#snk 89

eren & historia // haunted by memories.

This occurs in chapter 89 when Levi and Hanji release Eren and Mikasa from gaol, where they have been held following their insubordination during the operation to recover Shiganshina.  I think this whole conversation can pretty much be taken at face value.   Levi and Hanji have convinced Zackley to release Eren and Mikasa early, because they know that they need Eren and that public opinion will turn against them if they continue to punish him, because he is now regarded as a hero who took down the Armoured and Colossal Titans.  

Levi explains that enacting discipline is important for any organisation, even one that’s been decimated, but they also have to be aware of the political situation and public opinion. He even goes as far as to say “the Survey Corps can’t afford to punish you right now.”

Note: I bolded the most important parts.

Eren isn’t under control of King Fritz’ vow because it only affects those with royal blood. 

If Eren was affected by the vow, he wouldn’t have fought back against RBA in the first place since the vow compels its wielder (if they are of royal blood) to merely stand by when there’s a threat. It’s basically an inherent part of the Founding Titan, but it looks like when the vow was made, it only considered those with royal blood to be possible candidates (and since we now know that the FT is basically able to manipulate DNA, I think that was the basis of the vow; it targets whatever gene that distinguishes those with royal blood from regular Eldians). 

So the King either never considered the idea that the royal family would be overpowered, or he didn’t realize that the vow would only apply to those with royal blood (or maybe he thought no one would figure it out or just didn’t give a fuck if his plan failed in the end). 

Chapter 89

But because Eren doesn’t have royal blood in him, he also can’t access the Coordinate’s powers. 

Chapter 89

That’s why he has to touch a royal-blooded Titan (a mindless Titan or a shifter) in order to activate the Coordinate. 

Chapter 106

And since Historia (at least currently) isn’t a shifter nor is she a mindless Titan, touching her doesn’t do anything other than revive memories. 

This chapter also confirmed that the vow can be overpowered by having a non-royal blooded Eldian who possesses the Coordinate touch a royal blooded Titan. Note how Xaver actually specifically uses the word “Titan” when he refers to the state of the royal blooded individual.

I’d also like to point out how we actually get confirmation of who would be in control of the Coordinate’s actions in this scenario. We’re told that the one who actually possesses the Founding Titan would have full reign over its actions, which means that if Eren were to touch Zeke at any point, he would have full access to the FT’s abilities and 100% control over them, while Zeke would serve as nothing but the trigger.

It is still unclear whether they have to maintain touch in order for Eren to continue accessing the FT or whether the effects last for some time. Based on what happened with Dina and what I find to be logical, I would say maintaining touch is a requirement (which might actually end up being a problem once Zeke realizes Eren was playing him).

Chapter 115 (sorry I don’t know why the marker on this image doesn’t want to appear red like it’s supposed to)

Lastly, this is just speculation on my behalf regarding why Zeke told Eren they shouldn’t touch during their meeting even though they were both in human form at the time. I think it’s because he’s a shifter, so he already counts as a Titan. Which would mean the term “Titan” when referring to the condition of activating the Coordinate (when it’s not possessed by a royal family descendant) is defined as “a mindless Titan or a Titan shifter (in either human or Titan form)”.

To summarize the answer to your main question, touching Historia doesn’t do anything because a) she isn’t a mindless Titan b) she doesn’t possess any of the Nine Titans. So she’d have to be turned into a mindless Titan or inherit one of the powers in order for Eren to be able to activate the Coordinate by touching her. However, Eren has always been strongly against titanizing her in any form, so I think that’s why he agreed to work with Zeke instead of just getting her to eat him (and also why she ended up pregnant; they knew that the SC would automatically feed Zeke to her).