starshower1215

[starshower1215]

Cosy

[starshower1215]

You're absolutely right, I didn't think of that. No one above the Underground would have wanted to hire her in case it got them in trouble with the Interior Police, and it is said directly in ACWNR that the Underground is a refuge for the homeless and for criminals. That certainly explains Kuchel's usage of 'Olympia' as an alias, if it was not just for the purpose of privacy as a prostitute. Even then, though, there could have been some reward offered for bringing her to the government, which gives her even more of an incentive to protect her identity. But you're right, either way, it isn't something one can consider to be her choice at all, when she was given virtually no other options.

I think it might be the latter, as to why Levi is unable to get any help when Kuchel gets sick. He seems to be the lowest of the low even in the Underground, because he's not only born in the Underground, instead of someone who ran there, but he's also both a 'bastard' and a 'son of a whore.' In Bad Boy, we already see how people regard him as the son of a prostitute: they basically see him as some useless kid who's dumb and good as dead, without anyone to support him, only really serving a purpose if they sell him back into the sex trafficking industry to do what Kuchel did, as though he's completely incapable of learning or knowing anything else. That, or being fed to the pigs. Both ends have to do with what his body can provide, and nothing else. So if Kuchel begged for help in any way, people might have given him a passing glance and decided he wasn't even worth the effort, and so they may as well not waste their energy, money, or breath on such a hopeless case.

Still, as horrible as it is, nothing she could have done would have compensated for the trauma she knew he would go through. Loving him unconditionally is half of what a parent is supposed to be providing, and unfortunately, no amount of love on her part could have compensated for her lacking in the other half, her ability to provide for him materially.

I think something people rarely acknowledge when talking about the situation with Levi and his mother growing up is, as much as Kuchel loved Levi, and as much as she wanted him and did her best for him, it wasn't, in fact, fair of her to bring a child into the situation she was in. Levi suffered immensely because Kuchel's dream of having a child overpowered her ability to do the right thing.

Of course, in retrospect, we're all happy that Kuchel did have Levi, because he's here and he's an incredible person, but Kenny wasn't wrong when he told her that she shouldn't bring a child into the kind of life she was living, because ultimately, it caused him immense suffering. For the few years Levi had her, they lived in abject poverty and destitution, and Kuchel's love, as great as it was, still wasn't enough to provide for Levi his basic needs. It wasn't enough to raise him properly, it wasn't enough to take care of him or protect him from harm, to the point that Levi very nearly followed her into death, and would have followed her if Kenny hadn't shown up when he did. She also chose to have him despite knowing the situation facing Ackermans at that time. That they were being actively persecuted by the royal government, actively hunted, and also while knowing in the most stark terms what life in the Underground City was like. How disenfranchised the people forced to live down there were, how cut off from any sort of rights or societal protections they were, how deprived they were of the most basic luxuries, like fresh air, sunlight, clean water, food. She understood going in what she would be exposing Levi to in terms of her own line of work, the risks she would be subjecting him to, the hardships and struggles. Some part of Kuchel must also have realized the possibility that she would some day die, leaving Levi alone and unable to care for himself, and that's ultimately what happened, with Levi having the suffer the trauma of seeing his own mother grow sick and die, while he was left to starve to death. Kuchel was aware of all of this, and still, she chose to bring Levi into that world because she wanted a child so much.

The fact that Levi ended up in that situation is because Kuchel failed him as a parent, not out of a lack of love for Levi, but because she simply didn't have the means to properly provide and care for a child. It was Kuchel's selfish desire to have a child, putting that desire above what was best for Levi himself, in fact, that led to Levi suffering. That doesn't by any means make Kuchel a bad mother or a bad person, but it's objective reality that her choosing to have Levi was, ultimately, a choice made at his expense.

I just think that should be acknowledged more. Because there's a tendency, I think, for people to view Kuchel as this perfect, selfless mother who would do anything for her child. There's no doubt in my mind that Kuchel loved Levi more than life itself, but she wasn't totally selfless when it came to him. She chose her own desire to have him in her life over what was ultimately best for him, and it was Levi who was forced to pay the price for that desire, through the burden of lifelong trauma.

[starshower1215]

Theory on Kuchel Ackerman: The Reasoning Behind the Decision to Give Birth to Levi

Original post regarding the selfishness of Kuchel's giving birth to Levi, by @cosmicjoke, with my own addition simply copied again below.

What I've always found interesting about her dilemma is that she wants a child, but in having a child, she denies Levi the safety and security that a child needs. She wants a child, and that child happens to be Levi, but the point to be highlighted her is that she wants a child, one of her own. She places her own desire over his needs, again, being selfish in her decision, yet we also see that she loves Levi very deeply, after giving birth to him. Love is a very selfless thing, and I have no doubt that, with the love Kuchel had for Levi, she destroyed herself to keep him alive. We are not aware of how much money Kuchel was making, if any at all, given that she was likely sex trafficked, as that seems to be the only reason she could have ended as a prostitute of the Underground when she was born above. We see the prevalence of the sex trafficking industry, anyway, when Isayama discloses Mikasa's backstory, which happens not Underground, but above it. Given that assumption, she likely didn't even have enough money to feed one mouth. Adding another not only doomed Levi, but herself as well, through both the tightened financial situation and her own risks of giving birth naturally, since I highly doubt a C-section, or any medical assistance, was available to her at all. This in turn also increases the chances of her dying when he's alive, except this time, he would have been left alone as only a baby.

So I question why Kuchel was selfish in having him, and what my theory behind it is that, despite her obvious love and desire for Levi, her decision was driven by a sense of despair and loneliness. This is why I highlighted wanting a child. She knew he was likely to die in the end, and that he had, essentially, no future at all, being born in her circumstances. That wasn't what she wanted out of a child, then—she literally just wanted a child, a small human being that will die as soon as she does. She wants his company.

And of course, her circumstances are still her circumstances, even after she subjects Levi to them, too. With respect to her own trauma and situation, the impact of it on her mental health, maybe she figured that she herself has nothing left to lose, and that anything to make it better, just slightly better, no matter what, was worth it. And in this case, it was to have a child, conceived inevitably by her rapist, given her occupation. Even seeing the features of her rapist in Levi's face every day was worth it to her. She just had so little. But it made it a little better, just slightly, because even if there was no way out for her from the hellhole she was living, even if she had been in 'debt' and could maybe pay it off to be allowed to leave the brothel, it was hopeless to her in the end. Nothing made any difference to her, so to give herself this little piece of solace in such a tragic place, is incredibly selfish, but understandable.

Of course, she also could have just... had a dream of having a child, completely separately from her circumstances, but well. I think that follows the same line of thinking. Fulfilling this dream of hers towards what, to her, seems like the hopeless dead end of her life was a way to provide herself a small bit of comfort and happiness before she was gone, without her circumstances having changed at all.

[starshower1215]

100%. While she didn't know just how traumatic Levi's life would be, given that she could never have predicted his 'adoption' by Kenny and the subsequent, persistent exposure to violence in order to awaken his powers, she still had him while fully aware of her own situation, as pointed out in the original post.

What I've always found interesting about her dilemma is that she wants a child, but in having a child, she denies Levi the safety and security that a child needs. She wants a child, and that child happens to be Levi, but the point to be highlighted her is that she wants a child, one of her own. She places her own desire over his needs, again, being selfish in her decision, yet we also see that she loves Levi very deeply, after giving birth to him. Love is a very selfless thing, and I have no doubt that, with the love Kuchel had for Levi, she destroyed herself to keep him alive. We are not aware of how much money Kuchel was making, if any at all, given that she was likely sex trafficked, as that seems to be the only reason she could have ended as a prostitute of the Underground when she was born above. We see the prevalence of the sex trafficking industry, anyway, when Isayama discloses Mikasa's backstory, which happens not Underground, but above it. Given that assumption, she likely didn't even have enough money to feed one mouth. Adding another not only doomed Levi, but herself as well, through both the tightened financial situation and her own risks of giving birth naturally, since I highly doubt a C-section, or any medical assistance, was available to her at all. This in turn also increases the chances of her dying when he's alive, except this time, he would have been left alone as only a baby.

So I question why Kuchel was selfish in having him, and what my theory behind it is that, despite her obvious love and desire for Levi, her decision was driven by a sense of despair and loneliness. This is why I highlighted wanting a child. She knew he was likely to die in the end, and that he had, essentially, no future at all, being born in her circumstances. That wasn't what she wanted out of a child, then—she literally just wanted a child, a small human being that will die as soon as she does. She wants his company.

And of course, her circumstances are still her circumstances, even after she subjects Levi to them, too. With respect to her own trauma and situation, the impact of it on her mental health, maybe she figured that she herself has nothing left to lose, and that anything to make it better, just slightly better, no matter what, was worth it. And in this case, it was to have a child, conceived inevitably by her rapist, given her occupation. Even seeing the features of her rapist in Levi's face every day was worth it to her. She just had so little. But it made it a little better, just slightly, because even if there was no way out for her from the hellhole she was living, even if she had been in 'debt' and could maybe pay it off to be allowed to leave the brothel, it was hopeless to her in the end. Nothing made any difference to her, so to give herself this little piece of solace in such a tragic place, is incredibly selfish, but understandable.

Of course, she also could have just... had a dream of having a child, completely separately from her circumstances, but well. I think that follows the same line of thinking. Fulfilling this dream of hers towards what, to her, seems like the hopeless dead end of her life was a way to provide herself a small bit of comfort and happiness before she was gone, without her circumstances having changed at all.

I think something people rarely acknowledge when talking about the situation with Levi and his mother growing up is, as much as Kuchel loved Levi, and as much as she wanted him and did her best for him, it wasn't, in fact, fair of her to bring a child into the situation she was in. Levi suffered immensely because Kuchel's dream of having a child overpowered her ability to do the right thing.

Of course, in retrospect, we're all happy that Kuchel did have Levi, because he's here and he's an incredible person, but Kenny wasn't wrong when he told her that she shouldn't bring a child into the kind of life she was living, because ultimately, it caused him immense suffering. For the few years Levi had her, they lived in abject poverty and destitution, and Kuchel's love, as great as it was, still wasn't enough to provide for Levi his basic needs. It wasn't enough to raise him properly, it wasn't enough to take care of him or protect him from harm, to the point that Levi very nearly followed her into death, and would have followed her if Kenny hadn't shown up when he did. She also chose to have him despite knowing the situation facing Ackermans at that time. That they were being actively persecuted by the royal government, actively hunted, and also while knowing in the most stark terms what life in the Underground City was like. How disenfranchised the people forced to live down there were, how cut off from any sort of rights or societal protections they were, how deprived they were of the most basic luxuries, like fresh air, sunlight, clean water, food. She understood going in what she would be exposing Levi to in terms of her own line of work, the risks she would be subjecting him to, the hardships and struggles. Some part of Kuchel must also have realized the possibility that she would some day die, leaving Levi alone and unable to care for himself, and that's ultimately what happened, with Levi having the suffer the trauma of seeing his own mother grow sick and die, while he was left to starve to death. Kuchel was aware of all of this, and still, she chose to bring Levi into that world because she wanted a child so much.

The fact that Levi ended up in that situation is because Kuchel failed him as a parent, not out of a lack of love for Levi, but because she simply didn't have the means to properly provide and care for a child. It was Kuchel's selfish desire to have a child, putting that desire above what was best for Levi himself, in fact, that led to Levi suffering. That doesn't by any means make Kuchel a bad mother or a bad person, but it's objective reality that her choosing to have Levi was, ultimately, a choice made at his expense.

I just think that should be acknowledged more. Because there's a tendency, I think, for people to view Kuchel as this perfect, selfless mother who would do anything for her child. There's no doubt in my mind that Kuchel loved Levi more than life itself, but she wasn't totally selfless when it came to him. She chose her own desire to have him in her life over what was ultimately best for him, and it was Levi who was forced to pay the price for that desire, through the burden of lifelong trauma.

[starshower1215]

He would hatee that and that's exactly why they would keep doing it.

Sasha: why does Commander Hange call you babygirl?

Levi: how about we stop talking for a little while.

[starshower1215]

Edit: I vomited my take onto this post and in the process, deluded myself into thinking Levi was purple and Hange was green... This is why it makes sense, lol. Ugh. Apologies for this possible self-insertion into your post, @storiesofaot.

I've always wondered about this, too, because even with their designated colours, I associate Levi with purple instead, and Hange with green. I think the origins of purple being a colour of rich 'luxury' come from the very older civilizations, where of course as you said, it has a natural scarcity, and therefore, the dyes for purple clothing were extremely expensive.

I looked it up in some ancient notebook of mine, and it seems to be that purple dye was manufactured by the Phoenicians, a trade empire that was alive around 1100 B.C., and the home of Carthage, some very rich city of theirs. In order to make this 'Tyrian purple' dye, thousands of snails (the Internet says 'mollusks?' Whatever that is) were crushed to make just the tiniest amount, influencing the price and who could afford it. Thus, anybody wearing purple cloth or clothes was also rich or high-class, a concept that may have carried on to impact our view of purple today.

So, purple fits Levi's vibe to me, but character-wise, I guess, maybe it has a deeper meaning. Considering the... Olden days, lol, of ancient people who just ate, drank, pissed and slept, there wasn't a lot of room for anything besides hunting the next meal and survival. However, technological advancement decided that increasing the people's efficiency in completing tasks would give them more free time, from which new things were born, like art, music, the studies of the natural world, etc. This introduction of free time was what allowed human brains to keep growing and discovering, and now we're kind of, extremely sentient beings (??). This sentience is what I see often defines us as human, and not animals.

How does this relate to Levi? Well, in the world, but especially in the Survey Corps, death by titans is a just an animalistic death. Torn apart, eaten, shredded to pieces, and in the end, all you can process is your own pain until you're a corpse. Though it is difficult to articulate, the way in which titans kill especially reduces humans to 'animals' again. There's no respect for who they are, to titans, they're just the next meal. And there's also little to no conservation of the body, the vessel of who this person was in life, the thing that is so often treated with such respect after death due to this. It's the last piece of them remaining, and to titans, it's just the next meal. Any sort of 'luxury' that the person engaged in during life—what did they like, who did they love, what did they believe in—is essentially reduced to meaningless in that one moment, because all that is there is pain.

Levi, however, is completely dedicated to conserving this 'luxury' of theirs after death. He is entirely devoted to giving meaning to people's deaths, because he places such a high value on life, so the thought of a death being forgotten or something, of the person's life becoming forgotten or purposeless, is horrible to him. He does everything in his power to give their lives and their hearts meaning. That is his sole motivation, and that is how he embodies the 'luxury' of the colour purple.

In contrast, green, as you said, 'essentially embodies nature itself,' and therefore embodies growth. What is Hange if not the person actively seeking growth and the learning from mistakes? We see how they chase novel methods of approach all throughout AoT, namely in their persistent insistence on studying titans, and their most notorious quote, 'I want to look at titans from a different perspective.' They are 100% the person breaking the cycle of death when it comes to the Survey Corps, sparking growth in terms of technology, method, and hope.

These past few days I've been skimming through the book The World According to Colour by Jamie Fox, which shares information about the meaning and assosiations of various colours across different cultures, and in the world in general. I've always wondered why Hange is so often linked to purple in official art. Then I came across this part in the book:

Purple is a chameleon of colour. A mixture of red and blue, it is made when two ends of the spectrum come together. (...) it can rove from all-but-red to all-but-blue and never cease to be purple. It can be light and dark, hot and cold, belligerent and bashful – occasionally all at the same time.

I think that really feels like Hange, somehow - someone who, more or less, went through all of the above, who can switch from her composed and focused self to Titan-obsession mode in seconds. And she encompasses so many things at once. It fits so well.

In spite of these many moods, purple is rare in nature.

Interestingly, this is the exact opposite of Levi's green, which essentially embodies nature itself. Hmm.

(...) purple doesn’t have a clear, elemental analogue like black (darkness) or red (blood) or yellow (the sun). Its most persistent meanings originate instead in our long struggle to possess it. Purple’s natural scarcity forced people to develop ingenious and elaborate manufacturing methods, lending the resulting colourants an aura of mystery and luxury. Over time, purple itself acquired associations with both technology and decadence (...)

Mystery, luxury, decadence - a hint at Hange's potential provileged background? Just a thought, it might be too far-fetched. And I won't try to analyse it further because I am not good at such things, lol. I just found the connections very, very interesting.

[starshower1215]

This is the coolest thing ever, OP, he looks so good. I love in particular the way you draw his eyes and his eyebrows.

Imagine an alternate universe where, instead of exploring outside the walls, the Survey Corps explore space for extraterrestrial life, the same way we do in reality, but when they find life, all they find are other humans. But humans which are nearly unrecognisable to them, since they've adapted to a completely different environment.

Like in the past, humanity had originated from Earth and they had advanced so thoroughly in technology that they were able to go inhabit other planets, but they only had to because humanity's current practices are destroying Earth. Likely, the resources were dwindling, and they had to escape 'quickly,' or relatively quickly in when speaking in terms of the way the environment dies very slowly, but there was/were only one or two other planets that were relatively habitable for them, and it was at least a light-year away, so they could only host a select number of people on their spacecraft to get to that planet, with respect to the supplies needed to be carried in order to even get a civilization moving.

Under the pressure of a lack of resources and an urgency to escape, humanity went to war over the necessary materials to build ships for escape. Eldians lose this first war, I guess, given that in the canon universe, the world seems to be split into various ethnostates (if Marley's Eldians were not considered citizens?), so I would assume they go to war this way. They are abandoned on Earth, having been expected to die out, as the rest of humanity escaped on their ships.

But they didn't die out, and they actually survived the treacherous conditions that past humanity had left Earth in, as the instant switch from overpopulation to underpopulation solved some issues regarding exploitation of natural resources. They survived, and far, far into the future, their technology advances, once again, lol, to such a level that they're able to explore the stars again, and they find out the truth about extraterrestrial life; it is just a piece of their own history.

Anyway, incredible piece of art, lol. Levi really looks amazing.

Commissioned artwork by LUOHUA.

[starshower1215]

Ugh, your style is so cute, yet it encapsulates the personalities of the characters so well with the way you draw facial expressions. I'm always in awe of how expressive your faces are, while still making the face look like a face (That's weird, I know, but that isn't within my skill set, lol. Yet?). But especially with Hange, you get their excited, eccentric curiosity just right with all these adorable faces. I also appreciate the addition of Levi's eyebags, too, because you know those are hella deep, lol. Poor guy. This is amazing.

What is this, a crossover episode?

Here are the ink scans without the screentones cause I feel like I went kinda ham with them ahskds

I actually drew these way back in september but I never posted it cause it was originally supposed to have two more pages... Oh well, I think it's still fun like this and they wouldn't have added much aside from a joke about Erwin finding out Hange secretly used a LOT of the scouts' budget to feed Emi XD

Emi is such a cutie but also very hard to make cute in 2D form, at least for me, but I tried. After seeing Ultraman Rising for the first time my aot brainrot immediately went like "ooh big creature? Hange would love!" and then I committed weirdly hard to the bit only to not post it lmaooo

Also don't ask me where this is on the aot timeline or how Emi got here skdkfksk

[starshower1215]

Tea Shop ☕️

[starshower1215]

On the contrary, having people side with the fascists seems to me like a sign of good writing, not because people missed the overall message, but because Isayama portrayed the fascism in AoT as something that is followed simultaneously within reason and completely unreasonably, AKA actual fascism. That's how it goes in reality, because who would follow a fascist if their message and their goal was completely idiotic? No, that would make the story idiotic, too, if the message were so clear. If it were truly so black and white, history would not be the way it is now, but history doesn't happen in a vacuum. There has to be context behind it.

Isayama illustrated fascism with respect to the context of 'What factors came together to create an environment where this is considered 'okay'?" That's a good way of writing fascism, a good way of writing something with so much historical reference. You're supposed to be able to read the story like this, within the context of why these people are acting the way they do, why is this not okay, why does it seem okay, so that the story doesn't happen again—the way you do for history. History is messily human that way, there is no 'good guy' and 'bad guy,' and Isayama encourages you to think it through. If some people didn't read it as such, I wouldn't account that to the clarity of Isayama's writing. He writes it perfectly. As far as I know, there aren't even that many people with that interpretation anyway, but those who do are a sort of real-world manifestation of the Jaegerists, lol. This isn't a first for Isayama's writing, either, this same thing goes for people who loathe Gabi Braun. They miss the message of the story, therefore becoming a physical manifestation of the story itself.

I think if you have many people in a fandom taking the side of the fascists then you did not convey your message clear enough as an author. Floch for example. Somehow his character is someone many cheer for?? Go to any YouTube video with Floch vs the Alliance and you’ll see the top comments saying that he was correct and the alliance were hypocrites. That he is the best out of all of all of them or that he’s Erwin 2.0. And then you have Eren. Killed 80% of humanity yet people believe he did the right thing. That he was justified in doing so. 

What you don't seem to realize is that AoT has sold millions of units worldwide, and whatever spaces online make the most noise aren't remotely representative of the fan base as a whole. If you think that, then you need to get out in the real world more and actually interact with people. Most people who have engaged with AoT on any, real level know Floch is a piece of shit, that he's nothing like Erwin, and that Eren was 100% wrong to do what he did. Isayama conveyed his message perfectly and anyone with a modicum of intelligence and honesty would come away from it understanding what that message was, which is firmly anti-war and anti-fascist. You'd have to be either deliberately missing the point to not get that, or an actual moron. Also, you basing your assessment on a piece of arts effectiveness in conveying its message based on a few bad-faith actors online that intentionally misinterpret the message of the story to fit their malignant agenda says more about you than it does about Isayama or AoT. You should probably get off social media and get some fresh air.

[starshower1215]

Hange’s Lack of Self-Confidence

So I was rewatching some of the episodes from season 3 the other day and I saw this scene again and my heart broke at just how much Hange lacked the self-confidence in her role as the commander. You could tell she was unsure of herself, unsure of her actions, and unsure of how the people would react to her actions. Then, these people who work in the newspaper give her some validation, they give her a small compliment and you can just see how much it helped and assured her. It breaks my heart at how no matter what achievements she has (leading the attack on Liberio, eradicating all the titans on the island, creating the Alliance) she still feels a crushing amount of insecurity which leads to her doing the things she did in chapter 132. It goes to show that no matter how good we really are at something, no matter how much we’re surrounded by people who care about us, at the end we all need some sort of validation to help us rise from our own darkness.

[starshower1215]

Levi's and Mikasa's Choices and the Fundamentally Different Concept Behind Each:

I think something people don't understand when Levi's selflessness gets talked about is that he's literally selfless. He doesn't want anything for himself. He doesn't have some personal dream that he's secretly harboring or fighting for. He doesn't have some personal, selfish desire that he cares about most of all and that he has to eventually choose to give up. The only thing Levi really fights for is other people, preserving their lives, if he can, and barring that, making sure if they die, it isn't in vain. Those aren't thing he wants for himself. They're things he does for others, for their sake alone. He doesn't have a personal dream to sacrifice for the greater good, the way basically every other character does.

It's why comparing Levi letting Erwin die to Mikasa's choice to kill Eren is invidious, really, especially in the way that some people do it, trying to frame it as some supposed intentional contrast to show Mikasa as selfless and Levi as selfish.

Levi wasn't letting some personal dream go when he let Ewin die, nor was he refusing to let some personal dream go. His choice wasn't motivated by his personal desire and it didn't benefit him in any way. It wasn't rooted in self-gain of any kind. It was motivated by doing what he felt was right, that is, ending a man's suffering.

Of course Levi sacrificed something by choosing to let Erwin die. He lost one of his closest friends and one of the most important people in his life, and undoubtedly, if Levi had actually been motivated by personal desire, he would have forced the serum on Erwin, because of course Levi didn't want Erwin to die. He relied on Erwin for so much, and viewed Erwin as his guiding light.

But the choice itself wasn't about him sacrificing a dream for the greater good, it was about showing compassion to a man who had nothing left to give. It was a moment in the story meant to demonstrate doing the right thing over this idea of doing what supposedly has to be done for some nebulous cause. A moment meant to demonstrate that the concept of the greater good shouldn't always take precedent over the well-being of an individual, most especially when choosing the so-called "greater good" requires us to become cruel. It was a moment meant to demonstrate a character retaining his humanity, and the humanity of others, despite the world and circumstances seemingly demanding he do the opposite, and the strength and courage it took to fight back against that pressure.

Mikasa killing Eren, on the other hand, was very much a case of her letting a personal dream go, and about personal sacrifice for the greater good. She wanted to be with Eren, wanted to live her life with him, and in killing him, she gave up on that.

Important to note, too, is that killing Eren didn't require Mikasa to become a cruel person herself. She was doing the opposite of being cruel, both helping to save humanity and putting Eren out of his misery. She was able to accomplish both without betraying herself. Levi forcing Erwin to keep living would have required him to become a cruel person, which would have been a direct betrayal of himself.

Levi's choice and Mikasa's choice aren't meant to be compared or contrasted with one another, because they're both rooted in fundamentally different concepts. For Mikasa, her choice was about giving up on a personal dream to do the right thing, a core them in AoT, and for Levi, his choice was about doing the right thing in the face of a world constantly pressuring him to do the opposite, another, but different core theme in AoT.

Who Mikasa's choice is meant to contrast with is Eren's. Eren couldn't give up on his dream of freedom, and ultimately, it corrupted him and led to mass destruction. Mikasa eventually was able to give up on her dream of living her life with Eren, and it set her and, by extension, Ymir, free, ultimately ending Eren's destruction.

Both choices, though fundamentally different in concept and in what themes of the story they're meant to explore, took great courage and strength, and demonstrate for both Levi and Mikasa their great heroism and selflessness.

[starshower1215]

Looks like people are realizing what a dumb writer your precious cosmicjoke is - maybe you’ll think twice about recommending their shitty work next time

This is such a sweet message, lol, thank you.

It seems as though you're writing in regards to the critical comment on This Life, After if you're thinking people 'realise' Cosmic's a 'dumb writer,' right? You seem to hold her to a very high standard if you expect her not to make 'stupid' mistakes like that in her writing. You must be an absolute expert on technological advancement to be thinking that way. I congratulate you, anon. But you know, I hope you aren't treating your loved ones that way, too, for not knowing. Most of us aren't going to recall those details, especially when they're not significant to the plot of a story we write, as in at all. That isn't indication of stupidity in any way, that's just a person being a human. And that certainly doesn't make her work shitty, because it is still accurate, to an incredible level, on several different aspects, ones that are far more relevant to the theme of the story, and it still sends the message perfectly well. Apparently, a message you completely missed.

So I don't need to think twice on this, I thought well enough the first time around. I was thorough. You, on the other hand, will benefit from reevaluating yourself before you spew something embarrassing like this with no regard for what is true and what actually matters.

[starshower1215]

A Theory on Hange Zoë's Backstory: Why Could They Be Estranged from Their Family?

I always had this theory from before Isayama said that Hange seems to be estranged from their family, but the disclosure of this new information didn't disprove it in any way, and in fact, added more to it.

The most general reasons for being estranged from family is due to the family member leaving themself, with reasons such as of some level of abuse, drastically differing life views or values, unresolved conflict, etc., or due to the family itself ostracizing the individual, for whatever reason that may be. Considering the nature of Hange's character—extremely inquisitive and knowledge-driven—then it is safe to assume that, since they are considered eccentric even in the Survey Corps, they were likely shunned in society as well, especially as a child, when social skills of a young mind have yet to develop enough to be aware of what should and shouldn't be said.

It is shown from the very beginning of AoT, too, that anyone taking interest in the outside world is considered a 'heretic,' a title that readers see Armin's childhood bullies using directly to address Armin. Books about the outside world, such as the one Armin gets from his grandfather, are outlawed by the government, and as is stated directly in the anime, anyone expressing interest in the outside world is rejected. Further exploring their estrangement in the context of that knowledge, could it be assumed that Hange is estranged from even their family due to their natural tendency to gravitate towards discovery?

The most likely location for such a drastic measure to take place could only be in Wall Sina, where government suppression and control is as rampant as ever, and the rich will do whatever it takes to stay rich—including the censorship of knowledge, the thing that Hange is shown to despise so much. The active support and maintenance of ignorance clashes directly with what Hange advocates for, not out of their desire for freedom, which seems to come later on after some character development, but out of their natural curiosity. If Hange had expressed interest in what could have been outside the walls, even if it were unrelated to the titans, this would be cause enough for societal rejection in Wall Sina, since their expectations are so strict.

Another possible factor that comes with this theory is the social status that Hange's family would have had, coming from Wall Sina, whose citizens are obviously high class. While it isn't specified about how society works within the walls, some details can be extracted about 'sub-groups.' There are the Wallists, the highly conservative church worshiping the walls as gods, the House of Lords in Parliament, and the Anti-Expedition Faction, a sub-group of the House of Lords holding influence over the expeditions of the SC, all of which can be plausible roles for Hange's family to hold, and all of which hold some sort of status in society which would be annihilated with the exposure of Hange's true personality and desires. This offers an incentive for oppression and exploitation of parental control over Hange as a child, feeding into the idea of clashing life values and conflict forcing alienation.

One thing that is not explained is Hange's initial abhorrence surrounding the titans. Readers are told only that Hange joined the Survey Corps out of resentment, and that they fueled themself with it to slaughter titans. Then they kicked the head of the 3-meter titan, and are shocked by the lightness of it, and then by the existence of titans as a whole. The shock rewires their mindset, making them think differently instead:

This shows that the scene where Hange kicks the titan's head is not only a moment of realisation, but also one of growing up. They realise that things are not the way that they often appear to be, which might apply to more than just titans.

To explain, another part of Hange's mannerisms should be explored. It seems as though they use escapism as a coping mechanism, or that, at the very least, they tend to avoid acknowledging their own emotions. The biggest example of this is the forest scene, where Hange thinks, albeit not in a completely serious manner, about running off to live in the forest, to escape the troubles of the war. It is a fleeting thought, but it still brings them some semblance of comfort. There is also this scene from Chapter 89:

Prior to this, Historia had been reading the letter that Ymir had written to her just before she died, so she'd obviously be in a melancholy mood. Then she softens the mood further, expressing both her pride for her friends, and her concern, as they do not seem to have been given the time to properly mourn their late comrades. When she basically says, "I thought you'd all be sadder about this," Eren responds, "That's because we haven't processed it yet."

Immediately after, Hange says, "We better get going soon," as though to rush them along or to say, in regards to Eren's message, "And we're not going to right now," lol. Given the additional lack of panels or dialogue to create time between Eren's words and Hange's, it gives off a sense of urgency in Hange's words, as though it is they themself who needs to get a move on in order to escape the vulnerable atmosphere of the room. It is also interesting that they choose this moment to 'interrupt,' since Eren is saying outwardly that none of the Survey Corps have taken in what happened during the Return to Shiganshina. The feeling extends to Hange as well, but they are the only one out of the group to rush the others back to business.

There is also Hange's unprecedented dedication to their research, going about it with an almost obsessive behavior. While this can definitely just be their passion and their means of dedicating their heart to the cause of the Survey Corps, it is also undeniable that they work themself to unhealthy lengths to do so. However, a lot of their research stems from pure love for it, so this is merely an additional, slightly more biased point on my part.

Still, I digress. No matter what how abusive a family is, there's always going to be a profound sense of pain with estrangement from them. If not from being disowned from the bloodline itself, but from the sadness of knowing that a family, that parents, are supposed to love you—but that yours don't. This in mind with their coping mechanism of avoidance, is it possible for Hange to have channeled this pain into anger, which projected itself onto the titans (whether consciously or not), in order to escape the pain of their familial abandonment?

I have a personal opinion that Hange wouldn't be able to say something like, 'Screw your inferiority complex! Don't run from reality!' without knowing just a little bit about that themself. If their theoretical past with society has anything to say for them, then an inferiority complex might be a plausible effect of being shunned, especially as a child. They might blame themself for being an outcast, because what can children do but blame themselves? When adults portray themselves as the ultimate beings to be trusted and to lean on, even as they abuse children, and especially if they are the ones who are supposed to love children, it is difficult for other possibilities to cross a child's mind. However, with the development of the mindset of 'Things may not be the way they seem on the surface,' Hange turns their world upside down.

This makes the titan-kicking scene even more of a pivotal point. This is where they learn not only to embrace the world and the titans, but themself as a part of it. Learning that things can be questioned, that things that were once solidified in the mind can be overturned in the blink of an eye, or the kick of a leg, provides the basis for Hange's realisations surrounding their past, how none of it was truly their fault despite how it was made to appear on the surface, and how there is really nothing wrong with studying the outside world—titans included—despite the perspective pressured on them from birth. They learn to pursue their love instead of their hate this way, wanting to see things from all angles always, because they know that knowledge is temporary. Any knowledge in possession now can be disproved with just one detail. In this sense, the titans, ironically, provide Hange with their first taste of freedom—the one freeing them from themself.

They are able to fully embrace the Survey Corps now, pursuing freedom instead of hatred, knowledge instead of blind acceptance, and eventually becoming the incredible 14th commander showcased in the real story.

[starshower1215]

If someone left you a negative comment on AO3, how would you react and how would you respond to that comment? This is a random question, not intending on leaving you a negative comment lmao

Hi, anon! You know, I would love to lie about this, lol, but obviously, I won't.

Depending on which work of writing it is, I'd either not care or I think I would react by feeling some sense of anxiety, discomfort, and even resentment towards the user for a couple hours or days, questioning my own story and writing for a while. I'd question myself a lot, too, wondering if I had been correct in writing what I wrote.

But I would try to respond by waiting out or working through my emotional reaction. I will not respond to the comment physically until I am past my emotional tantrum, lol, so that I can accurately re-evaluate the comment for what it is. Is this person providing valid criticism of my work? Can and should I take it in any constructive manner, or is it too much of an attack for me to extract anything of meaning? Do we just disagree on how something or someone should be written? I'd consider things like this.

If it can be taken as valid criticism, even if it is said in a bad way, I will try my best to be gracious and say something like, 'I understand your perspective, I think... I agree/disagree because... It would be appreciated if you were more cordial in the way you comment and criticise my work...' You get my point. I obviously don't want to promote an environment where I scare people out of giving constructive criticism, and I like when disagreement can be safely presented, but I'm not letting it pass if the tone was disrespectful.

If it is pure hate, no doubt about it, well, I think I'd just admonish them, lol. That's no way to be acting, and I would hate to let them go and spread that hate to other authors. But when reproaching someone, you have to be careful, because you want to state your message in such a way that it will actually be received. I'm not that good of a person, I won't respond with 'Please' and 'Thank you' after being treated with pure disrespect, but I'm likely to put it in an awfully polite way because I want them to hear me out about basic fandom etiquette. If they don't listen and continue the bad behavior, then like hell am I wasting any more time on someone that immature.

That, or I'd just ignore it fully.

Anyway, thank you for the ask! Even if you left me one, I don't mind it. Again, I would just hope that you would put it respectfully and with good reason, haha.

[starshower1215]

Ding Ding! ✨️🌻✨️

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💛 Hii Star, this one's for you - a little flower bouquet delivery! ୧⍤⃝💐

Aw, thank you for the flowers, @storiesofaot. I know this is some late timing, too, but happy valentine's day to you, and I hope it went smoothly for all you and all your loved ones as well. 🩷🤍

[starshower1215]

Me in the morning