What the people who complain about the lack of canon Jeankasa interactions don’t seem to understand is that it’s all about the potential. Same with Jeanpiku. We take what’s there and expand on it. If people want to confine themselves to canon, that’s fine! But I’m begging people to at least tap into the creative sides of their brain and understand why people ship pairings with little canon interactions. As soon as I saw people on tiktok saying that Jearmin didn’t make any sense, that’s when I knew this fandom lost the plot. Jearmin, of all ships.
When people say there's a lack of canon JK interactions, I kinda pity them because clearly they do NOT know how to sustain themselves off crumbs. Y'all would not survive the Great Hiatus of 2013-2017 and I stand by it.
Like what you said, some ships really are about the potential. If the characters are written well enough and you have a solid grasp on how they could interact if placed in a room together, then you've got a ship.
Jean and Pieck are honestly very well-written characters. Especially Pieck when you consider how late in the series she was introduced. I'm not ride-or-die for the ship but I totally understand why other people are.
And it's usually the Jeanpiku shippers who totally understand why I'm kinda into Pieck and Connie. Like... even if they're just friends I really want them to just sit down with a bottle of wine and chat because their in-universe circumstances could make for a very interesting conversation.
Plus let me joke that Pieck is collecting dudes with hazel eyes like they're Pokemon cards
Shipping what's canon and shirking what's not canon is absolutely fine! I do that sometimes! But I definitely agree with your point that some people approach characters and ships with such a desperate lack of imagination.
If you can't even envision what it'd be like for say... Mikasa and Historia to bond post-Rumbling because it wasn't explicitly shown to you, then that's kinda sad. The pieces are right there (Mikahisu's sparse in-universe interactions) but you don't wanna finish the puzzle because you're too used to the creator doing it for you.
Back in the day we were shipping everything that moved. I was shipping Marco and Mina, two characters who barely interacted. People were making audioplays of the AoT characters set in space or in the zombie apocalypse or in the world of Pacific Rim. There are so many other things that people can put their energy into yet some people only seem to ever spend time policing others over what ship is "canon." What a shame.
Oh and listen, Jearmin is a ship I hold near and dear to me because re-watching S1, specifically the FT arc, made me realize how organic their chemistry is. Sometimes if Eren and Mikasa are off doing a thing, Armin can usually be found by Jean's side. Even if they're not bonded by a childhood promise to explore the world or a vow of protection, they just get along and respect each other. Jean and Armin are the kind of people I can see often having a beer after work.
If someone watches the convos between Jean and Armin during the FT arc when they're waiting in the trees and they still don't think that Jearmin makes any sense, then I just might start doubting their media literacy skills.