#I've read snk so I know what happens but LOL

[ryuichirou]

Hello!! I'm too shy to send you this out of anon, but I wanted to let you know how much I admire you. I'm a TWST artist myself, and I like certain problematic tropes and pairings. I also want to draw nsfw of my favorite ships, but I'm too afraid of doing it. The anti movement in fandoms is too overwhelming and I'm scared of people going after me. I don't mind kids yelling at me for drawing teens doing what most teens do nowadays (like sex) but everything has escalated so far that people are willing to doxx you and ruin your life over what you ship or draw, and that's what I'm scared of. I know that you probably get nasty messages and people bothering you, but seeing you and Katsu continue creating regardless of what people might say gives me encouragement to post whatever I want. And you seem to be a sunshine of a person, not to mention that your art is amazing. I wish I could post daily as you but sometimes I'm a little bit lazy and I yet need more confidence even if I've been drawing since I was a teen. Anyways, sorry if this got longer, but thank you for contributing amazing art to the TWST fandom. (I'm also into Hetalia and SnK!!! Seeing that you like DenNor made my day haha)

Sending you and Katsu my best regards!

First of all, thank you so much for your support and for your kindness, Anon. And thank you for messaging us at all about this topic, even if anonymously. I think this is a very important thing to talk about, and your message honestly made us kind of emotional. It was a bad idea to read it before going to bed lol

Just like you said, the anti movement is honestly psychotic. I feel like a lot of people who participate in it simply don’t realise the weight of their actions and words, which make sense, because the majority of them are very young; and the ones that are adults are usually quite deranged and dangerous. It’s not rare for their actions to lead to horrible consequences, but I guess this is nothing new. It used to be overbearing conservative parents, now it’s some kids with too much free time. That being said, these days we see more and more people who ignore, criticize or ridicule the antis for their hypocrisy, and this is very nice to see.

We really do get quite a lot of hate, but honestly, we used to get even more stupid comments, even though we haven’t been hated with such passion before. But still, the support we’re getting now is also much more impactful and vocal than what we used to get. There also are people who aren’t even into our ships, but would defend us just because of what this whole thing represents: their own right to do whatever they want when it comes to fiction.

Our personal thing is that we’re just way too spoiled and self-indulgent with stuff that we like. Even if it meant that we’d never get hate, we would be miserable if we had to restrict ourselves for the sake of others; and I know that because we tried. So the worst thing that could happen is that we’ll stop posting, but we’ll still continue creating, because it gives us too much joy to give it up just because someone has no friends at school and wants to impress other antis with their sick (moronic) post when they completely miss the point of our content and ignore our 18+ warnings.

So yeah, I hope you’ll remember what you love about drawing and keep doing whatever you want, even if you don’t post it. But I also think that, if you’re comfortable at any point, you should also post it. You can create an account with no link to your regular acc and your personal info whatsoever and post whatever you want there. You could still get hate, but at least it will be safer and without any high stakes, although I understand you might feel fear because people could recognise your artstyle and connect the dots.

Also preventive bans work wonderfully. If we stumble upon a post that has certain aggressive messages (you know the ones), we simply block everyone who interacted with that post. It takes time, but it’s worth it, I think. Hell, people use “call-out” (because there is nothing to call out, we’ve stated everything plainly ourselves) posts with us to block people.

Also also, ironically, ignoring the hate also kind of helps… I know it’s easy to say, and it’s not a 100% guarantee, but we just think that people are more prone to attacking you if you react to hate in any way. So the best thing is literally to just block and delete it. Oh, and always report it if it gets aggressive – this could do nothing, but it could also bitchslap them out of nowhere lol

Anyways… I am very grateful and glad if we could give you any type of reassurance and comfort with our posts. I hope to see your stuff one day, and I hope there’ll be more people who post whatever they want, so fandoms can become healthier again.

And I’m very happy you like Hetalia and SnK too, especially DenNor! <3

Thank you again from both of us, and I hope you’re having a good day.

[le-panda-chocovore]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "le-panda-chocovore "?

Oh I think I can actually answer that without rambling too much !! (<- took an entire week to answer the ask and select the fics, and I commented on each one of them lol) It won't be a Top in order of preference tho, there's no actual classment, it's just the ones I loved the most.

The Way I Behaved - EraserMic (MHA)

This fanfic gave me the inspiration to write my greatest work (still unfinished to this day) and literally changed so many things about me. It also made me discover a whole genre of music that I've never listened to before and with which I am entirely in love now. Prepare to cry tho, because this is deeply heartbreaking. It's a Villain Mic AU where Aizawa was never a teacher. And it is good.

What if Percy did become a God - Percy Jackson and the Olympians (based on the books !!! do not read if you just watched the show !!!)

The title says everything. This is not a happy story, you will cry, I promise. It's short, like a 1k word OS, it's really poetic, it's deep, it's beautiful, and also, it's painful. Humans were never meant to be gods, not even Percy. It's written like a poem, I read it so many times and it hurt me every time.

Demon and Angel Professors - Ineffable Spouses (Good Omens)

Not a fanfiction but a serie of short works about Crowley and Aziraphale and the people around them. A teachers AU very nice to read with many Original Characters (the students) who are all captivating and appreciable. The story is extremely queer-positive and neurodivergent inclusive and physical handicap representative, honestly, you want to read it. There's everything inside it. If you have chronic pain or if you're a closeted queer or even a curious ally who wants to understand their peers, this is what you need. The love is so pure it's overwhelming.

Honor and Vengeance on the High Sea - Zuko (ATLA)

Tbh this deserves to be published, it's a novel itself (I haven't finished it yet). The author reappropriated the Avatar universe to write something completely new. It's an AU where Zuko becomes a Pirate after his banishment and fights against the Fire Nation Navy, and eventually joins the Avatar's team. There's a whole work around internalized homophobia, the discovery of the self, acceptance, injustice, family trauma and everything. Original Characters are cool too. Chapters are long and very, very complete, you can see the author has historical and cultural knowledge.

Strength, the meaning of - Asano Gakuhou (Assassination Classroom)

I can't believe a fanfic about this total asshole made it to my top 10, but it is beautifully written. The progressive mental breakdown of a man who used to stand proud above everyone, the slow fall down to hell without even realizing it. There's also his son's POV here, which is equally beautifully written. I really hate the man and I don't like the fact that the end of AssClass completely disregard the consequences of what happened on the character's mental state, and reading how even him wasn't okay at all is very pleasant to read. That's karma my bitch.

Je suis assis - BokuAka (Haikyuu)

Yeah it's in french and on wattpad. It has been a while since I read it but I still remember the principal. It's a OS anyway so it's not very long (we didn't do that 20k words OS on Wattpad, this madness is only popular on AO3 lol). Since I'm sensitive to everything that is around handicap, it touched me. It ended up being cute and warm. Honestly I was more thinking of another BokuAka fanfiction but I couldn't remember the name nor found it online so I put this one.

25 - Riren (SnK)

Yeah yeah I know, pedo ship etc, but I was 14 and this is a High School AU where they're both 16 so, it's okay I guess. Yes the name of the fanfic is twenty-five. It's in french, it's on wattpad, and there's Eren's POV too. I don't know how I'm supposed to describe it... I think you have to read it, it's not actually strange or weird but, it's a whole experience.

Here there be dragons - Centennial Husbands (the Sandman)

This is the exact definition of love. What is love to me ? This fanfiction. Engagement, devotion, caring, this is it, this fanfic has the meaning of all these words. I had a hard time reading it because I hate ultra-long OS (I need CHAPTERS, give me a BREAK) but it was soooo enjoyable, and I was crying the whole time 'cause it's so pure and beautiful.

Palm to Palm - KaRen (Assassination Classroom)

Yes I am a part of the extremely tiny fandom that ships Karma and Ren (I do ship Karma with multiple people throughout the manga lmao) but only in THIS specific context. And this is beautifully written, I can't stop re-reading it. Also, the name of the ship makes me laugh. Karma and Ren relationship after losing Gakushuu -the boy they both love above everything else- is peak romance.

Le goût du chocolat - L x Light (Death Note)

I honestly don't remember a thing about this fanfiction except a single sentence, but I do know that I totally fell in love with it. It was one of my fave fanfic when I was full active on Wattpad, and I even archived it because I didn't want to lose it. I should read it again now that I found it again.

Alright that's 10 !!! Finally !!

Oh it was so fun to fall back into all the things I read before ! But it was harder than I expected because, well, I only have AO3 for 3 years and I've been on Wattpad for 7 years, but I started reading fanfiction even before that, I just didn't have any account back then. So, I kinda forgot about some of the things I read more than 4 years ago, and I couldn't find the gems I discovered when I was 12. Most of the books that made out to this list are my recent lectures, it's a bit biased I guess.

Anyway, thank you for the ask ! It was fun to analyze all my bookmarks and everything !

[sinigangsta-ao3]

Thursday Thoughts: On multishipping and fandom toxicity

Ayoooooo — I'm back with the weekly Thursday Thoughts! Woohoo.

I got this Tell earlier this week. The anon's main question:

How do I separate the shippers (who are sometimes prone to toxic and offensive takes) from the ships themselves?

For context: I'm a fic writer, primarily for AOT/SNK and primarily (as of right now) for the eremika pairing. Lately, I've been expanding outside of that ship, even within some of my existing works. There tend to be a lot of shipping wars 🤷🏻‍♀️ — hence, why this person asked me this question.

I did my best to answer on Tellonym as succinctly and clearly as possible. But to elaborate on my (already lengthy) response, here's how I responded...

I separate the shippers from the ships by doing the following:

I don't participate in fandom the way I used to. I used to share a lot of my headcanons and actively engage with a lot of other writers, artists, readers, etc. I don't do that much at all anymore. I've gotten flak about it, have been told that I'm alienating other people. But this stems from me just recentering my focus on why I'm here in the first place: to write and (sometimes) share stories. My primary goal is not to make friendships (although I'm not necessarily saying I don't want to make friends, lol). I just have to protect my already limited social energy, and fandom is no longer a place where I can invest that much social energy into.

I view the characters as creative conduits for different ideas. That's it. First and foremost, I'm writing stories — most of the time, they are very character-driven. So I see these fictional characters as the means by which I can explore different themes and situations. Does that mean that (sometimes) I will reimagine them into situations that are different than in canon or even in some of the stories I've written? Yes, of course! Because these characters are the tools through which I tell my stories. Period. People have gotten really heated with me when I start to explore different ships and pairings (and even problematic situations in which I place these characters). And I recognize that's the source from which a lot of the ire comes from. But, just because I recognize why some people are triggered, that doesn't mean I'm going to change how I approach my writing and my craft.

I recognize that people are going to bring their own interpretations to characters and to texts — even if the author/creator intended the text to be read a certain way. It's kinda the beautiful part of literature — and, admittedly, one of the challenging parts too. Particularly if not everyone is coming to the discussion/interpretation with a (literary) critical lens. Bottom line: I know that literature (and I'm using the term broadly to encompass any type of medium or text that is consumed and to which someone can assign meaning) and the interpretation of literature can be highly personal. We are human, after all, so we bring our own lived experiences and thoughts to things that we consume — regardless of the intention of the author/creator. Yes, there is still the objective "truth" that the author tried to convey in the creation of their text. But, as well know, the "truth" doesn't necessarily prevent individuals from adding subtext. I think this is what happens when people conflate "headcanons" with "canon" — they are, objectively, separate things. That doesn't mean they're always treated as such, especially by people in fandom. Which brings me to my last (and most important point)...

I try my best to focus only on what I can control. In other words, I can't change how people interpret something. I can't change how people approach certain themes within what I write. I can't even control how my words and work impact other people — even though I always try to lead with the best of intentions and the goal to minimize harm. I can't control any of those things. But I can control who I interact with, what stories I write, how I use platform features (when appropriate) to protect my work and my energy from potentially harassing and toxic comments. Those are the things that I've re-centered my focus on. People are always going to call me a horrible person because some are unable to separate the stories I write from who I am as a person (that's not to say that parts of me aren't imbued in these stories — I'm just, you know, not going to waste my time trying to explain to randos on the Internet that my writing dark themes doesn't make me a "bad person"). I'm always gonna tell those people they're out of pocket and that they need to find more productive avenues in which to channel their anger and frustration, rather than harassing strangers on the Internet — but it's on those people to reconsider the harm they're causing. And it's on me to protect my energy.

And the last thing I'll say: I think it's also important to make space for my hurt. I acknowledge that, even if I do all the things I listed above to set my boundaries and protect my little corner of the Internet, I do still get bothered by a lot of things that I may read or come across — especially if the 'interpretations" are objectively rooted in something offensive (i.e. misogyny, racism, xenophobia, etc.). And I do still get weird, hateful messages every once in a while — anonymous asks and tells, comments on fics, etc. — that attempt to degrade who I am as a person because they don't like that I wrote a certain story or that I wrote a specific pairing...

Do I find that all weird? Yes. Do I get sad and hurt, even if those words aren't explicitly directed toward me? Yes.

Because reading these types of hateful words is hurtful. And it saddens me. Because I don't see the benefit behind spreading hate, and I don't like it and I try to avoid creating more harm. (Do I do that perfectly? No, because I'm human.)

Bottom line: I just have to keep doing me.

People take issue with that approach, I get it. But, honestly, I've stopped putting so much energy behind trying to understand why people do the things that they do, especially on the Internet and especially in fandom. Because I can't control them. But I can control myself.

[seapanda]

i’m

[ourmondobongo]

Hello! I'm new on tumblr :) I found your blog and came to love your interpretation on Levi's character ❤

I've recently come to notice that aside from many eruri shippers, there's also a vast majority of the fandom consider Levi as an obsessed revenge-seeker who doesn't give a flying crap about humanity in the final battle. I personally disagree with this idea and can't even bear the thought. Levi only proved to us in the final battle how much he cares. He was ready basically ready to put himself in danger anytime and almost forgot about the promise. But anyway the reason I'm here is because a few people and I were discussing this issue with a guy who keeps saying:

"1) He was just happened to be there in the final battle. He was there for Zeke and he made it clear in 126 that his intention is killing the beast titan to Magath and Pieck. No Zeke. No care"

"2) On the plane all he was thinking about was killing the monkey and it's not because it was Hanji's theory. He just wanted to kill tbe beast"

"3) Before getting onto the plane he didn't participate in battle but once he knew they were getting close to Eren's whereabouts, where Zeke probably was, he took part and don't tell me it was because he was recovering in those days while Hange and the other were fighting the Jaegerists. If we were to consider that then he needed rest till the very end of the series. He didn't need to take part in the battle"

"4) While flying on Falco he kept saying "Where is he? Where is the beast? And kept remembering Erwin's orders. Doesn't that sound like a simp to you?"

I'm sorry this turned out long but these horrible things are only parts of what he said. We tried arguing with him but well sometimes it's really hard to make someone understand lol What do you think about each of these 4 takes? I would love to read your thoughts and analysis. You sound like a very logical person.

Hello!!! 

Welcome to Tumblr!!!

Thank you for the kind words! I love Levi a lot!

And though I'm nowhere near as in depth or accurate as other snk metas writers who long live here, I try my best to at least one or two points here and there as best as I can!

Before we begin exploring your points, excuse me for a sec while I share a bit of a concern I have…

You know, I feel like these last volumes of snk had a strange pacing, which compromised the depiction of facts and how the characters were living the events. Because while many things are getting clear now, almost one year later, the fact that there were an incredibly lot of faithful and sincere readers feeling way off or confused about the end of snk isn't normal, imo. Veteran people here on Tumblr - who used to write very in depth analysis of snk! - were so disappointed they dropped out of the fandom, or wrote frustrating rants. I can’t help but feel like there is a communication gap begging to be fixed and crossed between Isym, the manga, and the readers (at least the non-Japanese ones?).

And besides the seemingly need for a less rushed pacing, be it for the lack of more accurate manga translations, or side material officially published (such the smartpasses and other guidebooks), or snk interviews published in a official place to be referenced easily, or WIT's badass-biased portrait of characters - there seems to be a little gap between what Yams had been trying to say and what was written and shown in the manga, imo. Not to mention all the wild push-and-pull between ships, yeagerist x alliance, "the ML is always right" x "the ML is a complete maniac incel", and whatevers...

So I think this is why the anime now seems to be adapting the chapters slower, more detailed, orderly in timeline, and kinda heavy, brutal, and more humanistic. Though at first I didn't want to see a snk movie for the end, I'm somewhat starting to like the idea - if this is for the anime to fill up and smooth out the convoluted transitions between what Isym managed to present in the manga and what he wanted to do but couldn't on the paper for whatever reason. I think it will be good for the general audience who will still stick to the conclusion!

Now, let's go to the points you brought up!!

"1) He was just happened to be there in the final battle. He was there for Zeke and he made it clear in 126 that his intention is killing the beast titan to Magath and Pieck. No Zeke. No care"

Sometimes I feel like the fandom kinda forgets that EMA are the MCs of snk. I've forgotten sometimes that as well ngl  

Levi certainly grew to become the most beloved and why not to say most important character of snk alongside Eren. But still, the main plot was not his history to resolve the final problems himself. The "hierarchy" is Eren-Mikasa-Armin, and then Levi. Or even, Levi's story was paralleled with Eren's. 

Regardless of this, most of the time I feel like people who claim Levi was just by chance/alive in the final battle are mostly arguing based on "death plot armor" and "Levi was nerfed so Mikasa could shine" ideas. And tbh, it kinda bothers me when I read people saying "Isym nerfed Levi because he was too OP and would have killed Zeke and Eren in a blink" and other typical shounen sayings because I don't think it was the case at all. 

While it's kinda controversial that Levi could fight on such horrible conditions considering that in the Female Arc he was put out of commission due to his injured feet, they were facing the end of the world now, and with barely anyone left to join the fight. But since my own view is but my own on the matter, I like to reference people to this interview here, in which pretty much Isym explains Levi wouldn't always be placed on the front lines by being too powerful. But rather than simply "nerf" him, this actually adds depth to Levi's character (as well to all other characters who had to put themselves together and face the danger). Levi's worried face and clenched fist in chapter 33 tells us how hard it was for him to stand by and only watch people having to fight while he can't...

...But this nuance is mostly lost because anime people usually pick the manga to read from where the anime season ended, and Thank you WIT for bringing Levi out of nowhere and making him save everyone's asses in the anime for the sake of fanservice - it helped to unnecessarily OP his character a lot!! (*sighs*)

(As a side note about Levi's injuries after 115, the drawings of Levi's chest and abs on 126, there weren't broken ribs or any other visibly serious injury, nor major problems aside from his face. I believe Hanji would have wrapped his abs with something to show it, or Yams would have made it bleed or purple or whatever. Levi definitely should have purple bruises since he fell hard on the ground, tho, but please MAPPA do NOT cover Levi's sexy back LOL)

And talking about chapter 126 - imo, it falls in the list of chapters that definitely should have been split into two different chapters. It feels kinda rushed, too much info packed into 45 pages, borderline cringe in some parts. Maybe it's why the aot leaks say the anime will have a whole episode dedicated just for it - they might flesh out the content to make the plot flow more smoothly.

But regarding Levi and Hanji’s talk with Magath and Pieck, something everyone should consider is that MagaPi didn't know LeviHan at all - just that they were highly capable soldiers and leaders of the Survey Corps. They were "sworn enemies", the ones who put into shame ALL their precious Titan Shifters. And as far as MagaPi knew, LeviHan were supposed to be cunning and merciless, vengeful "Island Devils" that had invaded Liberio and wreaked havoc, and killed military and civilians just a month ago; they had been secretly working with Zeke all the time.

So why would MagaPi believe our devoted hearts would want to save their deadly, hate-filled persecutors? And also after all the tragedies Marley itself had imposed on them? 

As humans and soldiers that had all the reasons to distrust one another, LeviHan presumably understood that MagaPi needed some solid goal or purpose besides the "we want to save the same people that want to kill us all!!!". If even readers mocked this idea, and Isym also kinda ironizes this in the "Avengers Pose" at the end of 126 as well as using Yelena to make critics over the superficiality/naivety of the thought of saving the world in 127, what makes anyone think this would simply work with LeviHan and MagaPi right of the bat? 

That's why they use Zeke as a credible link to instigate the start of a conversation.

I presume MagaPi were well aware of Levi and Zeke’s animosity. They might have deduced that Levi’s hurt predicament was due to a fight with Zeke too. I would like to point out, tho, that while Levi proposes the idea, Isym does a close up on Hanji, Magath, and Pieck's faces. Hanji's eye is hidden (meaning it's not simply this killing intention they had in mind), and Magath isn't buying it just yet too, and above all Pieck once again dislikes the idea of killing Zeke, just like in 119.

Their main interest definitely isn't aligned as of yet. But it was the best first step they could try out.

Thus, "No Zeke, no care" is but a heavily blindly obsessive-revenge interpretation of Levi's character. Thank you Kodansha for officially translating Hanji's words of vexing feelings as a need for revenge too 🙃 Levi's character was benefited by it (*sighs*).

As for Levi’s general feelings and thoughts in the final battle, I think chapter 136 couldn't be more explicit than that!

Levi is literally dropping his burden goal of killing Zeke because he is too injured to fight him (and it would bring more dangers to his kids if he died meaninglessly), 

and Levi is shoving up and scrubbing into our faces that the world he himself and the others hoped for when they decided to fight in the SC wasn't to destroy others (but thanks again, KodanshaTM, for changing WE DREAMT to YOU DREAMT 🙃👌), 

and when gripping his sword, Levi is showing he is renewing his will to not give up his dream and die succumb to the pressure of the horrors of the moment, and that he is gonna fight until his dying breath now - whether Zeke appears or not - while entrusting the future to the youth who held the same look of hopeful freedom he saw at the Heart of the SC. 

But, ofc, there comes Erwin's name after this all, and Levi expressing no regrets about having let him die, and near the eyes' sentence; and as the first KodanshaTM "you" wasn't translated as plural you, Levi's heartbreaking and multilayered monologue is read as him being a one-dimensional-soon-to-be-dead-vengeful-impaired-simp nerfed by Isym and that just wanted to fulfill a promise "to kill monkeyTM". 

At this point, I can only hope the animation can somehow save Levi's character now. Or maybe, Isym himself may give an interview which clarifies this all with his own words so people can settle this matter once and for all. I wonder what Japanese readers think of this whole crazy ordeal...

Lastly, Super-peace-fangirl has shown perfectly panel by panel how much Levi cared about snk final events especially on chapter 138, after Zeke's death. If Levi isn't clearly showing AGAIN that he is saving and caring and battling for humanity, I don't know what his character is doing anymore!!

"2) On the plane all he was thinking about was killing the monkey and it's not because it was Hanji's theory. He just wanted to kill the beast"

Being a bit bitter, I'm not even shocked over Hanji erasure here. 

Hanji’s treatment in this ending was… rushed and kinda unfair. And it doesn't help that Yams drew Hanji mentioning the Zeke hypothesis back in chapter 126, in a minuscule panel during a supposedly important conversation that made enemies worked together but that only lasted for 02 pages (*sighs*). 

Still, at least two key points are being forgotten when people argue that Levi is but "obsessively hunting down his prey" in chapter 133 and so on:   

The Characters don't have ORVP 

We, readers, have the omniscient reader viewpoint. The characters don't. So we readers might know whatever is going on inside the Founder and the extension of Zeke’s relationship with its power, but Levi and the others didn't know.

And when we read the scenes projecting our awareness upon the text and the characters actions, then we slip down on the problem of "Oh, this is so obvious!". Which ends up with us proceeding to read events and statements as a "broken record", which I feel that happens with Levi regarding Zeke (and the vow too). 

Hanji is the Biggest Titan Specialist of snk World 

Levi is one of the most sincere narrators of snk, even if sometimes he needs a translator.  

If he himself said "I'm not certain, but that was what Hanji predicted", then Levi (Professional Titan Killer, and not ORVP/reader/Yams) might not be 100% sure that killing Zeke will stop the Rumbling, but since Hanji (the Biggest Titan Specialist of their world, as even hinted by Pieck on 126) predicted as much, Levi was betting on it. To him, following Hanji's experience and knowledge of 10 years regarding Titan studies, killing Zeke has a great chance to stop it all. And if it spares Eren's life, then it's something even better. So Levi is not using lame excuses, or blind vengeful reasons, to go after Zeke. This, or Yams is fucking kidding with Hanji’s character. I can’t believe he would go so low as use this crap with Levi of all characters.

And I also want to highlight that no one else there but Armin and Levi could have thought of that idea. But it's quite logical Armin wouldn't be used in this because his dilemma over killing Eren had to last longer. At the same time, imo, this is Isym also showing that Levi was reluctant on killing Eren as much as everyone else. We can see it from 112, then his behavior in 133 in Paths, and then until chapter 137/138. Things are not simply one-dimensional-in their interpretation in AOT.

Another note, I want to highlight how broken Levi looks when mentioning that it was Hanji's idea, and then how he asks for everyone's cooperation and help later. If revenge is the 1st and only thing that comes into one's mind when seeing these panels - and not Levi heavily struggling to keep focused physically, mentally, and emotionally in the battle ahead because he is deeply injured, and has just become the last veteran, the last one carrying all the weight of thousands of devoted hearts on his back alone, and millions of people are dying because Eren and Zeke meet, and Levi just wants all that slaughter and pain and suffering to end - then...

I.don't.know. 

Levi's character is already a "I will kill monkey" meme by now. Curse it all lol

"3) Before getting onto the plane he didn't participate in battle but once he knew they were getting close to Eren's whereabouts, where Zeke probably was, he took part and don't tell me it was because he was recovering in those days while Hange and the other were fighting the Jaegerists. If we were to consider that then he needed rest till the very end of the series. He didn't need to take part in the battle"

They themselves answer their arguments while overlooking the obvious facts lol Way to purposely find reasons to shit on Levi's character. They must hate Levi for nothing lol

Well, in chapter 128-129, it has been 2 days since Levi nearly died in a thunderspear explosion. While us readers had to wait 10 - 12 months to read the chapters, to the characters it was 2 days! Levi is totally wrecked at that time, which is made even clearer at the beginning of chapter 132. And while Levi's bad hair moment is cute in chapter 127, it is also a little reminder that for a man who usually slept only 3-4 hours per day to be asking people to shut up after he had been sleeping for almost two entire days… well, Levi is definitely wrecked.

And, again, just like on chapter 33 moment, Levi is worriedly watching Hanji, his kids, Titan Shifters, and his former SC subordinates (because as SC Captain, Levi was still on top of the Survey Corps) all fight to death while he is powerless to do a thing - powerless to protect everyone. I dare anyone to look at Levi's body language here, and say he didn't want to be capable of fighting! 

And as if not enough, Yelena also goes and rubs salt on his psychological wounds saying Humanity can't be separated from violence. Levi is being crushed from all sides just in 2 days of having to kill his 30 titanized soldiers + nearly have died + now this, and with millions of people dying meaninglessly under Colossal Titan feet because of Eren!! 

Oh, Levi definitely needed to rest until the end of the story - to be wrapped on warm blankets, cradled to sleep, with someone softly combing his hair, and calmly whispering to him that the fight was over, and that everyone was okay and safe, and that they're finally free so he could sleep how much he wanted!! But Isym said, "No, sweetie! The Titanpocalypse is here, and you better pull yourself together, and get your nearly-kissed-by-Death body into that goddamn hell after rising from the dead in three days, and save everyone's asses - making parallels with the One with whom you share your birthday date!"

He can't even mourn Hanji's death in peace either

"4) While flying on Falco he kept saying "Where is he? Where is the beast? And kept remembering Erwin's orders. Doesn't that sound like a simp to you?" 

That's what we get when the only remaining adult who is not actively engaged on the physical battle to rescue Armin is trying to do something useful despite being nearly incapacitated on a Flying Titan's back (*sighs*).

I don't blame anyone for thinking whatever they think Levi looks like in this part though. This is the moment Levi has to reflect about his and the SC's role, and this also has to do with his matter regarding Zeke and Erwin and the vow indeed.

Levi believed in Hanji's theory that the Rumbling - which was about to crush the rest of humanity right under Levi's sight - was going to stop once Zeke was killed, but I definitely can see from where it comes the "Levi is obsessed with killing Zeke for Erwin's order from 4 years ago". The drawing and Levi's words are all in front of our eyes. Moreover, it's to Erwin (person) that Levi makes the vow to, and in a position where he is clearly set as a Knight making an oath to his King. And at the same time it's interesting that Levi remembers Erwin tired, the lights of his eyes dead, and when he looks up at him, Erwin isn't free as Levi remembered when he saved Armin during serum bowl. If anything, it's the first time Levi feels like he has failed his duty, disappointed his Commander, and imagines a dead person expecting something from him.

But the more I reread Levi's chapters (80, 81, 112, and 136), the more I feel like Levi's take towards the vow is multilayered. Killing Zeke has been one of the focus of Levi's narrative since chapter 75, where Erwin says he just trusts Levi to kill the Beast, and this got to another level along the years/story/chapters, especially after chapters 80-81, 112, 113. And, boy, Levi's devotion to fulfill a promise to the dead was his ultimate shackle - the biggest curse of his life, in a way.

But just like everything else Yams does when dealing with human nature, I don't think the vow can be solely understood as a plain "I'll kill the Beast Titan". It’s part of it, but not it all? Or maybe it's just me struggling to comprehend how Levi succumbed to the danger of being drunk on something that Kenny had warned him in his dying bed. Levi hellbent on fulfilling Erwin's last order as his duty (as he addresses the topic on 136) makes absolutely more sense to me than just revenge.

Still, at the very end, as strong as Levi's unwavering will to give meaning to all SC deaths, he helped humanity have a chance of survive at all because it was the right thing to do. I particularly feel like it is a reduction of Levi whenever he is frequently marked as a man who fulfilled a promise to his Commander rather than also praising ALL aspects that encompasses it. Levi's devotion to his duty, his sense of responsibility, his inhuman willpower to keep fighting even after nearly losing everything is incomparable. And this belongs to Levi's character in such a broader way. That's why he is Humanity’s Strongest after all!!

Another point people forget is that killing Zeke doesn't give meaning to the SC devoted hearts. It might have helped stop the Rumbling, but that's not enough - never was, and never would be worth their sacrifices. Levi also makes it very clearly in 139. The Titans are gone, the nightmare is over, humanity is free and not all doomed to die eaten alive or stomped powerless = "I guess this is the result of all of your devoted hearts". At most, killing Zeke is Levi finally breaking free from a curse that lasted way too long, and Levi held no personal triumphant satisfaction with it - just the damned realization this shit was finally over, forever.

Another poignant matter is that it was thanks to Erwin and the recruits' sacrifices that Paradis could learn about the truth of the World - the most crucial matter at stake at that moment. And the RtS victory allowed for the Island to be freed of the horror of the Titans. Yet, Levi rejects this huge fact as enough to be worth the devoted hearts. I can’t imagine how getting Zeke’s head alone would ever be comparable, or superior, to all that the SC had accomplished until they got the brats to the sea. Unless, ofc, Levi's narrative is really supposed to be the "Revenge-Avenge" Tragic Hero...

Then, if considering this idea is a part of him, it's interesting to remember too that Levi knows Zeke killed Mike, Nanaba, and the Ragako Village; and that Levi chose to send around a hundred people to their death in the Beast's hand so that Humanity inside the Walls could survive; and that the massacre on Marley was orchestrated by Zeke mostly (bc Eren doesn't have the brains for it), and that Zeke titanized Levi's soldiers in the forest... Then it makes sense Levi also had assumed to be his role to guarantee Zeke wouldn't get out of this all in impunity for all the deaths he had committed. But there is still a difference between revenge, punishment, and retributive justice.

Levi knows, though, what Grisha did to Zeke, and he had a brief idea what Zeke lived in Marley, and must have imagined how Zeke was used as Beast Titan for years in Marley wars, and what Zeke ultimately wanted to do when Yelena asked Hanji and everyone to admit Zeke’s plan was better. I really wanted to see what happened in chapter 132, when Levi reflects about Yelena's words, and hearing Hanji blaming herself/taking responsibility for Eren's downfall, and saying she was powerless. But thank you, Yams, for leave me hanging on this too 🙃

Anyway, in chapter 136, Levi has a lot to cover of his and SC's narratives in the brief 03-04 pages he is given. And imo, it goes as the one chapter I wanted Yams himself talking about just for the sake of full understanding. But we're probably never getting it, so at this point, everyone will take Levi's words and actions however they want - from reduced to a simp who just fought to kill monkey to get revenge from the man Levi himself chose to let die (and *cough* had no regrets about it *cough*) up to Humanity’s Strongest soul and last bearer of the Wings of Freedom, with a unmatched devoted heart.

However, blessed be the new OP!! I think the nihilism and despair and desperation and tears are setting even more clear the state of the last events of snk. Scratch the stupid ass shipper interpretation of that moment, and focus on Levi's journey with SC's devoted hearts in a world bathed on blood, death, and meaninglessness. Hopefully, it and the animation will help dissipate the mist over Levi's character too.

Yes, it's raining tears

[deunan403]

Just a heads up

SO, I've been considering this for a while, but I may move my main activity somewhere else like Instagram or Twitter (ugh). It's just been so incredibly difficult to try and catch a wave here when you're not already popular, and part of that is my fault. I'm really bad at producing for fandoms that are trending and instead bask in older burns that have been around a while but people don't hunt for much anymore. Also, people on this site are notoriously bad at liking posts rather than spreading them, lol.

ANYWAY, it seems like most artists have migrated to one of the two I mentioned above, for good reason. I would really like to be a more active creator for the things I love, and have been juggling the idea of commissions and selling merch and such to get my motivation up for years now, but I don't really feel seen here? And tho a big reason for that is admittedly my long hiatuses, I think maybe it's also partly because I'm proship and some people may be afraid to be seen supporting me lmao, idk. This whole puritan fan movement is pretty toxic and ruining creativity imo, but whatever. Still a firm believer of people not getting harassed for the things they like or being ashamed enough to hide said things (which is why I vehemently refuse to make a second blog for those kinds of interests and instead tag things as best I can so followers can blacklist). Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth to see all this baseless hostility over trivial shit. Sorry, I'm ranting about something completely different now.

But yeah, not saying this officially or anything. More of a heads up in case that were to happen since I'm just feeling it out rn. I do very much appreciate everyone who has ever supported me here and most everyone here has been incredibly kind. If you have ever reblogged my work (as well as any other struggling artist's), you are an MVP and doing god's work. And even if I moved, I would still absolutely post shit here, it would just be secondary to wherever I decide to move. It's unfortunate because I feel like tumblr's tagging system is by and large the most flexible/filterable archive for creator content and nothing else really compares. Just wish management hadn't made so many terrible decisions because the site as a whole really is a gift despite its buggy-ness.

If you've read this far, that warms my kokoro knowing you care enough lmao. Please don't hesitate to hmu just to chat. Or if you're interested in hearing more about commissions/merch that I really really wanna start doing for fandoms like SNK, OSMT, HS, and more such as Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss and Persona 5. I got a lot of interests that I just never get around to contributing to lolrip, and would like to start working on my HS fic again. Anywho, no matter what happens, you guys are great and I hope the world starts sucking a little less for you because recent years have been... hahahahaha. They were sure a thing, I guess.

[o-king-of-suns]

Hi ^^ I've recently found ur blog and read ur meta. Ur analysis is great! I'm kinda new here but I've seen so many ppl talk about Levi's guidebook page, referring to it as "the confirmation of what Levi was solely fighting for in the final battle i.e revenge by fulfilling the promise" I'm sorry if this has been pointed out before but as a Levi fan who believes otherwise, I'd love to read ur interpretation. Also u also believe the GB is implying this? I think ppl are having the wrong impression.

Hi! :) Thank you so much! I am glad you liked my meta! English is not my first language, so I try my best to express what I want to say.

Almost everyone agrees that the final guidebook is just an ABSOLUTE hot garbage! xD At this point that no one is taking seriously anymore! xD It straight up contradicts what happens in the manga, has VERY reductive and nonsensical descriptions of the characters and is FULL of errors.

The main reason to why many people have issues with Levi’s part (apart from it having nothing new or because it mainly focused on the promise) is one word that was used in the text that has been translated by some biased people into “obsessed”.

I asked 3 Japanese people (including my teacher) about the word that was used in the text and the meanings that I was given were: (be) dedicated to; have an uncompromising commitment to ; to really focus on; to be determined to; etc. From what I understood, this term is always a headache as it truly depends on what the writer wants to convey and what it “feels” right in the context. "Obsessed” is like, the most reductive reading of that word, and it's the exact word that Er_ris chose to use xD

Japanese is often qualified as vague, and it CAN leave room for interpretation. For example, the word (きれい) Isayama used to say Levi was the opposite of Rorschach could mean "pretty" or "clean" based on the context, but here's the thing: Rorschach is notoriously ugly, so it makes sense that Isayama meant that Levi is "pretty" (and it IS officially translated to "pretty" ), but I have seen MANY Japanese people say that Isayama meant "clean" not “pretty”! This word meaning in the text literally and solely depended on Isayama's intention even causing translators to get confused and translate it to “pretty”! If we look at the context of Levi’s character description in the last gb, the last line mentions that after his final mission, Levi “meets his friends with a calm heart”. Why would Levi be able to meet his friends with a “calm heart” if his entire arc was about him being “obsessed” with a personal goal and revenge?! Is this why he salutes them and they salute him back in the final chapter?! I am 100% sure that the word “obsessed” was not the one that the person who wrote the description wanted to use.

Now let’s stop talking about language translation and focus on Levi in the manga xD Is the gb version Levi the same Levi whom Isayama described as "as an existence more superior to myself" during Levi’s statue reveal just last March?!

You know, when I asked my native Japanese teacher to help me translate Isayama's statement about Levi, she sent me a 4 minute voice note breaking down the terms Isayma used and explaining how much respect the person speaking (Isayama) has for the person he's talking about (Levi). I was embarrassed to tell her that the person he’s speaking about is actually a fictional character lol

Isyama used 頭 の上がらない which literally means “can’t raise someone’s head” but it actually means “can’t raise someone’s head in front someone else for how much respect they have for this person”

Now let’s look at Levi’s actions in the manga to see if we can reach to the same conclusion.

Levi is one of, if not the most, perceptive characters in SNK. In one the official short stories, he was described as a person who is able to “know the true nature of Man”. For Levi, Zeke is a man who cheered with satisfaction as he threw rocks through fifteen year olds. He’s the person who nonchalantly explained to Levi the process of gassing an entire village of unsuspecting civilians and flinging them into an eternal nightmare in order to weaponize their bodies. Zeke’s manipulations are the origin of almost all of Paradis’ problems, whether it’s encouraging Marley to ramp up aggressions or pulling shady shit with Kiyomi, Yelena and the Jaegerists that destabilizes their already vulnerable island. And what’s worse - because we’re reading a story where torn-up characters are often excused by circumstances of coercion or perceived necessity - he doesn’t care. He feels no remorse. He wants to do this. Levi doesn’t know Zeke’s ultimate reasoning of course, but he recognized through the smoke of the campfire a man who doesn’t give a fuck about the wishes and agency of others. Who will force his own will on a race of humans and call it mercy. AND YET, Levi stays with him for  A WHOLE MONTH in the forest bringing him books, drinks and a pillow to sit on. He keeps asking him about what happened in Connie’s village trying over and over to understand him. And then the guy transforms Levi’s own teammates in front of him, forces him to kill them and taunts him with their suffering. Levi perceives a person who’s arrogant enough to consider his cruelty compassion as he decides whether the lives of their children are worth living.YET, Levi decided to keep him alive because he believed that it is what’s the best for Paradis; a decision that eventually caused Levi’s severe injuries and the activation of the Rumbling!

During the final battle, Levi offered to act as a bait for Mikasa so she can try to bring back Armin and risks his life TWICE to save Jean and Connie risking his chances to ever fulfill his promise to Erwin.

Please tell me now that these are actions of an “obsessed” man who is only focused on killing Zeke and revenge.

The first time Levi mentions the vow after the time skip, he says: “Erwin, I think I will be finally able to fulfill the vow I made to you that day. Your deathS had meaning. At last I will be able to prove it”  Levi clearly associates giving meaning to his comrades’ deaths WITH fulfilling his vow to Erwin. This is the line that proves that the vow has always meant something more.

Levi made a promise that came to represent the fulfillment of the goal all his former Survey Corps comrades laid down their lives for. Slaying the Beast Titan took on symbolic stature, a tangible way of giving their sacrifices meaning - especially in a world where the circumstances had drastically shifted and enemies, allies, and other were suddenly seen from a completely different perspective.

In Ch. 136, Levi remembers his friends and reflects upon their sacrifices and what they meant. They did not sacrifice their lives to “trample the lives and hearts of others”.

We never got a SINGLE panel in which he says that he fulfilled his promise! In the last apparition of his fallen comrades, Erwin isn’t even in the center. He salutes his fallen comrades for devoting their hearts for humanity and they salute him back for honoring their sacrifices.

If there is one thing that Levi was “obsessed” about, it is him trying to give meaning to the deaths and sacrifices of the people who truly devoted their hearts to humanity and whom he truly loved

[lucysarah-c]

From where did you get the idea for Holy Ground?

Hello dear! how are you? I hope you're doing great <3 Oh my, where do I even start? haha, I'm so bad at summaries so deal with me. I guess I could say the idea came from me wanting to write anything that I've never read before in AoT fandom. I used to read a lot about stories that took place during specific arcs of attack on titan and I always felt like I knew what was going to happen because I know the main events that happen in the arcs. Also, I think that Levi's transition from a famous thug from the underground and becoming a captain must have been really difficult for him and that's not something that happens from one day to another. The Levi from the spin-off is so impulsive, strong-headed, kinda bratty. That's a young Levi in his early twenties, way less experienced and way bolder than the Levi in his early thirties from the anime. So that gave me the period of time I wanted the story to take place, right after Levi joined the scouts, Isabel and Farlan are gone sadly and he doesn't have any responsibility yet. We know nothing from that time so I could do whatever I wanted haha It was important for me that Isabel and Farlan were gone because I wanted a heartbroken and lonely Levi. Even he can feel lost and the reader was kinda going to be the person who guided him to this new world. Then I had this sentence in my mind "Join me down this memory rail" so I decided it was a story I wanted someone to tell other people (the reader in this case. In the beginning, it was going to be Levi, Hange and the reader on a fireplace while they were hiding from the inner police but I decided that Levi would NEVER sit down to tell about his personal life). The story is heavily inspired by the song "holy ground" by Taylor Swift. The song has this "We blocked the noise with the sound of I need you and for the first time I had something to lose". That's how I wanted them to fall for each other, both of them in their loneliness will rely on each other to keep going and in that way, they will find "their holy ground" in each other. Then, once again, I wanted to write about topics that I think a lot about snk's world but I rarely find them. Which are how discriminatory and misogyny their society probably is, more like the political side of the military and stuff like that. So that was when Erwin came into the picture. Erwin is the kind of guy your parents want you to bring home and Levi is the kind of guy your parents tell you to be away from lol. This is kinda cliché but I love it. The reader is a girl with a "fine pedigree" and she's kinda like the "Krista" from her time, Erwin is the man everybody wants and Levi is a thug without a past, without a surname who is poor as shit. So the love affair is how the reader realized that Levi could give her something that Erwin could never and how she decided to date him.

Plus, I love those kinds of stories that told you the ending from the beginning so when you finish reading them, you go back to the start and are like "fuck! it was right in front of me!". So *wink* be aware that there are a lot of hidden messages here and there.

I hope all this make sense somehow! Thank you very much for this question! I adore this kind of stuff, I could ramble about this for hours!

[rouge-heichou]

Chapter 139 - End~

I really want to like how things ended, but I can't bring myself to. Like I'm trying to look at it from different angles but it's so hard to find anything really satisfying about it. I'll try to make sense of the mess in my head for one last time.

First off, why the fuck did Eren get Carla killed? To give himself some character development or something? Like Yams what the point of throwing THAT in there? lol.

Then, and EM shippers might smite me for this but, what the fuck is this sudden forced EM? Maybe Isayama just wants us to believe Eren is really good at being rational and not making a difference between his romantic and platonic love because I haven't seen Eren treat Mikasa any different from like Armin for example. Like don't get me wrong, I think the whole "Mikasa, I've always hated you" was obviously not true and served to push her and Armin away and I think it was more than obvious he cared for her. But not once did Eren strike me to habour any romantic feelings for Mikasa.

So please, where the hell did that come from? Am I really supposed to believe that now? Not to talk about the dick move of not wanting Mikasa to move on. Although, part of me also feels like he's almost allowed to be this childish and selfish in way, IF the whole thing was not just shoved into the last two chpaters of the manga.

I desperately want Mappa to sprinkle in maybe a blush or something for Ch. 123's adaptation... Or change the convo between Eren and Zeke about Mikasa to Eren giving hints to this. - And before any EM shippers come to smite me, I'm so sorry, I don't ship in AoT in general. Closest thing to me shipping might be AruAni, have mercy with me.

Ymir suddenly having Stockholm Syndrome or something? Why? Wasn't the being a slave good enough of a narrative? Because I thought it was, pretty simple and not much to go wrong with.

Historia marrying the dude that threw rocks at her as a kid aside, because you know imo what you do as a child doesn't necessarily define you as an adult and we have no idea what happened between the two... The pregnancy just feels so... pointless. I get that it was to protect her from getting to eat Zeke but... that's all. That's fucking all, no deeper meaning to this. Her going into labour right before Eren dies? FUCKING COINCIDENCE.

But you know what bothers me the most, aside from the forced EM? The way Eren claims to have gone the route of Genocide because he just "wanted to do that".

Look, I'm perfectly content that there's a possibility of the remaining 20% of humanity retaliating and attacking Paradis in the future. In fact I quite like the idea of the cycle of war and hate not ending. - That's the bitter sweet thing I wanted. But it's almost like Eren threw all conviction out the window for nothing with the way he acts. I just wanted his Point of View properly explained. But nope. He just, wanted to do that.

I'm also really not sure how I feel about Armin thanking him for the Genocide lol. I think I get the meaning behind it and maybe the fan translation just translated this really awkward but it's feels so out of place.

But I guess I'm gonna try to see the silverlining.

Levi is alive. In a wheelchair, but alive. Alive and got to learn that all the sacrifices he had to make were not in vain. I love that for him, I really do.

Also, Jean being alive, I was already mourning for him after the transformation. I'm so so glad the stallion gets to live a long life.

Ultimately, I was a little more scared when I saw some translations, and it's not THAT bad, okay it's bad but I thought it'd be worse. I just wish the whole Mikasa Simp Tantrum was cut and replaced by a proper explanation of his feelings regarding everyone and his drive for Freedom.

But at the end of the day, the boy who sought freedom was the biggest slave of them all, tied to his own destiny he wasn't able to change, and seemingly not able to come to terms with.

And I'm glad I've been here for the ride, even if I'm not happy with how it ended. I love all the people I got to meet in the past 8 years I had with this series and that are still sticking around. They're such good people. SnK helped me through harsh times, and I've always read and watched scenes I liked most for my own comfort when I felt like shit. And even this ending won't take that from me. This'll still be my favourite piece of fiction.

I'll just pretend everything after Ch. 120/121 didn't happen.

[kyojuuros]

am i the only one that feels like so many fans, even newer ones (0-3 yrs) are overreacting over 137/progression of snk as a whole? i've been reading since 2012 & i was most immersed in the fandom in 2013-2015 when anime-only theories were so out-of-wack it was funny. despite the theories themselves changing, the negativity around 137/post-timeskip/etc strikes me as the same problem: they invent theories, get too invested in them, & whine when new canon info doesn't match. these feelings caused the exodus of fans post-s1, again in post-rts, & again post-rumbling reveal or whatever. point is, canon owes nothing to their theories. if i make a headcanon, i don't feel entitled to see it validated by isayama himself. not saying that getting invested in a theory is bad either; a theory/headcanon can be good, engaging storytelling WHILE BEING non-canonical; that's what we call CANON DIVERGENCE. i just wish people would stop saying "canon has gone to shit" because what they thought would happen didn't & vice versa. let the man tell the story he wants to tell.

For sure, anon. I loved theorizing for the longest time because there was so much mystery to the series and it was engaging to put a microscope to literally everything and try to figure out what it all means and where it’s all going. I’m certainly no stranger to being hopeful my theories will be correct (especially as an anti-rumbling eren stan lmao). 

Honestly, once the rumbling initiated and it was clear my theories were beyond awful and wrong, I kinda just stopped with it altogether and found my enjoyment of the series had improved since I could no longer be disappointed over and over again. lol

But I definitely took notice of all the complaints toward ch. 137 and much of it definitely was rooted in people expecting something different from the series than what we are getting. At the end of the day, this is Isayama’s story and how he chooses to end something so huge will pretty much define his legacy as a mangaka. I’m sure he’s put a lot of thought into where he wanted things to go and how he wanted to wrap things up. He’s said a few times that he wanted to “betray the readers” and I think a lot of people have interpreted that to mean he wants a very dark ending where everything goes wrong for the cast (and it still might, though I doubt it). But really, it could mean anything. I don’t really know what he believes his readers’ expectations are lol

I suppose this is the cache 22 of getting into something that is ongoing. You have no idea if it will end in a way that will make you satisfied or not. I got super into Game of Thrones after season 6 aired, and I was massively upset by the final season of it, so I understand people’s anxiety when it comes to how snk will be wrapped up. But unlike D&D, Isayama is actually a good writer and everything in this story has made sense and tied together almost perfectly, imo. Even if I have been wrong sometimes. 

He’s just put so much of his heart into this and it’s just a bummer to see so many people being negative about it. Though, this is kinda why I started to just stay in my little corner lol

[cafedanslanuit]

Hey, it's the previous anon here, you asked how I got my job and honestly? It was a simple case of right place, right time. I happened to hear third hand (through someone that I hadn't spoken to in years and just happened to run into at the supermarket, of all places) that there was a small game company that was looking for writers. Originally, my position was only going to be freelance, but as the company got bigger, they brought me on fulltime, and things kind of just went from there.

Funnily enough, at the time that I was interviewed, I had actually just dropped out of my psychology degree for mental health reasons. If I were still in that field, I'd really love to do a study on why there's such a massive overlap between fandom writers and psychology...

My best suggestion is to put out whatever feelers you can. Keep an ear out, follow your favourite writers on social media, and if you are interested in doing writing professionally, put together a portfolio of some writing and send it to whatever place you think might be interesting to work for - frankly, game studios are a really good bet for this, especially smaller ones. Even if they aren't actively looking, it might get passed along to someone, who may store it away for later reference. You never know where it might lead.

For the writing portfolio, either compile some work as a pdf, or create a wordpress blog and post some things that way. It can be any kind of work, any kind of length - speaking frankly, I did technically sneak a fanfic drabble in mine, I just changed the names since it was already somewhat ambiguous to begin with. I also included two non-fiction pieces I'd written for a university magazine, a poetry piece and a prose piece I'd recently done for a creative writing challenge, and several short pieces of work I'd originally written about friends of mine as a Christmas gift.

That said, I've seen some portfolios which have included two longer pieces - there really isn't a right or wrong answer here. Include pieces you feel good about, and don't write something simply for the sake of including it in your portfolio; if you write something with passion, or something you're interested in, it will show off your talents that much more. (Unfortunately the three-way call snk fic isn't really an option, because the writing in that is really good! Sadly, unless you're sending in an application to a game with adult content, they're probably going to be scared off. 😅 There are studios who do cover that kind of content, though, so... It really depends on who you're sending it to!)

I'd also suggest putting in some amount of information about you as a person - what kinds of things you like to do in your spare time, that kind of thing. If I read that someone really enjoys watching ocean documentaries, for example, and there happens to be a future character we're working on who lives near the ocean... Plus, it makes you feel more memorable. It's easier to remember that one writer who can quote the spinach puffs scene from Emperor's New Groove entirely from memory, versus someone who sent an email without any kind of personal information or writing samples.

I hope that helps! Obviously, I can only share my own experiences, but there are so, so many different options out there. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you lots of luck!

please i laughed so much with the idea of submitting three-way call fksdjhfksdj yeah unless they’re an adult gaming company they would be quite shocked lmao

i actually had never considered having a portfolio. i have just revamped my spanish writing blog, i used to only upload short stories (the longest one had 10k, but the other two had 1k and 4k) but now i’ve started writing poetry again, so im uploading them with nice looking graphics and everything <3

also thank you for the idea of sharing persona information, i’ve actually only redacted cvs for jobs in psychology so i tried to keep it very professional but you have a great point for more creative jobs

also i do think there’s a huge overlap, idk friend of mine that are fandom writers but for me writing had a lot to do with psychology. when i first decided i wanted to be a psychologist. i was creating a character that was a compulsive smoker and i asked myself “why is he a compulsive smoker, though?” i was 16 around that time. so i started doing research and i would read and print a lot of information, i would even take it to school and keep reading it during our breaks lol i never finished creating the character but i was fascinated about being able to understand people’s behaviours and i realized it also had a lot to do when it came to writing

i will definitely start working on a small portfolio and be on the lookout if i hear anything like that <3 thank you for taking the time to explain this to me and giving me such great tips! i will definitely work on them <3

[jjastudies]

Hey! I saw that you're into mdzs and I've been thinking abt getting into it but idk where to start :') Also, what anime are you into? I just caught up with the SnK manga and I've been internally screaming for the past few weeks along with watching the anime haha

hello!!! omg okay so i’m assuming u haven’t read a danmei novel before?? it’s chinese literature but they r LONG long and it’s basically romantic gay stories lol (there’s also a lesbian counterpart which i won’t get into rn or we’ll be here forver rip)

but for mdzs!!! there’s so many adaptations (novels, manhua, live action, anime etc) i personally started with the live action drama (called the untamed) on netflix and i was HOOKED (i fell in love with wang yibo— the actor who plays lan wangji) although it is recommended to have a little bit of knowledge of what goes on bc it CAN be confusing with the time skips n characters!! since u read manga i would recommend to start with the manhua although it is incomplete however afterwards u can jump into the live action to finish n not get confused by the beginning!! here’s a carrd with all the links and information! feel free to message me for any more info or like just to scream about what happens!! bc i’m STILL screaming after an entire year😭

also for anime!! i’m into rewatching haikyuu n calling it a day despite my ever growing watch list.... AJDJJ okay but also i’ve watch so many but not any newer ones like i’ve only watched the first season of attack on titan but i do know spoilers bc of the manga however i don’t think i’ll continue it tho :(!! i’m also caught up in the manga for bnha but not the anime,,, i’m halfway through mob psycho n that anime of the genius scientist i cant remember the name rn but he looks like a celery i think?? i honestly cant rmemeber the name of those i’ve watched but it’s been A LOT,,, way too many ..

[foreverautumnblog]

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that you're an amazing writer and I can't help but keep coming back to reread your fics. I've recently gotten back into watching snk and one of the first things I thought about was the lend me your ear fic that I first read YEEEEARS ago when you first published it. I've been reading all your ereri fics that you've published since then (including a safe place to stand, which I am unhealthy addicted to now) and just wanted to remind you of how amazing you are!! I hope that one day you find the inspiration to pick up on a safe place to stand (which is amazingly written as is everything else omg) but for the meantime I'm happy to reread your fics again and again. Keep doing what you're doing! 😁

Oh?!! Wow thank you so much! 💕 you are so sweet omg. I’m sorry if this is a late reply, I’m usually on mobile and asks just kinda get lost hhhhh... I’ve been extremely tempted to get back into snk myself lol (I’ve been saying that since s3 aired anD YET) I’m glad that you’re enjoying my fics, god it’s been so long since I have written for snk... it’s messing with my head a little to realize just how many years it’s been !!!!

I’m sorry to say I really don’t think I will be continuing ‘a safe place to stand’ at this point but also I hate the finality of marking it complete/abandoned... but maybe that would be the fair thing to do (drops dead when I realize it’s been like 7yrs) maybe I’ll get my snk juice back one day if I ever catch up (and maybe the lmye sequel will happen too) (why am I hinting at things that won’t happen) (I’m the worst I’m sorry)

ANYWAY TYSM for your kind words and your support for all of these years!!! People like you are what keep me going when I doubt everything I’ve ever written 😭💕

[cosmicjoke]

I swear, AoT fandom is the most toxic fandom I've ever been a part of. It's truly cursed. Not to be snobby, but I feel like the reason for this is that most of the fandom is kids, while AoT is definitely for a more mature audience. Not so much because of the gore and violence, but because of the topics covered in it. I'm pretty sure most 12 year olds don't have enough critical thinking and reading comprehension to make sense of this series. To be honest, the same goes for many adults, as well.

There's so much to talk about, yet they choose to focus on petty hate, non-existent ships, bullshit takes to prove these ships canon or justify things that can't be justified. Most of these takes are so utterly stupid, I can't believe people seriously discuss them.

I mean, I get that everyone's free to HC whatever they want, but it's not ok to force their HCs down people's throat. There's a difference between fanon and canon, and they don't seem to see it.

I try to not interact with the fandom outside of the bubble I created on Tumblr, but sometimes it happens anyway. All the more I appreciate you and a few other amazing blogs for being so smart, rational and providing us with the fan content SnK deserves.

Yeah, I agree completely. The themes of SnK are sophisticated, and presented in a sophisticated manner. Children wouldn't have the reading comprehension level to get what they're actually looking at, I don't think. Even young adults, as I see a lot of 18/19 year olds who miss the point entirely. And some people are just purposefully obtuse when it comes to this story, belligerently sticking to their ignorant takes just so they can lord their supposed moral and intellectual superiority over others. You know they're not too smart though, since they're so woefully unaware of the way they're advertising their own foolishness.

I'm like you, as I try to avoid interacting with most of the fandom. I don't go on twitter, or facebook, or reddit, or any of the other platforms, but even when you stick to one platform like tumblr, you still encounter idiots.

I'm glad I can provide you and hopefully a few others with worthwhile content, anyway, haha. I try. It's nice to know there are intelligent SnK fans floating around, like you. It's always a pleasure to talk to fans who don't have their heads up their asses, lol.

[isthatbloodonhisshirt]

It's been a few years since i last read SnK fics but as it used to be The Fandom for me (aka the fandom i obsessed the most at the time, similar to what TW is for me now) I went to check if any of your fics were familiar (cause i didn't have an ao3 account then so i got no snk bookmarks): and I actually did recognize few of them! I can remember reading (and liking!) at least Hey Lover and Venti Double What? and now i kinda feel weird to know i've liked your writing way longer than i thought xD

Awwww, Anon! This is so awesome to read! I am actually really happy to hear you read and liked my SnK fics and then ended up accidentally re-finding me in TW lol. SMALL WORLD. But like, also awesome that this kind of stuff can happen :) 

Venti Double What is still a title I laugh about like a nerd every time it hits my inbox, so I’m glad you remembered it! Most people remember either Hey Lover or Good Enough to Eat, so knowing one of the dorky Coffeeshop AU ones stuck with you makes me happy (it’s the title, right? The title sticks with you :P lol) 

Thank you very much for sharing this with me Anon! And for the continued support in a new fandom (however accidental and unintentional LOL) <3<3<3<3<3<3 

[incepstla]

hi kiran!! I hope that you're having a good week! ☀️

I didn't even realize when I finished the whole first season of Demon Slayer! it's been a while since I've binge-watched something, I'm more in a reading mood lately, but I enjoyed it lots! I'm not sure who's my top favourite character yet, maybe Tanjiro, I have a soft spot for kind-hearted characters 🥺 I liked Giyuu a lot too! there wasn't that much of him yet but I'm weak for Sakurai Takahiro's voice and he instantly had my attention once I heard his voice in the first epiosode. and I loved his interactions with Shinobu haha, I hope we get some backstories for the hashira later cause each and every one of them seems interesting!

Free! was my first sports anime and one of the first ones in general too! I agree that it had great relationships between the characters, it was definitely its strongest point. Of course I like Haikyuu, you've probably seen this one around here a lot. It's really strong in great characters too, honestly, the cast is SO HUGE but each and every character is fleshed out so well. It's hard not to root for every rival team there. My main favourite is one about baseball which is wild to me because before starting it I had zero idea about this sport, it's completely non-existent in my country but somehow it became the fandom that I've been invested in the longest. Life can be surprising!

are there any anime next season or later that you're waiting for? take care!! — secret santa 🎅

Hi Santa!!

It’s been okay kinda hectic with work, gift making and taking care of people at home 🤧 how was your week?

I take that as a good sign! 😂 but same happened to me before I knew it I practically caught up. Tanjiro is a good choice!! I feel like you can’t hate him he’s just too good for this world 😭 yes I love Giyuu’s VA and just the lines and life lessons we got from him from the first episode I adored his vibe. His interactions with Shinobu is my fave like I couldn’t imagine anyone else bullying him like that and getting away with it. I agree! I love what they did with Kyojuro’s back story so I can’t wait to see what they do for the others, the Hashira’s are interesting personalities.

I know of Haikyuu! I feel like I know the whole plot thanks to tumblr sksksksk but I haven’t seen it. But I hope to get to watch it when I get the time since I’ve only seen bits and pieces never the whole thing in full. But it looks interesting especially the rivalry aspect 👀 ahh that’s so cool!! I don’t know much about baseball either but I’ve seen it be portrayed as wildly competitive and ruthless lol. The only baseball anime I’ve seen a few episodes of is Ace of the Diamond, which I enjoyed and I kinda wanna get back to when I have the time. But yes there’s like so many things I think I wouldn’t be into but a lot of anime has changed my opinion on the subject matter.

Yeah I’m waiting for snk the second part of the final season, I recently watched vanitas no carte which seemed interesting so I’m curious to see how it goes in the second season. Spy x family looks interesting so I kinda wanna see what that’s about 👀 and I’m really looking forward to chainsaw man I’ve heard so many good things about it. I haven’t read the manga because I prefer to watch the anime first but it looks very promising! And it looks like my sort of thing. Is there anything you are looking forward to watch? 👀

Hope you have an amazing week (if you have anything planned)! Take care too. 💖