Nat

so 咪西 updated the leaks on the Chinese website tieba:

Hi anon!!

Thank you for your kind words T.T

Well... the question focuses on my opinion on which ship has more chances to become canon, right?

I’ve spent some time thinking about my answer to this question, how I could go direct to the point while giving enough arguments to defend my opinion. Prepare yourself because I couldn’t and this will be very long. Sorry...

1. Eren’s characterization + romance

First of all, there is a very important point about Eren that shipers (even me sometimes) forget. A friend that loves and understand Eren the most pointed this many times when I was starting to forget about it... I dare to say that nobody surpasses her understanding of his characterization.

Eren isn’t a romantic person. We all have to keep in mind that his priorities aren’t the priorities a normal person would have. He is like Rick from Casablanca. There’s the duty and then dreams and then, maybe, romantic love (If we take for granted that he knows what it is). Erwin loved Marie but he had a priority. (There’s me finding more similarities between Erwin and Eren). Eren’s current development is more about his mission than a romantic one. Although he plays with romance, he does it while being blatantly blind about it.

Eren got caught in the middle of his normal development from a child that gets annoyed by romance and has some kind of allergy against cheesy moments (for ex. in ch. 3 with Franz and Hannah) to a teenager that blooms to feel romantic love as something important and unavoidable. It’s normal for kids. But Eren hasn’t a normal life. There was always something more important than learning how to love, be loved and express it openly. It’s not that he isn’t able to love, more likely the opposite. He knows how to love and he has his own ways to do it... but the way the world is restricted his possibilities to live a different life. Even in the way EMA never got to communicate properly most of the times. Communication runs sometimes as a question, a statement and no back question (for ex. ch. 3). Eren asked about Mikasa’s reasons to follow him, about Armin’s reasons, where he threw that line about his death being meaningless. Nobody said anything, neither Mikasa nor Eren reacted stating the opposite. They usually don’t have the time nor oportunity to talk or even think about essential topics as feelings of love or labeling their feelings.

Given Eren’s lack of experience and maturity that we could see until Marley arc. Is it even possible that he developed a carnal relationship with Historia before going to Marley? No. No, because it would contradict somehow his characterization. Eren is depicted exactly as someone that took this decision because he lost every single deep bond that would have stopped him. This lack of understanding brought him to this point. The lack of value he places on life and a comfortable life with friends and family.

2. The baby

The whole baby plot point is from my perspective just about the curse and a new generation (maybe) free from being SoY but just normal human beings.

Historia choosing this way was also the safest way to oppose her destiny... strategically speaking. She could trick everyone without being called openly a traitor. So I’m agree with you. Her question wasn’t romantic.

3. The father and his meaning

The father is, as I pointed out once in my Twitter acc., the farmer. My reasons are that there is a meaning behind his existence. He was a boy that dared Historia to break the rules and stop being submissive. He is aligned with Historia’s current role as someone who stopped being the good girl that follows stupid and detrimental rules in disregard of her own life. He is also a man that decided to redeem himself by helping her with the orphanage without trying to get her attention at all. Being a normal person who enjoys a normal life and also redemption. I’m not saying necessarily that it’s about love, but he isn’t just a nobody. He holds a deep, positive meaning for the story. Isayama pairs usually a sinner and an “innocent”: Annie and Armin, Eren and Mikasa, Erwin and Levi, Ymir and Krista, Historia and the Farmer. Eren and Historia are the current sinners on the matter that both chose the rumbling... let’s say.

Why this kind of pairing? Because one has to contribute to the improvement of the other. Two sinners (with the same crime and perspective) can’t help each other. It’s opposition what will bring them to overcome their weaknesses.

4. Development of the couples

That being said, Eren and Mikasa as pair are in the focus. Isayama went through 10 years of development of most of the pairs to build up a support for EreMika. He build parallels with YumiHisu and Falbi and gave us hints to understand EM better. The vow he made to her was probably one of those moments when he started to be romantic without noticing.

5. Eren and Historia: their moments

EH interactions are, conversely, of other nature. Both feel related about the point of carrying a big burden. While Eren has to save humanity fighting, Historia has the role of a founder who has to assure humanity’s survival by having children and keeping the royal family alive. Both want to be free from that burden and end up being “partners in crime” by betraying everyone. I’m missing the romantic interactions to be very honest. It’s because Eren is so self-focused that he anchors here when someone who is alone and having the same problems and feelings appears. But... where did the fandom start to see something between them?

Two moments. The moment when he said “she is admirable” and the moment when he insisted to spare her life. That obsession that is so tricky to even be explained.

The first one made a difference between how Eren acknowledges Historia’s attributes and disregards Mikasa’s. The fandom uses this to point out that Eren likes Historia more. Well, no. His relationship towards Mikasa was characterized by jealousy. He won’t admit anything.

Regarding his “obsession” to save her... this started when he knew the existence of Eren Krüger, his thoughts and the whole story about Dina. It wasn’t before that. We must also admit that Historia’s safety was related to more characters than just Eren. Since the very beginning, her safety was conveniently displayed by Frieda, Ymir and Reiner, what makes me believe that her destiny was to give birth to this baby (aka. plot armor). Her role is to avoid becoming a titan by her own choice, that’s her arc. With Krüger we also knew the importance of a royal: they can give birth to more convenient instruments for war. Knowing that he was devoted to the mission, I believe that Eren is being influenced by him (I want to highlight the word “influenced” as something different to manipulated). So this is all related to the mission and the final outcome about Ymir, the curse, the power and the baby. Eren partly wants to grant her the chance to choose, but he also pushes her to do so based on part of her desires because of the mission as he did with Grisha.

Add here the fact that Historia was prepared to sacrifice his life at the cave if it was needed. That shows her priorities.

A lot of EH shippers claim that she saved him. Regarding her role as savior, I’m more objective and skeptical. She spared his life, but emotionally speaking, she didn’t really save him. The proof is that he was still low, thinking that he was a nobody. Carla’s words were the message with enough impact to relieve him and make him open himself to Armin and Mikasa and tell them about his sorrows. This shows the difference on the impact on him when it comes to Historia and when it comes to Carla... this happens again in ch. 131. He thinks about his mother instead of Historia who was the one reproving his plan. To me, Historia is his friend and inspired him to fight just for his sake against the system and rebel those who are over him and oppressing him. But his soft side is related to Carla, Armin and Mikasa: his family and those, who appreciate his life over his fate and urge of freedom and to be acknowledged.

Bonus: when Eren told Historia that she saved him was more like “You chose this path once and I’m sorry. I’ll be starting the rumbling and you contributed”. Historia’s face to that looks like this: “Oh no...I fucked up”. It doesn’t look like “Oh no... I don’t regret saving you because I love you and I can’t live without you”. On the contrary, that’s when she realizes that she was part of this since the beginning and that by saving him, she chose to let the rumbling happen once in the past. Then she goes along with the plan for her own reasons and because she hasn’t better options to choose either.

Summary:

Eren didn’t developed as a romantic person yet nor prioritized romantic love over his mission. It goes against a previous explicit development of EH before the trip to Marley. The farmer has a positive meaning as the father. EM is more developed and shows romantic undertones and common tropes. EH hasn’t romantic understones and it’s more related to the mission to save the eldians.

- Who do you want each SnK character to end up with?

There was an snk poll on the Chinese website douban a while ago where people are asked to vote for who they want each SnK character to end up with. This post shares the results of the poll. (This is just for fun, no ship wars please :P)

Hi anon!

When I talked about a plan in the reblog, I meant it on a meta level. Isayama as writter made up a plan for his story to be solved.

I didn’t mean that Eren is the one making such a master plan. He was never a tactician nor a strategist. He always relies on other people and he acts like a tool for the plan to be carried out.

But since things are happening so conveniently... I could make a large list about how many things happened in the right moment and were convenient... how many characters were convenient in the end... Like for example.. everyone being obsessed with Historia’s safety...

I can’t help but to see a godlike hand moving things, and maybe, maybe, it’s the one thing I complain about Isayama. Things are way too controlled, manipulated. If he meant someone to embody a god moving things inside the ficcion I won’t mind it. I also need it. I need a strong will leading things to happen this way because fate it’s radom, not always convenient as this looks like to be.

The key for me came after he tried to portray complexity.

First, things were easy. We had people inside a wall, not knowing anything, with non-human enemies that were the perfect scapegoat to demonize and to blame for every tragedy... the perfect “others”. It was mainly easy to know which was the right side.

The first gridlocks during the clash of titans, the beast titan arc and the uprising were easy to handle for him as a writer and for us as readers. All was easy before complexity crashed into the plot.

And I mean the basement as the moment when everything stopped being easy.

Why were all shocked knowing that the world was more complicated than they thought it was? Because it’s the expectable response to complexity... and a systemic problem that was inherited and repeated through 2000 years (maybe more) non-stop.

That was the Marley arc. He tried to show us the otherside and dig our minds into complexity. We saw the scapegoats back then, now we see the “current” victimators and their victims. When it comes to conclusions we can make about this, it’s about how individuals aren’t important but their current roles related to their environments. (first point on why he doesn’t really develop characters too much as other writters but in their utilitarian sense... how this character can serve to the story, and not how this character builds the story.)

I still complain about Hanji’s non existent back story. The way Isayama just put Hanji as a convenient replacement to wait until Eren went on genocidal mode and Armin had to oppose him... Well. Convenience. Fate isn’t so whimsical... or shouldn’t be that all the time.

There must be a plan behind everything and either it’s Isayama himself not being able or not willing to cover himself or a mastermind behind some events.

All the way through he planted some seeds for us to make a guess now.

Factually speaking... I still can’t see Eren as this mastermind. That he chose this role or accepted it, yes. He felt the overwhelming power of the future and tricked himself into believing everything it’s okay or just accepted it because he is no god to surpass what it’s meant to happen... The answer there isn’t easy but I don’t feel like Eren owns the godlike power that makes him superior compared to other characters. The only difference is that he could see the complexity yet he couldn’t really act on that since he isn’t a person that can overcome his rage. That rage, being his own or inherited I don’t know, is a limitation for him and overcoming it means to overcome a cognitive threshole for him that is also a collective one (how can we stop the hatred and trying to kill each other?). We see him struggle to understand the truth behind this all and yet he isn’t so sure about the outcome. He reached for his cognitive threshold and can’t see why he could overcome what he does and how he does it. To make this complex amount of information that exceeds him manageable and understand the truth, he holds on to idea of freedom, death and the unavoidable fate. He just keeps moving forward drunk on a dream of freedom. It doesn’t mean he is right. More likely the opposite. He forgot a lot of factors in the meantime like love, hope and respect for others.

While his ignorance is convenient... something else, greater than him, may be happening. I don’t forget about the possibility of multiple Erens, being one future Eren wiser than the current one to be a mastermind because... Paths-magic-possible. Who sent him those convenient memories that show him exactly what is needed for him to reinforce his way to the rumbling?

Something greater is the real solution/outcome. And here goes a point to Isayama: complexity can’t be solved with one mitigation like the rumbling. The 50 years plan was a bunch of tactical mitigations that pretended to maintain the island safe while enssuring a possible way to respond to war in the future (with violence of course) and while trying to start diplomatic relations. But was there a real solution for hatred there? Where was the strategic plan to approach hatred, the real source of all problems? And risking to get complexity even more complex with new weapons and burden more generations to a destiny of war? There’s the need of a quick answer and the reason while everyone, included Eren, failed.

Eren’s speech about extermination is a mitigation for a short-term solution too. He sells it as the final solution but... it isn’t. It can’t be*. What’s really intended through the rumbling along with a lot of mitigations and sacrifices like Historia’s pregnancy and the alliance being free to stop him is a long-term permanent? solution. By this plan we se how every single piece starts to worke like in an engine... this seem to be a (convenient) parallel incrementalism, where a bunch of loose or planned factors work together for a solution. This already happened in the uprising, when Erwin gambled the future of humanity inside the walls. That time every one was free to choose and they chose to be the ones deciding their future and not a god-like creature who doesn’t really care about them. They decided to live.

But this time: Who could make such a plan? a god-like creature, a puppet master or just Isayama. Personally I don’t like this last possibility nor fate being the last explanation because this time seems to be forced compared to the Uprising... but it’s because of the big burden that was to deal with this complexity he built up.

I’m very sorry for the long answer... but thank you for giving me this impulse to write about this point.

----------------

these are my babies 😙

Hi anon!

I had to recall some facts about the birth. Since it’s the baby who “decides” when... I find pretty interesting that the baby could get some “agency” on this matter. A premature baby after the 29th week isn’t impossible, since the lungs are enough developed. It’s interesting the point that its exactly because of the lungs that the baby “tell” his mother that he is prepared to be born. Since Isayama likes to remain “realistic” well... it’s possible. Yet the baby might be in danger or need some kind of special care. That’s true too.

That Historia lied to everyone about the time when she got pregnant... I saw that @oldsummerdream brought this possibility in one answer and I find it interesting because I didn’t considered it before. Personally, I don’t think she was already pregnant because we saw her going to the Farmer in the flashback (let’s say it’s a true scene) and it was after her meeting with Eren because of her sad expression. If she were already pregnant before Eren told her about the rumbling, then it would be needed that she was already in love or having a relationship with the farmer. I just don’t see it, since I believe Historia never truly moved on after Ymir died. The fact that she didn’t marry him is a special hint for us to know that the only one with the right to marry her was Ymir. Some... fans took it as a hint of a fake fathership and that’s why the fandom is still stuck discussing the fathership issue. I think that Isayama made his characters stay true to themselves (hinted since the beginning) and Historia’s true self is related to Ymir and the way to live she taught her.

Live with pride the way you want, the way you truly are without being afraid to be rejected if you don’t meet the expectations the world has since... everyone cares just for themselves, don’t let the world kill you, I regret I couldn’t marry you.

The only possible way she got pregnant before talking to Eren and also without having a relationship with the farmer would be that someone visited her before Eren but it would have been weird since she was shocked while hearing about the rumbling. And still.. I wonder about her being determined to become a titan before Eren convinced her to refuse that way... if she was already pregnant... Why didn’t she start with that point while talking to Eren? She would have been even more shocked because without knowing she would have been already supporting the plan. And futhermore, would it mean that she was already starting to oppose by herself the idea of becoming a titan before that?

What am I saying? That either she wanted by herself to avoid her future, which is impossible because she was prepared to let herself be carried by the crowd and sacrifice herself. Then, Eren came to make her recall that part of her that refuses the way the world works and her promise to Ymir. The baby was the way to save herself and oppose the order of the First King. The genocide, the collateral effect she feels guilty for.

Or she was in a relationship with the farmer (and... nope). Or she was magically adviced by someone to get pregnant as a way to oppose a plan she didn’t know? What concerns me is the possibility of her not wanting to stop Eren and being already pregnant and being stuck in a dilemma like that because if she wanted to stop him so bad... then she would have been stuck between the life of her child or the rest of the world. It’s creepier than Historia choosing to get pregnant to refuse to perpetuate the old system and that it happened after Eren told her his plan. Why a baby? Because it was the most effective way and it’s convenient for the ending.

Why giving birth right now? Because of Isayama, but I personally don’t feel he is trying to trick us. It’s just convenient for the plot and this isn’t the first time that events are convenient...

Well anon... yes. There are differences.

I suddenly recalled that the following theory of mine was mocked.

When chapter 130 came out, I was re-reading chapter 88 and found quite intresting the coincidence of topics that also explained the weird overlap of panels in chapter 130. What had Mikasa’s feelings for Eren to do with the pregnancy and so on..? While it’s true that all those three points (Floch, the pregnancy and the convo with Zeke) pointed out every single step Eren took to prepare his plan, I do believe there is something hidden and of course the focus isn’t a fathership but another kind of argumental connection.

It’s about death. Specifically, Eren’s death: the sole connection between him and that baby.

I tried to summarize the connection of all the topics between both chapters in this image.

In chapter 88, Eren’s death to the curse was introduced for the first time, a topic that Eren brought in ch. 130 as a reason to reject a future with Mikasa who would be the person to suffer his loss the most and that also represents the importance of his existence and will to come back home. Mikasa asking him constantly to come home means the aim to stay alive and his rejections are due to (the multiple factors I’ll sumarize with one concept) “his fate“ that doesn’t let him stay alive/come back home. And since it’s his fate, he was never meant to be able to keep his promise to her: the real tragedy.

Just a brief side note: If I consider this as a symbolic death, the choice of going along with the rumbling and leting his violent side take the control means  that the Eren who gathered and deserved Mikasa’s love “died”.

Back to the relation between both chapters, an important pattern to highlight in both chapters are the mention about a death and a new life. This points out a different way, a more natural one, to hand down the power we never heard about and whose details and consequences we don’t know either. Regarding the new life (baby) that should inherit the power, I want to remark the statement about the blood relation and distance not being important at all.

Another coincidence is chapter 108. It beginns with the meeting of the MPs talking about the reasons behind Historia’s pregnancy and then Mikasa recalls the conversation about Eren’s successor as the next FT/AT.

Previously, this text was in chapter 107, points out the fate Eren would be choosing since hid birth as if his death and the birth of this baby, were the conclusion of this chain reaction. (I repeat: technically, there’s no need of blood relations :)

The last two chapters also recalled this again:

Chapter 133 ended with 13 blimps heading to the AT (death) and chapter 134 (13″4) began with the birth of Historia’s child (new life).

———

Finally, I summarized some points from canon that point out to Eren’s death:

1. The curse itself that also provided him another reason to struggle to give his existence a meaning through a big deed/sacrifice.

2. The motto: “The price of searching for freedom is death”. (hinted by Grisha in ch. 87/8 and before the ceremony in ch. 90)

3. The two times that this profecy stated by Shadis “His life is like a blazing fire. And I’m sure that fire will burn him to ashes outside the walls”, and this quote from the final exhibition “By now you already know. That in this world there isn’t just one truth. There’s only one sure thing, and that is that you were born here. That’s why, keep choosing your own truth. That’s why, keep advancing until the life you were given will have exhausted its flame.” (credit for the transl. to yaboylevi)

4. Eren’s own conception of justice: “animals don’t have the right to live” that now turns against himself since he became one of them.

5. Last chapter when the officer wished for a new era of peace where they part ways with their monsters and the AT is shown… It’s not refering to the titans but the monster everyone can become by commiting a violent act. Now, Eren became the sole monster facing this attack and the question is if it is possible for him to have a place in a pacific era.

Eren’s death would have a symbolic meaning about humanity finally refusing violence and giving up on revenge. It seems that Eren chose to let his urge of freedom and violence unleashed because he can’t go against it and lets now the world try to restrain it and decide if he has a place in the future.

If Eren was aware of this or not… I don’t know. I do risk to say that he new his death could be a possible outcome which he would accept. At the time where he answered Zeke in regards of Mikasa’s feeling for him that he would be dead in 4 years he may have been aware that maybe this battle now would be his last mission. This also fits with the theory of Eren going along with a kamikaze mission.

Talking with a Japanese fan about the conversation between Uri and Kenny, she mentioned an interview where Isayama refused to give more details about its meaning since it would reveal the core of the story. Well… I never could let go of this…

Eren offering always two options, run away or fight. Historia offering a third option. Eren saying either you stay here forever or stick to my plan. Eren saying the only option is to fight (or run). He became the one pushing things to happen at his own will.

But they are free.

There must be a choice to make aside from those two.

I come everytime to those few decisive panels where I hear Isayama’s grandiloquent statements.

“It was everyone’s choices that made a change”.

“What was it that turned us into friends? Was it violence?”

“But I still believe in that miracle.”

It wasn’t just a modest act alone. Before that, something had to happen that was indeed like an attack. After stopping the first move, the great modest act came and the conflict was solved.

The focus is not on the first act but in the second one that gathered true connection between them. Kenny giving up on violence let Uri have hope in humanity.

Fighting Eren won’t be enough.

In the middle of his struggles to find his identity, Eren lost his hope and chose this side to define himself.

Mikasa’s answer was still important. He went to her to ask her about their bond. Her answer could give meaning to his existence. What part of him made her care about him?

And she unfortunately failed to give him a proper answer to let him focus on something he didn’t see or chose to throw away.

Even for her, she stated first that the world was cruel. Only after that moment the world started to be beautiful.

Her lack of determination contributed to Eren’s determination to throw this away. First because she couldn’t show him the value of his existence for her; second because she couldn’t give value to the power of his kind side and what he can afford through it. She stopped at the part where she tells her how the world is and that they had to fight it but she couldn’t show him that there is light behind the darkness. After knowing the truth with Zeke, he also understood that he would have to sever the bond to keep her on the side she belongs.

It’s not only because of his death that he wanted to vanish that evidence of their bond and his kind side but because he doesn’t understand nor recognize one part of himself. Alienation… which means losing oneself and the connection to their environment. Exactly when he receives the memories and stops understanding his true self, he isolated and his environment didn’t see. Mikasa was the last person Eren searched for understanding of himself and the connection. Her answer could have been a way for him to recognize himself and bring some light on the beauty side.

I don’t think it would have stopped him, but maybe it would’ve changed a little the way he lost himself and let himself believe he was just a that violent child.

“If there was no light in the world, could you be able to see yourself?” (great escape)

Eren’s question is… What is your truth in a world without light? And if there is light indeed?

The story is progressing quickly towards the confrontation with Eren, while at the same time the story keeps being in a ‘limbo state’, as there’s no progress about the most important plot points for the main characters.

There are massive elephants in the room, and they’re not being addressed by any character, while some of the dialogues that we did get lately have felt rushed, and even out of place at time.

The first and largest elephant in the room is Eren’s behaviour. Other characters agree that he is doing things that Eren that they know wouldn’t do, but they still haven’t properly addressed and talked about his motives yet, even after finally finding out what his plan is. They started to talk about it in chapter 124, but the conversation was cut off by the mindless titans attacking them, and 9 chapters later, it hasn’t been brought back again. That conversation was left with Jean saying that Eren must be doing all of this to protect them, but it’s clear that Eren’s actions eventually caused the death of Sasha and Hanji, as well as that Armin and Mikasa almost got blew up by a bomb, and Armin got shot in the head by his Yeagerists, so how exactly is he protecting them, should definitely be questioned. Hanji and Levi never cared to start a discussion about Eren either, even though they all agreed that they should convince him to stop with what he’s doing. And yet, how could they convince him to stop, when they don’t understand his motives, and they aren’t even interested in discussing about it. Reiner was the one who finally analysed Eren’s thoughts a bit in chapter 133, but it was mostly him projecting himself onto Eren.

The second elephant in the room is Armin’s behaviour, as he’s also doing things that don’t seem to correlate with his character pre-timeskip. And I’m referring to his crush on Annie. The idea that Armin’s crush on Annie was caused by Bertolt’s influence/memories was heavily put forward in chapter 112, but it never moved on from there, 21 chapters later. No one mentioned to Annie that Bertolt got a crush on her, and no one is questioning Armin’s sudden interest in Annie. We know that Mikasa noticed it, and she believes that Eren was right when he was talking about her acker-blood. But if she believes that what Eren told her in chapter 112 holds at least some truth, than it would make sense that she would also believe that there’s some truth when Eren was talking about Armin’s crush on Annie being influenced by Bertolt, and yet she hasn’t talked about it with Armin afterwards. We don’t know what she thinks about it, since it’s not being addressed, even though logically a conversation like that should happen, since both Armin and Mikasa thought that Eren could somehow be influenced/controlled, and understanding if Bertolt’s memories are affecting Armin, would make them one step closer in understanding what happened to Eren.

The third elephant in the room is Mikasa’s acker-blood. Just like with the previous elephant, this elephant was heavily put forward in chapter 112, but it never really moved on from there, 21 chapters later. Mikasa instinctively stopped Armin from hurting Eren, and more importantly she does lean on believing that what Eren said about her blood was true. And yet, she never spoke about it with Levi who is also an Ackerman, and whose experience could help her better understand their Ackerman blood and their instincts to protect their “host”, and people that they love. And by understanding her acker-blood better, she could understand better whether Eren was telling the truth, and it would make her one step closer to understand Eren.

The fourth elephant in the room is Historia’s pregnancy. It was introduced in chapter 107, and 26 chapters later, we still don’t have a definitive answer about her whole situation. She’s been completely sidelined from the story for the past few arcs, and the hope that she’ll play an important role in the final arc has been slowly declining.

Eren and Historia have a connection to one another. No, I don’t think they are romantically connect, nor do I believe they are co-conspirators plotting to destroy the world together. However, the narrative is pushing the idea that Eren and HIstoria are somehow connected and continually pushing them next to each other.  Eren kissing Historia’s ring is the trigger for his vision that commits him to the path of destroying the world. Eren uses Historia as a reason to accelerate his plan. Eren confides his plan solely in Historia. The reason  this line is drawn between the two characters is that they are CHARACTER FOILS. Eren and Historia are two people who seem like opposites but they’re actually incredibly similiar to one another. Almost too similiar to ever et along. The extreme similarities between Eren and Historia, and their character foiling underneath the cut. 

Together since the start

Loving him from afar

Content with a simple wish

Never knowing we'd get this close

Only to get this far

Even after everything,

I still tried to bring you back

But you just won't let me

So, is this world really just cruel?

the duality in his eyes honestly is everything like gosh eren— what are you doing?

imma throw some examples here because i love to see it and i think you would too!

the day eren met mikasa. his iconic angry eyes here while fighting off those kidnappers

vs his soft, endearing eyes after wrapping mikasa up in his scarf and telling her ‘let’s hurry up and go home’

imma slap the 101/102 eyes while he was in battle he getting those mad eyes again

but the moment he turned towards mikasa?

are these the same eyes???

eren and his softer, somewhat sad eyes in 121 when watching his younger self wrap mikasa up

vs just a couple panels later

gosh dayum okay go off eren agsjahjs

i don’t have to say anything about chapter 123’s eyes— these are eren’s most vulnerable eyes towards mikasa

they speak for themsleves, he doesn’t even needa say a word because his eyes scream everything he wants to say— everything he’s feeling.

Some considerations about Eren’s lies

Most of people find it hard to think what it would be like receiving just a brief image of their future.

Let’s say I receive one day an image, a memory of myself in the future hurting my best friend… something I would never do. I would be shocked. I won’t be able to understand how I will dare to go to that extent.

That’s a rough description about how Eren must have reacted. After the condecoration ceremony he received propably a big amount of brief memories of his future but not knowing why things were going in that direction nor why he would be making those decisions. He wandered through his path discovering everytime how the leeway was reduced to the point the rumbling was the last option for him to choose.

That’s how he might have fallen into the trap of his own lies.

In chapter 131 Eren wanders through the city thinking he will be the one destroying it… not knowing exactly when. He is lost in the thought of his future decisions and its consequences trying to face the person he is going to become who is in a way different from the person he is now. He tries to figure out the reasons.

The outcoming is a mental breakdown and exactly at this point Mikasa finds him crying. Mikasa, the girl he saved when they were children and became the person that is always beside him. Maybe the only constant in his life, the last piece of home that resisted the tragedy and the only certainty that didn’t fall apart to the truth of this world (well… before losing it to the new knowledge of the Ackermans).

After explaining the situation of the refugees and how they are victims as they were too (and probably thinking he will be exactly like Marley because of the Rumbling), Eren asked Mikasa about their bond. He offered two options… which is pretty intresting. Two options mean he reflected about it and came to a premise like this: “She cares about me because she sees me as family or as savior“. The first option focuses on a brief moment when Eren commited a violent crime to save her, the second on a bond formed through years because of his kindness.

He was questioning if her affection is because of something he afforded through his violent side or his kind one. He needed to know if their bond was because the right reason. After thinking about his future, wondering if he was a good or a bad person (aka. identity crisis), he needed some stability, something sure to rely on, that was Mikasa who always protected him. He needed to know which meaning his existence has to her.

[Above, two forms of saving someone: through violence (like the rumbling), through kindness (love and understanding, offering comfort)]

Now I have the theory (actually a speculation but still a strong one) that Eren, at this point, already knew about the lie he was about to tell Mikasa. Without context, he must have received his own lie as part of a memory and believed it himself destroying the confidence he had in his bond to Mikasa.

I still need to determine which memory was exactly the one he received. Was is the conversation between them in chapter 112? Was it Armin’s conversation with the group in ch. 118? Was it something yet to happen said by himself or Mikasa? Was it the conversation with Zeke?

We know for sure that at the time he told Zeke about it, he already knew it. If that weren’t the case, his conversation with Zeke wouldn’t have happened like it did. Thus the last one isn’t so possible.

He, as we saw in ch. 130, was trying to get specific information about details: the headaches, the host-ackerman relation… It was really specific. This specific information came just in ch. 112 and partly in ch. 118., but in the last one he wasn’t there… so for this to be possible Eren should be able to receive memories of other shifters (or animals) and to connect with Armin (as the holder of the colossal titan). This would also explain how he knew also of him visiting Annie. I leave it there as a speculation.

All in all… Eren was the source of that lie and also another victim that believed it, which makes his conversation with Zeke more painful. I go for this option because it wouldn’t be the first time that Eren discovers himself as responsible of something that hurt him in the past (He pushed his father to kill the Reiss family).

So at this time, while talking to Zeke… he was just connecting knots to finally realize that (If he saw the conv. of ch. 112) he would be telling that lie to Mikasa, who loves him out of her own free will, to push her away and save her.

Again: He was discovering why he would be doing this in the future like an ignorant child knowing the world in an inductive way.

Whom is Hino making fools of anymore? It’s infuriating how unwilling she is to solve the damn love triangle. I mean, it’s been obvious for a while already that she wasn’t going to do that, but this time she tied the knots even tighter. At this point I don’t even care who’s the Official Greatest Love of YukiTM because I’m tired and it’s not about winning anyway. It’s about logic and common sense, and the lack of it is actually what makes me mad. Yuuki and Zero are standing in front of Kaname’s grave waiting for his permission to marry, like??? Why is she even asking for the permission? Kaname’s basically dead, he wanted for her to live a wholesome life, and she does what?

The way Yuuki mourned Kaname for many years was acceptable for me, it’s okay that she didn’t want to start any relationship for a long time because of the loss, it was logical. But once she started to date another guy what’s the point in playing the “goodest girl for all”?

And also, before he died Kaname said that she and Zero should be together, so “the permission”, if sought, was granted in fact. I don’t think that his words implied something like “you guys should be together but not in marriage style” lol. That’s totally stupid, because marriage is a question of ceremoniality only, they were already a couple with a child, so WHAT exactly to permit? Huh?

And having that in her pocket, Yuuki has the audacity to say that even if Kaname showed signs of disapproval, it wouldn’t have mattered anything. Like… Girl, you’re the one who pushed Zero away for more than half a century 1) even though Kaname let you know he’s okay if you’re with the hunter and 2) Zero made sure you’re aware of his feelings. And after all of it you stand for SEVERAL DAMN HOURS in front of his grave and then say his negative answer wouldn’t change anything? Why standing there and waiting for a sign in the first place? And you DO KNOW his answer would never be negative, he said it out loud, or your vampire memory isn’t as good as it used to be? So what are those words actually meant for? To console Zero? I don’t know how it can console in a situation like this, it’s ridiculous.

Whom Hino’s trying to make fool of? Zero? Fooled enough. Kaname? Fooled so much that he had to say bye bitches. Yuuki? Then it should be a comedy, and to my biggest regret it’s not. And the more I read this nonsensical piece of bs VKM is the more I’m convinced that Yuuki isn’t actually worthy of those love sufferings both guys went through for her.