Also meta question I guess? What’s your favourite monster / one you’d want to date the most?
(Me personally it’d be dragons esp with their sex change magic because bottom surgery is expensive and dragons are awesome and huge and hot and >_<.. Also I think they’d be like some reptiles and nagas so they’d have hemipenes)
Hey! Thanks for all of the questions! I will answer as soon as I can, but I have a friend visiting me until Tuesday, so I probably won't have a lot of time until they leave. I can answer this one, though, since it is easier as a meta question, and they are still asleep, haha. Keep sending more if you have them too! I'll answer them in due time!
A favorite monster... that is hard to say honestly. It is definitely close between minotaur and werewolves. I mean I like all of them that I've written about (the creatures not just the ocs) but I feel like for the type of relationship I would want in a realistic way - not just kink stuff - minotaurs or werewolves would be the most compatible. Of the two....I think minotaurs win out just by a snout tip if we are using my lore for their culture and general disposition.
@asoulofstars replied to your post “Intelligence (US) 2014 Episode Order?”:
The only thing I notice is in Ep 3, they reference Syria—which is Ep 4—but it also doesn’t make sense to me that Ep 4 goes first. Other than that, it all feels correct to me.
It also felt to me like maybe episode 6 should come earlier.
That said, it's not like Almost Human where we know for a fact that the intended airing order differs from what was actually done.
Eren the Free, Part 1: Response to linkspooky’s ‘Eren the Slave’
Thanks for asking for my response, anon, because it has allowed me to string together and articulate my own thoughts on Eren’s character at this stage of the story.
Needless to say, I have several interpretive, philosophical disagreements with @linkspooky‘s ‘Eren the Slave’ and these are expressed in my ‘Eren Jaeger – Who Freer than the Tyrant?’ meta, so please read that first. The purpose of this post will be to argue against specific claims made in linkspooky’s meta and tackle what I believe to be logical flaws in my opponent’s argument. This meta is in two parts not to flex but because my computer had an aneurysm trying to load the whole post.
Well, if the Defence in the trial of Eren Jaeger may take the floor, my opening statement is thus: Eren is no slave, and has pursued the path of freedom further than any other character.
Narrative and Personal Narrative
linkspooky draws a distinction between the Narrative of the manga and Eren’s Personal Narrative, the story he tells himself. They argue that people who have faith in Eren’s self-conception fall into his personal narrative.
But is his story not a Narrative? It is quite natural to expect character development from characters in a story - it could only rightly be called a mistake when it comes to real life. And do Eren’s detractors not themselves fall into the Personal Narratives of Armin, Mikasa and Zeke? They have repeatedly made the statement that Eren is not free, that he is being controlled by Zeke or Grisha, and every time he has proven them wrong.
There is indeed an authorial Narrative separate from the characters’ Personal Narratives which can be detected through symbolism and the course the story takes. I find that the course of the story thus far lines up far more with Eren’s Personal Narrative than it does with those of his detractors. We can tell this from how he has disproved Armin, Mikasa and Zeke’s accusations of manipulation and also how, in the last chapter, he symbolically rips free of his chains.
There is also the fact that we the readers are more in the dark about Eren’s thoughts and intentions than we are about any other character. How could we be seduced into a Personal Narrative we know next to nothing about? And why would the story deliberately hide from us the very perspective that is meant to deceive us? I think it is far more likely that the reason Eren’s intentions have been shielded from the reader is because they take the nature of a terrible truth that must be dug up with bloodied hands.
Whenever Eren opens up about his thoughts and feelings, the meta unfairly dismisses them as mere lip service despite Eren having no reason to lie to Reiner and Falco as two people he intends to kill.
Rather than our side of the fandom being deceived by Eren’s Personal Narrative, I find that the opposing side dismisses it out of hand because they have no intention of listening to Eren’s side of the story. Why is Eren’s perspective less valid than anyone else’s, especially when he knows more than every other character by virtue of his ability to literally see the future?
The only explanation I can find for this attitude, if I may be forgiven the presumption, is that people approach the topic with the automatic assumption that what Eren is doing has to be wrong instead of questioning their own morals - which is, after all, what Attack On Titan is all about.
Armin even says that he no longer understands Eren. I don’t think we should trust the perception of a character as being authorial Narrative when he explicitly makes a statement like this. linkspooky does have an explanation for this scene, however, which I shall address in the next part.
Armin and Mikasa’s Perceptions of Eren
linkspooky claims that the reason for Armin’s confusion is that his romanticised view of Eren is falling apart, which indeed it is, and the same is true of Mikasa. However, I don’t think it’s right to claim that their new perception of him is an accurate one, since they still haven’t heard anything from Eren himself apart from what both I and linkspooky agree are lies to distance himself from them.
While they both once focused excessively on the positive in Eren, now they focus excessively on the negative, not considering the reason for Eren’s actions that I believe we have received hints of in the last two chapters.
linkspooky and I both think that Eren wants to protect his friends - in my case I most definitely see it as his primary motivation. If Armin knew this about Eren, I do not think he would condone him, but I don’t think he’d so roundly condemn him as he does here either.
So I don’t think it is right to consider Armin’s words the straight truth here, given the lack of information he’s working with, and that indeed, the fandom is working with. Because Eren is doing the most morally questionable things, and because we are seeing things more often from Armin’s perspective than his these days, there is perhaps an impulse to put faith in Armin’s words over Eren’s. But in this series, nothing is ever so black and white.
In Mikasa’s case, her treasured memory of the scarf is now being being challenged by the memory of Eren murdering the kidnappers - but we know from 121 that Eren places special value on the scarf as well, instead of just the murder.
Rather than trying to paint Eren in a white or black light, they need to see Eren as he really is: like the freedom he represents, a force beyond good and evil.
Enemy of the World
One of linkspooky’s arguments is that being the ‘Enemy of the World’ is just Eren’s fantasy as he frequently relies on others. However, linkspooky also mentions how Eren manipulates everyone close to him. I would argue that the person who manipulates you is, in fact, your enemy, and that Eren is the Enemy of the World not because he never relies on help but because he is entirely on his own side.
Indeed he knows that assistance from others is necessary even just to activate the Founder’s power, and he also refers to the Survey Corps as his friends, or even comrades, depending on your translation.
This is why he manipulates them - and the reason he manipulates rather than relying on them is because he feels that his Will contradicts the Wills of everyone around him. There is no-one who desires the outcome that Eren desires, not even Floch and the Eldian nationalists, I believe: I think even they will baulk at the scale of destruction Eren intends. Historia is the only character I think may be an exception to this rule as the other bearer of the ‘enemies of mankind’ moniker.
This otherwise total isolation of intention is what makes Eren the Enemy of the World. Because he fights for his freedom, he rebels against peace.
I think this panel is another example of why the authorial Narrative itself supports the idea of Eren being an Enemy of the World. The positioning of the speech bubble and outside text was entirely the decision of Isayama and his editor, and is not a thought bubble from Eren’s head. He has never actually addressed himself as ‘the Enemy of the World’: Historia calls him the enemy of mankind and Willy says he rebels against peace, but while Eren has said he “might just destroy the world” and only in response to Willy’s words, he is still not ascribing himself a title or role.
Eren’s Individualism
linkspooky claims that the scene in the FT arc, where the Levi Squad is slaughtered because Eren didn’t rely on his power instead of theirs, is misinterpreted because Eren also lost the fight on his own. However, this is where I think this meta falls prey to one of its greatest weaknesses: the omission of the Uprising Arc from the analysis of Eren’s character, wherein his most pivotal transitions take place.
The event that caused Eren to trust in his own strength over the strength of others was not his fight against Annie, but when a similar situation repeats itself in the Crystal Cave.
In this circumstance, Eren is able to protect all of his friends by relying on his own strength, when they would have died had they attempted their risky manoeuvre. Eren has become strong enough to protect them on his own - this was the first inkling of that realisation.
I say ‘first inkling’ because Eren does say this afterwards, which seems to influence Armin towards his current ideology. Such an idea seems at odds with what I believe to be Eren’s current aim to genocide those different to him as a wholly antagonistic force, like the bullies in Armin’s memories who Armin now wants to make peace with.
I believe this is because Eren soon learns that those differences between people are simply too great and too much of a threat to his freedom. People are stronger together, but only if he can be confident that they will follow his Will, which is how he learned to manipulate his allies. The differences between him and Levi in the Serumbowl nearly caused the loss of his best friend, and then, when he receives Grisha’s memories and learns of Marley’s treatment of Eldians, he learns just how deeply divided humans are and loses faith in overcoming those differences.
Far from character stagnancy, this is the development I see in Eren that has led him to this individualistic conclusion.
I would also like to address what I think is a fallacy in linkspooky’s analysis of the fight Eren loses against Annie. Eren loses both with his comrades and without them - how does that make the former path any better than the latter? Eren was actually doing very well in his fight against Annie, and only lost when he realised her identity from her fighting stance.
What I think Eren really took away from that fight is the lesson he is applying now - he cannot show any mercy to his enemies.
Levi Parallelism
I find the parallels drawn between Eren and Levi quite interesting and am not necessarily opposed to it, but personally I find that Levi has more parallels with Mikasa than Eren as two Ackermans driven by their love for others (though of course this is a big part of Eren’s motivation as well). Mikasa realising she can’t protect Eren or always be by his side is more in line with Levi accepting that he can’t save everyone imo.
Those Who Push Themselves into that Hell
linkspooky draws attention to Eren’s use of language to indicate that he is not free, such as in the following scene:
They argue that the ‘something’ pushing Eren along means he is not moving from his own will.
However, I find this claim to be contradicted by the distinction Eren makes within this very scene. He differentiates between those who are pushed into hell by their circumstances and those who “push themselves into hell”, clearly putting himself - at least as he is now - in the latter category. So I find that Eren is articulating that, because his whole past and future are manifestations of his own Will (as I argue in the attached meta), he is freely choosing to enter this arena rather than being forced to do so.
I Just Keep Moving Forward
linkspooky also argues that the reluctance in the line “I just keep moving forward’” suggests a lack of freedom. I would argue that continuing to fight for your goal even though you are frightened is a sign of strength of will rather than the reverse.
They also argue that, because those words are remembered as Reiner is about to kill himself, they are portrayed in a negative light. But this omits the crucial follow-up to that scene, where Reiner does not kill himself and finds a reason to live after hearing Falco express his desire to protect Gabi. Reiner is saved by that will to keep moving forward.
They further argue that Eren takes these words from Hange and twists them to suit himself.
But this is untrue. As they pointed out themself, Eren first heard these words in his training days from Reiner where it did mean what he thinks it means. Furthermore, there is no panel showing Eren having any special reaction to Hange’s words. He is shown with the other key Serumbowl players before Hange says them, but not afterwards, where the focus is solely on Mikasa.
I believe Isayama has Hange say Eren’s tagline because it is a key phrase in the themes of the story, and not because it has any special effect on Eren.
I Didn’t Have Any Other Choice
Lines such as “I didn’t have any other choice” and “Is there another way” are similarly argued to be indicative of Eren’s enslavement to a single course of action.
But this is just the conflict between long and short term gratification – enduring hardship to obtain your goal is an example of a strong will, not an enslaved one. Even if he is enslaved to circumstance, this is the case for everybody else as well, and it is an enslavement he seeks to permanently free himself from by crushing his enemies for good. After that, he and Eldia can do whatever they will.
Born This Way
The lines “I’ve always been that way, ever since I was born”, and “It’s probably been like this since the day we were born” are argued to be a form of enslavement to one’s sense of self. I cover this in my attached meta, where I argue that it is rather an affirmation of his own Will and right to exist.
One specific point I’d like to address is the claim that Eren saying those words after Reiner tries to take personal responsibility for his actions is evidence that Eren is running away from his guilt, and is therefore not at peace with his actions, and is therefore not free. But rather than in denial or frustrated, Eren appears to be in a state of sad serenity.
Eren does not say these words in immediate response to Reiner, but only after he hears Willy say “Because I was born into this world”. I think that here Eren is simply recognising that Reiner was simply following the unique nature of his Will - doing it because he wanted to, not because he had to, which is indeed what Eren is doing - and acknowledging that it is something he cannot criticise him for, but also something that he cannot spare him for. That is the command of Eren’s unique Will.
As for Eren not being at peace with his actions meaning he is not free, refer to the short/long term gratification point I made earlier.
Jealousy of Mikasa and the Need to be a One Man Army
linkspooky claims that Eren is still trying too hard to be as strong as Mikasa and Levi, but once again the meta suffers due to a lack of consideration for the Uprising Arc. In that arc, Eren got over his jealousy of Mikasa and Levi and explicitly stated as much.
This, I think, is also sufficient evidence against a persisting desire on Eren’s part to be a One Man Army (as opposed to freedom, which he does have a desire for). His words here make it clear that he wishes to fight alongside his friends if possible. He has simply learnt that, to achieve his goals, ruthless manipulation and rugged individualism is necessary.
Need to be Special
This is also something Eren overcame in the Uprising Arc. He thinks of himself as a normal person, the son of a special father, that he never needed to happen.
He is not doing all of this to be special. He has simply become special by pursuing his birthright: not a birthright of exceptionalism, but of the right to exist, something I shall explain further in the ‘Meaning of Carla’s Words’ section in the next part.
As with the One Man Army, it is a matter of necessity rather than desire. I cover this more in my attached Eren meta, but Eren’s character has developed in a perfect loop. Though his actions remain the same, his understanding of them has increased dramatically: that is to say, he has come to understand himself.
Indeed, people are not naturally special. But can one really argue that special people do not exist at all? To say such a thing would be to argue that there is no difference between Daz and Erwin. People become special - Supermen, to reference Nietzsche - because they relentlessly pursue their Will to Power, their driving force to actualise their desires.
linkspooky also argues that the reason Eren’s change is the most dramatic after the time-skip is because in actuality he hasn’t changed. My argument is that it is simply the result of having the most explicit and tumultuous development in the story up to now, and crucially, the ability to see a future no-one else can.
love your analysis of Yuri. he's so much more mature than I think the fandom gives him credit for. He seems more mature than Victor in some ways. He actually takes promises seriously and both Yuris get annoyed with Victor when they think he is cheapening their competition by attempting to promote the hot spring in episode 3. Sorry to dump this in your ask box, but I hope we get more analysis of his character from you, whenever the film is released.
No need to feel sorry. I am happy to get messages like this! Thank you for taking the time to read my meta. I definitely agree about Yuri’s maturity. He gets treated as the baby to be protected just because he’s the youngest, but he’s been through so much that has matured him in different ways. I’m glad you mentioned the Onsen on Ice event. That’s a very good example that I don’t think I’ve mentioned in my meta anywhere.
I’ll definitely be posting more character analysis when the film comes out, though it may be a while until I can see it since I’m not in Japan. Hopefully they will release it to English audiences quickly too.
Meta ask—Ok now I’m curious, how do people who want to fuck demons do so?
And thank you for rping with me it’s so fun to do
Thank you for contacting the Department of --- oh wait. Okay meta time XD
So, "demons" in the DOMA setting means something slightly different than it would to the average person. It isn't demons as in the Christian idea of evil spirits or devils or minions of Satan but more "demons" in the..."anime translation"(?) sense. Basically, any extremely harmful, evil, or corruptive monster is called a demon. Vampires are demons, devils are demons, eldritch horrors are demons, etc. Therefore, how people fuck demons depends on the type of demon.
As you had asked about more classical "devil" demons I'll just focus there though.
Partially, it does depend on the type of creature they want to fuck. Cubi are probably the easiest as Cubi can be found at nightclubs, raves, college campuses, and really anywhere a lot of horny people are together. A random Cubi is more likely to visit a person's dreams than have physical relations with them but Cubi react to people's desires, so if someone wants it enough it will eventually happen. (Of course, this will probably lead to them becoming addicted and likely turning into a Cubi themselves after a time.)
For things like Imps it is a bit more difficult. Imps may be demons but they are allowed within society in a confined way - mostly through Instant Imp with a few mages or researchers having licenses for bound imps too. Someone could try to seduce an Instant Imp imp when ordering for a quicky and the imp might take them up on it (assuming he doesn't think it's a trap). A mage or researcher probably wouldn't risk their license. Best bet here for people would be to find wild imps that weren't captured after the Great Incursion, they do still wander around in little gangs or by themselves.
The most reliable, though still illegal, way for people to fuck demons is to either do a summoning themselves or to find an occultist, mage, or witch willing to do that sort of summoning. This has definitely turned bad for some people (thus DOMA's warning) but I would say the majority of summonings do work and go fine with DOMA none the wiser.
Of course, there is the possibility of a pact devil just showing up without a summoning if the individual makes their desires known. Typically, pact devils enjoy the slow corruption of someone, the temptation, but an easy soul is an easy soul.
Finally, if someone really just wants to spend their life being used they could enter the quarantine zones. The ruins of Washington D.C would be the best bet as it was consumed by Hellfire towards the start of the Great Incursion and lots of more devilish demons are there. It is physically dangerous for sure there are bone-nashers, hellhounds, and all sorts of "just eat you" sorts of demons there. But if someone could make it to the area protected by one of the soul-collecting or corruptive demons they would probably be safe and taken in as a servant with the possibility of being fucked by their master or a demonic servant or ally of their master.
Oh! I nearly forgot there is also the possibility of cambions! The children of a Cubi or pact-devil and a human mother (usually a witch or mage). While these are rare and they face heavy discrimination, they are technically allowed in the Federal States because they don't inherently corrupt. They may be able to cast corruptive magic and often do embrace their demonic side but there are resisters out there. Cambions are basically all the perks of devilish demons with none of the downsides (unless they are evil).
So, yeah, there are lots of different ways to go about it, it is just dangerous.
And thank you so much for the asks! It was a lot of fun having to respond to an off the wall situation/question rather than a general lore question. I'm definitely a slut for asks though, so if you or anyone reading this do have questions about the lore or any of the monster lovers (or want to do some RP) never be afraid to ask!
I love your work and I love your inclusion of trans people very much. Im curious why a lot of your recent trans ocs have gotten the magic gender affirming procedures(ig surgery isn't the right word for it?)? No hate or anything, just curious why theyve all desired the entire body transitioned. Im a trans man myself and i dont want bottom surgery (though kylars tentacle dick fucking rules) and i noticed the pattern.
Hi! I am so glad that you are enjoying my work and this world!
As for your transition question, that is a good one. I suppose because just generally, I've wanted to show off my ideas for magic gender affirming care and the variety of options.
With Sehbuv as a trans man orc, that was the first trans character and when I first introduced the idea of magic trans care. Then with Scarlet, I wanted to show off the ritual itself (chapter with the ritual forthcoming).
For Gabby and Kylar, I wanted to show that regular human care still exists. Gabby (if it wasn't clear) is on estrogen and had regular bottom surgery. Kylar is on testosterone and I left it up to reader's imagination if he had top surgery or not (in my mind he did). Then with Kylar I had the idea for the tenta-dick and Ch'thon's power works around sex-related fantasies, so it ended up being a desired transition goal for him.
Hopefully, this helps you to understand my thought process on the characters a bit more.
There are certainly more trans and non-binary characters to come in the future both as OCs and reader characters. So, increased variety in transition goals and current stage of transition will come along with that too. It just might be a bit because for most of the year I can only write 1 (maybe 2) chapters/stories a month with my job but I plan on writing in this setting for many years to come.
Can you tell me what a perfect match is?(in rule of three)
Of course! Basically, what I mean by "perfect match" is soul mate - or as the Cubi call it being "soul-bonded". Cubis are inverse of most species when it comes to sex and romance; so, a perfect match would match perfectly with the sexuality of the Cubi in question.
So since Incubi are naturally sexually dominant, an incubus' perfect match would be someone who is their perfect sub. And vise versa for succubi. (see here for more) It usually only within the confines of a soul-bonded relationship that Cubi culture allows for romance. Instead of "wait until marriage" for sex with humans it is "wait until soul-bond" for romance with Cubi.
I talk about perfect matches/soul-bonds a bit more Col's NSFW Boyfriend Alphabet
Does the Master actually love or have any affection for Cow and Bunny(and the secret third) or does he solely see them as a means to an end?
I would say right now Master only sees Bunny and Cow as a means to an end. He is very focused on getting away from Instant Imp, so that is really the only thing he cares about at the moment.
However, I would say once he is freed (assuming he isn't recaptured quickly) he would eventually develop affection for his pets. Right now he is treating them like people treat imps more or less, just tools to be used. But once the initial use is over that leaves time for other things to come forward, especially with exposure to them every day.
Would he ever love Bunny, Cow, and Kitty (the eventual third)? I'm not sure. If so, it wouldn't be a romantic love, but one that is very possessive. He would love them because they belonged to him.
