Thread by @L_Luck__

Here's my interepretation of Eren Yeager's character in #aot139 and why he represents the best ever subtle exploration of Free Will of a Perfect predictor in fiction.

So, I’d like to add some things to this thread that I, since I posted it, felt the need to add or modify. Firstly, I mention 2 times that one of Eren’s goals was to “clean enough hatred” in the world so that peace was achievable. 1/14

However, besides the fact that hatred can’t really be quantified like that (like @/darknessor_matt pointed out in a conversation), it can be interpreted as me saying genocide was justified, which is something I need to stress *is not the case*. 2/14

What I meant by that was that Eren’s goal was to clear the way of enough barriers that were impeding peace: he needed to change something. This, partly, took shape in the Rumbling. But with 139.5 we know now that the hatred/tensions surrounding that event never really changed.

Besides, if he did commit to a Rumbling, I’d argue civil war and anarchy would ensue in Paradis since it’s, like, the last nation on the planet, it’s ruled by fascists, and they have the precedence to escalate violence to disproportionate levels thanks to Eren’s actions. 4/14

Surrounding the future that takes shape because of the Paradox I describe, it can all be essentially summarized in the concept of a seesaw, or a balance game. Here’s how: there’s, arguably, essentially 3 or 4 things that push Eren and that define his identity and motivations:

1) His weird-ass concept of freedom;
2) His wish for his friends to live long;
3) Extermination of the Titans;
4-ish) Change the world/Peace (intertwined with 2 and 3).
These goals (or the means to achieve them) are incredibly conflicting and opposite. 6/14

Which causes Eren to not be able to commit to any of them completely. Because if he did, he would tip the balance to one side of the see-saw too much, which would butterfly effect into causing his other goals to suffer greatly and maybe, not take shape at all. 7/14

For example, if he did commit to the Rumbling, he would get his complete sense of freedom, but (arguably) all his closest friends would be dead, and the Titans would still exist. 8/14

All this makes it so the future that he’s limited to is one full of compromises: one where his nature is the least contradicted because, again, of the Last Attack Titan Paradox and how the future is so closely intertwined to his will and identity. 9/14

As a note, no I don’t think these other possible “timelines” are something Eren sees or chooses. It’s chosen for him. Eren is limited to what he sees bc of the AT, but also bc of the way time in AoT doesn’t allow for alternate timelines. May talk about this in another thread.

What do these compromises look like? Well, some of his friends died, he didn’t see the complete blank canvas and the entity that gave birth to the titans still exists (but not the titans necessarily). This is all very arguable, and I get it, but this is my interpretation. 10/14

I also didn’t highlight the sheer agency of his wish and nature enough. In 131, he guilts himself to no bounds because he had this *thought* after his basement’s revelations. Because he knows that what is going to happen is due to the link of that wish to his concept of freedom;

But also because that outcome became a recurring solution, to the conflict he faced, he kept thinking of since that thought emerged. Subsequently, the blank canvas would not just 100% become part of his motivation later on, it became the future because of that certainty. 12/14

Surrounding the “Only Ymir would know” quote that I reuse in my text, you could interpret it as me justifying her bad characterization and writing, but that’s not the case. I just meant that Eren is just really, really emotionally dumb. 13/14

I talk about Ymir and why I think her writing is actually subtly pretty great in depth in this thread. 14/14

This is the conversation I mention. It's a pretty good read if you're interested in the topic.