I like your view & opinion. In certain ways, I understand your discussion about Eren. I haven't read the manga yet but, i have seen some spoilers about it.
Eren is like the middle person in conflict. Neither a villain nor a hero, fully. I wonder if he's trying to change the future or the fate is playing tricks on him.
Thx lol! His actions are for the most part villainous but you are right he is neither a villain nor a hero. I feel like Eren is a slave to his fate. He’s tried fighting for a different future but in the end is controlled by his own choices and “free will”, which is ironic. I don’t think he’s trying to change the future, but we still don’t know his full POV. Isayama is hiding Eren’s perspective even now so I feel like he’s gonna surprise us.
ok so I was reading chapter 123 and found a new perspective on Eren's mindset (which is something pretty complex and interpretive). I noticed that chapter 123 was mainly about the scouts- Mikasa and Armin- in particular dismissing and ignoring Eren's obvious emotional pain. They should have known what sort of memories he received from Marley. There are so many close up shots on Eren's face, filled with despair and trauma by what he's seen in both the past and the future. There were so many times they saw him but chose not to say anything. Mikasa saw that he was crying and didn't ask what was wrong. It was almost disappointing, really. When Eren asked Mikasa what he meant to her, she took it as a romantic indicator and was blushing, not realizing that Eren's face looked incredibly haunted and he most likely wanted to see if she would give an answer than he wouldn't already know (hence which would have given him hope that he could "cheat fate" and the future he sees). Or maybe he just wanted a different answer that doesn't sound like familial duty. Mikasa doesnt understand Eren. This isn't the first time she had missed the point entirely. This chapter is similar to the ocean scene in which Eren is in a noticeably different headspace than everyone else (except that only Mikasa and Armin were paused and the rest of the scouts seemed to ignore Eren). Mikasa states herself that they "didn't notice... or perhaps didn't want to".
I never really saw this major and unsettling discrepancy between Eren and his friends; despite the fact that they care for each other, no one understood Eren. Eren at the entire trip in Marley was unfocused and unsettled, as the place is a catalyst of memories of not only the cruel treatment that Eldians go through, but also the horrible sins he had not committed yet. This trip was also Eren's breaking point. Its such a complex scene (like how many in SnK are), with so many different ways to analyze it.
This is what I think, and why I think Mikasa says "if only I had said something different".
YES, I am an Eren fan, and yes although I am not a rumbling fan and disagree with his actions, I sympathize with him. He's such an emotionally layered character that by villainizing him and saying that he's a jerk just because, misses the entire point of SnK and it's philosophical commentary. (note that I am not blaming the scouts, since the way that friendship and relationships pertaining to Eren is portrayed very realistically).