#also eren and dany have so many parallels

[dreamingon-forever]

Ackerman Parallels Between Levihan and Eremika

Sometimes I fall into questioning the validity of Levihan being canon after coming across people who invalidate them. Then I remember all the parallels and similarities between Levihan and Eremika and immediately realize that there’s so much that the two have in common that it’s hard to deny that Isayama did them on purpose. Although Levihan is the more subtle version, the parallels are still very evident. Levihan just happens to have been a more mature and quiet version of Eremika because of the years and events that hardened them into soldiers where they had years to grow their friendship to something more, while Eremika from the start fell into their first love. I think Isayama had done it on purpose, just showing how the two Ackermans found the person they were willing to dedicate their hearts to, but eventually found themselves unable to achieve a happy ending with them due to the circumstances of the world they were in. I know that Isayama never clarified any couples, but I think this was his way of indicating that the two Ackermans found the one they loved.

Here are some of the parallels captured from the manga, all credits going to Enelle Art and Dani H. I have linked their analysis on the parallels of the Ackermans with Hange and Mikasa, and I would suggest to take a look and read over them because it’s quite eye opening and definitely validates a lot of the connections we felt between the two couples.

We know how well thought out the events of AOT are, and the fact that Isayama had known to have foreshadowed and made lots of connections between the start of the manga to the end, it simply seems unlikely that he would’ve planned these parallels for no reason at all. Also, the fact that Hange could’ve died so many times before 132 just solidifies that idea for me. Legitimetely everyone that Levi cared about died before the time skip, the fact Isayama chose to purposely keep Hange alive for that long and be the sole survivor to 132 just doesn’t seem without purpose to me. Hange similar to Eren, were meant to stay alive that long to keep the two going before the end of the war.

Like I’m sorry, but even the way they mourn and are shown to bid each other goodbye, even their proposal to live together and run away just seem too perfect.

[attackoncoffee1988]

Unpopular Opinion: I (& friends) don't believe Hanji is dead and that she might become the next Beast Titan (Part 3)

Now let's get into chp. 132. For starters, there were a lot of wings symbolism surrounding Hanji this chapter...

So, taking wings symbolism, Hanji's name (Zoe A.K.A. Life), and her fiery "death" into consideration, Dani and our friend theorize that she symbolized the Phoenix in this chapter. Here's Dani's thread on Hanji's Phoenix symbolism:

https://twitter.com/Dani_Chan24/status/1304002283399766022?s=19

Also taking into consideration the fact that Isayama is a Marvel fan, we looked into Phoenix from X-men just in case and I kid you not, the beginning of the "Dark Phoenix Saga" storyline matches Chapter 132 to a T!!! Here's a thread about those parallels:

https://twitter.com/ACoffee1988/status/1313681702569508864?s=19

Continuing on, we found it interesting that Yelena got Hanji to... not necessarily admit but rather have understanding, regarding Zeke's plan. This could potentially be important later on...

Seriously...why was Hanji, of all people made to show some kind of understanding with Zeke?

Another interesting point is Eren's next destination being a place that has aircraft capable of fighting the rumbling Titans according to Yelena. This brings us back to this panel in chp. 93:

The dialogue tells us in this order that:

The titans will rule the Earth (rumbling)

Aircraft will come into the picture (hinted in 132, confirmed in 133)

And then a flying titan will appear (hinted 133)

Following this line of dialogue in ch. 93 is the mention of Zeke's term coming to an end... once again hinting to Zeke passing his titan on to someone...

As for Hanji's fate, it you pay close attention, the last location she was fighting the Rumbling Titans was at the harbor, right next to the ocean. The last titan she attacked was closest to the ocean, too. There is a high possibility that she didn't fall onto the ground, but rather into the ocean, instead, which explains why she's wet in the mystery shard.

Another interesting parallel here...

Finally, at the end of the chapter we have the infamous "ghost" scene which many believes is solid confirmation of Hanji's death... There are several problems with this starting with the fact that the last panel we actually see of Hanji before this weird skip is simply her falling... no clarification where she landed, just that she fell.

Additionally, our JP friend informed us that tilted panels such as these may indicate something which is not reality.

There is no blood *underneath* her in fact it doesn't even come close to resembling the brothers in chp. 131 who were squished. The "blood" on the ground, instead, is awkwardly placed to the side of Hanji.

Last, but not least, everything shown of Hanji and around her after the panel of her falling could all just be in her head, in a dream...

This concludes part 3...

[hamliet]

I've never seen Game of Thrones but I've heard a lot about it and apparently many people are upset with the ending. Something about Targaryen becoming a villain at the last second for no apparent reason? Idk, could you explain what's going on? I heard it's based off a book series. Does the show stray from the original plot or stay loyal to it?

*starts sobbing* SPARE YOURSELF

Honestly I’d sum it up like how @mercyandmagic summed it up: image Harry Potter wins the Battle of Hogwarts, but in the very moment he wins, he snaps and the Voldemort horcrux inside him suddenly takes over the rest of his soul and he murders almost everyone and Ginny has to put him down at Hermione and Ron’s urging.

That’s what happened. It was a tone-deaf plot twist in this day and age, misogynistic, ableist, and racist in its execution, and it was poorly written as well--like, there was no foreshadowing for this twist of events.

The thing about the books is that they aren’t completed. We are 5/7 books through. The creator told the showrunners the bare bones of the ending (who lives/dies/gets the throne), so I’m hoping this isn’t his endgame exactly. Others speculate it might not be (for example, the main ship--Jon and Dany--might still have one killing the other, but it might be more in a sacrifice than in a “put the mad dog down” scenario like the show gave us. Still hate it, but not “burn it all down”).

We know they cut some characters from the books whom at first I assumed the fact that they were cut meant that they were extra fat, and... well I am now hoping that’s wrong because combining their arcs with the characters we have left would explain a lot about it being shit. 

So, the primary defense I’m seeing of Dany Villain is that she’s a tragic heroine, and her descent just wasn’t written properly. I’d agree that it’s not written well, but I’d also argue that in both the books and in the show, Dany is not presented as a tragic heroine at all, but as a hero on a gritty version of the hero’s journey–just like Jon--but one of the cut characters is indeed a tragic heroine. 

The thing about tragedies is that you have to manage expectations and clearly show that your tragic hero is doomed from the very early on–ie you have to show them making steadily worse and worse decisions (see: Eren Jaeger in SnK), if not directly tell your audience at the very beginning that this is a tragic story (ie see Greek choruses and Shakespeare, the prequels from Star Wars because everyone knows Anakin is Vader–plus I’d argue Anakin’s arc only works because we know he comes back to the light in the end–Kaneki Ken in the first Tokyo Ghoul, etc).

We don’t have that with Dany or with Jon, and we’re 5/7 through the books which is, frankly, too late. If they intended to show Dany as a tragic heroine they needed to start foreshadowing that in, oh, book 3/season 4-5 at the latest, and show divergence from Jon Snow’s arc instead of increasing parallels. But they haven’t, which gives me hope at least that the book’s ending plays out a little bit more like Dany burning a city as the “abyss/underworld” part of her hero’s journey (which she is on, and so is Jon) and then redeeming herself in the end fighting a greater enemy.

A hero’s journey includes a step in which the hero confronts the darkness, the shadow. For Jon, it’s a cold death and the fact that winter is coming. For Dany, it’s her father and her heritage’s legacy of fire and blood. The end of Book 5, the last book published, pretty clearly showed both of them falling to the abyss (well, teetering on the edge, and it’s going to get worse before they’re both reborn). But the important thing is that it’s not the end of their journey.

Audiences don’t like reversing on set up/undoing structure. To make Dany a tragic heroine is to go against the structure of her arc in both show and book. That’s why people don’t like it, even if the books makes it seem more believable.

You know who is set up as a tragic heroine destined to descend and die because of her flaws in the books, whose arc has almost certainly been combined with Dany’s in some sense in the show?

Arianne Martell. (and another character known as f!Aegon)

The show pretty clearly merged Jon’s (main hero’s) arc with f!Aegon’s, even giving him his name (in a nonsensical way. In the books, f!Aegon believes he is Aegon Targaryen, Jon’s brother, though he really isn’t as Aegon is dead; in the show, Jon’s dad apparently named… both his sons Aegon. Mmkay). Characters who are  the mastermindsbehind the Aegon plot, supporting him over f!Aegon, take Jon’s side against Dany in the show. Similarly, the show is merging Dany with Arianne, retconning her as letting her demons overtake her in the end, when that is just not Dany’s arc’s set up at all, in the books or in the show.  

In the books, Arianne is incredibly ambitious, and especially resents her brother and his quest for power. Like Margaery (another tragic character), Arianne seeks power and is intelligent and manipulative in her quest for it. But Margaery’s fatal mistake is that in seeking power and prestige, she’s become more a pawn than anything else for a villain (Cersei). She chose to play with lions, and she’ll be torn apart; that’s not surprising. Arianne, as her chapters hint, is going to almost certainly marry f!Aegon, playing with fire, and die burning for it.  

Arianne’s grasping for her own power is never portrayed as cruel or stupid like the main human villain (Cersei); on the contrary, we empathize with a girl who truly cares about her people, but resents her father’s preferential treatment towards her brother. That’s the difference between Arianne and Cersei: Arianne cares. She is not cruel. But her pride is still going to get her killed.

The books as I recall have always, always portrayed the Others (White Walkers) as the primary threat, not the game of thrones. People who get involved in the game of thrones–it doesn’t end well. The thing about Dany, though, is that she sees herself as a revolutionary. “Break the wheel” isn’t in the books (yet), but it’s a pretty good character moment for her that rings true. But this sets up Dany’s primary conflict: does she want to be like her father or not? Throughout the books, she hasn’t wanted to be. But she can’t have her cake and eat it to. If she goes for the throne–symbolic of her family and her father and those ghosts, as it’s always been portrayed as corrupting–she will indeed probably become more like her father. To be unlike her father, she’d probably have to not play the game of thrones anymore at all, and the Others are like… RIGHT THERE to provide this motivation for her.

But the show said “fuck it she’s her dad let me show you a snap two episodes after she saved the world from the Others who after being the primary threat for 7.5 seasons are now an afterthought and defeated after a single day because we gotta go with Bitches Be CrayCray as a plotline”

Man, I remember being disappointed the show cut Arianne and f!Aegon, but honestly it wasn’t until this season that I’ve been realizing how wrong my thinking that “they must have just been fat that could be cut” might have been. I shouldn’t have trusted D&D, that they knew what they were doing. They did not.

Or this might all be wrong and Jon and Dany are just doomed to be victims of bad writing in any case. *shrugs* Who knows if we’ll ever get those last two books (there’s been an 8+ year gap from the last one) so. Yeah.

That is probably way too long and complicated. I am sorry. I needed to vent lol. Also, the Dany and Arianne and f!Aegon theory is not mine--other meta writers for the books have written about it, but I find it convincing and honestly it gives me hope; see here.