#aot philosophy

[harley-rose25]

AOT, the rumbling, the old testament, evil, the nature of evil and violence, philosophy

Ya'll Ive been wanting to make this post for a while but I just cant think of how exactly to word what I want to say; but i guess ill just start and see where this takes me. So, I want to explain why I love AOT and Erens character so much, also my moral philosophy behind supporting the rumbling.

I've made other post about the rumbling and why I support Erens actions so I don't wanna get all into here because you're probably tired of me talking about it. So basically to summarize; world hates Eldians because past Eldians = bad people, Big powerful neighbor attacks island Eldians for 100 years, commits a genocidal act of war against them. World gather to declare a genocidal war on island Eldians, launches attack on island. The Titans are island Eldians only defense. I support people acting in self defense. If you start a war and you get killed you're at fault. If you try to beat someone to death and they pull a gun on you you don't get to cry victim.

So if you've read my other AOT posts you probably could have already assessed that my thoughts run along the lines of the above statement. I wanna try to go deeper. Because we can say that Paradis had the right to defend themselves but killing 80% of humanity is taking it to far. People argue that Eren could have protected Paradis by taking out Marley's military; I disagree with that assessment but that not what this post is about.

I support the rumbling because the world of AOT is Evil and the people in it are evil. The only society in AOT that was shown to not be evil was Paradis and even they were quickly becoming evil once they were exposed to the outside world.

I liken the Rumbling to passages in the old testament where God destroys an entire city or an entire nation or the entire planet because humans have become evil and corrupt. and people will say what about the innocent people, what about the children, are they evil and corrupt? and they'll say that the God of the old testament is evil, but what I've come to understand of these stories, or at least my interpretation of them isn't that literally everyone in these societies that God kills is inherently evil and deserves to die, but that at some point a society becomes so corrupted that it cant be saved. At some point the spread and support for sick and evil ideas is so rampant in a society that while you can say the children are innocent you can also say that the chance they're going to grow up and fight against the system they're raised in is effectively zero; and of those that do they're quickly beaten back down. Look at Marley; we see scenes of Eldians being openly discriminated against, being kicked, being pushed to ground, being beaten, Eldian children being murdered. Eldians are forced in internment zones and spat on; and this treatment as well as the attacks against Paradis are largely supported by the populace. It's the people who hate Eldian's and hate Paradis. If there are people who don't, who believe that Eldians should be free to live like everyone else, who don't hate the people on Paradis, and I'm sure there are, there isn't enough of them to make a difference, they aren't doing anything about it so they don't actually matter.

Another point I'm drawing my moral conclusions from is, I think it was a ted talk, I cant remember sorry, but this guy talked about women and sexual assault and harassment we face, and he addressed the people who say not all men by pointing out that not all men but if you're silent when other men are harassing or assaulting women then you might as well not be there. So, even if the majority of people in the world were against the way Eldians were being treated it actually wouldn't matter because they didn't do anything about it and If you stay silent when other people are throwing racist abuse at someone that 'someone' isn't going to care about your silent support.

I think of the Rumbling and Eren as acts of nature. In AOT, during the rumbling a Marleyan military man says that "it is all the worlds hatred reflected back onto them."

I once heard another point from a source I don't remember, again sorry, which is basically that everyone, or nearly everyone, is evil, because if there's injustice in the world and you aren't using all you're power and resources to fix it you're evil. And I thought about this, about how I spend money on new clothes I don't need when there are people who don't have a coat for winter or have been wearing the same pair of shoes for 12 years but I have like 12 different pairs. I think about the homeless people I drive or walk by on my way to by a 6$ coffee and food when I have food and coffee at home. I think about people suffering under oppressive regimes and maybe I could do something help, maybe I could donate to something at least but I don't because I'm selfish and I want more for me.

AOT, the rumbling, Eren just like encapsulated all this in my head and it made me realize that I should and I can be a better person. I started thinking more about my place in the world and how I might benefit others; I started donating; I've started looking for volunteer work I can do near me (haven't found anything unfortunately, but I'm not sure how to really look for this stuff, my depression and anxiety disorders don't help); I try to speak out against injustice I see in the world instead of being silent and ignoring it. I'm not saying I'm a saint now or that I'm out here fighting tooth and nail for justice or whatever cause I'm really not; I'm sitting on a sofa in my dads living room; but, I'm more aware, and I actually try to help or bring awareness once in a while which is more than I was doing before.

So yeah hopefully this even made sense. I just wanted to actually talk about what this series has really done for me and why I'm obsessed. (I mean beyond Eren Jaeger being disgustingly hot) Lets be honest, I'm pretty obsessed with effing hot Eren is, actually. Ok I get distracted by his lean corded muscle and tall frame 🤤and stupidly beautiful face and oh no its happened again

[everythingseasoning]

M’s Anime Analysis Masterlist*

includes: Haikyu!!, HunterxHunter, A Lull in The Sea, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Dandadan, more to come!

diary entries and other insights: FOUND HERE*

Character Analysis’

JJK

Suguru Geto In Depth || Revised.

Satoru Gojo

What did Gojo say to Geto before Killing Him?

The Mischaracterization of Gojo in the JJK fandom - Semi Brief

Megumi Fushiguro Brief

Sukuna’s Motivations and some JJK philosophy

Dandadan

Turbo Granny (Dandadan)

Love and Deepspace

Caleb and the MC

Duo/Dynamic Analysis’

JJK

Satosugu brief analysis

SatoSugu In Depth: Why Gojo and Geto could connect despite Gojo’s life of isolation + What the two meant to each other + What could’ve been

[t00them00n]

An Argument that Eren Jaeger is Real

Please hear me out (it started out as a poem I’m sorry for the weird formatting but then i realised I just wanted to explain my point)

I know it’s not real

But I also know it is

Just stay with me and listen for a bit

What does it mean

for something to be real?

Maybe in proper terms

It’s something tangible

But there is the real and intangible

Lets just postulate for now

(Postulate here meaning to

Assume so for the sake

Of the argument)

That for something to be real

It must have a sufficient effect

Onto something or someone

That can sufficiently

Receive that effect

Happy?

Now

For me, I love art

I feel a sufficient effect

I know I love art

And I know I would love

To pursue it

Im currently studying medicine

My surroundings right now

Do not allow

Me to pursue art

I don’t have enough

Money for that

I didn’t have that

Encouragement to

Push me to Art

This list goes on

My surroundings

Dictated the outcomes

Of this universe

One more postulate here

That there are somehow

Alternate universes

Lets leave it at that.

Even though

I am not pursuing art

I know my soul

My soul loves art

My soul would pursue art

If it were tangible

And if my surroundings allowed that

But on the basis

of alternative universes

Lets say there must be

Another universe

Where I did

Have enough money

Have that encouragement

I would have pursued art

That would have been

The perfect surrounding

To let me

Pursue my love

For art.

But notice

My passion and love

For art

Did not change

Across universes

So essentially

Any passion I have

In my soul

That I know

Must have it’s own universe

Where it is tangible.

Now it’s important you stay with me

Keep your mind open and know

That I know

That this is ‘weird’

But this is my logistic conclusion.

If I have a strong love and passion

For Eren Jaeger,

Stay with me.

Perhaps not The Eren Jaeger

Perhaps not his accurate canon self

But the picture he has formed in my head

The things I read and take in

I know my soul

And all the characteristics

That are ideal

I know I love

I have simply given them all to

Eren Jaeger,

All I have done is given

The thought of my ideal partner

A name and face,

Which is the ridiculous part

That the name and face

Belong to an anime character,

But the self and personality

Is tangible

Real dare I say.

Stay with me.

If I feel a sufficient effect

Of thinking about these

Characteristics

Belonging to ‘Eren’

Then according to the definition

From earlier

At least somebody

With such a personality

Must be real.

But since I have put a face to

This person

Then Eren Jaegers appearance

Must also

Be somewhat real.

Maybe this opens up too many holes

Anything can be real under this logic

Full of fallacies

But maybe anything really can be real

We’ll leave that can of worms

for another time.

But back on topic,

If we think back to art

My original analogy

To make you understand

Before I start claiming anime is real

And you think I’m crazy

On the premises of the art and

The universes,

If I know my passion for art is real

And I feel a real passion for this ‘Eren’

Then these passions are in my soul

And my soul does not

Change across universes

Hence if my passion is real for ‘Eren’

And my surroundings have not

Enabled me to pursue this

Similarly to art

My surroundings here have

Most literally turned

An ideal partner

Into an anime character

More so someone configured online

Hence I cannot pursue

‘Eren Jaeger’

As he is not tangible

In this universe

Much like pursuing art

Is not tangible

In this universe

But since my passion for art

Is pursued in a different universe

Then surely

My passion for ‘Eren’

Is able to be pursued

In a different universe

But for it to be able

To be pursued

It must be real

Art is not tangible here

But is in the other universe

So I can pursue art

In this other universe

‘Eren’ is not tangible here

But

In another universe

If I can pursue him

Then he must be tangible

He must be real

So I conclude here that Eren Jaeger must be real.

Please let me know if I have holes in this, but I don’t want to hear that this is weird because I know this, I’m extremely socially aware, why else would I anonymously post this.

[theartofperishingslowly]

Wrote a 3k word essay on Eren from Attack On Titan, which is a philosophical debate on morality and influence. I think that man will become my final thesis topic in 4 yrs.

Let me know if yall wanna read 🫡

[leyyvi]

love not acknowledging canon actually. love creating fics that don't reference canon actually. LOOOOOOVE PRETENDING CANON DOESN'T EXIST ACTUALLY!!! canon isn't real it's just another fanfic

[vtriol]

this is a vague about stuff outside my little tumblr circle here, but i wanna be really, painfully clear: i do not want people who actively enjoy or engage with jk rowling's ips around, and i also do not want people who support others engaging with those ips around either. i highly encourage you block me and move on if you fall under either category, and i mean that.

[sungkaan]

If I have a nickel for every time I read/watched a character had a future vision where he committed mass genocide and still chose to do it, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.

[agirl2diefor]

⋆˚࿔ presenting myself ⋆.˚

i thought that it would be very nice to make mutuals here, so why not presenting myself first?

my name is Flora, I’m brazillian & also french and english speaker.

I love kpop, philosophy books, animes, bossa nova and poetry.

my favorite philosopher is Albert Camus.

my favorite book is The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

my favorite artist is The Beatles and Lisa Ono.

my favorite kpop group is NMIXX (I’m going to see them in feb 🥹) I also stan red velvet and loona!

My NMIXX’s bias is bae

My Red Velvet’s bias is Joy

My Loona’s bias is Choerry and Go Won

I’m part of many fandoms.. MANY. But the most famous ones are DDLC, Life Is Strange, RDR2, New Jeans, Chainsaw Man and Attack On Titan.

I hope you guys follow me! Let’s be mutuals <3

[kaizenin21stcentury]

'It's all meaningless'. No matter what dreams or hopes you had... No matter how blessed a life you've lived... It's all the same if you're shredded by rocks. Everyone will die someday.

Does that mean that life is meaningless? Was there even any meaning in our being born?

Would you say that of our fallen comrades? Their lives—were they meaningless?

No, they weren't!

It's us who gives meaning to our comrades' lives! The brave fallen! The anguished fallen!

The ones who will remember them are us the living. We die trusting the living who follow to find meaning in our lives! That is the sole method in which we can rebel against this cruel world!

My soldiers, rage! My soldiers, scream! My soldiers, fight!

https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/comments/xew26k/transcript_of_erwin_smiths_last_speech/

[howboringislife]

Aot men reaction being on the kisscam

Including: Levi, Erwin, Armin, Reiner & Jean

Cw: None

A/N: Was bored and just wrote this for fun. Requests are open btw!

Masterlist

Levi

Kissing under the eyes of thousands of people? Hell no. Well... it's Levi, what did you expect? This man hates showing affection in public, it's ruining his reputation of the tough guy. He will give you the glare of "I know what you are thinking, don't even dare to do it" and believe me, it is freaking scary. Probably gonna look away from the zooming camera or just pat your head as the public let out a disappointed whine.

"I can give you a kiss back at home if you want it so badly."

Erwin

This man is too concentrate reading his philosophy book that he doesn't even notice the kisscam starting. He only came here because of you, sports aren't his cup of tea. You have to force him to look up at the giant screen to see you two being pointed by the cameras. Erwin will then understand the assigment and finally kiss you on the lips while the crowd is cheering.

"Finally those sport matches aren't that boring..."

Armin

Face turning all red and looking at you with a little dumb smile, that is Armin. Poor baby is so stressed by the people looking at you that he totally mess up the kiss. He will become even more embarassed, hiding his face in his hands as you chuckle. Will never come back to watch a sport match in real life, he got a post-traumatic shock

"S-Stop laughing, that's so awkward!"

Reiner

He won't even realize that you are on the kisscam before you tug on his shirt to allow your lips to meet. Reiner will think it's just a normal kiss before he hear the people around you cheering. He will totally try to hide after realizing you kissed in front of all the stadium. Maybe will be a bit angry because you didn't tell him but don't worry, he will quickly forget about it... or not.

"Reiner, the match is over, you can get out from under the seat..."

"No."

Jean

This man is so eager that he will literally jump on you. He forget completely that you are in public until he hears crowd going WILD. Sorry, he was just really into your seance of deep kissing. When you two finally pull away from the kiss, he will lean back in his seat and give you a quick wink. Jean will keep a dumb proud smile on his face for the rest of the match, if it is not for longer.

"Good thing we stopped, I was almost about to undress you."

[harley-rose25]

ErenJaeger is not a slave, except to himself.

So uh this is my take on the whole fate/destiny, future is set, Erin can't change anything, Erin is a slave thing. Basically, My view is that its not so much that the time line is set and Eren can do anything to change his own actions, like he's a puppet being controlled by Ymir or something; rather, the actions Eren takes are set because of who Eren is. Or, the circumstances are such that Eren will always make the decision to do the rumbling, because the world pushes him towards that action. Its not that he literally has no agency and cant choose otherwise but that the person he is will always choose to sacrifice the world to save Paradis if he's pushed to that.

I hope that makes sense... It's like if you have to choose between oatmeal and a bagel for breakfast and you hate oatmeal. You're gonna choose the bagel. not because your being controlled and have no agency but just because the person you are cant stomach oatmeal.

So the time line is fixed because basically everyone is trapped in acting in accordance with who they are in this same way. (note: I don't mean that everyone is being their true *authentic self, acting in accordance with who they are can mean not being their authentic self because the pull to conform and not stick out is stronger for them, or it could mean being extra weird than they actually would be otherwise because they dislike being though of as normal or boring.)

[everythingseasoning]

You have a big head ,you think ur so smart

Better than having a tiny brain like yourself. You clearly have an issue with me. Talk to me off anonymous mode; Don’t be a coward. Initiate a discussion, don’t just throw out insults like a five year old.

If you’re mad that I make in depth character analysis posts that you might disagree with, I encourage you to put your critical thinking hat on and try to understand nuance, and talk to people, before spewing out such comments. I also do pretty good work in my analysis’, if I say so myself. Nothing phenomenal, but they do require effort and skills that I like building, skills that are required for perspectives to be thoughtful. Now I’m not perfect, but I have stated multiple times that I am still on a journey to learn more and more, and become increasingly intelligent and thoughtful in time and in good effort. Really, I’m not trying to fool anyone. I’ve been honest and candid about how I view my posts and myself.

That being said, I do pride myself on having perspective that a number of folks my age don’t have (or at least the people I’ve been around). You prove my point :) Come talk to me when you’re more aware of yourself.

[charmedreincarnation]

I shifted and entered the void state and I now live my dream life beyond what I could imagine (:

(I’m your bubble anon but I made this burner to post this bc I don’t want to start a blog on my main account, and I know how success stories go)

Hi Maya. Ur page has been super helpful, and after being in the shifting community for 5 years I shifted to my waiting room using your reprogram method and your lucid dreaming guide. It was a castle with a couple of butlers and domesticated animals of all sorts. I experimented and visited around 15 drs within a week (wr time) and I am so blessed.

I shifted to:

My waiting room

Bnha

A royalty dr where I am a princess

80’s dr

Stranger things

My dr based of my favourite wattadd story

An aot x this reality x avatar reality I created

Mcu universe where I am ironman’s daughter

I shifted as a cat (very fun)

A dr where I am a wealthy Range Rover new money mother

Old money nepo modeling dr

+ some personal ones

I have wanted this for so long so I have to thank you for always answering my dos, and making incredible posts. I am also a permeant shifter/respawner but I was so motivated by your philosophy of living every reality to the fullest, including this one so that’s what I did.

I came back a week ago and shifted back to a reality where I am a master shifter, and a master of the void state.

I entered the void and manifested this as well:

Everyone who reads this enters the void state easily

Having loving parent with a billion dollar net worth(they were poor, abusive, and homophobic)

A beautiful loving gf with supportive parents

Loving lesbian relationship and any homophobia we receive returns into a curse :) fuck you bigots

This Incel named Evan Stevens doesn’t exist. And I checked and he doesn’t but I guess This realities version is Andrew Tate. I will manifest he gets lung cancer or something. Fuck him

Natural head turning beauty, and being a solid 10/10 in every aspect

Having my dream personality, voice, hair, and intelligence

Revising my zodiac from cancer to a saggitarius

Having a popular youtube channel that Will blow up soon and be my career

And so so so much more. Lesson of the story is don’t give up. You can have everything and more so what’s the point of not trying. When it gets hard it can not get worse only better so remember this is the last time you will ever feel this shitty.

I love everything about this. This has to be one of my favorite success stories so thank you for the motivating content. You deserve it all and your success can be attributed to only yourself :)!

[chiimi-png]

100 Days of Productivity [7/100]

🌿12/01/25🌿

🎧 song of the day: Spent the day rewatching AoT so I guess Attack on Titan S1

Slow day with family and miffy, and then had to do my philosophy homework that’s due tomorrow. Yesterday I finished The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo and I have to say it's one of my favourite novel from the last year! Although character development is not necessarily that big, we do learn that they have a lot of depth and we find out of a lot throughout the story which I loved. Also, count me in for any historical fiction especially ones set in 1400-1600s (keep reading for a surprise)

[nynyhaha]

Spider Themes: Partial empathy and the effects of utilitarianism

A huge Spider centric philosophy rant where I’ll digress many times(sorry)

The Phantom troupe is an embodiment of the Robinhood troupe as much as it is a deconstruction and subversion of it. https://www.tumblr.com/nynyhaha/761225991501873152/phantom-troupe-failed-robinhoods

They don’t do what they do for fame or money,but when it comes to using horrible means for noble ends,they also fail. After years of pondering the Spider’s purpose,I’ve found that seeing them as a warped version of heroes makes the most sense. Ex-child soldiers,running rampant after they’ve outlived the anticipated period of self appointed service.

After Sarasa’s death Chrollo clearly states that he sees no possibility for achieving his goals peacefully, in his eyes they never had a chance to accomplish anything while staying the good guys.

Of course he couldn’t succeed if he didn’t even try! But why didn’t he,and why is there so little stopping a person as caring,responsible and community-minded as him from turning around and betraying humanity at large,detaching himself from all the good he could’ve caused?

I love that Togashi let the not yet Spiders as well as us,the audience,see this typical hero cartoon for children where the good always wins because of the magical purity of their hearts. Where if they just believe hard enough,it will be fine.

In reality..all Chrollo can do is bring flowers to honour the graves.

It means there was always a separation between fiction and reality for him,despite being eager to watch and dub the power-cleaners story,Chrollo never believed it. Or maybe he did before he found Sarasa,after which all the illusions he might’ve had shattered.

The knows it takes a sacrifice to make great change,not just of his life but of his morals.

Chrollo shows an unusual level of self awareness for a child. In the following panel he announces he’s going to become a villain. Not a rebel with a cause,or a noble avenger,a VILLAIN. His view is so pessimistic,that it must take a villain to defeat villains. There’s no way to keep his “pure heart” and all this talk about ✨faith✨ was bullshit. To me this is a very interesting summery of Chrollo’s view of his role. It’s how he assesses it before he actually does anything,which makes it all the more fascinating since we don’t know how much his outlook changed once he actually started his plans. Or do we?

Why utilitarianism? Isn’t the regret he shows here in advance indicative of deontology?

If I was tasked with defending the Spiders and presenting them in a more favourable light,I’d pull up with the combo of

-“us vs them” -> they were defending their very marginalised community that the world turned its back on,against such horrible organisations as the mafia. Their initial mission is self defense. One might also look at it the way aot fans do,where being mistreated by outsiders justifies crimes against them.

-utilitarian principles-> even if innocent people were hurt in the process,it’s worth it in the end because a greater number of innocents are saved.

Chrollo however,simply says he’s going to kill a lot of people,not specifying if

-he will kill more people than he’ll save

-he will kill more innocent people than he’ll save

-he will only kill bad people

-he will kill outsiders for the sake of meteorians

But I assume he’s going to kill those whose lives he still values,why else would he feel bad about it? In that moment we see a person who is torn between two extremes,and chooses one whole acknowledging the other.

Chrollo in that instance does NOT believe that killing evil outsiders is a righteous quest he’ll embark on,neither does he believe that killing many,even for the sake of saving many,is justified. He still decides to do it,just not as a hero,but as a villain.

Sarasa wouldn’t want it because she didn’t live long enough to experience loss and hate,altho she did experience extreme pain so who’s really to say she wouldn’t have wanted revenge? Either way,it seems Chrollo isn’t just talking about going against Sarasa’s principles,he’s talking about abandoning his own,that the two of them shared until she died together with his naivety and innocence.

The last three speech bubbles are the most puzzling for me. Unless by “repenting” he means being held accountable and paying for their crimes,this opens up crazy ideas about those kinds of people actually feeling bad about their crimes.And the notion that legal systems are powerful enough to cause such changes in a person.

This raises the question whether Chrollo will ever repent for his crimes.The answer is yes,he did already…Before he even committed anything.💀💀

Since this post is a HxH analysis mixed with philosophy,let’s look at honouring vs promoting values.

Honouring the value of human life would mean never ever taking it(Sarasa’s alleged view)

Promoting its value in this case would mean fighting for the recognition of meteorian lives by the world and stopping the mafia from killing more kids,even if for that you’d need to kill (Chrollo’s path)

In short,kid Chrollo holds values he’s willing to break and about to abandon.

The Spider ends up operating on the two principles mentioned above,valuing the whole over individuals and acting in favour of Meteor City at the cost of outsiders.

When I say “utilitarianism” I don’t mean maximising good or happiness,but acting in favour of the goal/organisation above all else

Inheriting values:One for all and all for one

The Elder here promotes the value of life of his people,he’s willing to sacrifice 31 of them to do so. Mathematically this seems stupid at first:killing 30 more people than the one originally harmed? Couldn’t more lives be saved by inaction? Couldn’t Chrollo keep his friends rather than losing four more over the death of one?

But,consider how this incident paints Meteor City,how actually standing up for themselves in such a brutal way does a great deal of inflicting fear on the world,likely preventing it from wronging Meteor City again. 31 people may die for the message,but spreading the message will help the sum of people living in Ryuseigai. Well,it’s supposed to help,and for the sake of argument let’s say it does.

Similarly 13 people giving up their lives can help the community as a whole. Will I ever shut up about the Spiders breaking the mafia deal? No.Because by doing so,they accept the responsibility of protecting their home from any threats AND getting the necessary money(haha,it can never be enough)

If just 13 people will commit enough crime to gather whatever the mafia was previously paying the city,there won’t be any need for human trafficking AND they’ll commit the crimes on their own terms! ✨Independence✨ through 🕸Spider Scapegoats🐐

Basically,the Phantom Troupe can be the sole solution to many problems,even if they’ll never solve the core of them. That,and the immense pressure that lies on them,might lead to nihilism and loss of any motivation which drove them to start what they do in the first place.

The loss of empathy

Chrollo’s definiting character trait is his relationship with humanity and his connection/disconnection from it. He’s speaking as if he’s not human himself,and in the fight vs Hisoka he displays just how deep he’s sunk on his journey.

He uses bodies as instruments(for utility),specifically the bodies of the audience(people who might not be “innocent”but have very little to do with him). He couldn’t care less about them. The Elder used the bodies of his own comarades,but how much did he care about them if he was capable of such a thing?

The Elders remain enigmatic but my impression of them is that of a powerful but inefficient council of people whose task is so enormous it numbed them to minor things such as necessary deaths. Much like the Spiders,the Elders have to use horrible means for an end too big to achieve. They don’t even have an end,they just run the worlds biggest orphanage and homeless shelter,a “safe” oasis for anyone abandoned and wronged by the world. They’re supposed to be fixing whatever injustice there is,they’re peak philanthropists and altruists,so much so that they’re willing to kill and arguably sell out (traffic) a number of residents for the sake of the whole of them.

It’s a matter of scale for them. Or maybe not even,it might not be about efficiency anymore.

They’re not unlike normal politicians,arguing about semantics instead of taking action. At least in that way the Spiders are better,and since “nothing has changed” the chapter illustrates exactly why the Spider is needed,the Elders have apparently always held this outlook.

Yes,because they actually go deal with the problem and figure out if the transformed residents can turn back. When they can’t,we see them expressing sadness about it

We even got Fei looking sad. Sad.FEITAN.Am I hallucinating?

Once Phinks figures out a way around feeling too bad about killing their fellow citizens,the other Spiders also regain their confidence,now knowing what to do. I’m grateful for the manga because the anime wasn’t as expressive with their expressions,lol.

We clearly see them concerned for people outside the troupe,and while Phinks hates feeling pity because he sees it as dishonourable for the ones turned,it’s obvious that that’s what he experiences.

Speaking of Chrollo..Wasn’t Phinks the one arguing against going to save him?

Self dehumanising/Cog in the machine

While the strong bons between members humanise them to no end and create the cognitive dissonance (how can this silly friend group commit such atrocities?) they actually show quite well just how much they have to put on line to live as they do.

If the Spiders didn’t care as much for each other we wouldn’t care as much for them either,and we wouldn’t see what the Spider-set up takes from them.

Firstly we have Shal causally determining someone’s worth by their ability ✨😀

Next we have Shizuku calmly speaking of her death as if she’s talking about the weather

This moment especially shows how much Chrollo’s cold,tactical approach can hurt,cause I was pretty annoyed at him at that moment. He’s only being reasonable tho,wanting to avoid more deaths while Nobunaga is being emotional. Still,his friend just died and while not letting that death influence them to the point of losing more people makes sense,the way Chrollo phrases it “you were willing to die,so Uvo was ok dying but those other members are crucial so they need to live” is very cynical. We know Chrollo is far from accepting Uvo’s death and his way of coping through the requiem can only do so much,however when he needs to,he shuts his emotions off completely.

Judging each other’s worth based on ability and how strategically useful they are to the Spider runs contrary to the notion of friendship,it forces them to see themselves and each other as instruments,as mere cogs in the machine. While some Spiders hold those principles more strongly,the whole organisation operates this way.

Chrollo designed it that way,since they all went into it ready to give up their lives,he made the organisation a priority but not the individual. Still,when the time finally comes to out his ideas to the test,only several members stay true to his principles.

This is the same Phinks who acted like a girly girl with a crush,worrying about Chrollo,unable to wait. Ok,maybe losing Pakunoda and seeing Chrollo through her eyes changed him,but I don’t think that’s likely. Phinks cares about Chrollo but he cares about the Spider more.

Feitan will also break rules of negotiation and risk Chrollo’s life to find out more information. He seems to see no obligation whatsoever to play fair and obey the enemy’s rules,I also don’t believe he has a concept of 🕸honour among thieves🕸but he did max out on loyalty.

While Phinks’ and Feitan’s actions seem to just stir up trouble,once we understand their pov it all makes sense.

If you put the Spider first,why would you NOT go above and beyond to ensure you have all knowledge you could possibly get and secure the most advantageous position? He’s not doing that because he’s a sneaky little shit but because he’s operating on the principle of maximising the Spider’s strategic advantage!(im such a good advocate for my boys)

We also can’t forget that the well-being of the Spider as a whole overlaps with the well-being of the majority of its legs,which means choosing the spider in practice is synonymous with playing it safe and protecting the remaining members

As harsh and damaging their approach may be,in some way it’s inevitable. There was no right choice in this dilema,and there was also very little certainty so it was a matter of trust.

-Kurapika might play dirty and actually control Pakunoda as far as they know

-Its Chrollo’s death vs a guaranteed but unspecified number of Spider deaths

-preventing further deaths is good both for the whole and the individual members

Also Chrollo being “worthless as a hostage” might just mean he’s on a democratic standing with the rest and isn’t more important than them. He likely made this rule to prevent others dying for him just because he’s Danchou (and failed)

Conclusion: An organisation such as the troupe HAS to operate on utilitarianism if it

-serves an important purpose (guard dog of Meteor City)

-is valuable by itself and most concerned with persisting

No matter how you look at it, whether the Troupe selflessly performs acts of necessary evil for their people,or if it’s a cult/collective entity that exists without any clear reason,it’s survival is more important than the survival of its individual members. Which is a shame,because it poisons the very bonds that were formed while they fought for their cause side by side.

[whitelilynh]

ABOUT EREN (PART 1)

Again, too much to say, to little knowledge on how to.

So, let's start with trying to understand Eren. I wasn't a fan of his. I could not understand his behaviour, and he confused me so much. I disliked him for doing nothing, then for doing it all. But I guess that's how the series goes.

Eren goes through so much pain and damnation, and I'm afraid the judgment of him is, often, unfair.

Eren is miserable, doomed from the start. Of all the characters and their very real suffering, Eren's the biggest. And the worst, most raw thing Eren had to endure was knowledge.

They say knowledge is power, to which at a certain extent might be true. But personally, I believe knowledge, as in real understanding, is damnation. It brings nothing but misery. People that ignore the depth of things, life, system, existence, etc., are much likelier to be happy, content. People that understand how things work are faced with harder decisions, second thoughts, repents and regrets.

But Eren knew it all. He not only knew how things worked, like let's say Mikasa, Armin or Reiner, Eren knew with certainty what would happen, and he knew it was unavoidable.

It's disheartening to see he tried to find a different way, only to discover there was known. They say all paths lead to Rome.

And it struck me, stupidly, when the flashback about the Legion going to the continent happened. The moment I saw Eren there, it was clear, the thing I stupidly didn't notice before and got me confused.

Eren was disenchanted.

And disenchantment is perhaps the most depressive state of mind.

Eren knew all what he dreamt of didn't exist, but he also knew all that was existent was to disappear. He couldn't see the continent and the new things found there with the enthusiasm and curiosity his mates did, he lacked the rose coloured glasses. And if he lacked those, he also owned the red glasses of unavoidable knowledge, that showed him the damnation of everything there.

Eren acted according to that, so his dark personality, his erratic behaviour and his change of manners were but a direct consequence of disenchantment. He was not interested on the 'new world' for he knew it was going to disappear, and he himself was the executor. I venture to say he even distanced himself from it as not to be fond of what he knew he was going to loose, with no remedy, and by his own hand. (This is very much applicable to his relationship with Mikasa and how he broke when Armin faced him about it, but that's for another entry).

Eren saw no other way, could find no other solution, though he tried, he really tried. But what goes further and more painful is, actually, he could not. Not him, not anyone, for all was bound to happen and could not be changed.

Was it destiny, God, life, Ymir, or whatever force it was. It was decided. Eren understood he was just a pawn in that game, his existence was decided as well as his path, and he could do nothing about it.

Even when Grisha killed the royal family, Eren was driven to force him. Even when Eren Kruger decided to give Grisha his titan, Eren was there, and his words about Armin and Mikasa were meant for Eren to listen. That's how deeply intertwined it all was, and the existence and path of Grisha, Eren Kruger and everyone before them depended on Eren's own existence and path, as well as his dependend on them. Because it was all decided before them.

So, not to justify Eren, but to understand him. He had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, to become the executor and to bare all that pain, that was his burden decided even before he existed. And although it might seemed he decided it, truth is he had no choice.

IDEAS ON ATTACK OF TITAN

DISCLAIMER: I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, this is more an archive of my ideas and thoughts. And as so, btw, I'll start writing right after I finished the show, so I expect for more ideas to come later, and maybe for some to evolve, so, refrain from hate, please.

How should I start? I'm doomed. Well, AoT is the kind of show that's so real it reminds you of the unpleasant world, rather than offering an escape from it. Needless to say the writing is marvellous, although the story might seem slow and, perhaps, a bit boring at the beginning. It looks like something that's heavy to watch at first, but then you want, need to know. But, let's not talk about technicalities, I'd rather focus on ideology.

Of all the thoughts I have, and I still don't know how to fully address, the first one coming to my mind is how similar AoT aftermath (mine, after watching it) is to my very liked 'Blood+', another series with a marvellous writing behind the first impression.

And yes, the series seem too different, but the bases are, fundamentally, the same. Both shows reminds us how humanity is the only monster craving for it's own destruction, how we fear but ambition and use that we can't understand, for power, for gain, to repress others. That, in the end, even if the 'obvious menace' is get rid off, humanity will still find a way to it's own downfall. Both are stories with no heroes and no villains, not true ones in reality.

And this is what's so disheartening and dooming from AoT, it reminds you that, actually, that is exactly the real life. No need for fantasy enemies or superpowers, humanity is just like that.

Are sacrifices worth it? Does the results justify the means?... But if not, what to do then?

It's rotten humanity what's wrong to the core, and it seems somehow that we are condemned by our own nature.

"They could have been happy". But at what cost? Would they really be? Because, even the apparent solutions, would solve nothing.

... I suddenly ran out of inspiration for the words I want to say. I guess I shall continue this later.