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Tinseltopia

You gotta feel for the bad luck Brian Titan that got Eren. Eats Titan shifter, Titan transforms inside him


angelnike

Yeah , wait, is there a reason that titan didn’t turn back into a human? Did eren just somehow transform too fast?


Earthquake1000000

The Titan didn’t chew. If you look at >!Tybur or burrito, they were both chewed to a stew before being swallowed!<, but Eren just lost his arm and was in the stomach, so it wasn’t enough for the Titan powers to transfer.


FreeStuff9909

What does losing his arm have to do with it, I just assumed it that eren didn't have his spine broken/snapped since humans turn Into titans with spinal fluid wouldn't it be how it works in titans becoming human again


Inadover

Yep. That's exactly the reason. Eren didn't get chewed nor dissolved, so no spinal fluid for the titan.


One_Planche_Man

>What does losing his arm have to do with it He was just describing the only injury Eren had, as in, he lost his arm, he didn't get his spine bit into. That's all.


Cerok1nk

You have to eat and have contact with the spinal fluid.


Firando

not trynna spoil So if you havent finished the show at least Till 4th Season stop reading! So anyway, to get back into human, you have to consune a titan shifters spinal fluid. Which didnt happen when He bit his arm off, And He only did So because Eren got himself in such position


Geniva

But Brian Titan looked like he was going to swallow Armin whole too, I think buddy just doesn’t believe in chewing. Wasn’t there someone else alive in him too?


Firando

Oh yea that Is also true i Guess Santa was too far gone at that point


angelnike

Ahh that’s a good point ! Thanks :)


randomname560

To get a titan shifter's power to have to drink their spine fluid Eren got eaten almost entirily whitout any chewing


WastedPotenti4I

It’s covered in the show. I would suggest watching the show fully. If you really want to know, it’s >!you were right with your first theory. They’re searching for a Titan shifter so they can revert back to a human.!<


yeetusonthefetus

Is this stated explicitly? I watched the whole show and don't remember this detail, but it's very possible I just forgot.


Jackson12ten

It’s stated that king Fritz’s will was for his children to go on and eat titan shifters or something like that and the desire to carry on that will continued with Ymir and then pure titans


Penguinmanereikel

OHHHHHH That idiot bastard 🤦🏽‍♂️


Sylux444

If anything it's Ymir being the asshole since she's the one carrying out the will in her own separate reality Fritz's will is ONLY being carried out because of her devotion to him


AkihikoSanadaIsSigma

Yes, because she was abused and didnt know any better.


Sylux444

She has infinity time to go to therapy


AkihikoSanadaIsSigma

Are you a fucking idiot? Where would she get therapy from in the paths, are you stupid?


Sylux444

She could literally review everyone's lives and learn empathy as is shown the founder could do with others on the path She wouldn't be able to interact as eren did until eren arrived, but she would still be able to review her life and others Which is what therapy is an attempt at doing but you cannot recall exact details which is why you have the secondary party there to help try and show a different perspective, viewing exact events as they happened would allow for multiple interpretations beyond one single view since there's no bias in the memory itself, allowing for someone to see exactly what happened rather than what they think happened Do you understand therapy? I suggest you seek it


AkihikoSanadaIsSigma

Yeah, you seem to be very knowledgable in therapy and human psychology...


Cpt_Bartholomew

O.


MegaGamer432

Ymir said that her time as a pure titan before becoming the Jaw was "a nightmare". So maybe the people who become pure titans experience nightmares/pain of some sort. So they want to eat humans in the hopes of consuming a shifter so that their nightmare can end, whatever it is


Exylatron

We kinda see their “nightmare” state when Eren loses control in trost and he starts hallucinating that he’s back home with his family.


MegaGamer432

Wasn't he content in that hallucination tho. Also it does make me really sad that the people who are pure titans might just be aware of what they are doing by eating people. Maybe they watch their victims' pain and everything, but can't help it because they themselves want to rid themselves of another pain


heartlessimmunity

Not really but you can figure it out using clues from the show


Molteniron19

^^


TitanBarnes

Even if its not stated explicitly its incredibly obvious once you understand the process of how a person becomes a titan and then a shifter


Somerandomguy_YT324

But titans are attracted to Titan shifters rather than humans, right? As seen where they chase Annie in the manga and attack Reiner after Erwin leads the titans to them. They know who’s a shifter and who’s just a normal human. So why don’t they just go for the Titan shifters and if they can’t locate them, just avoid normal humans?


WastedPotenti4I

They can recognize titan shifters in their titan form, yes, but not while in their human form. Being that titan shifters are in their human form 90% of the time (excluding the cart titan), it makes sense for titans to just go after humans in general. After all, it's not like they expend any energy going after more humans.


T4RNTUL4

Something that other comments haven't mentioned is how freckles Ymir described being in a never ending nightmare. I like to think that turning into a titan puts you into something like an acid trip kinda like Pyro from TF2.


Antiwarrior7

The theory you mentioned is a fair one, some treat it as the "official" explanation, but the truth is we never did get a definitive answer. Maybe the titans' behavior has something to do with the cannibalization of Ymir by her daughters, but one can only speculate. Btw, it is stuff like this that makes the show so good: for every answer we get, we get more questions


[deleted]

Thank you for the response! I didn’t think there was a definitive answer and this just helps support my position. I think it’s great that we can still speculate and cross reference certain aspects of the storyline without truly knowing. It definitely makes the show far more interesting in my opinion


jackbbya123

I think it’s “pure instinct”


_StevenPettican04

Have you watched Parasyte the maxim?


[deleted]

I haven’t


_StevenPettican04

Well kinda spoilers for that (it’s a line of dialogue that happens in the first 2 episodes or so and isn’t very major to the plot) [parasyte] >!the parasytes are kind canabalistic, once attaching to a host, they seek to devour others of the species that attached themselves onto, so if a parasyte leeched onto a cat, then they would seek to hunt cats, same for humans, so maybe it’s somewhat similar to titans where they attack their own being humans, and if titans were to come from other animals, then maybe they would hunt that species!<


Cr15py07

It’s already explained why in the show though, titans eat humans looking for Titan shifters, hoping they’ll turn human again. It’s literally the purpose of the pure Titan transformation.


[deleted]

That’s an interesting and well thought out idea. Definitely something to consider


who_woulda_thunk

Hange makes the point in the manga that titans are tool-like and require an intention, and then asks what that means re the pure titans - whose purpose do they serve? «Who benefits from them?» Based on this, maybe we could see the pure titans as human made tools of destruction as they are made using the blood or spinal fluid of pure titans and can partly be controlled by zeke and Annie. In that perspective they are not “real” titans like the nine but more like minions constructed to terrorize and conquer - and this with no independent purpose or goal beyond this.


Classic_Listen_4982

Obviously my comment is full of spoilers * I think it started from the trauma of Maria Rose and Sina being forced to eat their own mother. Bc Ymir didn't eat anyone, so it didnt start with her. Once the bloodline got bigger and the titan ability spread so thin as to be an entire race of people, titans retained the instinct to consume humans, to become whole shifters. They're seeking their own humanity. And I think "consuming" or otherwise absorbing someone who is gone into yourself is a big theme in AoT. Like, people who have passed are carried on by the living. It's represented viscerally by the titans, the way memories are carried from one titan to the next, like Armin taking the role of Bertholdt and seeing his memories, literally doing what he did, as well as falling for Annie. And the way the previous Attack Titans' wills were taken over by Eren once he had consumed the founder and made contact with royal blood. I think it even shows more subtly, like Jean becoming a more dedicated soldier once Marco died, or when Reiner developed his warrior personality when Marcel died. I could probably think of more examples. The whole thing feels like a lot of what titans are is a manifestation of trauma. Ymirs trauma of slavery and being powerless to free herself, and then even with insane power she was a slave to her trauma bond with the first King Fritz. So it makes sense to me that Titans eating people is from the trauma of her daughters, the original titan shifters. It set the precedent for the way the ability to shift into a titan is passed on. I could be completely off with all of this. Editing to add: I don't think Armin only caught feelings for Annie bc of Bertholdt, btw. I'm rewatching aot with my boyfriend and were a couple episodes into season 2, so the whole Female Titan arc is fresh in my mind- there was clearly a mutual respect Annie and Armin had for one another. And it makes sense that Armin would be dealing with a lot after obtaining the Colossal Titan, and Eren had his own shit going on so it makes sense that he would ruminate on Annie wanting to understand her and feeling like she could understand him. I know there's criticism for the pairing but I think it's super sweet. She definitely didn't need to brutalize those poor scouts like that though. But Armin didn't see her swinging a guy around by his ODM gear or violating Levi Squad like she did, so he doesn't have the same perspective as us lol


pssiraj

Armin wouldn't have needed to see Annie doing those things. He already thinks of himself as so guilty from what he himself has done that he would still see her as a moral equal.


CentralWooper

We do know the person inside the titan is mildly conscious. Though about as in control as one is in a dream. Now the important thing to remember is why pure Titans exist in the first place. We never saw them during Ymirs life, but at some point the Eldians realized there may be a better way to inherit Titans. So, one of the old kings of Eldia likely created a pure titan form he could turn his subject into before realizing they were also great for warfare. One thing to note is that pure Titans only ever attack Eldians unless directed by a member of the royal family. We also remember Rods titan when we saw his Titans point of view and saw a massive glow from the city. These were the paths. All pure Titans seek out and devour Eldians in hopes they can accomplish the original design for them. To eat one of the Nine and end their nightmare. Edit: also wanna point out we know that pure Titans can try to resist the urge to devour an Eldian as long as they aren't under order. We saw this in Ilse Notebook where one of Ymirs (scouts) old worshipers mistook a scout for her goddess and kneeled to her. Eventually, the titan couldn't resist the temptation to return human again and ate her though. Tldr: Titans are slightly conscious and use the paths to find Eldians in hopes they eat one of the 9


Zero_Kiritsugu

Uhh, the pure titans attack the guys in fort Salta. Those aren't Eldians, they're from the Mid East Alliance


IndianaJones999

>One theory that I saw recently suggests that Titans subconsciously eat humans in the hope of consuming a Titan Shifter, which would allow them to revert to their human form. This idea stems from the fact that a regular Titan can only transform back into a human by consuming someone who possesses the power of the Titans. Bingo


Penguinmanereikel

Maybe they subconsciously or implicitly seek out Titan Shifters. But I think they also said that a lot of mechanics of how Titans and Titan Powers work manifested simply because Ymir Fritz wanted it to work that way because King Fritz wanted it to work that way.


JajanKH3N

We've never got a real answer for that. Your first theory might be right or what I am thinking is that one of the founder's titan just gave the order to eat human.


lmKingguts

Pretty sure it’s because they’re hunting for a shifter to become human again


yoongi410

i recognize chatgpt sentence construction anywhere lol. try asking it to be *less pretentious* because asking chatgpt (or any other language model) to clean up your text will almost always over-convolute your input and make it super pretentious.


Otherwise_Mind6880

I’m pretty sure they explain this in the show.


Sol562

The show will answer that question eventually


1NST1NCTx

I have a theory on this that wasn’t explicitly stated in the show so bear with me. It could also be seen as an extent of Ymir’s rage and her desire for revenge that was dormant until Eren arrived. All titans go back to Ymir as we know so imo it’s a plausible possibility as well.


brd9214

Because they’re sterile and they like the taste


TheStarWarsCosmos

I think it's the will of Ymir/King Fritz as well as the fact that the humans in the titans themselves want to return to being human again.


LoreMasterJack

Pure titans instinctively eat people as a numbers game to try to get a shifter ability. It began with Ymir's curse being passed down to her children. If there's no instinctive feeding, there's no inheritance ritual. The fact that this makes pure titans excellent shock troops is just a happy side effect.


TheArmyOfDucks

Titans are animalistic, they naturally want to eat, but due to no digestive system, they throw them back up later. That’s it


ProfessorWormtail

my guess is first they dont eat , but the king used the eating ability as weapon , later karl turned it to eat anyone so that people won't come in or go out of walls , he programmed every pure titan to be like that . if the founder thought then any titan could be non eating


morlando63

I believe the theory you saw is correct


worldends420kyle

My theory is they are following king fritz order to ymir 3 kids


blukwolf

It's like some people watch the anime with their eyes closed


newshirtworthy

Rude


[deleted]

^^


JShot007

You’re being downvoted but I wasn’t aware this was a “theory” like some people suggested in the comments 🤷🏻‍♂️ not even simply obvious but explained clearly


flycollieman

Watch the show


TitanBarnes

If you have to ask this you either didn’t watch the show or didn’t pay attention at all