#eremin meta

[justkillthetitan]

Eren and Armin's friendship means so much to me. I am not even kidding, they are one of the aspects that I have always treasured from AOT. Isayama had me heartbroken with their bond slowly falling apart and his years-ago comment stating that 'Eren and Armin will not be friends at the end of the story'. Their final moments together in the anime gave me the closure that I needed that the manga failed to delivered.

Of course Eren would decide to tell Armin his motivation and secrets before he passed, and of course Armin would decide to keep them forever and share the burden of Eren's sins together. In hell.

Their relationship is just so complex and so sad. Armin shared with Eren his dream, which made Eren create his own. Eren's dream crushed Armin's, yet he was able to still show Armin that dream in paths and share it together. Armin told Eren that if he couldn't get rid of his humanity he would not be able to change anything, and in exchange, Eren made Armin remember the lives he had stolen in Liberio, yet tried to deny the darkness that is within Armin when he tried to voiced it out.

Not to mention, his sacrifice and wish to save Armin from that titan in S1 led to the discovery of his titan powers.

And Armin doesn't forgive him. He doesn't forgive him for the massacre he commited. He doesn't thank him for murdering eighty percent of humanity. But, in what some may call twisted, he manages to show Eren some compassion during their goodbye (and that in itself could spawn an entire one-hour video).

And I can't stop thinking about them. Ever.

[90sbee]

Both friends (perhaps even more?) growing up together. Lives intertwined. We do not know much about Horatio's past, we do not know much about Armin's family and past either.

Both men as the intellect, the brain.

Eren and Hamlet losing their fathers. Both having ghosts (actual ghosts and also memories) haunting them. Fathers giving their kids a mission that will doom them, that will end in death.

The idea of revenge. Avenge your mother, avenge your father.

Armin and Horatio acting as sort of the catalysts for their friends' tragedies. Armin showing Eren the book about the outside world, Horatio deciding to tell Hamlet about his father's ghost.

Armin and Horatio having to see their friend/lover lose more and more of themselves. Eren and Hamlet pushing people away, suffering because of the tragedy they do not want to commit.

Eren and Hamlet being tasked with something awful. To bring death. To cause even more pain than the one corrupting them. They end up killing everyone as the story progresses (the Rumbling, the final court scene).

Eren and Hamlet being isolated. Having to hide their fears, their doubts. Both of them specifically hurting their (more canonical) romantic interests': Mikasa and Ophelia, breaking their hearts.

Armin's self sacrificial nature (pretty much dying against the Colossal) and Horatio wanting to drink from the poisoned cup. Armin dying for Eren. Horatio willing to die for Hamlet.

Eren and Hamlet never being able to achieve the life they wanted. A cabin with a lover, exploring the world with Armin; a wedding with an old friend or returning to Wittenberg to be with Horatio. Having to put their lives on hold, everything paused to deal with an inevitable destiny.

"Good night, sweet prince"/"We'll be together, forever". Eren and Hamlet having their last words with Armin and Horatio. One final hug, one final embrace before death as they try to comfort their other half. Armin and Horatio having to witness such death. Losing their other half.

Armin and Horatio as the narrators of the tragedy. Being forced to continue living to tell the story even when death would be nicer, more comfortable. But they cannot afford that.

And these posts by @dearbraus and @spectralsuggestions felt fitting. Horatio had to live without Hamlet too.

Also tell me the soulmates thing doesn't feel right. "no matter what happens, and what has happened, i want to go through it with you"/"in every possible outcome, i want you there, to share it with me" Armin literally accepting to go to hell with Eren. And I'm sure Horatio would have accepted hell as long as he was by Hamlet's side.

Armin and Eren are SO SO SO Hamlet and Horatio coded. Yes I will elaborate later but. Needed to throw it out there for now.

[and-all-that-ships]

Thank You Eremin Content Creators

This post is just that, a big THANK YOU! to all the content creators in the eremin fandom. Thank you, to those who wrote metas, fanfics, to those who drew fan art. Thank you for keeping the tag alive.

And obviously, thank you to the biggest Eremin content creator, Isayama sensei o(≧∀≦)o

[ryuichirou]

Not gonna lie, the first part of chapter 139 kinda rekindled my Eremin feels - I mean, them exploring the world together in the Paths, Armin taking Eren's hand and sobbing when he saw Eren's severed head and them hugging as a goodbye? (Plus possibly Armin thanking Eren for initiating the rumbling for Paradis's sake so Eren feels better ? Open to interpretation, but this wouldnt surprise me? ) Soft 😭😭😭

Yesss Anon! “Wow this is very Eremin” was like the first thought we had when the chapter dropped lol These two always had a strong emotional connection, with Armin always trying to understand Eren’s feelings. I really liked how they were basically walking through their lives together as they were talking. It felt very personal, very private and intimate, in an emotional sense that is.

Armin crying over Eren’s head, Armin grabbing Eren’s hand, them hugging each other and everything – it was very bittersweet and beautiful.

And while we joke about Armin being a psycho for thanking Eren for killing all those people, I agree that this was mostly about Eren. Maybe to make him feel better, but mostly as gratitude (and remorse??) to him for going so far and doing such a horrible thing for their sake.

I think this particular panel is very cute. And look at Eren, holding that seashell like “and what am I supposed to do with it, put it next to my ear and listen to the sounds of the ocean? Might as well become a seagull” lol

[ilovepieck]

looking for more blogs/moots to follow so interact with this post if you like attack on titan ♪( ´θ｀)

[sailorspica]

i can write meta on my own gifset!!

i've concluded i don't like the anime's chronological ordering of season 1. their cadet days are a four-chapter flashback between eren plugging the wall and his hearing, so we already know most of these cadets are dead, but more than that: the manga going from shiganshina straight to the 104th's disbandment means we meet a huge ensemble straight away, and trost's death toll makes quick work of telling us who matters, so the relationships we actually see developed in the flashbacks are eremin + reibert, eren and annie, yumikuri, erejean, mikasasha, etc. more generally, we see that reiner and marco are two different flavors of well-liked by their peers

compare that to how peripheral reiner and annie are in this arc as told from mostly EMA and jean's POV. watching the anime, you wonder why did those two blonds barely do anything???? didn't shadis just tell us everyone trusts reiner??? why doesn't that translate to him taking any initiative whatsoever??? isn't annie standoffish and bored, why is she always with reiner and bertolt in trost, being nosy about eren????

but really what i found funny screenshotting season 1 is how jean spends half the trost arc with RBA and a lot of stohess with EMA, our little fourth wheel bouncing between trios. there's also the jearmin of jean's OVA ep is aruani+jean and the 57th expedition is reijean+armin; jearmin have connected to these warriors from the start

#me when i'm normal

ATTACK ON TITAN #10, "RESPONSE"

[marmarparadoxa]

Armin and Eren used to share the same dream. Through Armin’s book, they were able to learn about a much bigger world that extended beyond the walls. They dreamed about venturing in these outside lands, exploring new landscapes and seeing the ocean.  But both of them have found out that the world that they used to dream of was nothing like the real one, both of them had to cope with the reality. However, they responded in a very different way. Eren, driven by a sense of hopelessness and revenge, has chosen to see only the cruelty, the ugliness of this world, to give up and destroy everything. Incapable of seeing the good and the beauty that resides in it, he has become himself the most cruel being that the world has ever seen.  Armin, instead, yet being fully aware of the darkness that resides inside this world, but also conscious that there’s nothing like “a good person”, that he himself has already taken a lot of lives, which makes him a monster, has nevertheless chosen to believe that there's still hope. He has not given up on this world, he has still chosen to see the beauty that there’s in it. Despite their seemingly desperate situation, Armin, unlike Eren, has not chosen to believe in a predetermined future, and that their only way to survive is to destroy the same world they dreamed about: his choice is still the one of embracing this world, and to believe that there’s still something they don’t know about yet out there.

[goldsword07]

Eren : Anyone who hurts Armin, or Mikasa, I pray for their safety tonight.

Armin & Mikasa : ???

Eren : From me.

Armin & Mikasa : !!!

[peachymess]

He chose friendship

After finally having visited the final exhibition in Tokyo myself, I’m left with a lot of thoughts. First of all: the exhibition was amazing! All the coverage of it does not do it justice! The videos made for this event, were stunning! And they have several important artifacts from the story on display in 1:1 scale that just gave me all the feels. Armin’s book, pages open, was lying less than two meters away from me, for instance! I wasn’t even aware they had his book until a few days beforehand, when I saw an image of it by pure chance! I went 4 times, and I could go again. A+!

Anyways, I’ll gush about my trip later. Right now, I want to tell you guys about something I picked up on that I really want to share. You see, I didn’t expect a lot of answers going in; the coverage had already show and told us what the exhibition was all about. And no, I still have no clue what that ending sound is… But I – quite surprisingly  – think I found the answer to the question posed on Armin’s wall. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Red background, seashell in hand. The nerve wrecking words: “is it truth or friendship that he has chosen to believe in?” like the truth is now in opposition with his personal relationships…

Well, I’m here to tell you I know the answer. Let’s just skip right to it: Armin chose friendship.

Here’s why:  

Truth is fleeting. It changes from person to person, based on the deciphering key we use to read the world around us. Truth is a construct. It is what we decide it is. Take Armin’s speech to Annie about good and bad people; it’s the same thing: one person’s action is in truth, both a good thing and a bad thing – depending on who’s looking. If Annie had chosen not to help Armin, she would – in truth – have made a non-beneficial choice. To Armin. However, that same choice, was a beneficial one – to Annie. Her choice is both beneficial, and not – but not both. Just either or, equally, depending on point of view. Two realities, both true. Truth is truly fleeting.

…That’s one way of seeing it anyways. I’m not here to start a philosophical discussion with you. I do, personally, largely subscribe to the abovementioned way of seeing it. However, whether you do or not, is irrelevant here. Because, the exhibition (and the story of SNK) very clearly, tells its visitors that this is how truth works in SNK. The notion of truth being fleeting, is explicitly confirmed as (ironically enough) true, for the SNK universe. As a matter of fact, the entire exhibition seems to have as objective to make you understand just how amputated your understanding of life is, if you lead your life with “one truth” as your compass. The exhibition fronts the duality of reality seen from “growing up inside the walls” vs “growing up outside the walls” almost to an awkwardly spoon-feeding degree. “Truth” is the weakest card, we get it.

As you enter the “paths room”, this is literally the writing on the wall:

By now you know,

that the “truth” is not the only one

in this world.

 But one thing that is for sure

Is that you were born here

 So, you can continue

to choose your own reality.

So, you can carry on progressing

until you burn out the life

you’ve been born with.

What I’m trying to say here, is that after setting Armin’s dilemma up in a way that’s supposed to sound difficult, the exhibition gives the answer away by thoroughly deconstructing “truth” to the degree that it’s barely tangible enough to “choose”.  

Listen, when you read the question, you wondered, didn't you? What the answer would be? Or if you didn’t, didn’t you at least entertain the idea that both “truth” and “friendship” are strong contenders for Armin’s core? Because they are. Almost; Armin is soft for his friends and for general kindness. He has a very human, very gentle side to him. The same side that dreams of far away places where lights dance in the sky and where you can walk on miles and miles of sand and ice – and much, much more. But he also has a cynical side to him, one that says the end justifies the means and that he should throw anything way (including love and kindness) on a personal level if that’s what’s required for the greater good. This side shoots women in the face without hesitation when, in the grand scheme of things, it is beneficial. The same side sees the benefit in having his friend eaten if he poses a threat to all mankind (sidenote: just because he can see such a benefit does not mean he wishes for it; I can see the benefit in going to the gym but it doesn’t mean I want to go). Basically, there is a duality in Armin: he is both full of love for life and people, and simultaneously ready to throw it away and turn cynical in order to pursue what’s “right”. So when those two sides are set up against each other, which side comes out on top?

That’s basically what the question at the exhibition is trying to make you think; that the current events of the story is making it impossible to hold on to both – that the “truth” is that he has to oppose Eren in order to achieve a positive outcome – or that the only way to hold on to Eren is by directly acting against his better judgment.

However, it’s easy to poke holes in this supposed problem: for starters, “truth” is not a strong representative for Armin’s cynical side at all. If there’s one character who’s explicitly opposed a fixed truth, it’s Armin (read: his speech to Annie). His strong desire to communicate with others also tell us that he’s open to the idea that things may look different from others’ point of view. Armin isn’t pursuing truth, because he doesn’t believe it’s fixed. Actually, it’s almost the opposite: he already knows his own truth, so he keeps trying to seek out others’ in order to expand/change his own. Basically, Armin already know the lesson that the final exhibition is trying to teach us: that “the truth” is a weak concept. So between “truth” and “friendship”, Armin will have no problem picking actual human relations with high chances of a positive outcome (based on context), over… something that can’t even really be pinpointed; truth. Hell, it even changes from person to person, so what truth would he be choosing?

 “Ok, so maybe they phrased that badly. The point is he has to choose mankind or Eren, right? That’s still the issue.” Nope. They worded it exactly right. Because the “truth” is, Armin doesn’t know where Eren stands. He can’t choose to go against Eren for the greater good, before he knows that the two are even opposites to begin with. Armin’s theme for this arc has been that he doesn’t feel like he understand Eren any more. We see him struggle to try to figure out precisely if Eren IS opposing the greater good or not. As of chapter 120, he has yet to know the answer to that. In other words, the “truth” option is NOT “I have to go against Eren”; it’s “I still don’t know exactly where he stands and thus what is the best action to take for the greater god. I will have to keep digging until I know enough to make a choice on what to do”. It’s still possible that his search would lead him to the fact that Eren needs to be opposed, eventually, but at this point in time, he doesn’t know that, and thus – since he has already “chosen to believe in” either – it cannot mean “opposing Eren”, as neither “friendship” nor specifically “truth” contains “Eren is bad”. Thus, the only one of the two option that opens up for decisive action, is “friendship”; ultimately, “truth” vs “friendship” looks like this: either Armin chooses to trust and back Eren, or he chooses to keep wondering where Eren stands. If not for any other reason than good story telling, it’s time Isayama put Armin on a decisive path, to push the narrative along.  

As a digression, I’d like to say that I’m aware that the last two or three chapters seem to lean so heavily towards Armin trusting Eren that I’d almost say we’ve been shown the answer already – but I see a lot of you are still worried, and that’s why I’m adding in my two cents on the matter. I already beforehand wanted to believe he chose friendship, but it was only once I experienced the exhibition myself that I saw just how obvious it was.

Anyways, back on track: that’s why I say they worded it exactly right; Armin’s dilemma is not “opposing Eren fore the greater good” vs “discarding his better judgment to prioritize his personal relationship with Eren”. Armin’s two core personalities are not being put up against each other, so they can’t say they are. They (and by “they” I mean Isa/editors/those that worked on the exhibition) are simply playing off the theme of the arc: the fear that Armin has had – and that many EMA fans have had – which is that the truth about Eren will turn out to be that he’s gone off the deep end and needs to be opposed by the two people who love him the most. For a while, it also was made to look like it was likely the case (all to scare us, mind you). “The truth” sounds scary on its own – but even more so when they’ve built up a contextually contained denotation that it means something bad. By saying “truth”, they are using the decoy of fear to distract us from the fact that it’s an empty threat – for all the reasons listed above.

Another digression to make the dilemma sound even less scary: every major character whom had a wall dedicated to them, got an equally ominous rhetorical question written next to them. Look at it like the splash text at the end of each chapter; it’s just there to quicken your pulse, remind you of the stakes and make you want to keep reading to find the answer. Also, the color red is used to identify the Eldian side throughout the exhibition and is used to singnal “belonging to Eldia” - it’s not there to ask you scary questions you don’t wanna answer (while I’m sure it IS there to make you feel nervous about the fate and righteousness of their side vs Marley - again, to blow the “right and wrong” out of the water). 

Anyways, if Armin’s two cores were set up against each other, it’d be an interesting match for sure… but that’s not what’s happening here. Truth has got nothing on friendship in this context. Armin chose friendship. Because friendship… is magic.

[angy-grrr]

oh yeah! their relationship made sense and at least didnt have the weird stuff sns had to endure -yk, the killing most of the time. No idea about eremin but satosugu? Oh that doomed love was real and idc what anyone says, the tragedy its too good.

Bkdk is strange to know, bc a lot of ppl who are vocal about their opinions about them are really against it, but there are also random ppl who see it and assume they are endgame/already a couple or are starting to "accept" the author wants that for them (in "" bc horikoshi hasn't confirmed nor denied anything). The fact no girl is "assigned" to bkg its too funny -yeah he isnt swinging that way, he prefers to obsess over All Might or his childhood friend and thats it.

More ranting incoming! This is now a ranting chain! + some meta ideas????

It would be sooo bad for them both to just get married and have a child -any possibility of them being a cute couple in canon, with a satisfying ending, has vanished. Once again ill say it, if he developed them more, this kind of ending would be tiring and cliche, but at least make some sense, make some ppl happy or dont mind it. Now?? So many chances to make it more romantic, even if bad written, so many chances to say fuck off with the bkdk... I'll never get over Izuku's rejection of Toga's love. Ne-ver.

Himiko whose feelings are closer to Ochako's towards Izuku and serve as a way to connect them together, is rejected. Ochako who sees this, who admits she understands her love and agrees in different aspects, doesn't even think about telling Izuku anything -her confession is for Himiko, not him. The "big" reveal of her feelings is interrupted, because this isn't his place to be, this isn't his fight not issue. Izuku, who rejects Himiko explaining how he gets admiring someone and wanting to be close to them, but that's not what romantic love is about bc that's what he feels for All Might. All Might. Fucking All Might.

No mention of Katsuki "Kacchan" Bakugou, even when Midoriya admits he admires him, has since their childhood, and also feels like he was this amazing person closer to him than All Might? When he thinks, but doesn't say, he imitates him without even thinking, and can't hate those nasty parts of himself because that's what made Kacchan Kacchan? No mention of him when saying "yes you can admire someone and feel good being around them and imitating them, but that isn't romantic love"? But what we get is "for all of his triumphs, he is still a damn nerd"?

Literally what was the reason. How can you do that accidentally? It was easy to mention him too, it would:

Provide more "evidence" for his argument

Shut down bkdk

Establish their friendship more and state how he usually admires ppl in a platonic way, which could then be used to explain how he loves Ochako without having that kind of situation of imitating her in particular.

It was literally so easy to do this, just adding "and also I feel this way towards Kacchan!" without needing to give more context as he usually tends to do that leaving others confused.

This addition could also add a little gag scene, maybe with Himiko being all confused about who tf Kacchan is, or Ochako thinking "okay Deku-kun no need to drag her more".

But no, the decision of not shutting bkdk down was made, along with no giving Ochako and Izuku more intimacy when it was easy. This is just- not "idk how to write a good romance so I'll just avoid it until I have no choice", the "there's no choice but adding romance in this moment" scenes have been happening and still there's nothing like that! WHY?

The last time something slightly romantic happened was with the gifts they received and Izuku blushing and Ochako receiving the keychain, and still... for him it was more of a gag scene, probably bc "omg I have never received a gift from someone else and its from a GIRL who is MY FRIEND?", and for her it gave her a symbol that connects her to Himiko later on thru their feelings for Deku.

Look, im going to make a silly and cute izuocha scene prompt I just thought about and would be easy to add in any moment: Izuku is there, in a war, and a thing that makes him feel calmer is remembering the mochis he received, and how much he wishes to eat some more with her in particular and the rest of the class. Cute, simple, bittersweet, adorable. Another variation, asking Ochako if they'll eat mochis when the war ends (during their talk before the second war. "We'll stop them. After we do that, would you go and eat mochis with me?" or something similar), or instead of saying a boyfriend is someone you go to amusement parks n eat crepes with, say eat mochis. This super silly and simple concept would add much depth to them in an easy way:

It shows how important and precious her gift and presence is to him

It connects their feelings, as they both received from the other the gifts, making it almost "destiny" in a fun way to end up together.

Its cute

It doesn't need to much time nor too much thought behind it, even if you dont know how to write romance is easy to see how this could connect them both.

It sets up a future date we dont even need to see -another positive point when you dont really know how to show romantic love with these characters, when it's implied we just assume they'll go in that date.

The readers could assume the depth of Izuku's feelings matches Ochako's.

The most possible izuocha canon route I have seen is the importance of the meaning she gave to the nickname, but I dont really see this as enough -in the manga, that line is also related to a darker theme from Katsuki's point of view, and its how "because he has to do his best", that means isolating himself and fighting alone. And now that I think about it, even with the class and more ppl cheering for him, he is still "fighting alone". In that final page, he is the one who gets to AFO and punches him, and everyone else is helping with a supporting role to make things easier -which is great and needed! But in the end, he is the only one that can do it apparently, and he easily feels comfort in that to prove to everyone how worthy he is of that power/gift/curse.

Katsuki having OFA for a little in the past, seeing a vestige, and starting the you can do it/good luck chain in a different page chapters ago... Well. Im just thinking.

i have an issue I see with ppl trying to make shippers "understand" their ship could not become canon, and I dont think many would expect it.

Why are we pretending being in your late 30s is being middle age? Dont get me wrong, being a middle aged person doesn't have to mean anything about someone, but its just- not middle age literally.

I dont really understand bringing that up anyways, iit feels wrong to me to believe just ppl in their teens and 20s could ever do anything pro LGBT+ in general... I find it insulting, as if this is a new thing or impossible to believe older people could believe in queerness in a positive light or be queer themselves. The main reason in the west, and im assuming other parts of the world, there arent as many or as visible is, well, because people were dying because of the AIDS crisis + the isolation from being older and every single public space made for or just young queers or cishet older adults.

I get the point, but if I remember correctly every time I see someone trying to do that (of course im believing they have the best intentions in mind), they have to bring up how this is a Japanese middle aged man as a good enough reason.

I don't really mind about what others want to believe or how much they care in terms of shipping -if you prefer to be casual and not paying that much attention to what's canon or not, good for you! Many ppl are also like that and its completely valid, here in this side of Tumblr might seem like all of us believe and theorize about their endgame potential bc we are the ones that usually make more posts or longer content. But I dont like those assumptions about queerness being tied to young westerners, and I wanted to rant a little bit.

Again, I dont believe that was the intention in any of those posts, and im not trying to call out anyone, just rant.

[arlertt]

i want eremin angst to end this series. like people unite against eren and they succeeded to stop rumbling. hooray eldians will be called heroes. and eren already defeated and about to die. he saw armin crying. armin confessed before eren dies that he loves eren too much but he cant let the genocide happen and that he has to do this, and that’s why loving eren hurts armin so badly.

Well Eren said it himself! A few others have said that this feels like foreshadowing to them and I agree! It's a weird line to throw in without it holding any substance. We havent really seen Armin in action since, either. He had to be given the colossal titan to serve some function or it's just a waste?

At the final exhibition Armin’s 'tagline' was "is it truth or friendship that he has chosen to believe in". Its come pretty clear within recent chapters that Armin has deluded himself into thinking that Eren is still good. Even when the rumbling started to happen he was screaming at Mikasa that ren is still on their side. That it's "obvious".

That isn't to say that armin I'd blindly loyal to Eren. He snapped before when Eren was saying those awful things to Mikasa. Not only that but he was able to bite back at him even when he was beat to a pulp. Not to mention that it got to Eren. He knows to hit him where it hurts.

I think Armin definitely has the capacity to snap out of his delusion that Eren is still a "good guy", it's just that he wants to cling to what he knows. He wants Eren's friendship and he wants to see the good in people. But if Eren wants to commit mass genocide, we know that that's something Armin is so ardently against. Armin believes in peace.

I cant imagine Armin standing idle following from 123. I think an Eren vs Armin battle of some sorts is imminent. I would like to say Armin will be victorious, but that's wishful thinking at this point. We'll just have to see.

(Also wouldnt it just be POETIC if Eren was demolished by Armin after he said this. Do it Isa dont be a coward ! )

tldr: armin snk hero endgame

[makiema]

SnK 118 and Armin's role in the future

I know I'm a lot late in addressing this but when the chapter first released I had my exams and didn't really have a lot of time in hand to write a meta. Anyway, now that I'm free, I'd like to spitball some ideas about this particular panel which raised a lot of questions in the fandom.

What was the significance of Isayama including this moment from Chapter 90 and what exactly was he foreshadowing? Well here's my stance on this :

• Events of Chapter 90 : Let's revisit Chapter 90 and take a look at Armin and Eren's reactions and their eventual interaction when they reach the ocean.

•Armin :

Contrasted to everyone else just having fun, we find Armin staring hard at something. When he sets foot in the water, he is shown looking at something intently - a conch shell. Now, it may as well be coincidence and I'm just being pedantic but, the conch shell is symbolic of other things. The conch shell stands for control, harmony and overall coordination among living things in Hinduism and Buddhism. Apparently, deities holding the conch or being sculpted in a manner that emphasizes the concentric rings found in a conch, symbolize their hold on civilization which maintains stability and peace. Thus, a conch stands for order and implies proper functioning of civilization.

Armin is a character well known for being rational, logical and most importantly for being the one who is always looking for a truce. He wants to "talk", he is more than capable of making the most inhumane decisions but he's always wanting to "talk" things out first. He's the one always seeking a diplomatic solution. Him coming across the conch doesn't seem to be a mere coincidence. Also, not to forget that Armin is the narrator of the show. It is possible that he will be the one to restore order in the chaotic world of SnK once again. He may be one of the key figures in ending the war, working for peace and order in it's aftermath and then he narrates the story to the future generation.

Anyway, going back to Armin and the conch, we see the scene getting plenty attention even in the anime. They cut out Hanji holding a slime but they assigned a lot of time to Armin holding the conch. It may after all have more significance than is visible on the surface.

• Eren : When Eren reaches the ocean, we see him depressed unlike the others. The whole mood is melancholy because of Eren's overruling depression. He has just seen his father's memories, the cruelty of the world has been shoved into his brain and the disturbing images keep resurfacing. We see that happening when he attempts to cheer up Armin. Eren cannot be happy again, he cannot be freed from those memories unless he does away with the cruelty- that much is clear to him. That's why we see him saying - " If we kill them all, does that mean we'll be free?"

The ocean,or preferably sea, is more than often used in literature to epitomise hardships in life and the unfathomable human emotions that make it so complex. Here, the sea represents chaos, uneasiness and sadness for Eren. The people who think of him and his race as enemies reside on the other side of these unfathomable waters. Eren is at a loss and he fails to fathom their barbaric ways. There's no understanding between him and his foes (there cannot be any). He sees them as an impediment to freedom and feels impelled to kill them.

• Eren and Armin : We see how Eren and Armin find it rather hard to communicate. Or better put, they're not thinking along the same lines. It is not really possible as Armin has no clue about the cumulative weight that has fallen on Eren. He cannot grasp the strain of it all. There's clear lack of any meaningful interaction between the two of them. Eren is not interested in sharing Armin's enthusiasm upon seeing the ocean of his dreams. His voice is awfully impassive. What particularly catches my attention is how Armin is holding onto the conch shell and calling out to Eren to look at it but he remains unbothered. He just points at the horizon and talks about the enemy. Their thoughts are totally different and there is little to no connection.

If the conch shell is indeed representing order, then we can say that Armin wants Eren to take a look at it but, Eren is thinking differently. He knows there cannot be any order as long as the world isn't even willing to see Eldians as humans. Eren has seen what happened to Faye because of Grisha's immaturity.

The price that Grisha had to pay for freedom was this- the horrifying death of Faye. The world is cruel. It isn't willing to give room for deliberation. For now, Eren needs to eliminate his enemies to move forward. That much is clear and we see that happening with the Attack on Liberio. Eren had to wage war because he had to protect his friends. He knew very well that if the whole world went ahead with the idea of eliminating Paradis, there wouldn't even be an opportunity to propose a truce. It would be over. Eren had to be an agent of chaos out of necessity. That's why in Chapter 90 we see him indifferent towards Armin as well as the conch Armin is asking him to take a look at.

• Back to 118 : There's similar lack of communication between Eren and his friends. He has done his absolute best in trying to cut them off. But, given how dire the situation is his friends must proceed to aid him. Armin, when trying to make sense of Eren's behaviour, recalls Eren's words and says "No way".

Most of us interpret that as Armin's realization that Eren is actually going to trample on the whole world and therefore, he doesn't want his friends to have any part in it. But, that's not gonna prevail. Eren is not about to abruptly wreck the whole world with his Rumbling. In the long run, it'll just make the world even more apprehensive of Eldians and they'll continue to be discriminated against. Nobody knows better than Eren that one cannot rule with fear and oppression. Also, he is the one who absolutely detests the idea of toying with human life as normalcy, no matter the situation. It's clear in this panel.

It is unlike Eren to cause destruction just to show superiority of a race; it violates his basic nature. Eren did account for civilian casualties in Liberio but that was inadvertent. If he hadn't intervened there, the whole of Paradis would have been wiped off because they were simply not ready to defend themselves. He had to buy time, he had to act before it was too late.

However, things are different now with Armin coming back into action. The miscommunication between him and Eren that has been an issue will be resolved by Armin. Maybe that's why he's holding the conch, which stands for order and harmony. Isayama's purpose in including the panel could be more than just highlighting Eren's words rather, it throws light on Armin as it is essentially him reviewing his past. He doesn't know what happened to Eren at Marley- how he became empathetic toward his sworn enemies- but he does know that Eren will not hesitate to kill them if they stand in his way of being free. However, Armin is not about to let the world plunge into outright chaos with the rumbling. To make a show that Eldians can actually flatten the whole world will make things worse than ever. He will come up with a better solution, a solution that won't put the future of Eldians at stake AGAIN. He must be the one to bridge the gap between Eldians and the world using his diplomatic skills. Armin is the only one capable of bringing an armistice. He still has a card to play.

Also, it's highly likely that the devil is the ultimate villain and Armin will have to come up with a plan to defeat him in the end. Of course, Eren has to be the ace of Armin's plan. That has always been and that's probably the reason why Isayama shows Armin thinking of Eren. Armin still has a greater role to perform and that will most probably be him advising Eren in his battle against the devil. The devil or in that case whoever is pulling the strings seems way too crafty for Eren to deal with on his own. So, Eren will definitely have to depend on Armin to come up with a fool proof strategy in the final battle to save humanity. This could have been foreshadowed as early as in the serum bowl where Eren tries to convince Levi by citing all of Armin's achievements. He implores that it's not Erwin or him but, Armin who's going to save the world.

Was he just bluffing to save his friend's life or did these words carry a subtle foreboding of the future? Let me also stress on Floch referring to Erwin as the devil out of nowhere in the same scene. We know, in the end, Armin survives and Erwin is made to rest. Is it mere coincidence that the one tagged to be the saviour prevails and the one referred to as the devil meets his end or is it another indication to the course the manga will take?

The last thing I want to talk about is Armin's dream. His dream is to see the whole world. It was never just about seeing the ocean. He wants to see the "lands made of ice", "snowy fields of sand", etc.

Who's more convenient to bring peace in the world than someone who actually wants to see all of it? If the world plunges into chaos again, Armin's dreams will never come true. If the world continues to shun the Eldians, then Armin can never fully see the world in all it's beauty. Therefore, he has to be the one to unite it. Armin will intercede into any plans of outright wiping out another race and make way for pacification. He'll be the one to do away with all the warfare and discrimination. That's his role in the future; after all there's no one more apt.

[snk-spectator]

I just had a thought

So the new September cover is a bit suspicious to me.

This is volume 27. Now we have wholesome EMA. Now imo Eren is staring directly at Mikasa all lovingly. This is where ch 112 happened and Eren went rogue on her calling her nothing but a slave. This is also when Eren and Armin fought . In this cover Eren is staring at Mikasa in a loving way and in the chapter Eren does the opposite.

This is the new cover for this September. (Well part of it lol) Eren is hugging Armin close to him along with Zeke right next to him. So my question is.... will Armin get in between Eren and Zeke? I know the spoilers came out and Eren betrayed zeke but I still find this weird. Or is Eren going to do/say something bad to Armin? Like I said earlier, Eren looked at Mikasa in a loving way and in those chapters we had the opposite. Eren is squishing Armin here, does that mean Eren will have Armin is a headlock and have another physical fight? Will all be forgiven between them? I guess we will see

Y’all I don’t think this made any sense. This my first time writing a meta of some sort. But I hope some might understand. What are your predictions for this volume?

[armin-hearteyes-arlert]

About the Mikasa Insert

On this fine morning, I would like to say that I can understand why some hardcore eremin shippers have been having a hard time with this shot right here from the latest episode:

I understand that Mikasa wasn't originally a part of this shot, but some people are legitimately pissed at her character and...?? I don't see the point. So, in regards to this shot in particular, I'd like to share why I didn't find this..."offensive:"

Mikasa was on her way to the ocean as well. The entire closing scene on the beach was just as much for her as it was for Eren and Armin. Yes, it was their dream to see it originally, but that doesn't mean Mikasa didn't believe Armin's story about the sea, nor does it mean she didn't WANT to see the ocean. GUYS. She's their BEST FRIEND.

I would probably have been a little irked had WIT decided to add her in every time they flashed back to this moment. But they haven't done that, so I think I can forgive them this once. Mikasa deserves to be included in the poignancy of the beach scene, and adding her into this flashback (aka, including her in their dream for one second) helps emphasize said poignancy.

Maybe it wouldn't have been my choice to do add her here, but from a creator's standpoint (and maybe this whole post is silly--I don't know what WIT was truly thinking, after all) I can understand why they might add her here.

Mikasa is a fictional character. She didn't CHOOSE to be here and "butt-in."

It's clear Eren and Armin had looked at that book a million times throughout their childhood. Mikasa had to be there for some of it, right? (Yes, this shot is in the same place as the other flashback in which they're canonically alone without her, but couldn't we technically look at it as, "Oh, they returned and included her this time?") Eren and Armin LOVE her. They'd want her included in their excitement sometimes too, wouldn't they?

TL;DR: I know people aren't just salty about this shot in particular, that WIT has glossed over canon Eremin moments by adding Mikasa in or using her to replace Armin. So, if you want to direct your salt toward WIT, fine. But don't...direct it toward Mikasa's character? She's fictional. And also Eren and Armin's best friend. An integral part of EMA and the entire story. Mikasa didn't choose to be included in this shot.

[metasnkpotato]

The ocean : borderline of EMA Part 2 - Armin’s happily wisdom

Following of this previous post which tries to analyze the difference between Eren and Armin.

Armin’s perception of happiness makes of him the ideal figure of the sage / the wise man

The figure of the wise man, unlike the tyrant, isn’t the one who tries to impose his desires on nature and can only be satisfied by dominating all others. Freedom isn’t something external to him, but something in him, that he can enjoy at any moment. It's the power that Armin has in continuing to dream and hope, even in the darkest situations. The world is ruthless, and he must live with its cruelty every day, but even so, his imagination and ability to desire for the thing itself, and not for the desire itself, can still make him happy. Imagination is something pure, that has no limit, and that is why Armin doesn’t need anything to be free, because he is in his very nature. That's what Eren would like to have, and what he envies in him.

Armin can achieve one of the highest form of happiness, because he derives satisfaction from a power that no one can touch. His strength is interior, and nature as cruel as it is, cannot take it away.

Thanks to that, he’s the only character in SnK who's a slave to nothing. His dreams are certainly an engine for him, the thing that makes him feel wings, but these don’t enslave him and he proves it by being capable, of himself, of abandoning his dream without hesitation if necessity compels him to do so at the battle of Shiganshina. 

It is on this point that the break between Eren and Armin is progressively made.

Armin wanted to see the ocean for the ocean itself, detached from all bitterness towards the world that prevented it from accessing it, while Eren saw only that.

Sadly, to believe that happiness lies in the satisfaction of all one's desires is a delusion. To spend a life to desire is spend a life in wanting and suffering. The more we satisfy our desires, the more it comes from others and so on - a vicious circle. Eren, in front of the sea, is dissatisfied, and empty, prisonner of this vicious circle while wanting to be impossibly free.

This is where Armin and Eren path separates : the sufficiency of the wise one contrast too drastically with the insatiable desire of the tyrant one.

Eren’s avidity of freedom is an endless loop, which can only cause sorrow. Before it was the sea, now it's beyond, before the enemies were the titans, now it's marleyans. And even if he managed to annihilate the marleyans and "own" the world, he would probably not get any satisfaction from it and feel as empty as when he arrived at the sea. He could not help but find a new enemy, a new target to direct his desire for domination and hatred because that's all he has.

The freedom that Eren can obtain will never be for himself. He can only give it to others, and that's why (spoil of the last panel of manga if you haven’t seen it yet) the story ends not on "I am free", but "You’re free now".

*

But then, will the paths of Armin and Eren separate on this single disagreement? Is the fundamental difference between them too strong for their relationship to continue? Of course not. The depth of their relationship goes beyond such a flaw, Eren would give without counting his life and all that he has for Armin’s sake, and vice versa. This is why I think that the path that will finally open will be, as touched recently by an excellent meta about this theme, that of love. But even if it does, it does not necessarily mean that the end for EMA will be happy.

But to avoid spreading too much and completely losing sight of the subject of the ocean scene even if it’s already done, I probably put this theory on another post one day, and complete this post series on a slight analysis of Mikasa, the third thread of the trio and the embodiment of love in SnK.

[meganearu]

Just wanted to point out that while Eren holds his right hand in relation to the Titans’ power, (for whatever reason), even unconsciously like he has no choice in this matter anymore, he reaches out for Armin with his left hand, meaning his love for Armin is not of any relevance to the Titan powers, or previous owners, or any influence in relation to that.

There’s no reason to think it has anything to do with a set order from a higher Titan power, or something else implied by Eren Kruger mentioning Armin and Mikasa needing protection before they were even born, or any set of Titan memories.

Eren reached for Armin solely because he wanted to be with him and Isayama drew him using his left, completely human hand to prove that fact.