's ending, then you can handle whatever angsty show you're watching now." ~ or something to that effect. Another thing we like to say in this fandom is, "Other fandoms: Let's write a Mafia AU! Banana Fish fandom: We are the Mafia AU." Yes, all of us in this fandom is dramatic af.

Yuuri x Viktor - Yuuri!!! on Ice

Uh, does this really need an explanation? Aside from the fact that you will surprisingly find a lot of Mafia AUs here because we all know that hiding behind that beautiful face of Viktor Nikiforov is a devil capable of... tearing down your self-confidence, like WTF Viktor, don't make Yuuri cry! Also, their dance together at the end, such beautiful love.

Magnus Bane x Alec Lightwood aka Malec - Shadowhunters

I never read the books and have no plans to in the near future. I just saw a video on Youtube about why Malec is life and now here I am, still reading some Malec fics from time to time.

Some stuff on the show were WTF but overall they were a really good couple who supported each other. Plus, they're a Power Couple.

Erwin x Levi aka Eruri - Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin

Not to be confused with Ereri, which is Eren x Levi, which I don't generally ship except for that one time when a writer wrote an epic fanfic series with Eren in his mid 20s and Levi in his late 20s/early 30s, reincarnation AU. Boy was that one a surprise. I did not expect that.

Anyway, I'm an Eruri fan through and through. Especially with that promise that Levi made to Erwin. And the reason he gave the serum to Armin. HE DIDN'T DO IT FOR THE KIDS YKNOW. HE DID IT FOR ERWIN. Plus, Levi, Erwin, and Hange are my special trio. Erwin's batch was really amazing.

Also, I really like the fact that the shorter and slighter person is the more badass fighter while the taller, bigger one is the more calculating and strategic one. Rocks the boat of stereotypes and all that. Bonus: how these two met. My god, what a meet-cute! 😂

Dani x Jamie aka The Au Pair and the Gardener - The Haunting of Bly Manor

It really is more of a love story than a ghost story. I dunno how to feel about this. I loved these two characters so much and I wished they had a better ending but I wasn't SO surprised because it was a horror series (Like, I was still hoping at the end that they'd be together forever but yknow...). In any case, Jamie was just awesome. And her nickname for Dani? Poppins?! God, what a lover and fighter. She was not afraid to cock a gun in a ghost's face.

... and now for my flexible BROTPs

Merlin x Arthur aka Merthur - BBC Merlin

Yeah, my brain is so chaotic multiple OTPs and BROTPs of the same pairing exist at the same time without clashing with one another or having major identity crises.

I actually really like BROTP Merlin and Arthur and also like reading OTP Merthur.

And when Merlin is paired with Morgana or Freya or sometimes even Gwaine, that's fine with me too. As long as his bromance with Arthur stays intact, because that's what drew me to the show in the first place. Personal preference. I see them as platonic soulmates.

*Shout-out to the Merthur writers though, you kept me sane during my "Post-Merlin Depression," which is actually a term thrown around in the fandom because of that horrid final season (not saying it's a good term but it's what it was called). A lot of amazing fics here, too, both Magic Reveal and Modern AU ones. Full of action and adventure too! I mean, there are boy-band-looking Knights and magic-wielding badasses!

Tim Drake x Conner Kent/Kon-El aka Red Robin x Super Boy - DC Comics

More like flexible otp. I dig Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake BUT I really really also dig Tim Drake and Conner Kent. When they're TimKon, it's like an entirely different entity from TimSteph. Ugh, hard to explain.

I mean, Kon telling Tim, "You'll always be my Robin" and Tim telling Kon, "And you'll always be my clone boy" is the shit. Also when Kon could pick out/recognize Tim's heartbeat. And when Tim nearly went mad scientist trying to bring his bestie back. Like, dudes, wtf. And at the same time, hell yeah.

Liu Kang x Kung Lao aka LiuLao - Mortal Kombat

- I see these two as more like ride or die best friends connected by fate/platonic soulmates. But also like their dynamic is so awesome, cute, sweet, badass, can't-live-without-you vibes.

Basically the same way I feel about Merthur. I like reading both romantic and platonic relationships between these two characters. Like, the LiuLao fan creators peeling off the layers of this relationship and exposing every raw nerve is beautiful.

They love diving into the characters' psyche, emotions, motivations, fears, and doubts and you get really amazed because... Aren't they just characters from a video game, you ask? Well yeah, but MK video game has several interesting storylines and the Mortal Kombat 2021 movie was just the perfect jumpstarter to this beautiful blaze.

I mean, "We swore that if we were to die, it would be together"? Hell no, you're not dropping that on us and not expecting us to create our very own spin-offs and 12-page essays on that shit. That's what we fans do, baby. And also, really, we need a shaolin monks/white lotus spin-off/prequel. We're starving here.

As this ship is the newest one on my list, it's the one I'm looking forward to the most. Not enough fan content, I tell you. Not enough. One of these days, I just might add my own.

But right now, it's past 1 and so I shall attempt to sleep.

***No images for TimKon and LiuLao coz apparently I've gone past my 10-images allowance 😤

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mimiwrites2000 · 4 years

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Trust

Pairings: Armin x Annie/ slightly Eren x Mikasa

Words count: 5095

*spoilers for chapter 126

A one shot about Armin and Annie finally having a moment after they met in chapter 126

They had to set up a camp, as the plan would start tomorrow, or at least that was what they wished, if there was anything left from the world by then anyway.

It was a relief for Armin and the rest of the squad to see Commander Hanji and Captain Levi alive and breathing, with all the disastrous shit they went through, seeing them again brought comfort to all of them, even though captain Levi was all patched up and it was a miracle how he’s still alive, and the Commander looked… fine, but Armin saw that face before, it was the same expression they showed when they were on the top of wall Maria, when Armin had just been revived and woke up, after they lost Erwin and myriad number of soldiers.

All in one blow.

But Armin thought that they had no time to get emotional, just like the day in Trost, when he delivered the news that Eren and the rest of his squad were dead, he could never forget the look in Mikasa’s eyes, when she told him it’s not the time to get emotional, they had a war to fight, a war to win.

But it was kind of tough for Armin to compress his emotions with Annie around them -now free from the crystal, she was hanging around him like they were old pals who met accidentally at a camping site at summer holiday, as if he hadn’t spent the past four years sneaking with permission from Hitch into the basement and sit there for hours, talking and ranting about everything, spending sleepless nights with nothing but the torch light and the freezing air in the basement, watching her floating in what looked like clear ice, crystal so pure like a diamond.

And now here she was, sitting with them around the camp fire as they got themselves something to eat, where they all sat, adversaries with friends, having dinner together for the first time under the starry night.

It was absurd, Armin thought, but it was what should have been done, his rational side told him that they could never take on Eren alone, and no matter how advanced Marley was, they didn’t have a chance either, basically there was no other option than combining their forces and work together, even if it was just this one time.

It was late at night, several hours after they ate, almost midnight, sleep bags have been laid, and it was silent, the crickets’ clicking piercing the atmosphere, cutting through the crisp air.

Armin curled in his sleeping bag, it was cold, freezing cold, but underneath the extra blanket – thanks to Mikasa for suggesting packing those- he felt warm. He was covered from head to toes, only eyes and nose out and he breathed in the night’s air.

He didn’t know if others were sleeping, but for him, sleep sounded like a luxury he couldn’t afford, and the other person he knew for sure wasn’t asleep was Mikasa, there was no way she could be sleeping when in the next few hours she’d raise her blade in Eren’s face, Armin didn’t feel easy about it either, but what could they do? Let him go on with his genocide plan and clap for his finally granted freedom? They had to stop him, or die trying to.

Armin sighed, his breath turning into a marginal cloud of mist, he saw it elevating and tracked it with his eyes, then he heard the shuffling of someone leaving their sleeping bag, and saw Annie standing up, and walking towards the woods.

His instincts told him to launch after her, to make sure she doesn’t make an escape, they would need her titan power in the plan, and they couldn’t do without her; they were in desperate need for as much power they could garner.

He let her go and decided to trust her, but his eyes followed her, she didn’t go far anyway; just when she passed the closest tree, she slide down and sat on the dirt, her back to the camp, facing the darkness of the forest.

He didn’t avert his gaze from her, even though something in him assured him that she wouldn’t flee. He thought how if he was watching other girls like this, he would be a creep, a pervert, but with Annie, it didn’t feel creepy at all, it felt normal, and in fact; he was used to it, just sit and watch her, like that, for hours, he had been doing it for four years.

But this time if he spoke she could hear him, and if he tried to touch her, there would be no barrier between him and her, well it’s not like she’d just let him poke at her face, or pat her head, or feeling the strands of her golden locks between his fingers, or… kiss her.

Armin shivered at the thought, and his heart sped up in his chest, pumping blood into his veins and oofff when did it get hot?

Armin unintentionally licked his lips, he had fantasized of kissing Annie, how her lips would feel against his, he thought that they would be soft and warm, she would warp her hand around his neck and step on the tip of her toes, her bangs brushing against his cheeks, then she would whisper his name and-

Armin blushed at his own thoughts and shrank on himself in embarrassment even though no one could see him or hear what was going on inside his head, thankfully.

He had many restless night, narrating a scenario after the other of how he would react when Annie would finally get out the crystal, one of them was wrapping her with his arms, and she would be shivering from the cold, the other was giving her the kiss of life as she came out of the crystal breathless, he even had one fantasy that she would break out her crystal, kiss him, and then she would just harden herself into the crystal again.

Man, his daydreaming went wild sometimes.

But all this time his mind kept coming up with these fairy tales happily-ever-after stories went straight into trash, because how in hell could he had made a scenario where the walls collapsed, Eren was the villain, and he had accidentally met Annie while she was snarfing a pie down? Four years worth of pie?

Not in his wildest dream, nope.

But putting all that to the side, there she was, a few feet from him, and all the I’m your knight in shining armor fantasies coward into the shadow, and now that this was actually happening in real life, he realized how absurd and out of the world these fantasies were, how in hell would Annie just accept his opened arms? Hell, she might punch the shit out of him, probably hang him on a branch with only his underwear on, and let him freeze until dawn break.

So, Armin peeled off the blanket, took a deep breath that froze his lungs, clutched the blanket in one hand, then took steady steps towards Annie.

Armin stood right beside Annie, he could see her profile, and she didn’t even acknowledge him standing there, did she just ignore him? Or did she candidly not notice his presence? Which was weird compared to Annie’s sharp senses.

Armin took the few steps that separated them, and as gently as he could, draped the blanket on Annie’s shoulders, which was, after he had already done it, a bad choice.

Annie flinched at the feeling of something on her back, she collected sand with her hand and throw it at whatever was behind her, this could get her some time until she was on guard and took her stance-

Oh.

“You.” She breathed, her heart racing in her chest from the adrenaline rush, and she felt the cold air penetrating her lungs with every short, ragged breath she took, then she let out a long shuddered exhale as she slanted against the tree’s trunk, closing her eyes, while Armin was spitting dirt and his eyes tearing to weed it out.

It’s just him, Armin.

She had no idea for how long he had been standing there, but she knew that she almost kicked the shit out of him. Annie focused on her breathing, taking bug gulps of air, then letting it out slowly, concentrating, ignoring the baffled Armin who stood there after the tears and the coughing ceased.

Armin stood there ignorant to what he was supposed to do, the blanket was on the ground beside Annie, should he just leave it there and get back to his warm sleeping back and act like nothing ever happened, or should he try again, or maybe he should just keep standing still and make more of an idiot of himself?

The third option is what he went along with.

He waited for Annie, to do or say anything, and he hoped she’d do it soon before he turned into an ice statue.

Annie, without opening her eyes, reached for the blanket, wrapped it around herself and nuzzled her face into it, “Thanks.” She said, her voice muffled by the blanket over her mouth.

“Y-yeah, sure, I thought that it was really cold out h-here, you know, so I thought you’d use a blanket, that hoodie w-won’t be enough.” Armin swallowed, “not that I can decide that on your behalf, you know, who am I to say?”

Annie kept her eyes closed.

Armin felt like an idiot.

He slapped his forehead, sighed a very I’m-such-an-idiot sigh, and turned around before he embarrassed himself more than he already did.

“Armin.”

He halted in his tracks, thought that he had imagined that call, but when he turned his head to look at Annie, she was already observing him, with that bored expression of hers.

“You c-called?” Armin stuttered, and he blamed the cold, and to demonstrate, he hugged himself and rubbed his arms up and down his biceps, cold, you know?

“I did.”

“Oh.”

A beat of silence.

Armin waited patiently for whatever was waiting for him, but his pessimistic side screamed that she’s going to tell him to go fuck himself and never show his face ever again.

“Do you, um, have a moment?” Annie said slowly, stopping mid-sentence, contemplating whether she should keep going or not, her hesitant tone was an enough boost for Armin to let out a “Yeah sure, what is it?” in one go; seeing that Annie was nervous too made this, somehow, easier for him.

Armin sat crossed legged in front of Annie, who had her knees hugged to her chest, her face half covered in the blanket, her hair messy and her eyes looked tired even in this darkness. He didn’t prompt her to start, he sat there, waiting her to take her time to say whatever she wanted to say, whenever she wanted to, zero pressure.

Annie kept looking at everything but Armin; her eyes wondering a tree on the left, or a stick on the right, or just staring up at the leaves above her head that concealed the starry sky from her, seeking stars between dewy leaves. After she inspected everything around her, the only remaining thing she didn’t look at was him.

She took a deep breath.

“The only thing I wanted was to get back home.” Annie started.

Armin’s eyebrows rose the tiniest bit, he didn’t expect her to say anything like that…. Nah, the guy was clueless, he had no idea what to anticipate.

“I didn’t kill anyone because I wanted to.”

Armin eyebrows furrowed having an idea where this was going.

“I didn’t enjoy it either, I just didn’t care, I mean back then, I didn’t even get myself to care, I was selfish, I just wanted to get done with the mission and go back, I don’t have much years left-”

“Annie.” Armin shuffled closer to her, trying to make her stop.

“I just want to get back to him-”

“Ann-”

“And live a normal life, for a few years, in a home with someone I genuinely care about.”

Armin raised his hand, hovering over her knee for a moment, testing the water, when Annie didn’t kick him, he rested it.

He didn’t squeeze, rub or anything, he merely covered it.

Annie went silent, she didn’t know why she blurted out that to him, or why would she want to tell him, or if he wanted to hear it in the first place, but something was nagging her, like a needle twining at the inward of her skull, that she should get this off her chest or she might shatter and explode.

And they might die tomorrow.

Annie’s eyes looked straight into Armin’s, and she absorbed how blue they looked, they were glittering, their blue hue looked as young as they did when he glared at her from the bottom of the stairs, just a few minutes before she cut herself off this living hell.

And she was fifteen again, looking at him from across the training ground, being tossed over by Bert in hand to hand combat, and when Bert apologized and offered his hand to help Armin up, he would reject it and stand on his own, with a purple, swollen eye he would take his stance again, and wobbly charge at Bert, then he’d faint the moment he hit him, and Eren would be called to get him to the infirmary.

He had always been the weakest, the most fragile of them all, his physics hadn’t much change since he joined the military, but Annie grew up knowing that muscles weren’t a candid scale for strength and never would be, she was like that herself.

But now she looked at someone different, changed from the outside, taller, but not like the others, muscular, but not rugged like the others, handsome, but not like the others.

Because he was who he was, his own person.

And he was different from the others.

That what made him Armin.

And they kept eye contact, memories flashing from their pasts, their eyes held so much, had seen so much, it was unfair; from all the people in this world, why did they have to be the ones to go through this?

Annie was the first to break eye contact; she buried her face into the blanket and said, her voice muffled: “But… I’ve been thinking about it…” Armin kept looking at her “and I know that I’ve committed irredeemable sins, I know that, and I’m aware of it.”

“You don’t have to talk about it.” Armin said, he lifted his hand of her knee and continued: “we’ve all did horrible, horrible stuff to this world, to ourselves, and we’re responsible about them.”

Armin’s words weren’t much help to Annie; she shuffled in her place, her arms rubbing her body under the blanket, huffing out a breath, and listened; it’s not that she expected him to hug her and whisper in her ear that it’s not her fault, and that they were forced to do it, were controlled by others at a time when they couldn’t object and say no, but of course he wouldn’t comfort her like that, he was sensible, the big head, the righteous Armin she was familiar with.

“But what had been done can’t be erased Annie, and I’ve… I sometimes, you know, at night when I can’t sleep, I wonder if I hadn’t joined the training corps from the very beginning, and spent the rest of my life farming or something,” It was Armin’s turn to rant for a bit, even though she had already heard what was he about to say countless times; these sleepless night he spent thinking, he was in the basement, sitting a few feet away from her, thinking out loud “maybe have a family at some point, I don’t know, just what would have happened if I didn’t follow Eren and Mikasa into the military, how things would have turned out?”

“You think you could’ve made a family? You think any girl would have fallen for your scrawny body? Sheesh, sweet dreams alright.”

“Ouch Annie, that hurt…”

“Oh don’t fake hurt, you wouldn’t believe it anyway…”

“Huh?”

“There was a girl you had fallen for a few years back, right? What her name was? Yeah right, Maddie, she worked in the closest bakery to the barracks, didn’t she? And her hair was brown-”

“Alright so first of all I didn’t fall for her,” Armin found his hand in front of his body, defending himself, a victim who was accused of a crime, “she came to me one day saying she had those butterflies in her stomach when she sees me or something…”

The corner of Annie’s lips twitched in a smirk, her trick worked flawlessly fine on him, and she affirmed that he didn’t know yet.

“Wait! You were… you were conscious, all this time, Annie, how, why, oh God” the unforeseen realization swathed him, swept him of his feet, and he slapped his forehead “God, why haven’t I thought of that before….”

“I can black mail you any time, just so you’d know.” Annie threatened.

“Ugh.” Armin grunted, rubbing his forehead; it stung him where he slapped himself.

“Who knew you were that talkative? You didn’t shut up for four years straight, neither did Hitch…” she looked at him, and he was blushing, she thought he looked adorable when he was abashed, “your tales were more fun though, all Hitch did was complain about some guys or work or something.”

“Huh, thanks I guess.”

“I’m glad you talked to me, Armin.” Well that certainly grabbed his attention, he looked at Annie through his fingers, “it got me to know the walls better, I mean what happened from your point of view, it made me… understand things better.”

They sat in silence for a while, neither of them talked, looking at each other from time to time, or just stare at anything surrounding them, each of them lost in their own worlds, which happened to collide at one point; both of them stared at each other for so long it felt like eternity, and that was when they leaned in…

Annie was lost in her thoughts, she didn’t realize she was leaning into Armin, she felt a magnetic energy emitting from him, so strong and clear, drawing her to him, and she was attracted to it, moving towards it. His eyes were half lidded and so were hers.

Armin leaned towards her too, glancing at her lips then back at her eyes, and his heart picked up its pace, it was beating so fast he could feel it banging against his ribcage.

Armin shuffled closer to Annie; their faces were a few inches apart.

And that was when something shouted in Annie’s brain, waking her up from whatever she was trying to do. With a gasp, she started and flinched away from him, and that started Armin too.

“God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Annie I didn’t mean to-”

“Cut it, I was as dumb as you.”

Armin did cut it, he didn’t discuss any further, and he froze in his place, now that he was a little bit closer to her, and he should probably back off, but he didn’t; he was hoping Annie would say something; anything, he didn’t want to get back into that sleeping bag just yet, he didn’t wanna leave with such an awkward goodnight-see-you-tomorrow, besides, he had so much left to say.

He didn’t dare utter a word, it hadn’t been five minutes and he had already messed up twice; first startling her and eating dirt as a reward, second, he tried to kiss her, right there, ‘hey it’s been four years, yes, let’s make out!’

The more he thought about it, the more heat ignited in his cheeks and in the top of his stomach so he buried his face between his knees, his fingers knotting on top of his head ruffling his hair.

“Aren’t you freezing?”

Now that she mentioned it, Armin couldn’t feel the tips of his toes, “Uh, yeah kind of.” He said to his shoes.

When he had raised his head up to look at her, she had already lifted the end of blanket; prompting him to share the blanket with her.

Armin could decline her offer, wish her goodnight, and go to sleep, and everything would be over, but he wanted to sit close to her, to actually feel her flesh heat, not an icy crystal… he wanted it so bad, so he crawled toward the open invitation, and sat beside Annie, covering both of them with the blanket, the warm soothing his muscles.

Shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, they sat there, their breathing mixed, and Armin felt like he could fly.

He couldn’t believe that he was under a blanket with the person he stared at for the past four years, and that she’s legitimately accepting it.

Annie rested her head on Armin’s shoulder, and closed her eyes, she obviously wasn’t going to sleep, but she wanted to reserve this moment of peace before whatever trouble the next day held for them.

Armin tensed when he felt Annie’s head leaning on his shoulder, but peering down at her face that showed serenity made him at ease, tranquil once again, and before he knew it, he ever so gently placed his chin on the top of her head, then he unintentionally sneaked his arm around her waist, and she welcomed it.

Warmth enveloped them, and it was most likely not from the blanket itself.

“Have I told you that you look handsome in that undercut?”

Instead of blushing or panicking, Armin surprised himself when he replied with: “Yeah I know.”

And he earned a marginal chuckle from Annie, a little vibration of her body.

He dramatically gasped and said: “I’m so offended.”

“No I’m not laughing at you.” Annie defended herself, “it’s just funny how all of you had changed, even Connie, that dwarf, look at him, I mean look at how tall he is, and then there’s me.”

“Well you didn’t leave any room for yourself to grow, I mean, was it too compressed inside that crystal?” Armin reasoned, even though he really wasn’t serious at all and wasn’t looking for an answer.

“God, I know, alright?” Annie resented.

“You’re even in the same cloths from years ago, literally-” that earned Armin a not-so-playful nudge at the ribs.

“This shit is nasty, I should’ve asked for a change or something.”

Then they fell silent again, now that they were in each other embrace, they didn’t want to ever forget this moment; they might not get any other chance in the future to be this close to each other.

“Annie…” Armin called out after a while, checking if she had fallen asleep, but she hummed in response.

Armin didn’t feel the words roll off his tongue, “You’re actually a good person.”

Annie huffed and told him to cut the bullshit.

“No, I’m being dead serious.”

“Why would you say that now? Couldn’t find a better moment to ruin?” The last part of that stung Armin, then Annie tried to stand up, but Armin’s arm around her kept her on the ground and wrapped more tightly around her.

“Listen to me, would you?” Armin requested, his voice calm.

“I’ve been listening for the past four years!”

“Well then you wouldn’t mind an extra few minutes, would you?”

Annie didn’t answer, but she bounced her feet on the floor a few times, and that was enough for Armin to continue: “You fought for what you believed was right, you didn’t fight for Marley, nor did you fight against Paradise, all you’ve ever wanted was to get back to your father, your family, and that’s an adequate reason to fight for.”

Annie kept quiet, looking forward, not showing any emotions on her face.

“If I still had my grandfather, I would have fought the whole world to stay by his side to make sure he’s well…” Armin looked up, his eyes chasing the stars, he hadn’t notice that it was a full moon tonight, it gave him warmth, sort of, he didn’t notice when Annie started wondering his face, “I would have done what you’ve done Annie, a soldier motive to fight is complicated, not anyone can understand it, it’s too personal.”

Armin thought of Eren, what was he fighting for? Was it actually freedom? What about Mikasa, why is she still fighting until this day? Connie, Sasha, Jean? What was keeping them going forward, advancing with all they’ve got, putting their lives out on the line?

Was it worth it?

Warm fingers grazed his cheeks, turning his head, and when he looked at Annie, her lips were a few inches away from him, and they looked so… inviting, he noticed that her eyes were fixated on his lips, and his heart started racing.

The way the moon light lit her profile, made a halo around her face, her hair looked so silky and soft soft soft, he wanted to run his fingers through it, and he did, only with the tip of his fingers, he caressed the locks that covered part of her face, twirling them at the end before putting them behind her ear, and she leaned the tiniest bit into his hand, rubbed her cheek on the inside of his palm, soft against calloused, just soothing each other in the perfect amount, giving each other the suitable quantity of warmth and care in a time where they both were hungry for some comfort and affection.

Annie’s heart was speeding up, but she felt calm at the same moment, she couldn’t remember a time when she could actually feel comfortable and safe in someone’s embrace without kicking them, she had always been aloof, distant from everyone, this was a whole new experience to her, and she liked it; the coziness she got from Armin’s simple gesture was… lovely.

He leaned a little bit towards her, and she was craning her neck up, he glanced at her lips, and she glanced at his eyes.

Armin hesitated for a few seconds when he was so close to her lips, he could just lean in a little bit more and he can kiss her, feel her lips on his, and she shared the same desire as him, both wanting each other. Annie’s eyes were already closed, and Armin pondered her face for a moment longer before his eyes fluttered closed too.

It was a chaste kiss, only a brush that lasted a few seconds long, a sensation new to both of them.

A brush of lips that made shivers travel down Armin’s spine, he had never experienced anything like it before, the rush of heat, the sudden intangible enthusiasm he felt, and he melted, in his mind he picture his body turned all wobbly, rickety before it started dripping until he was nothing but a puddle on the ground. He hopped that Annie felt the same, she must have known how Armin was boiling beside her; he felt his cheeks burning, at any second Annie would startle and draw back, blowing on her fingers.

But she didn’t, because she thought she’d burn Armin’s cheek to a char under her blazing fingers.

Blue moonlight immersed them, and at that moment, clouds covered the sky; securing both of them from prying stars.

When they pulled apart, Annie’s cheeks were dusted with a blush, and with the way she looked at Armin, he most likely looked the same.

Then Armin smiled, a whole heartedly smile, and Annie smiled in return, she even let out a quite chuckle, she felt happy, he did too, the world was ending, but at that moment everything was just perfect.

Annie nuzzled her head closer to Armin and rested it on his shoulder, sighing a content sigh, and closing her eyes, then Armin planted a soft kiss on the crown of her head, he didn’t even hesitate or think about it; he just did it, then he rested his head on top of Annie’s, and closed his eyes.

BONUS:

Mikasa was watching Armin getting up and going after Annie, she knew this was going to happen sooner or later, “The Reunion”, she tried not to get the past events from judging Annie too harsh, however, she still had doubts about her, and rejected the idea of her helping them, but she also trusted Armin, and Armin trusted Annie.

She closed her eyes, even though she knew she couldn’t sleep, she just wanted to get alone with herself, to get some time to think, to ponder the crisis they were in, to ready herself for what was to come the next day.

She didn’t know why she brought the scarf along with them…

Mikasa thought of Eren, 15 years old Eren, with passionate eyes and ruthless demeanor, she replayed memories of them together, the training, and the next few months after Trost battle…

She wondered why did Armin believe Annie wasn’t a bad person? Why would he have faith in her? Not just a faith, a strong one, one you can sniff from miles away.

But then, Armin is a titan shifter, and titan shifters have access to their past holders’ memories, right? If Armin saw Annie through Bert memories, if he saw what the trio had to go through, what their lives were like in Marley, maybe he understood Annie’s actions, Armin was a rational thinker, he must’ve viewed everything objectively…

Mikasa opened her eyes, it was her turn to check on the fire and make sure to add wood to it, but her breath hitched at what she saw; Armin had his lips on Annie’s, he was kissing her. She didn’t see them fully, only Armin’s head and half of Annie’s head mostly covered by a curtain of her hair.

Mikasa turned in her sleeping bag, she wanted to give them privacy, she wasn’t a pervert, stalking others personal moments.

Then the tips of her mouth twitched and she smiled, curling further into the blankets, she was suspicious about Armin’s personal feelings towards Annie, and what happened just confirmed them.

Well, what could she say? The past is in the past, she thought, and if that makes Armin happy, then she would be happy too.

Her mind to travelled to what Eren would have said if he saw Armin and Annie too…

~~~

Thank you all for reading! hope you enjoyed it.

I must thank that one person who’s just soooo sweet and encouraging

@madninive

this girl is the utter meaning of fabulous, like you guys have no idea how much she helps me in writing and giving me ideas and just being great in general, so thank you so much for your consistent support, I appreciate it so much.

check her blog out, her writings and drawing are one of the finest, she’s just fabulous

#aruani #armin x annie #snk #snk spoilers #AoT #eremika #eren x mikasa #snk ch 126 #armin #Annie Leonhardt #armin arlert #annie

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jeanandthedreamofhorses · 5 years

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Eren the Free, Part 1: Response to linkspooky’s ‘Eren the Slave’

Thanks for asking for my response, anon, because it has allowed me to string together and articulate my own thoughts on Eren’s character at this stage of the story.

Needless to say, I have several interpretive, philosophical disagreements with @linkspooky‘s ‘Eren the Slave’ and these are expressed in my ‘Eren Jaeger – Who Freer than the Tyrant?’ meta, so please read that first. The purpose of this post will be to argue against specific claims made in linkspooky’s meta and tackle what I believe to be logical flaws in my opponent’s argument. This meta is in two parts not to flex but because my computer had an aneurysm trying to load the whole post.

Well, if the Defence in the trial of Eren Jaeger may take the floor, my opening statement is thus: Eren is no slave, and has pursued the path of freedom further than any other character.

Narrative and Personal Narrative

linkspooky draws a distinction between the Narrative of the manga and Eren’s Personal Narrative, the story he tells himself. They argue that people who have faith in Eren’s self-conception fall into his personal narrative.

But is his story not a Narrative? It is quite natural to expect character development from characters in a story - it could only rightly be called a mistake when it comes to real life. And do Eren’s detractors not themselves fall into the Personal Narratives of Armin, Mikasa and Zeke? They have repeatedly made the statement that Eren is not free, that he is being controlled by Zeke or Grisha, and every time he has proven them wrong.

There is indeed an authorial Narrative separate from the characters’ Personal Narratives which can be detected through symbolism and the course the story takes. I find that the course of the story thus far lines up far more with Eren’s Personal Narrative than it does with those of his detractors. We can tell this from how he has disproved Armin, Mikasa and Zeke’s accusations of manipulation and also how, in the last chapter, he symbolically rips free of his chains.

There is also the fact that we the readers are more in the dark about Eren’s thoughts and intentions than we are about any other character. How could we be seduced into a Personal Narrative we know next to nothing about? And why would the story deliberately hide from us the very perspective that is meant to deceive us? I think it is far more likely that the reason Eren’s intentions have been shielded from the reader is because they take the nature of a terrible truth that must be dug up with bloodied hands.

Whenever Eren opens up about his thoughts and feelings, the meta unfairly dismisses them as mere lip service despite Eren having no reason to lie to Reiner and Falco as two people he intends to kill.

Rather than our side of the fandom being deceived by Eren’s Personal Narrative, I find that the opposing side dismisses it out of hand because they have no intention of listening to Eren’s side of the story. Why is Eren’s perspective less valid than anyone else’s, especially when he knows more than every other character by virtue of his ability to literally see the future?

The only explanation I can find for this attitude, if I may be forgiven the presumption, is that people approach the topic with the automatic assumption that what Eren is doing has to be wrong instead of questioning their own morals - which is, after all, what Attack On Titan is all about.

Armin even says that he no longer understands Eren. I don’t think we should trust the perception of a character as being authorial Narrative when he explicitly makes a statement like this. linkspooky does have an explanation for this scene, however, which I shall address in the next part.

Armin and Mikasa’s Perceptions of Eren

linkspooky claims that the reason for Armin’s confusion is that his romanticised view of Eren is falling apart, which indeed it is, and the same is true of Mikasa. However, I don’t think it’s right to claim that their new perception of him is an accurate one, since they still haven’t heard anything from Eren himself apart from what both I and linkspooky agree are lies to distance himself from them.

While they both once focused excessively on the positive in Eren, now they focus excessively on the negative, not considering the reason for Eren’s actions that I believe we have received hints of in the last two chapters.

linkspooky and I both think that Eren wants to protect his friends - in my case I most definitely see it as his primary motivation. If Armin knew this about Eren, I do not think he would condone him, but I don’t think he’d so roundly condemn him as he does here either.

So I don’t think it is right to consider Armin’s words the straight truth here, given the lack of information he’s working with, and that indeed, the fandom is working with. Because Eren is doing the most morally questionable things, and because we are seeing things more often from Armin’s perspective than his these days, there is perhaps an impulse to put faith in Armin’s words over Eren’s. But in this series, nothing is ever so black and white.

In Mikasa’s case, her treasured memory of the scarf is now being being challenged by the memory of Eren murdering the kidnappers - but we know from 121 that Eren places special value on the scarf as well, instead of just the murder.

Rather than trying to paint Eren in a white or black light, they need to see Eren as he really is: like the freedom he represents, a force beyond good and evil.

Enemy of the World

One of linkspooky’s arguments is that being the ‘Enemy of the World’ is just Eren’s fantasy as he frequently relies on others. However, linkspooky also mentions how Eren manipulates everyone close to him. I would argue that the person who manipulates you is, in fact, your enemy, and that Eren is the Enemy of the World not because he never relies on help but because he is entirely on his own side.

Indeed he knows that assistance from others is necessary even just to activate the Founder’s power, and he also refers to the Survey Corps as his friends, or even comrades, depending on your translation.

This is why he manipulates them - and the reason he manipulates rather than relying on them is because he feels that his Will contradicts the Wills of everyone around him. There is no-one who desires the outcome that Eren desires, not even Floch and the Eldian nationalists, I believe: I think even they will baulk at the scale of destruction Eren intends. Historia is the only character I think may be an exception to this rule as the other bearer of the ‘enemies of mankind’ moniker.

This otherwise total isolation of intention is what makes Eren the Enemy of the World. Because he fights for his freedom, he rebels against peace.

I think this panel is another example of why the authorial Narrative itself supports the idea of Eren being an Enemy of the World. The positioning of the speech bubble and outside text was entirely the decision of Isayama and his editor, and is not a thought bubble from Eren’s head. He has never actually addressed himself as ‘the Enemy of the World’: Historia calls him the enemy of mankind and Willy says he rebels against peace, but while Eren has said he “might just destroy the world” and only in response to Willy’s words, he is still not ascribing himself a title or role.

Eren’s Individualism

linkspooky claims that the scene in the FT arc, where the Levi Squad is slaughtered because Eren didn’t rely on his power instead of theirs, is misinterpreted because Eren also lost the fight on his own. However, this is where I think this meta falls prey to one of its greatest weaknesses: the omission of the Uprising Arc from the analysis of Eren’s character, wherein his most pivotal transitions take place.

The event that caused Eren to trust in his own strength over the strength of others was not his fight against Annie, but when a similar situation repeats itself in the Crystal Cave.

In this circumstance, Eren is able to protect all of his friends by relying on his own strength, when they would have died had they attempted their risky manoeuvre. Eren has become strong enough to protect them on his own - this was the first inkling of that realisation.

I say ‘first inkling’ because Eren does say this afterwards, which seems to influence Armin towards his current ideology. Such an idea seems at odds with what I believe to be Eren’s current aim to genocide those different to him as a wholly antagonistic force, like the bullies in Armin’s memories who Armin now wants to make peace with.

I believe this is because Eren soon learns that those differences between people are simply too great and too much of a threat to his freedom. People are stronger together, but only if he can be confident that they will follow his Will, which is how he learned to manipulate his allies. The differences between him and Levi in the Serumbowl nearly caused the loss of his best friend, and then, when he receives Grisha’s memories and learns of Marley’s treatment of Eldians, he learns just how deeply divided humans are and loses faith in overcoming those differences.

Far from character stagnancy, this is the development I see in Eren that has led him to this individualistic conclusion.

I would also like to address what I think is a fallacy in linkspooky’s analysis of the fight Eren loses against Annie. Eren loses both with his comrades and without them - how does that make the former path any better than the latter? Eren was actually doing very well in his fight against Annie, and only lost when he realised her identity from her fighting stance.

What I think Eren really took away from that fight is the lesson he is applying now - he cannot show any mercy to his enemies.

Levi Parallelism

I find the parallels drawn between Eren and Levi quite interesting and am not necessarily opposed to it, but personally I find that Levi has more parallels with Mikasa than Eren as two Ackermans driven by their love for others (though of course this is a big part of Eren’s motivation as well). Mikasa realising she can’t protect Eren or always be by his side is more in line with Levi accepting that he can’t save everyone imo.

Those Who Push Themselves into that Hell

linkspooky draws attention to Eren’s use of language to indicate that he is not free, such as in the following scene:

They argue that the ‘something’ pushing Eren along means he is not moving from his own will.

However, I find this claim to be contradicted by the distinction Eren makes within this very scene. He differentiates between those who are pushed into hell by their circumstances and those who “push themselves into hell”, clearly putting himself - at least as he is now - in the latter category. So I find that Eren is articulating that, because his whole past and future are manifestations of his own Will (as I argue in the attached meta), he is freely choosing to enter this arena rather than being forced to do so.

I Just Keep Moving Forward

linkspooky also argues that the reluctance in the line “I just keep moving forward’” suggests a lack of freedom. I would argue that continuing to fight for your goal even though you are frightened is a sign of strength of will rather than the reverse.

They also argue that, because those words are remembered as Reiner is about to kill himself, they are portrayed in a negative light. But this omits the crucial follow-up to that scene, where Reiner does not kill himself and finds a reason to live after hearing Falco express his desire to protect Gabi. Reiner is saved by that will to keep moving forward.

They further argue that Eren takes these words from Hange and twists them to suit himself.

But this is untrue. As they pointed out themself, Eren first heard these words in his training days from Reiner where it did mean what he thinks it means. Furthermore, there is no panel showing Eren having any special reaction to Hange’s words. He is shown with the other key Serumbowl players before Hange says them, but not afterwards, where the focus is solely on Mikasa.

I believe Isayama has Hange say Eren’s tagline because it is a key phrase in the themes of the story, and not because it has any special effect on Eren.

I Didn’t Have Any Other Choice

Lines such as “I didn’t have any other choice” and “Is there another way” are similarly argued to be indicative of Eren’s enslavement to a single course of action.

But this is just the conflict between long and short term gratification – enduring hardship to obtain your goal is an example of a strong will, not an enslaved one. Even if he is enslaved to circumstance, this is the case for everybody else as well, and it is an enslavement he seeks to permanently free himself from by crushing his enemies for good. After that, he and Eldia can do whatever they will.

Born This Way

The lines “I’ve always been that way, ever since I was born”, and “It’s probably been like this since the day we were born” are argued to be a form of enslavement to one’s sense of self. I cover this in my attached meta, where I argue that it is rather an affirmation of his own Will and right to exist.

One specific point I’d like to address is the claim that Eren saying those words after Reiner tries to take personal responsibility for his actions is evidence that Eren is running away from his guilt, and is therefore not at peace with his actions, and is therefore not free. But rather than in denial or frustrated, Eren appears to be in a state of sad serenity.

Eren does not say these words in immediate response to Reiner, but only after he hears Willy say “Because I was born into this world”. I think that here Eren is simply recognising that Reiner was simply following the unique nature of his Will - doing it because he wanted to, not because he had to, which is indeed what Eren is doing - and acknowledging that it is something he cannot criticise him for, but also something that he cannot spare him for. That is the command of Eren’s unique Will.

As for Eren not being at peace with his actions meaning he is not free, refer to the short/long term gratification point I made earlier.

Jealousy of Mikasa and the Need to be a One Man Army

linkspooky claims that Eren is still trying too hard to be as strong as Mikasa and Levi, but once again the meta suffers due to a lack of consideration for the Uprising Arc. In that arc, Eren got over his jealousy of Mikasa and Levi and explicitly stated as much.

This, I think, is also sufficient evidence against a persisting desire on Eren’s part to be a One Man Army (as opposed to freedom, which he does have a desire for). His words here make it clear that he wishes to fight alongside his friends if possible. He has simply learnt that, to achieve his goals, ruthless manipulation and rugged individualism is necessary.

Need to be Special

This is also something Eren overcame in the Uprising Arc. He thinks of himself as a normal person, the son of a special father, that he never needed to happen.

He is not doing all of this to be special. He has simply become special by pursuing his birthright: not a birthright of exceptionalism, but of the right to exist, something I shall explain further in the ‘Meaning of Carla’s Words’ section in the next part.

As with the One Man Army, it is a matter of necessity rather than desire. I cover this more in my attached Eren meta, but Eren’s character has developed in a perfect loop. Though his actions remain the same, his understanding of them has increased dramatically: that is to say, he has come to understand himself.

Indeed, people are not naturally special. But can one really argue that special people do not exist at all? To say such a thing would be to argue that there is no difference between Daz and Erwin. People become special - Supermen, to reference Nietzsche - because they relentlessly pursue their Will to Power, their driving force to actualise their desires.

linkspooky also argues that the reason Eren’s change is the most dramatic after the time-skip is because in actuality he hasn’t changed. My argument is that it is simply the result of having the most explicit and tumultuous development in the story up to now, and crucially, the ability to see a future no-one else can.

Read the rest in Part 2 here!

#shingeki no kyojin #eren jaeger #eren yeager #snk meta #meta response #snk spoilers #aot spoilers #I haven't directly quoted since I was asked not to #but I hope it's clear I'm arguing in good faith #Also @ls please feel no obligation to read this behemoth #It's a ridiculously long response

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metalandmagi · 7 years

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Hogwarts House Anime Recommendations: Gryffindor

Okay, it’s that time again, time for the last round of Hogwarts house anime recommendations! And this time it’s Gryffindor!

other house recommendations:

ravenclaw

hufflepuff

slytherin

As we all know, Gryffindors are always in the spotlight and are basically the most represented house, and that sort of reflects in my recommendations. It was very difficult to try and think of lesser known shows to go with, so I mainly kept to what I thought are some of the most defining Gryffindor anime despite their popularity.

Some of the key Gryffindor traits running through these anime are bravery (bordering on recklessness), selflessness, and characters that are highly fueled by their emotions.

1. Haikyuu!!

For anyone who hasn’t heard of it, Haikyuu is an awesome sports anime. Lovingly referred to as “the volleyball anime” this story focuses on the once powerful Karasuno high school volleyball team, with Hinata Shoyo as one of the new first year members of the club who wants to work to take the team to nationals. However, also on the team is his middle school “rival” (a term I use loosely considering they only played one match against each other), and the two have to learn to work together to actually make the team successful.

I actually mentioned this anime in my Hufflepuff recommendations because I believe many sports anime do fall into that house. However, I actually think Haikyuu is a good Gryffindor anime because of its inclination towards showing the characters branch out and define what it means to be brave in their own separate ways. Each character has their own way of being bold and unique in their talents and work hard to make themselves better at the sport, even if it is scary for them. I mostly see this in Kagayama, Yamaguchi’s, and Asahi’s characters, but everyone has their own demons to fight. Hinata may be the main character but this is the only sports anime where I actually remember every member of the team’s names and care just as much about the other high school teams as well. This is going to go down as a classic sports anime because it keeps you gripped on the game as well as the growth of the characters without dragging out the play time or giving the characters super human abilities that is so rampant in the genre.

2. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Again, for those who don’t know about it, Hunter x Hunter (at least the 2011 version) is basically a standard shounen anime setup about a spunky 12 year old kid named Gon, who starts a quest to find his “missing” father. Gon’s father is a Hunter, meaning in this world, he is part of an elite group of people who basically travel around the world just doing whatever the hell they want, from being hired as bounty hunters, to catching rare animals, or pretty much anything you can think of. So in order to find his father, Gon sets out to become a Hunter too, along with his lovable, rag-tag group of misfits. But be careful, this show starts out as a typical happy-go-lucky adventure anime and turns into an extremely dark and fucked up show involving everything from organized crime and genocide to the mass extinction of the human race to weird animal hybrids.

Okay stay with me, because this is gonna be a wild ride. I can only go off of the 2011 version, but this show is straight up amazing. I promised myself several years ago that I would get around to watching it someday, and that didn’t end up happening until the English dub started airing on Toonami in 2016. After watching the first 5 episodes dubbed on television I sprinted to my computer to watch the rest of the series as fast as possible...while also catching the dubbed episodes every week. Around episode 115 or so, I realized I was going to burn through this anime...and I didn’t want it to end. So now I’m back to watching one dubbed episode a week as it comes out just so I could prolong the experience. That’s how good this anime is. So technically I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s only because I don’t want to end it….and also I had some serious issues with the pacing of the last arc.

In terms of why it fits Gryffindor so well, all you have to do is watch Gon for about 5 minutes. All of the main characters...apart from Killua...have very noble goals and want to help others in their own ways. Hisoka is also one of the best...villains?…..anti heroes?...antagonists?…. that I’ve ever seen, and he is a great mixture of discomfort and intrigue to watch every time he’s on screen. If you love the old school shounen shows, if you want to feel nostalgic for when you were a kid watching Naruto or Bleach, if you want a show with clearly defined arcs, interesting characters, and not one, but two of the best tournament arcs I’ve ever seen, then for the love of all that is good, GO WATCH THIS SHOW if you haven’t already...I know I’m pretty late to the game with this one.

3. Akatsuki no Yona (aka Yona of the Dawn)...And Arslan Senki (aka The Heroic Legend of Arslan)

It’s official, I can’t do one of these things without doing a double recommendation. But seeing as these anime fit so well together and the protagonists seem very similar, I figured I had to do both. Both of these shows focus on the sweet cinnamon rolls royalty of a kingdom trying to regain their thrones after their respective countries have been overthrown or taken down from the inside. Akatsuki no Yona deals with a young princess who is trying to bring together a group of magical dragon people in order to regain the throne and fix the problems with her country. Arslan Senki (the 2015 anime version, not the ova), is more military oriented, focusing on a young prince trying to free his country as well as his father and mother from an invading country, led by a villain wearing a silver mask...who may have more of a claim to the throne than Arslan does.

Both of these shows are very fantasy oriented and desperately need to be continued. They also both have tried and true Gryffindors as the main protagonists who only want what’s best for their people. Arslan and Yona both look at the world through very innocent eyes but have to learn the harsh realities of their kingdoms and be brave enough to overcome all obstacles with the help of their friends.

4. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

This anime follows four main characters (Kurogane, Fai, Syaoran, and Sakura) as they travel through different worlds trying to find pieces of the shattered soul of Princess Sakura. This takes place in the same universe as literally every other CLAMP created work, meaning that yes, it is the same Sakura as the one in Cardcaptor Sakura….just in a different world. If you’re a fan of anything CLAMP related, you need to watch it if you haven’t already.

This show will probably mean a lot more to people who have seen/read literally every CLAMP anime/manga in existence, but I actually hadn’t seen any other CLAMP material before watching this show. I basically just knew that Cardcaptor Sakura was a thing that existed and Tsubasa involved those main characters. But this anime is what sparked my love for the universe, so you don’t really have to know anything about the CLAMP universe to enjoy the anime (the manga on the other hand is a completely different story). I have always thought that Sakura, Syaoran, and Kurogane are all good examples of Gryffindors in different ways. Kurogane is more of a protective father figure, first showing nothing but recklessness and learning to become more thought out in his plans. Sakura is a Gryffindor in the sense that she also wants to protect people and learns to be brave over time, while Syaoran’s sole purpose is protecting Sakura and can be extremely chivalrous. Anyway it’s a fun adventure show that leads into a very dark and mysterious set of OVAs that will make you go “damn I should read the manga....and also every other CLAMP manga I can get my hands on.”

5. Attack on Titan

Yes, I had to. There was no way I could leave out Attack on Titan from a Gryffindor recommendation. I’m not even going to bother with a summary, since everyone and their dog has at least heard of it. This truly is the most Gryffindor anime to ever Gryffindor. It completely embodies the idea of the house both in the actual anime and in the real world. It even has it’s own golden trio, with a bookish character, a “chosen one” character, and a character who relies mostly on instinct.

Like I said, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are all great Gryffindors in the same way that the original golden trio are. The plot of the show constantly evokes the idea of doing what’s right, even if it means putting your life on the line. Everyone who joins the military in this universe knows they need a mixture of bravery, daring, and just the right amount of recklessness to be successful. Even in the real world the anime has been in the spotlight the same way Gryffindor house is all the time, with great characters, an interesting plot, and intriguing world building that keeps people invested even with four year waits for the next season. Every episode has you rooting for the main characters in the same way that you root for Harry Potter and the rest of the gang. Not to mention it looks and sounds fucking amazing. So if you decided to skip the second season because you’ve read the manga...don’t. The anime just makes everything a million times better.

So that’s the end of my Hogwarts house anime recommendations! Sorry I couldn’t really branch out very much with Gryffindor house, but I tried my best. I hope these are helpful!

#hunter x hunter #attack on titan #arslan senki #akatsuki no yona #tsubasa reservoir chronicle #haikyuu #hogwarts houses #anime recommendation #harry potter #gryffindor

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