On That Day, Humanity Recieved A Grim Reminder...

every single day I think about how american black vultures are known for engaging in interspecific allopreening (preening between different species)

and they have a specific relationship with crested caracaras, in which the black vultures assist them by not only preening them after meals but also leading them to food in the first place, while the caracaras assist the black vultures by acting as a warning signal in case of danger

and while this is more typical of black vultures, this is not common at all for any member of the falconidae family— it’s a special bond!

yet another post in favor of vultures everyone , hope you enjoy:) and I implore you to do some more research on these incredible birds !!

EDIT: I meant interspecific allopreening! excuse my typo!

EDIT 2: black vultures do not have a superior sense of smell to caracaras, sorry for the misunderstanding!

Eren Jaeger’s Final Words

So there are many people unimpressed with the final statement given by Eren’s character, either finding it inconsistent with the build up to this point, or too ambiguous a motivation for trampling all over the world. I’m not really here to talk about the quality of the story, whether it was good or bad, because I don’t really care. However, I think it’s fascinating what the text is trying to say about Eren’s character and his motivation. 

This is why, “I don’t know, shrug” is both an answer and not an answer to why Eren did what he did in the end. For making my point in this analysis, I’ll be talking about Eren’s character from Marley on showing both the Eren that appeared before Reiner, the one that talked to Zeke, and finally the one Armin saw are all the same person. 

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I know most of us (including me) laughed (quite a lot) on this scene because; Earl Ciel “Sebastian-Kill-Them-All” Phantomhive of all people, is saying something like this about killing people? It sounds so fake and ridiculous right? Hypocritical, even. But I also think it’s rather empathetic of Ciel to say this in front of the Weston boys because he understands that these boys did not murder out of evil intent; it was a crime of passion, not premeditated. I’m sure that in Ciel’s eyes, these upperclassmen of his are still much more innocent than he is—and so when he speaks to them, he is speaking to “normal people”, not serial murderers. But while Ciel does not see the prefects as evil people, he doesn’t infantilize them either. He does not empathize with them trying to justify their actions; because things like school values or reputation is not a worthy cause for these boys to kill someone over. At the same time Ciel may not personally care about the lives of Derrick Arden and the others, but he does not think students should turn into murderers over such menial issues.

In comparison, when he speaks to Joker in BOC, he was unfiltered and candid—he’s speaking of something he personally believes; that deep cynicism and distrust in humanity. Unlike the Weston students, Joker’s actions were premeditated; he planned to kidnap children—knowing they would be abused and turned into some sick plaything before brutally murdered—and methodically eliminated witnesses to avoid getting caught. Joker knew exactly what he was doing when he organized these crimes to sacrifice others for his family’s lives. And yet the way Ciel spoke, he wasn’t passing judgement on Joker at all; he acutely understood the despair of facing injustice with no one lending a helping hand; the desperate wish to protect one’s family and loved ones above what’s considered to be morally correct by society; he knows better than anyone else how hell is paved with good intentions. This too, was incredibly empathetic in a strange way that only Ciel could be. Although Joker lamented their fate as abandoned orphans living in an apathetic society, Ciel does not pity them and thus did not simply reduce them to gullible victims of their circumstances. He did not justify Joker’s actions, and he did not justify his own actions in killing Joker and the circus crew either—he was incredibly self aware and fair; equally as ruthless to other people as with himself. He understood that everyone acted in their own interests. By removing complicated principles of morality out of the equation, he is able to see things clearly and act decisively without ridiculous notions of human morality. After all, what use does he have for it when his soul is already damned anyway?

Ciel keeps away from people and refrains from making personal attachments; and yet he is still very empathetic to each of them without even meaning to. In the flashbacks, he was also depicted to be a sensitive and kindhearted child. Despite everything he has gone through, he still retains a bit of that gentleness and sincerity from his childhood; which I think comes with being naturally emotionally intelligent—he has an unusually acute insight on people which certainly helps his business acumen, and ironically also helps him know how to lie and act in front of other people. While Sebastian is a “master of understanding human desires”, Ciel understands the complexity and most basic nature of humanity better than anyone else; which forms both his cynicism and his own brand of empathy.

Eren wants to forget. Mikasa chooses to remember.

If Eren really did send all these alternative universe visions to Mikasa, he wants to turn her back so she won’t follow the same bloody path as him. Eren sees their desire to be together as selfish one, because instead of fighting alongside with others and doing something great, they are choosing to live a peaceful life in mountains.

Eren loves his friends, but he is ready to sacrifice his love and humanity for a greater good. He doesn’t want them to remember him and bring them so much pain with his actions. He wants them to forget him so they won’t suffer as he did, when his close ones died.

But Mikasa sees it as the motivation to keep fighting and saving. She chooses to live so she will remember and the memory of her loved ones won’t die with her.

“Once I'm dead, I won't even be able to remember you. So I'll win, no matter what. I'll live, no matter what!”

Actually, before I thought that it was either because of her triggered anxiety, when she loose people she loves or when Ymir/Eren changes something in the timeline, but now it’s because Eren sends her alt. visions that should stop her from following him, but she still continues to move forward and stay by his side. Since she chooses to remember, Mikasa is technically opposing him and when she does, Mikasa gets a headache.

Mikasa’s selfish desire to be close to Eren saved so many people from Yeagerists and titans. Mikasa could simply die back in time and let herself be eaten by a titan. But her desire to love and remember pushes her to fight and simply live. Because of her Gabi wasn’t killed, Louise and her mom weren’t eaten by a titan, Kiyomi and her people didn’t die from hands of Yeagerists and much much more.

For Mikasa, love is a motivation. For Eren, love is a sacrifice.

“Lan Zhan! Let me ask you, back then, under the Xuanwu cave in Dusk-Creek Mountain, the song that you sang me, what was its name?”

“Why do you suddenly remember to ask about this?”

“Just say it. What was its name? I think I might’ve guessed how you recognized me.”

Sparrows on wisteria, by Ohara Koson, 1910

There has been a great deal of discussion about what would appeal to the character of William James Moriarty—what dishes he would enjoy, which types of tea he would favor, how he would sleep, and so on. But let’s focus instead on what he would not like.

The desire to live in aesthetics—have you ever considered how utopian and absurd it is, how pro-capitalist it is, thereby representing a piece of the foundation for class inequality? In our time, every "aesthetic" is nothing more than a consumption product, as everyone who wishes to be part of it is not an innovator but a consumer. It represents the final stage not just of the capitalist social structure but of fading thought. People are divided not only into masculinity and femininity, classes, but into entire groups defined by a particular "aesthetic," which in turn fosters stereotyping and limited thinking.

When we see someone in a classic outfit with the hashtag "dark academia," we automatically assume they represent a developed member of society. Do not mistake my words—this is not about individuals but the bubble they stand under, unknowingly supporting. Many of us are familiar with Donna Tartt’s widely acclaimed novel, "The Secret History." This book did not fulfill its purpose. Fans of the book like to argue and say that it satirizes the romanticization of bourgeois pseudo-intellectual lifestyles—yet it failed to do so. Each of Tartt’s books, which has become a symbol of the "dark academia" aesthetic wave, was not written to embed ideas in the masses but rather for mindless consumption.

The need to "aestheticize" has led to the aestheticization and exploitation of religions, books, writers, incorrect historical facts, and misguided interpretations of literature.

In the term "dark academia," there is a lot of darkness and very little "academia," because currently, the books associated with this category do not provide food for thought. It has become more about ties and suits, shirts and chessboards. No, you can’t be both Albert Camus and Fyodor Dostoevsky—have you actually read their works? Have you delved into their contexts, the conditions under which they wrote, and, most importantly, the historical periods they were writing in? Where they were born and what influenced them? Clearly, no.

And this is where the pursuit of so-called "aestheticism" becomes a catastrophe. It is not done for the sake of knowledge, which should always be shared—bringing something to society. It is done for a couple of photos, a few videos, and a few out-of-context quotes from books.

The very popularization of a book that has clearly failed to achieve its purpose, along with the continued use of "prominent" names in Russian literature, stands as evidence of my argument. This wave of aestheticization is nothing more than yet another elegant veil of pseudo-intellectualism.

This is precisely why I cannot take seriously the fans of William who present themselves in this manner. William would never have appreciated all this decorative frippery; he would have condemned it outright.

"Eren, you are free."

Now I'm entirely into Attack on Titan, have a Annie from the OVA Manga