Board Thread:Manga/@comment-30064439-20161113032209/@comment-24850639-20190213165409

I also said if their relationship comes together in a way that's organic and makes sense with the story, then so be it. Meaning I will no longer care..... you then continued to push the incest argument with psychology rants after I implied that it would no longer even be relevant at that point in the story. Their time together as kids was essentially a long time ago as far as the story is concerned - in terms of maturity level they both stand miles apart from those kids, and teenagers they once were. And the story is still barely past 100 chapters (in which they've already grown to 19).....there's a lot of story left and who knows how much more they will continue to grow. So lets drop the incest shit, shall we?

In my opinion, both Eren and Mikasa's growth has revolved around developing their own power to create change and protect their friends. However these paths began to diverge as Eren's became more about developing confidence in his ability, learning the truth, and being the force of change that he wants to see in the world. Again in my opinion, protecting his friends now feels more like a secondary objective, as a result of accompolishing the others first. In my opinion, he came to this realization himself when Sasha died due to his recklessness in Marley, but realized he had to push through it for the sake of his bigger goals with the "fight fight" speech in the mirror. Mikasa on the other hand has kept the protection of her friends at the forefront. IN MY OPINION she came to the realization that their methods for going about their mutual goals had changed dramatically when she saw that Eren was no longer as excited about seeing the ocean and being "free" because they had enemies. She's always going to care about Eren, crush or not, so she will always be concerned for his well-being and the person he's becoming. Honestly she has no choice, because the story has become just as much about Eren's impact on the world as it is the world's impact on Eren & friends. Because of the Founding Titan Eren is THE active force in the events that impact her life. She has seen him drastically change in attitude and philosophy, but in my opinion still slightly questioning just how far he's diverged from the Eren she once knew. There was a part of her hoping that Eren is still there, until she came face to face with the monster that Eren has truly become. Which is understandable, because their dream of wanting to be free from all of this means a lot to her. Just because the two of them haven't been tethered at the hip anymore and have gained new responsibilities that separate them doesn't mean the she isn't still holding to the idea that they can go back to their happy old days of wanting this together. Eren however has learned things that he cant unlearn, and they have changed him. She got a taste of what these things are, and where their relationship goes from here is crucial to whether I can ultimately get behind them being together. How is Mikasa going to change from the information that she has learned/is learning? What is she going to do about it? What if this contradicts what Eren, or maybe even Armin have chosen to do about it? They're at a potential impasse - both on the things they're willing to do for this dream, and the people they're willing to become. Mikasa has been shown to be willing to go against friends and superiors alike for Eren's sake, and Isayama can go all kinds of ways with just where that line is drawn. All I was saying is the outcome that would bother me more than anything would be Mikasa blindly following Eren just because of "feelings". He's made Mikasa smart, strong, and independent enough where if the story for calls for her to stand on opposite sides of Eren, she'd be willing to do so because the world > her "feelings". IN MY OPINION, character relationships going through multiple forms of challenges and experience is what makes for compelling romance, not "we've been friends forever and i'm never gonna let you go!", or "no you're turning into a bad dude, only I can save you!", or "I know I've maybe been mean to you for 400+ chapters but I actually really like you". Isayama has seen these stories play out multiple times, and I trust that if he is going to make Eren X Mikasa, he will do it in a way that breaks away from expectations that we've learned to develop because of these paths. Mikasa can bring way more to the plot than just staying alive long enough to be Eren's eventual lover. Her development doesn't have to serve that purpose just because Eren is the main character.