#it's so starkly different from other shounen

[tomorrowandtomorow]

thinking about fma, one of the things i love about it is arakawa's very intentional worldbuilding. she never gave the story more than the plot needed. we don't get a bunch of flashbacks detailing the characters' lives, eveything that we know about them is only in service of the plot.

the xingese characters are there because they need the secret to immortality to gain their father's favor. and despite this being so interesting we don't really know anything else about them lol. how well do mei and ling know each other? how do their clans stand with one another? anything at all about their other siblings? they get like two interactions and other than the clans just generally hating each other we've got nothing. we don't even get anything about how lan fan even became ling's bodyguard.

then xerxes, a personal favorite of mine. ed and al are kind of casually confirmed to be descendants of a dead civilization renowned for alchemy. are we going to explore that civilization at all? ofc not. anything about hohenheim's past, other that the things you really need to know? nope. we're just generally gonna mention how he's known as a sage throughout both the east and west.

the fact that grumman is riza's grandfather? left untouched. the fact that roy studied under riza's father? you get one (1) flashback.

i love this style of worldbuilding tbh.

[stackslip]

Just wanted to say I love your fma 2003 posts. While I do think the original story is more cohesive and stuff, I think that the stuff they did with the 03 show is really interesting and provides a lot of cool angles on the character. It's a completely different story after a certain point with its own merit, and I think that it gives a lot of development to the characters in fascinating ways. I feel like seeing it added depth to my appreciation of the story. There's juicy bits in there that I wish were in the original and I'm just glad they were explored and that I'm not the only one who loves it. :))

sorry i took so late to respond lol

i think the og IS a lot more cohesive and planned out, and more consistent in quality! it's just that i don't think it's much to write home about either. it's a very solid fun shounen and as long as you don't think too deep about its implications, it's definitely a lot better written than 90% of mainstream shounen. and i can see the appeal in that, i genuinely do. i don't think 03 is to everyone's taste, even outside of people for whom og fma is comfort food, for whom even a slight deviation feels Wrong because that's their emotional support anime or whatever. like, i'm a fucking dbz fan always and forever you know? i don't have room to say "why do people enjoy mangahood better, it's so much less mature than 03" bc i still get pumped and emo from super saiyan transformations. i do wish these fans at least would understand WHY one might have frustrations with the themes of the story and what it does with very serious subjects lol

i do think that 03 is its own story but i don't think it's its own story "from a certain point". yes the early anime follows a lot of the manga's story, albeit rearranging it differently. but i'd argue that it's different in essence from the very start. its tone it starkly different from the manga, which is and remains a Cool Mystery Action Shounen. fma 03 from its very first episode leans more into brooding and psychological horror territory, even outside of the extra gore. even the subtle changes it makes early in the story aren't just to change/"improve" or adapt the manga's story, but to set up what they do when 03 REALLY departs from the manga's storyline. ed and al's characters are, i'd argue, leagues away from their og counterparts by ep 10--the flashback and making them go through all that trauma at age 12 really sets up that 15 year old ed isn't a confident shitlord like he is in the og, but a deeply insecure and guilt ridden teenager forced to grow up too fast and hiding his insecurities behind a mask of confidence. al is still kind and polite, but also a lot more ruthless and even more dependent on his brother than the og one is--the sensory deprivation and dysmorphia from the armour is cutting him off from other humans than his brother, and a lot of his own doubts and anguish at his situation begin eating at him to the point that when barry throws out the "you're an artificial person" accusation, al's brain immediately latches onto it because he's been wondering if he's even human for years.

i do think 03 has pits and valleys in terms of quality--but honestly i'm fine with it (bar a few genuinely infuriating decisions such as the transmisogynist serial killer trope in ep 8), it's a 2000s anime that was insanely ambitious and butting against the author and funding, some episodes visibly have a shoestring budget and while it remains thematically consistent you can very clearly see moments/places where the production committe threw in "hey uhhhhhh put in more kimblee he's popular" or "we're not giving you more episodes sorry. wrap it all up in three". do i wish a more consistent version of the show existed, meticulously planned out and with all the time and money in the world they needed existed? yes. would that version have been perfect? not necessarily tbh!

but really, 03 has a number of strong decisions and genuinely genius twists on the og that make it very hard for me to come back to the fma manga without feeling deeply underwhelmed. i like greedling so, so much--i just don't like him enough to not feel really bitter about how lust is treated in the manga. i genuinely love the scene where ed swears he'll get al's body's back at the gate, 10/10 shounen scene--but also, there's the scene ed happily tells al that after digging up their mom's body it turns out the transmutation they did had nothing to do with their mom, and every time i'm like "this is so stupid and i wish they'd kept the failed transmutation homonculi". the absolute heights of fma as a manga never ever manage to hit nearly as strongly to me as 03's does, because og fma will always feel just..... lacking in ambition and in depth, where imo in some aspects fma 03 still hasn't been outdone. where can i find something like the 03's homonculi? how many narratives are there that celebrate a character like scar instead of playing the trope of the Well Meaning Extremist Who Kicks A Puppy? this is a real question btw send them to me immediately i need them.

[jira-chii]

The moment the One Piece anime becomes art

(Big spoiler warning for the One Piece Wa no Kuni arc, around the episode 1070 mark of the anime. Yes, I know the manga is better, but what I am about to talk about is a little more special for viewers of the anime, and fans of animation in general.)

For the tldr, this twitter post covers a lot of the things I am about to talk about.

One Piece is great. You don't need me to say it. So I'll cut right to the chase. The moment One Piece transcends being a run-of-the-mill (and sometimes kind of mediocre) anime, and becomes art, is when Gear 5 is introduced.

Is this a hot take? I honestly don’t know. Gear 5 is goofy, it’s weird. It’s so different from traditional mainstream shounen anime. I’m sure it’s an abomination to hardcore Japanese anime purists. 

But it is also a brilliant example of storytelling by using visual animation to its full potential. It weaves together so many complex ideas, and even carries an important message for the anime industry in general.

What do I mean by ‘art’?

Obviously this is a subjective question and I am using the term ‘art’ very liberally. I am actually referring to something called ‘textual integrity’.

Textual integrity is when all the elements that comprise a text work together to faithfully deliver on its author’s intent, from start to finish. It’s when recurring symbols, dialogue and story beats in a novel or movie start to match up. Or when the colour palette of a painting works in harmony with its motifs to convey a mood or idea. It’s the kind of thing that makes you think: “Oh! So that’s what that was about!” when you notice. Sometimes it even gives you a new point of view on the topic.

Dissecting each of these elements, trying to work out what they say on their own and how they play their role in the bigger picture, is one of my favourite embarrassingly nerdy activities. So please indulge me as I explore just some of the many, many elements that make up the colourful tapestry that is One Piece’s Wa no Kuni arc. 

(And please note, my interpretation is just one of many - that’s just part of the fun of analysing art!)

How the 'idea' of Wano is built

The Wa no Kuni arc (which I’ll abbreviate to Wano arc) is, much like many other main arcs in One Piece, about the fight for leadership over a country. 

The history of how Wano came to be in its current state is framed through the story of Oden. Oden, the former Shogun, was executed before he could fulfil his goal of opening up the land of Wano. With his death, the country is plunged into a dark age, where the poor starve and are forced to slave away for Kaido’s benefit. But Oden’s son, Kouzuki Momonosuke, manages to escape to the future along with a band of loyal retainers. They enlist the help of pirates and return to free Wano.  

That was a very bare bones summary, but it does give an overview of some of the ideas the arc explores: leadership, succession, rebellion etc. The conflict for Wano’s future is most starkly characterised by its two competing leaders - current ruler Kaido, and Momonosuke, the son of the previous Shogun. And nowhere is this more obvious than in their character designs.

Momo and Kaido are both eastern-style dragons, but that’s where the similarity ends. They are totally different in almost every other way: different colours, different sizes (initially), different levels of confidence, and importantly, different ideals. This is because they represent different values as potential leaders for the one country: Kaido wants to keep the country closed and turn it into a weapons factory for his own benefit, while Momo wants to free the people, and (after some deliberation), seems likely to follow in his father’s footsteps and eventually open the country. 

This arc has elements of a war story about national identity, it explores what true leadership looks like, it has tons of political intrigue, spying and sabotage, and it even serves as both a coming of age and a revenge story for Momonosuke. The clash between Kaido and Momonosuke on its own is already a compelling narrative. There’s a clear preference in this conflict too. How often have we heard the Akazaya Samurai serving Momo be referred to as the ones who will bring Wano out of the neverending night into a new dawn? 

There’s a solid good vs evil formula right there. But then we throw pirates into the mix and things get...slightly more complicated…

How pirates complicate things

The Wano arc primarily centres around a domestic power struggle. From an outsider’s perspective, the Straw Hat pirates are a foreign party that basically overthrow Wano’s current Shogun to reinstate their preferred ruler. 

Politically speaking, this looks bad, and Luffy knows it. Pirates really should have no business meddling in the affairs of other governments. That’s why the deliberate move to not be portrayed as heroes is a smart one. 

There’s another meta layer to this decision as well. Wano Kuni is very clearly based on the forced opening of sakoku Japan to the Western world. It would have been so dangerously easy to go down the path of a simple story about the pirates ‘saving’ Wano and ‘enlightening’ them to the outside world. But unproblematically portraying a ‘foreigner’ as the big strong saviour of a country clearly based on Japan definitely has problematic Eurocentric overtones!

In One Piece, pirates are not heroes. But it can be easy to forget that when your main character is such an incredibly likeable pirate. Trying to reconcile these two seemingly opposing facts is really, really hard, and Oda definitely does not choose to take the easy way out!

And yet, Wano arc goes a long way to conveying the nuance of this message. Through the careful interweaving and layering of its plot, symbols, motifs, character designs, character arcs and more, everything culminates to lead us to the final answer: Gear 5. 

Wa

I know that sounds like a joke title but I promise it’s not.

‘Wa no Kuni’ translates to “the Country of Wa”. It is never mentioned what ‘Wa’ actually means, but the most obvious interpretation would be ‘Japan’. ‘Wa’ commonly refers to “japanese style”, as in wagashi 和菓子 (Japanese sweets) or wafuku 和服 (Japanese clothes).

The character Wa 和 by itself can also mean peace or harmony, and this is the interpretation that stands out to me. Because I think this is a concept that also captures the complexity of One Piece itself. 

‘Wa’ to me is about finding peace through harmony, but when the world is as complex as it is, that harmony requires us to embrace, rather than reject contradiction. 

Have you noticed Wano arc includes many recurring motifs that contrast, conflict and seemingly contradict each other?

For instance, I mentioned previously that our ‘heroes’, the Akazaya Samurai under Kouzuki Momonosuke, were commonly associated with heralding the new dawn. In fact, the ‘Kou’ 光 in Kouzuki 光月 is the character for light!

But the ‘zuki’ 月 part is actually ‘moon’. Isn’t it strange that the clan that we are supposed to be rooting for, the band of ‘heroes’ who will bring about a “new dawn”, is associated with ‘moonlight’?

This concept is extended further, in the design of Gear 5 no less! It is explained that the Fishmen worshipped a previous incarnation of Luffy’s new form as the Sun God Nika, however our introduction to Luffy in Nika’s iconic pose is against a moon. 

This is not a coincidence. Did you notice the Kouzuki clan symbol includes a sun as well?

We're not just exploring the duality of the sun and moon either. Gear 5 is actually a mix of Eastern and Western influences. The animation very much seems inspired by Western slapstick cartoons, but the visual design is reminiscent of fuujin and raijin gods, with even a bit of that komainu lion dog influence. 

And while the cloud shawl/scarf coupled with Gear 5’s moon association evokes Asian moon goddesses, don’t you think “Nika” sounds awfully similar to Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory?

The Eastern symbolism clearly represents Wano, while the Western bits are everything else. We see something similar with Izou’s character design: his style of dress is distinctly Wano (Japanese) style, but his chosen weapon is a gun, a symbol of the outside (Western) world. The mix of Wano and non-Wano influences tells us this is somebody who has embraced both parts of his identity. 

It is fitting then, that Gear 5 should also incorporate a blend of diverse influences, representing the melting pot of creatures, races, time periods, hopes and desires that make up the alliance ultimately responsible for ushering in Wano's 'new dawn'. It’s even possible to see links in the design to the Minks (moon symbolism and predominantly white colour scheme) as well as the Fishmen (Nika already established as the sun god worshipped by former slaves).

Gear 5 encapsulates 'Wa' because it embraces chaos and makes it work. Who could ask for a better god-figure, to represent the insane group we can only call the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai alliance? 

When I first started Wano, I thought it would be a story of hope in the future overcoming the darkness of the past. I thought this would be a story about teaching a country to let go of traditions that it held onto too tightly, and wholly embrace the unknown (I too am sometimes at risk of developing a Eurocentric mindset...and I'm Asian).

I was wrong, of course. Nobody let go of tradition. It's more complex than that. Momo's insistence on trying not to rely too hard on the Straw Hats symbolises that (which is also why I find Luffy being forced into claiming Wano as his territory just to protect them under the Yonkou system a little uncomfortable, but that’s a story for another day).

Opening oneself up to new experiences does not mean completely discarding your past. Momo has physically changed, but he is still Momo. Yamato is still trying to be Oden, but he will do it in his way. The history of what lays beneath Wano has been passed on to the new generation. All of this will influence Wano's future moving forward.

Harmonising complexity starts with accepting it. The past matters. Everything that has happened, no matter how terrible or beautiful, has resulted in what we see, hear and feel today. And all of that, regardless of how hard people try to hide it, will continue to matter in shaping the future.

'Wa' is not just Luffy's answer to Wano. In true textual integrity fashion, 'Wa' encapsulates the philosophy of One Piece, and I think it also conveys Oda's wishes for Japan as well as the world.

'Wa' captures the complexity of what being a pirate is; how a leader should act; what freedom means; what chasing your dreams looks like; what it is to live. And none of it is sunshine and rainbows.

The world is complicated. It is chaotic. There is no sense in distinguishing black from white, good from evil, or even the sun from the moon. Everything is mushed together to create this terrible, beautiful mess. ‘Wa’ is an answer full of contradictions, and yet there is this harmonious balance within the chaos, a perfect reflection of our imperfect, complex world.

I do love that there is a side character named Hamlet in this arc, because this writing is nothing less than Shakespearean. But the reason I call Gear 5 art is not purely because of the writing alone.

Let's get meta

Alright, we’re going to step away from the story, get a little bit meta, and talk about the presentation of the arc as a whole, including how it is structured.

Wano Kuni is depicted in a way to deliberately evoke imagery and symbolism of Japan: even before we reach the country, the crew are assaulted by carp and great waves, clearly inspired by Hokusai’s own; the lineart is stylised to look like calligraphy; and the music utilises shamisen and koto, which fits in perfectly with how the whole arc is structured like a traditional kabuki play, right down to the red, green and black curtains that frame the start of each clearly marked Act. 

Everything presentation-wise in this arc has been carefully prepared to make it feel as Japanese as possible. Why is why when Gear 5, in all its cartoonish, physics-defying glory, appeared so suddenly in the middle of what had been primed to be the most Japanese anime set in basically Edo Japan, it was a bit of an understatement to say I was definitely caught off-guard!

It felt like I had fallen for a trap. In the middle of watching my kabuki play, suddenly I realised it was I who was being played all along...

And that’s the point!

Gear 5 is pretty much the least anime thing to happen to the One Piece anime. At the climax of the arc, we do not get the full satisfaction of a badass final fight like one would expect at this point of the story. Instead, we get the most cartoonish and batshit insane sequence I have ever seen in One Piece.

It is downright insulting to Kaido, who had been built up to be this huge, menacing final boss. Gear 5 essential reduced him to a googly-eyed snek - the poor thing even got blown up like a balloon at one point!

The closest thing I can compare it to is the Davy Back Fight arc. But doing Looney Tunes shenanigans during the looney-by-nature Davy Back Fight is a totally different story to doing Looney Tunes right in the midst of the tension of seeing a whole country’s beacon of hope fall in battle against their oppressor. 

The contrast is stark, it is shocking, it is tonally subversive, and unexpected. It is such a deviation from what we are used to.

...And yet, isn’t it glorious, that when Luffy basically reaches god-status, he not only decides to break the rules of anime physics, but the rules of mainstream anime as well?

One Piece, through Gear 5, is subverting the shounen anime battle formula. And while I don’t know if Oda intended for the animation to be so starkly western, I am absolutely certain it was what the animator’s intended. 

Because this deviation from the norm is sending a message, not only to anime fans, but to individual artists, animators, storytellers and creators in general. And that includes the big animation studios. 

The message is important: break free from the status quo. There are no clear lines that define what anime can and cannot be. Let japanese animation take inspiration from western animation, and vice-versa. In fact, this is something that should be encouraged of all animation. 

One Piece is encouraging us all to experiment and surpass our boundaries. It is telling us that even a smash hit mainstream shounen anime can still break all the rules and be not only successful, but create something unique and new and truly, truly special…even if some people think the result is a little bit ugly. 

If that’s not art, I don’t know what is. And I am so, so happy One Piece did it. 

[kawaiijellymonster]

Black clover is an amazing show/manga and anyone who disagrees is wrong. Yeah thats a strong statement but its true. Black Clover is shamelessly shounen but in the best way possible. The main character is an underdog, so far so shounen, but the thing that makes him different is that his underdog status is never magically resolved, yeah he got a cool new power but unless he had spent years training his body that power would be useless, and as the witch arc showed us even after he got the power he had to do a whole training montage with a weird guy in the woods just to learn how to use it properly, his skill now is a culmination of a decade of work and everything he achieves will be because he put in the effort. Also people don’t recognise that he is as amazing as we know him to be, he's just that weird kid from the black bulls, the kid with no magic, he doesn’t get taken seriously until he shows off what he can do and even then some people still think that there's a trick. This is starkly different from shows like BNHA that give like an episode long training montage and then kinda call it good enough, give the mc a cool power and then they use it recklessly. Asta is painfully aware of his own incompetence. He knows that if he screws up thats it, so he has to be careful with his body, take care of it, eat, sleep and keep up with his exercise or else he’s doomed. “He still got hurt” I hear you say” and you’re right, he did get hurt because it was hurt his arms or let everyone he cared about die, and then he sat there yelling at fate saying he’d find another option and that he won’t stop. Its a kind of shounen tenacity that you don’t find many other places, in mha if izuku hadn’t been given a quirk he probably would have given up, he was kind of fed up with being told he couldn’t do it and was ready to agree, Asta only agreed once and for a single moment because the moment he stops thats it and he knows it. How they incorporated rivals was fantastic, most shows pick one or two rivals and that's about it, but in black clover just about everyone has declared themselves astas rival. They are acknowledging his strength and daring both him and themselves to do and be better. It lends an air of intrigue and tension to just about every scene he’s in because they’re competing, always This leads into my next point, the pacing is fantastic. Maybe not in about the first 18 episodes which was largely responsible for its downfall in the anime community due to the (bullshit) "three episode rule". However its like demon slayer in that it goes from action to action to action, it gives you maybe an episode or two of what me and my friend call "TA episodes" where it gives you a moment to breath but otherwise its moving forward, every action scene progresses the plot or the characters in some unique way that makes it so you can just...binge it all since the end of the episode is never the end of anything, theres always something more, something to wait up at night or to wake up early for when the new episode airs. It does have a "harem" I guess if you wanted to call it that, which lends back into the "shamelessly shounen" aspect of the show but it doesn't disgrace these characters, the three characters who are in love with him, noel, mimosa, and that girl he saved in that town that one time (can't remember her name, sorry) haven't changed anything about themselves to make themselves more appealing to him, they don't fall over themselves for him, yeah they're awkward but like...thats how love works. There is only one "fanservice" character in the whole thing, which is vannessa however shes not dressing for anyone else but herself and despite the fact that shes wearing a bra and panties and drunk af most of the time none of the characters sexualize her and treat her badly/as less than because of it. This show drinks its respecc women juice and you cannot change my mind on that. On that point, although there is a clear male female imbalance within the group the women are pretty strong and they're hella respected, nobody fucks with meleorelona, nobody questions dorothy unsworths place in the captains even though she sleeps all the time, a whole squad of girls? yeah and nobody teases or gives them shit for it kuz they know they will get beat the fuck up. Also going back a moment, Asta, despite having a harem only has eyes for one girl!! his whole life he just wants to marry the nun from the orphanage he grew up at, he has girls desperate for his attention and he still just wants to marry this one girl and if that isn't the greatest dedication you've ever heard of in a shounen (aside from everyone loving nezuko in demon slayer) you get get the fuck out. Then the foreshadowing, the whole first arc/plot story thing with the elves had so much foreshadowing, they played the magic king defeating the demon in the start of every episode and I had no thoughts I skipped it every episode after the first like 20 times and then it shows it again and you learn this giant lesson about how there are often two sides of the same coin, because to the people it was "yeah the magic king defeated the giant monster" but to the magic king it was a mercy kill on his best friend who didn't want to hurt anybody but it was the best of his few and all bad options. It was the biggest slap to the face that nobody expected but it was perfect anyway. Thinking about duality, many people in the story have an issue where they were brought up a certain way and think a certain way, often that they are incapable, or that their power is somehow flawed or useless. But the show straight up says that its not that your power its useless you just haven't found the right application for it yet. noelle thought she couldn't do anything but with more training, a wand, and more defensive spells or the suit shes able to accomplish things she never thought she could. Finral was always told his magic wasn't useful because it was passive rather than attack magic, but when used in conjunction with vannessa and asta they were able to down one of the eyes of the midnight suns biggest guys, it wasn't that he was useless he just wasn't thinking of how to apply it to make it useful before and now that he does he has so many options its amazing. these are just my off the top of my head reasons why I think that black clover is one of the best shows ever but yeah, tell me what you think, or not, totally up to you.

[n-k-y]

Eremin for the ask thingy, also I hope your doing okay, love u and I love your blog, hope u have a good day/night 💕💕

Eremin it is sweet anon. I love you too honey. I hope you have a wonderful week ❤️💖

002 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when or if I started shipping it: I started shipping eremin by myself about October 2014. Me and my friends thought Eren and Armin were so cute. I officially entered the fandom a little less than year later in about September 2015.

my thoughts: I think this is the best ship I’ve ever shipped. I’ve never seen a couple (in a shounen) be put on a pedestal by an author before, despite being unpopular, despite being undermined, and regardless of whether the readers care or not. I think it’s fabulous how eremin is practically the cornerstone and the driving force for the MC and story plot. Another boy is essentially playing the role that traditionally the “heroine” would play for the MC- inspiring, comforting, and supportive. I think that are so intertwined that it will literally take kingdom come to tear their ‘romantic’ friendship apart.

What makes me happy about them: 

I love that they love each other no matter what. Eren being stubborn. Armin being insecure. They love all of it. It’s beautiful.

Their ability to reach one another beyond reason. Let’s be real, a telepathic poltergeist couldn’t get into Eren’s head like Armin can. He just speaks Eren…

They protect each other but don’t even realize it.

What makes me sad about them:

They’re lost without one another… Armin contemplated suicide after Eren’s ‘death.’ Yes, partially the reason was that the had given away his gear to Mikasa - but if you read closer, he thought it was retribution for his “role” in Eren’s passing. He didn’t want to live with that guilt and pain of a life without Eren… During the serum bowl, it’s heavily implied that Eren and HUMANITY would regress without Armin. It’s seen that Eren begins to panic, sobbing, screaming. Eren is visibly morose over the fact that Armin was ‘leaving’ his life. He had to be physically restrained… so he couldn’t interfere anymore. I don’t think we’ve seen Eren this distressed before. Trying to persuade Levi, Hanji, screaming, disobeying orders. Seeing him become undone. It’s a hallmark (albeit dark) of the eremin relationship. Proof that Eren is unwilling to be without Armin. He needs him.

They’re willing to die (give up everything for one another). Armin gave up his dream of seeing the ocean so that Eren could have a chance of eradicating the titans. And Eren gave up his dreams of eradicating the titans so Armin would have a chance of seeing the ocean…

They’ve done everything a “canonical couple” would do but haven’t officially ‘confessed’ yet.

They know each others weaknesses and try to tackle to the best of their ability. It’s support. Trying to encourage without being suffocating. Healthy.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Eren being jealous or possessive. Either one of them trying to make one another jealous. Eren being stupid. Armin being super smart with little to no personality. Armin choosing anyone over Eren (how OOC.) Eren caring about anything over Armin. Eren and Armin having a fight, yelling at each other, or just plain being mean. Eren annoying Armin or making him upset. Armin being condescending to Eren. Armin being a willing damsel in distress. Writing the extremes of the character without fleshing it out. (Ex. Eren really angry without him being caring or having a strong sense of duty? Armin being smart but not being emotionally intelligent as well? Eren/Armin doing anything that can be perceived as purposely selfish or unusually unwarranted. The dynamic of Eren being starkly imperfect and Armin being perfect (vice versa). Armin/Eren being slutty or cheaters. Writing that everyone is accepting of their relationship/or that they think they’re a good fit for one another? Just no. And basically any stupid trope you find in basic fanfiction. I don’t think this is a ship where you can write ‘anything’ and it be good or believable. To each their own, but I personally don’t think anything I listed above reflect the spirit of eremin. You would need a less healthy ship, probably with a different trajectory than eremin to write those themes/tropes.

Things I look for in fanfic:

Eren and Armin communicating a lot (especially in a relationship). Not even necessarily often but more so effectively when it does happen.

Authenticity: Eren and Armin have a lot of insecurities. They do try to hide them but once the other finds out about it, they try to debunk them to the best of their ability. It helps yes, but realistically only they can really heal their own hurt.

LOVE. TRUE LOVE. It’s the little things that make Eremin great. Hand holding, hugs, saying each other’s name with deep, unending affection.

My kinks:

Eren telling Armin that he’s beautiful.

Armin stealing kisses from Eren.

Armin doesn’t say in so many words “fuck me” but it’s definitely written on his face.

Armin stroking Eren’s ego in anyway he can. Weirdly enough, only Armin can stroke Eren’s ego.

Eren being Armin’s personal positive cheerleader.

Eren running his finger through Armin’s hair. It either can lead to a frisky Armin or a tired Armin - it can go either way.

And I can literally go on forever. (Inbox me if you want more eremin headcanons)

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Eren with Mikasa (if I had to choose someone at all). I think that she’s a adequate substitute for Armin. She loves Eren and she wants to take care of him. Even though she may not know Eren as well as Armin or how to handle him as well, her intentions are good. And that’s what really matters. If somehow, Armin ended up with Mikasa, I would be okay with that too. But I could see both Eren and Armin alone. And I could see Armin alone traveling the world if he had to. He’s a true dreamer after all.

My happily ever after for them: Kiss on the beach in front of the roaring ocean?

This got too long lol. I apologize but I hope I answered this well! KISSES.