no but listen what I really love about the Aruani dynamic is that Annie's just this....huge bamf bitch. like I LOVE her bc she's just this giant force to be reckoned with and nobody wants to FUCK with Annie Leonhart, not even big-ass strong dudes like Reiner or Eren or literally anyone else bc she will END them and boy!!!! do!!! they!!! know!!! it!!!!!
BUT THEN. BUT THEN!!!!!! THIS. SOFT????? PRECIOUS BOY COMES ALONG????? LIKE????? he's literally???????? jdhrjddhjdj
I MEAN. FUCKING LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT THIS BOY. EVEN WITH HIS GAME FACE ON????? PRECIOUS. DELICATE. FRAGILE. YES, WITH THE MIND AND IQ TEN TIMES THE SIZE OF THE AVERAGE HUMAN AND CAN/WILL MOST LIKELY KILL YOU UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT LOOK AT HIM. JUST..... PROTECC.
AND I'M JUST SAT HERE LIKE?????
THIS IS IT???? THIS IS WHAT DOES THE THREATENING, COLD-BLOODED ANNIE LEONHART IN???? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME SHSJDBDKDKD
And just?????? it's just absolutely MAGICAL to me, this dynamic. It's wild. It's unexpected. It's fresh and I am HERE FOR IT.
And as their relationship unfolds, we get a closer look at who they truly are. They aren't just these one-dimensional stereotypes of some bamf chick and some nerdy soft guy, because throughout their journey we learn a few more things. Important things.
We learn that Annie can be scared.
We learn that she can be kind.
We learn that she can be lonely.
And the same goes with Armin. He's not just some useless, fragile boy that he had always thought himself to be.
He can be dangerous.
He can be cunning.
He can be brave.
And them being together???? It makes sense. It just makes sense.
Armin is the only person Annie lets herself be vulnerable with, and the first time we ever see it? It's with him. It's with Armin.
And similarly, when Armin is with her? That's when he steps it up.
Just. God, I love these two so much and they're so perfect for each other. They bring out the best in one another and complement the other perfectly.
And the way this very last panel is portrayed? It honestly makes me tear up because it shows us just how far along these two have come. Annie looking straight at him, allowing herself to just be. Armin lax and comfortable around her, but also confident—he knows what he wants now and he'll be damn sure he's going to get it.
We may not have gotten a kiss or even a had-holding scene, but their interactions in canon says more than enough. It's just there and it speaks for itself. We didn't even need the confirmation, EVERYBODY just KNEW. That's how powerful this dynamic was, up until the very end.
tl;dr I'm never gonna shut up about Aruani, The Only Straight Ship In AOT That Actually Matters, and y'all can fucking FITE ME
