[ oh, shit. James knows that look--that's the look of a past-life flashback. Did he cause that? Damn. He almost feels bad, if not for the bullshit Eren's spewing right now. ]
Yeah--if you're the one getting attacked! You don't get to kill innocent people and act all righteous about it by pretending they were gonna kill you first!
[ except he falls quiet to breath and wipe the watery build up in his eyes before they drip. ]
To be honest . . . I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore. All you need to be the bad guy is someone saying you are. Same thing with being the savior.
[ That, finally, gives James pause. Sure, the second man he's remembering is rotten to the core, through and through. But Bucky...as heroic as Bucky and the Invaders were, there was a lot of propaganda surrounding them even on the homefront, building them up to be much more righteous than reality. And he's sure he was demonized just as heavily on the other side, too. It really is all relative.
He doesn't like there being that much ambiguity or vagueness. He clenches his fists. ]
Then--what's the point of anything? If that's all it takes, then why bother trying to do the right thing at all? If the "right thing" is just something someone made up anyway?
You do what you think is right. Even if it costs you.
[ that’s how . . . he’s always done things. even if he was humanity’s last hope one minute and the devil ready to destroy a nation the next, he always had one thing in common. he kept moving. with a hand briefly on james’ shoulder: ]
You keep moving forward. That’s all that really matters.
"Keep moving forward." "Do what you think is right." They're nice, sound sentiments in theory. But in practicality...he's pretty sure that's exactly what this Soviet assassin past life of his was doing and thought, more or less. What he thought was "right" was just following orders and ensuring the glory of Mother Russia, or whatever the hell. So then what's the difference? How does Eren's stance on things absolve him of anything? ]
No. That's bullshit. Screw moving forward--I'd rather stay still if it meant I didn't have to hurt anyone.
[ well! this is probably the first real time eren can bring himself to smile. maybe james didn’t get the full depth of what he meant, but—
he’s happy to hear it. ]
That’s still moving forward, you know. To something different. [ a change in heart that they knew they didn’t want. ] That’s all that matters.
[ he never considered leaving the air force to put an end to things. maybe more like . . . . giving himself a change of direction. he takes james’ shoulder and gives it a firm shake. ] I don’t think I can see you standing still, anyway.
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no subject
Yeah--if you're the one getting attacked! You don't get to kill innocent people and act all righteous about it by pretending they were gonna kill you first!
no subject
[ except he falls quiet to breath and wipe the watery build up in his eyes before they drip. ]
To be honest . . . I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore. All you need to be the bad guy is someone saying you are. Same thing with being the savior.
no subject
He doesn't like there being that much ambiguity or vagueness. He clenches his fists. ]
Then--what's the point of anything? If that's all it takes, then why bother trying to do the right thing at all? If the "right thing" is just something someone made up anyway?
no subject
[ that’s how . . . he’s always done things. even if he was humanity’s last hope one minute and the devil ready to destroy a nation the next, he always had one thing in common. he kept moving. with a hand briefly on james’ shoulder: ]
You keep moving forward. That’s all that really matters.
no subject
"Keep moving forward." "Do what you think is right." They're nice, sound sentiments in theory. But in practicality...he's pretty sure that's exactly what this Soviet assassin past life of his was doing and thought, more or less. What he thought was "right" was just following orders and ensuring the glory of Mother Russia, or whatever the hell. So then what's the difference? How does Eren's stance on things absolve him of anything? ]
No. That's bullshit. Screw moving forward--I'd rather stay still if it meant I didn't have to hurt anyone.
no subject
he’s happy to hear it. ]
That’s still moving forward, you know. To something different. [ a change in heart that they knew they didn’t want. ] That’s all that matters.
[ he never considered leaving the air force to put an end to things. maybe more like . . . . giving himself a change of direction. he takes james’ shoulder and gives it a firm shake. ] I don’t think I can see you standing still, anyway.
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I'll show you who can stand still.
[ IS THAT A CHALLENGE, EREN??? ]
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okay he laughs ]
I believe it.
[ he does mean it though!!! there’s no teasing here. if that’s how james deals, than that is how james deals. and he likes it. ]
Keep standing still, then.