[Closed Log] Fireflies are stars that couldn't journey to the skies

[rustyhonesty]

WHO: The Shingeki Cast
WHAT: Firefly catching
WHEN: During November Event
WHERE: Solarpeak Beach
WARNINGS: inevitable talk of death, likely gore and other attack on titan basic content warnings, will add as needed.

Just Shingeki cast seeing appreciating fireflies and catching them in jars while bonding on various levels.

Comments

[bigporkenergy]

That's the truth.

[Confirmed: no one gets to relax in Marley either.]

Have you been in this world long?

[rollcharisma]

[Armin shakes his head a bit.]

Not all that long, no. Only about three months or so - something like that.

It's odd...At this age, there's a lot I don't remember - or know, I guess - about home, my friends, things like that...

But I remember being here. Bits and pieces of it, anyway. Enough...

[bigporkenergy]

That sounds really weird.

[Sorry, Armin, Galliard is not known for his tact.]

How are you keeping it all straight?

[rollcharisma]

[Armin shrugs a bit.]

I...really don't have much of a choice, I guess. It's confusing, sure, but...for right now, it's just the way things are.

[bigporkenergy]

I guess not.

[Galliard wonders if Armin will recognise him, once this is over and he's his regular age again.]

Are you going to try and catch any of the fireflies?

[rollcharisma]

Sure...

[He glances down at his jar, still empty.]

I will, I just...have to work myself up to it a bit, I guess.

It's silly, but...they're just so beautiful floating around like this - it almost feels wrong to put them in a jar.

Still, I've talked to a few people, and...we've decided to come back and release them once we don't need them anymore.

[bigporkenergy]

Are people thinking about keeping them?

[This is news to Galliard!]

I figured everyone would let them loose after a couple of hours or so. They'll all die if keep them in the jars too long.

[rollcharisma]

Apparently that's not the case.

They'll be useful for an upcoming quest, so you're meant to keep them in the jars until then. After that, I think some were thinking of keeping them as decoration.

[bigporkenergy]

Mmmm.

[Once again, a small detail that Galliard missed during briefing, and which Pieck would have pointed out later. Gods, he misses her.]

Seems mean-spirited, keeping them in a jar forever.

[rollcharisma]

[Armin nods, a small frown tugging at his lips.]

I agree.

Suppose...I can relate, I guess.

[bigporkenergy]

Because of the island, and the walls?

[Yeah, Galliard can see that.]

I'll let you in on something: people are pretty shit outside the walls. You're not missing as much as you think.

[rollcharisma]

[Armin's frown deepens. When he looks at Galliard, there's a weight to his expression.]

It's...not really about that.

[Leaning down, he sets his empty jar on the ground, fingers lingering on the glass for a moment before he straightens up again.]

Seeing the world outside of the walls...it isn't just about meeting good people, or experiencing good things. I might be young, but I'm not naive enough to believe that freedom means all of your problems go away, or that everything is happy all of the time.

No one deserves to be caged. To live outside of the walls, to have that opportunity...

[What is it that Eren always says? Armin's eyes go back to Galliard, firm.] That's our birthright as human beings.

Whatever our experiences may be, we deserve the opportunity to realize them.

[bigporkenergy]

[Our birthright as human beings... Galliard never claimed to be the smartest one in the Warriors--quite the contrary, he knows he's not as smart as the rest of them--but he's lived in Marley his whole life, and can recognise propaganda when he hears it.]

What happens when the experiences you want start interfering with other people?

[His tone is mild; Armin is a kid, after all.]

I'm not disagreeing with the idea that everyone should have freedom to live their lives. I think that's a great idea. But you're making it a lot more straightforward than it is in reality.

[rollcharisma]

Well...

Freedom is the desire. Call it a dream if it can't be a reality yet.

What we do with that freedom is up to us. I want everyone to have that same opportunity, whether that's realistic or not.

[bigporkenergy]

But that's the whole problem. People can't have the same opportunities with an idea as vague as 'freedom'. Sooner or later, someone is going to do something horrible, and claim they were doing it for freedom. But their freedom means someone else got shit on and had their own freedom taken.

[rollcharisma]

[Armin's admitted idealism clearly isn't doing him any favors with regard to this conversation. He and Galliard might be speaking from two totally different perspectives, but Armin is a smart kid. He realizes full well the natural give and take of suffering. If there's enough food for one person, someone else goes without; it's a simple enough concept.

[Fireflies or not, now's not the time for dreaming, he supposes.]

I'd like it if it didn't have to be that way, but I see what you're saying.

[It only breaks his heart a little.]

I can't very well take back what I've said, though. Is it wrong to believe that every person deserves those opportunities, even if I realize that it isn't possible?

Call me selfish, I guess. All I ever wanted was to see the world that existed beyond our walls. I still do...

[There's a weak smile; not much behind it, really, but it should be convincing enough.]

If nothing else, it makes me appreciate my time here. [The fireflies are still glowing all around them.]

[bigporkenergy]

At least you acknowledge it's impossible.

[Galliard has a lot more to say on this topic, but there's no point in badgering a kid about it. Armin doesn't know, at this point, where his dreams for freedom are going to lead. Maybe when he's back to his regular age, they can have a conversation about what happens when those dreams turn bitter.]

Yeah. Yeah, here is better.

For what it's worth, I don't think it's selfish to want something better than you have. It only becomes selfish when you're willing to crush other people to get it.

[rollcharisma]

I don't want to crush anyone.

[But he knows that he might have to. At this age, is he willing to accept that? At his usual age, he's had to.]

That's...the last thing I'd ever want.