#attack on titan analysis

[eueuphoriaz]

This is going to be my wildest hypothesis ever. Please take it with much pinch of salt and love for baby Hange. 😍

I am always intrigued by Eren's yellow titan lightning in Season 4, when he was scaring Hange.

Why? Did he transformed? He did have the titan marks though, so is it the same situation as the timeline where he went back in time to spend the last 4 years with Mikasa, before going back to the same timeline to die under Mikasa's swords?

If that is so, at what point did he return to scare Hange? Had Eren been practicing how to use the war hammer titan to escape, that's why he had the titan marks when he grabbed Hange's collar?

Now, I dont think that the yellow lightning is a sign of his intense emotions. Firstly, there had not been other titan shifters who had the yellow lightning when they are emotionally out of control. Case in point Bertolt in Season 2 when Armin tried to trigger him in human form.

Eren could not be possibly transforming cos there is no visible sign of self-harming actions he was doing. One of the condition for transforming is self-inflicted injury.

But we know that Eren can activate the founding titan's power when he comes in contact with someone of a royal blood. And both of them do not need to be in titan form. In fact, Rod Reiss had also proven that there is no need for one of royal blood to be a titan to retrieve some founding titan's powers.

So, does it mean that Hange has some royal blood in her which trigger the yellow titan lightning?

Come to think about it, the Titan research academy had existed way during the Eldian Empire. And the Reiss/ Fritz family had to be close to some scientific people to continue to manufacture the titan serum, or even the armoured serum.

What if Hange comes from a family like this, or some branch of royalty, and she, being the advocate for freedom, disagree with what was happening and drifted away from the family....

[acmeangel]

I think about this dialogue from S1 all the time; to me, it succinctly sums up the differences between Erwin and Levi’s perspectives and motivations.

When it comes to Erwin, it’s much like what Armin said in S1: the people who are capable of making change have to be able to throw everything away and abandon their personal humanity in order to save the greater humanity. Erwin embodies this perfectly—he never hesitated to sacrifice the lives of others on behalf of a greater cause, and even knew how to inspire them into willingly self-sacrificing.

What was that greater cause? For Erwin, it was his dream of finding out the truth and avenging his father—it just so happened that this aligned with what was best for Paradis. If it weren’t for his own personal ambitions, I don’t believe Erwin would have had the same level of commitment or drive.

Erwin knew that all of the deaths of his soldiers and the civilians caught in the crossfire were potentially pointless (and we eventually see that catch up to him right before his death); but at the same time, he knew each death and sacrifice was a necessary step in uncovering the truth.

That’s not to say he saw no value in human life or that he was an evil person—it’s just that he saw more value in the bigger picture and the greater cause, and he didn’t have time to consider his personal humanity in that pursuit. Erwin knew that he needed people like Levi and Hange to stay alive in order to achieve this bigger picture goal since they filled in the gaps of skills he lacked himself.

This also isn’t to say Erwin is purely selfish, nor is he the only one with personal motivations—Eren was motivated by his mother’s death, Mikasa was motivated by protecting Eren, Hange was motivated by learning about Titans. The list goes on.

Levi is uniquely one of the few characters without selfish motivations and dreams (which is ironic since people view him as cold and heartless). Levi had no ulterior motives pushing him to the other side of the war, and nothing personal to gain.

He chose to follow Erwin because of that look Erwin had in his eye—the same look Armin had in his eye—hope for the future, like he could see something no one else could. Levi, simply, didn’t want to make choices he would regret, even though he openly admitted that he never truly knew or understood what the outcome of those choices would be. He believed that following Erwin’s command—and eventually choosing Armin—was the best way to do this.

Levi doesn’t view the lives of his comrades or squad members as disposable. He has a fiercely protective and loyal nature. We see this time and time again—when he adamantly tells a dying soldier that his death wasn’t in vain and that he’d made a difference, how he doesn’t ever truly forgive Annie and Reiner for the lives they took from the Scouts, and his incessant need to avenge Erwin’s death, to name a few.

To me, Erwin and Levi are somewhat of a yin and yang in this way—Erwin was willing to do everything it took to achieve his dream, no matter the sacrifice, and Levi was willing to do everything it took to make sure those sacrifices weren’t made for nothing.

Erwin had to be willing to send people to their pointless deaths; Levi had to make sure those deaths weren’t pointless in the end.

This is a little bit of a half-baked ramble, but I always found this exchange so interesting and telling.

[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.

[happybird16]

I'm going to make myself cry typing this but here we go..

I think one of the points of Attack on Titan is that humanity is forgetful. Doomed to forget, actually.

Our main cast are heroes, not just the surviving ones. Levi deserves to have statues built of him. The surviving members of the 104th even went on to become politicians, traveling the world to help change things for the better. I have no doubt that they had buildings named after them, streets and parks named after them. There were probably history books specifically dedicated to each and every one of them.

But humans are forgetful.

There were no photos of Eren. He probably only continued to exist in history books, where he was demonized and vilified for decimating the world. By the time their fingers started to get all wrinkly from age, Mikasa and Armin probably forgot what Eren looked like. What he sounded like.

Time passes and humans forget. Statues crumble, buildings rot and fall apart. People forget figures that used to be significant. History books are changed. Even atrocities eventually become dulled in humanities collective memory. Bombs turn everything to dust. Humans are doomed to forget and repeat their mistakes again and again and again.. and I think that's the point.

[sunflowersunite]

Alright hear me out.

Grisha arrived in Shiganshina from Marley in 832, started working as a doctor and then saved the city from an epidemic that broke out there, an event mentioned twice in the story. He saved a load of people including Carla, her parents, and Hannes' wife.

We can roughly estimate the year when that occured, keeping in mind Grisha lived in Shiganshina for 13 years, since 832. Eren was born in 835, three years after his arrival, so we can assume Grisha and Carla married in 834. With those in mind, the epidemic must have broken out in 832-833 and stopped by 834.

Here's the idea: considering the illness was limited to Shiganshina only (thus the term "epidemic" instead of "pandemic") and it broke out so soon after Grisha settled in the Walls, we can safely assume he was the cause of it. Grisha carried germs that he himself was immune to due to Marley's advanced medicine compared to Paradis. However the population of a secluded area sealed off from the outside world couldn't have possibly come in contact with them any other way and couldn't have developed immunity to them. Therefore it makes sense why the reaction to it was so serious.

So Grisha was only picking up after a problem he caused. And he couldn't even tell anyone about people outside the walls so he kept to himself that it was his fault (if he even had any suspicions about it, that is).

TLDR: Grisha Yeager is responsible for the Shiganshina epidemic he saved the city from.

[zeketarion]

zeke isn't a womanizer or a flirt, anything surrounding those things; he isn't. i'll happily die on this hill but i want to go more into depth.

first, we know zeke's backstory. we know he was an awkward kid and in one of my other analyses i said something along the lines of "zeke's awkwardness comes from isolation as a kid".

but, let's slow down. zeke in a romantic relationship depends on a lot of things, but mostly when that person meets him is obviously important. to make it easy lets just talk about adulthood.

zeke wouldn't approach anyone first, i highly doubt he would even know he found someone attractive until he's alone and it hits him; "hey, they're really cute." of course, for zeke it'll depend a lot more on emotional and mental aspects rather than physical ones.

zeke's self esteem is up for interpretation, at least imo. since he was raised to be a savior, but also i'm semi-sure he knows that people only want him because he is a savior, because he is a titan shifter, because he has status. zeke is never "zeke" in people's eyes. (i went more into depth on that on another analysis)

the way zeke acts is also a factor, a partner may think he's too brash or that he doesn't really have a filter with all his odd jokes. 💀

a potential partner will may also find zeke to be emotionally neglectful, why? because i really doubt zeke could be emotionally available after all the shit he's been through. he'd have to warm up and open up first before all that. which would probably take a good chuck on time.

i don't wanna ramble on inconsistently so i'll end this here.

[annawayne]

Hi, Ann! Hope you're having a good day. I wanted to ask—why do you think some people refuse to acknowledge that the sins of other characters in Attack on Titan are no better or worse than Annie's? Why does she seem to get more hate compared to characters like Bertholdt, Reiner, or even Eren? Annie is one of the most hated characters, along with Gabi. Do you think this could be because she's a woman? Her personality is similar to Levi's in different circumstances, yet she gets criticized heavily. People even accuse her of manipulating or bullying Mikasa. What are your thoughts?

Hello!

Oh, thank you a lot for asking! (and sorry it took me a few days to answer it)

There are a lot of wonderful metas on this topic, but I would be glad to contribute a bit with my thoughts on it as well, and thank you for the ask!

Here, a small disclaimer at the beginning: I'll talk only about my personal thoughts, focusing primarily on my reflections on why this intense hate comes from that are not related to the basic "I just don't like her" - it's all valid, and it's absolutely fine not to like a particular character just because, and it's nothing to do with plain hate.

I think that one of the main issues of Annie's hatred is not even about Annie as a character, but, unfortunately, by the way her character arc is built. We see her at the very beginning, and she is still the second-line character, even if she's EXTREMELY important to the plot. So, back then, we had her screen time, and let's be honest, not as much as I personally would love to have, primarily because she's an incredibly beautiful, interesting character with her unique points of view on the world and, as turns out later, one of the most prominent roles in the story as a whole. Still, till her reveal as Female Titan, we have some scenes with her, we have some impacts on other characters (also significant, like for Eren and Armin, for example), and then, the Female Titan arc happens and... she disappears for a VERY long period of time from the show, appearing much, much later, firstly, in flashback like a glimpse, and only then, with her whole come back during the literal apocalypse. So when the time comes to give us her backstory - I won't lie, it feels rushed, and I think, Isayma has a very great sense of self-irony when he articulates it through Hitch's mouth: "Wait, what is it a sudden sharing of your story?", all while on the background the Colossals take a march. I honestly think that Isayma also understood that it's definitely not telling enough to sympathize with Annie's character when it's presented like this (for me, personally, it was enough and I just simply would love to have more, since Annie's past in Liberio is one of the most interesting topics for me), but on the other hand, he couldn't reveal her story earlier because it would hint at her comeback FAR too obviously.

So, one of the main points is this large gap in her presence and a bit rushed exploration of her character due to the lack of time because of the situation around the characters. For example, we have a very detailed dive into Reiner's character, and still, I also feel like there's much more to explore with his character and his psycho, and what we can even say about Annie, who doesn't have such detailed exploration but has the same difficult and complex past which is undeniably important to understand not only her as a character but also more about the universe of AoT?

The next thing that plays the role here is linked to the previous one - due to the massive gap in Annie's presence in the story, many people forget many things about her. Primarily, her emotions. I think it's one of the most overlooked things regarding her character and in AoT in general. The way we see her tears IN HER TITAN FORM when she fails to capture Eren? Her tears when she was crystallizing herself? Her eyes, full of fear, when she woke up before the whole Stohess thing? Her genuine surprise, which she tried immediately to dismiss when Armin called her a good person? Her smile when Eren complimented her on her skills, which was also deleted from the anime but remains in the manga?

Here, I need to highlight an essential thing: Annie's Titan is the only Titan that is capable of showing emotions.

If we look closely, everyone else has their emotions relatively very firm, like, for example, Bert's and Armin's Colossals, caged and restricted by bones; Reiner, it looks to me, is not only the shield for others, but he's a shield from himself, completely forced to be armored in everything he feels; Lara's Titan also seems like covered in pristine white chains, and it's also interesting since she was, let's say, the shifter with a twist; Pieck's Titan also has a very permanent expression, which is compensated by her incredible endurance, just like Porco's or Ymir's Jaws lack of emotions are compensated by their mobility; Eren's Titan has always this emotion of rage as if it's the only feeling he could have going into attack. Zeke's monkey is the only other Titan with emotions, which is also intriguing.

So, back to Annie, her Titan is emotional: her tears from the failed attempt to catch Eren; like she was genuinely shocked to see people under the rubble when she fought Eren, and he threw her towards the church, leading to its crashing; like she smiled when she saw Armin under the hood; how she returned to the last battle, and how she screams in her Titan form - I genuinely here a lot of "human" in this tune, something, she doesn't allow herself in her human form. And yet, people focus a lot on the infamous "yo-yo" thing, on her battle with Levi's squad and other people, where, ironically, she attacks only when she has a direct threat to her identity or capture. If we look closely, Annie avoids fighting humans as much as possible till she's attacked directly - she runs, she screams, she tries to show off people not to touch her, and when it comes to the "fight or to lose" (which is also a remarkable parallel to Eren's character), she attacks, not to mention the obvious question - how else you act at war? Yes, back then, it wasn't something we could call like that specifically, yet she had a military mission, which, by the way, she was failing for several reasons, primarily because she's not so cold-blooded as her character is often reduced to. So, how else was she supposed to act? We don't see a lot of the same questions, for example, for Armin, who came to her hometown and blew up the port with many more casualties among civilians.

In AoT, everyone has sins. Everyone, with no exception, but Annie sometimes seems to carry the hate as if she's the typical antagonist that is supposed to be hated just because the genre demands (she's not even an antagonist either).

To sum up, Annie's character is simply very misunderstood. She's one of the most interesting characters in AoT, and I say it not because she's my fav, but primarily - she's my fav because she's much more complex than some people see her, starting from her mindset and views of the world to her development, which shows how unlovable, unwanted flower that was denied to bloom, grows through the cement and concrete, firstly, with the spikes not to let anyone close because she knows how it's to be hurt, and then, that uses these spikes, this strength to protect others and eventually leaving them be on the cold floor, and she - growing more and more into buyoant garden.

Her hands aren't without blood, and so are the others who have the same invisible tint on their skin, and yet, the same hands that only knew destruction and cold touch could also be soft and build something new, something much more powerful than her Titans kicks.

When Hitch asks her if she would do all the same, Annie says - yes, but I see it as only the mirror of Levi's "living with no regrets." Objectively speaking, Annie understands that it's impossible to turn the time back, and living among these endless what-ifs doesn't give any change - it's gone and cemented in history as it is. All these potential questions of "what would you do" are more of a mental trick to whitewash the ego. Annie doesn't do it - she understands that nothing of it was something to be proud of, and she never was, and at the same time, she doesn't know anything else. To do something differently from what point exactly? From her crystallization? Not to reveal herself earlier? Not to give Armin a chance to live twice? Not to go into the mission? Force Reiner to return? Not to listen to her father? Not to be born?

Where exactly could this point change something?

Annie doesn't lie to herself, and she doesn't look back with abstract thoughts of "How would it be," but when the time comes to actually take another action, she does it; she returns to the final battle before it becomes another "what if."

And it says more than anything else.

Annie is an honest character, primarily with herself, and she doesn't want to pretend to be better than she is. This makes her character much more human than some people try to make her look.

So, that's it!

It was quite a long read, and thank you everyone who reached this point, I appreciate your time on this!

Thank you a lot for asking, and have a good *timezone*!

[thoughtssvt]

i might get a lot of hate for this so if you're not going to have a productive conversation with me please do not interact (if you do i most likely won't even answer you so it's better to save your breath)

but i'm a little confused on how levi is interpreted/characterized as mean? grumpy, yeah i see, but i feel like he's anything but mean?

a lot of different elements build him, like they build everyone, but when i think of levi and what we are shown it's that he's closed off, he's blunt, he's serious— he's a soldier, he's the best, a different weight sits on his shoulders because he's one of the few people that has to make decisions no one else wants to make.

he's just hardened if i had to put a generalized term on his character.

one of his very first scenes is him being disgusted by the titan blood on his hands and the next scene he's holding his dying comrade's blood covered hand in his without hesitation, without moving to wipe it off after he takes his last breath.

"captain... do you know... about the sea?" definitely effected his decision, but even besides that when he asks Floch "can you forgive him?"

and now i have to take a breath because i see these scenes shows us he has feelings, he feels emotions, he has empathy towards others, but now i need to question what it is to be mean.

not to be that person, but looking it up i see "ungenerous, unkind, unfair"

in a world that is ungenerous, unkind and unfair to them i think it makes sense that levi is cold, he's hardened, he's closed off, but i don't think he's mean.

ah, honestly i confuse myself. maybe it's the tism and i'm not seeing the same things as others or im interpreting things too literally.

though maybe the posts i see about levi being mean specifically pertains to x reader content and the troupe of "he's mean to everyone else but nice to me" which then i'll feel silly with how ive been interpreting this part of the fandom.

but yeah! i'm open to conversation. i am, however, not done with aot. i'm almost done with s3 i think...

thank you! <3

[clfixationstation]

he is freedom incarnate, and freedom must be tempered, tempered by life itself and by love

It's so fascintating to me how Armin and Mikasa are like push and pull to Eren; Armin pushing Eren forward to "freedom" with their dream, Mikasa pulling Eren back to the home they lost with her dream

Is Armin then the (albeit unintentional) "bad" influence within the framework of the story, as the "freedom" Eren sought in Armin's eyes resulted in the annihilation of 80% of humanity? And Mikasa the "good" influence, trying to pull him back to the good times they lost? But there's only pain there, because Eren cannot be content in that life...

[weatherproject]

“Thank you for wrapping this scarf around me Eren” 🕊️🧣

I was happy to see this in theaters 🙂‍↕️

[marosina]

Eren + Forms of Love

EreMika: Like waking up from a nap, realizing you’ve been allowed to snooze half the day away. The wordless understanding and support of family. A love often taken for granted in the moment, but deeply appreciated in retrospect. A lack of urgency from the sureness of fate that intertwines souls beyond mortality. Comfort.

EreMin: Like being ripped awake from a nightmare so you no longer have to suffer. The confused, and desperate clinging to someone you trust for comfort and direction. A love necessary for survival. For growth. A repeated promise, firm and unwavering, that not even hellfire can cut through. Passion.

Both are needed.

[acmeangel]

I’ll say it with my full chest: Bertholdt is equally as complex—if not more—as any other character in AoT and people only see him as ‘boring’ or ‘just there’ because he is quiet.

In a show full of natural born leaders, those who act without hesitation, who speak their minds loudly and impassioned, it’s easy for a quiet character to be seen as unimportant. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Bertholdt’s quiet demeanor is not to be mistaken with simplicity—to me, he is a textbook overthinker, riddled with conflicting thoughts, growing fears, and guilt that remains firmly planted in his mind, taking root there and growing out of control.

As someone who is quiet and meek by nature, it’s not surprising that Bertholdt grows into this nervous, indecisive person—he’s been a warrior since he was a child, an immense weight placed on his shoulders, the burden of being someone able to cause mass destruction with ease.

He’s been used as a weapon, constantly told what to do by others; he can master any skill better than most others, but lacks the power to do anything with those skills until he’s told.

He knows that if he is obedient, if he does what he is told is right, that he will be able to save his sick father, become an honorary Marleyan, and have some semblance of peace and safety. To him, at this point, he can be someone who defeats evil if he stays on the right path.

But, this becomes less simple as Bertholdt becomes wracked with guilt as he grows more and more aware of the truths of the world and the war he’s been forced to fight in; one that is not against evil, but driven by fear and hate.

We see it from one of his first ever interactions—when he uses the hanged man’s story as his own cover story when he speaks to Eren and Armin for the first time. Sure, he was trying to blend in, but he could’ve just as easily made something up.

That story had actually been weighing heavily on him, when he reveals that he’d been having recurring nightmares about it and asks Reiner in private why that man would bother telling that story just to later hang himself.

The thought is brushed aside rather quickly, but this gives us a look into Bertholdt’s mind and personality; someone battling inner turmoil, someone who contemplates what it means to have agency over life and death, someone who grapples with guilt.

He likely believed that the man wanted to be judged for his actions, to feel the weight of his guilt, before taking his own life; just as Bertholdt already felt the guilt of his actions in destroying Shiganshina and subconsciously was likely seeking out judgment and consequence. His sleeping position even matches The Hanged Man tarot card.

Later, we see Bertholdt’s guilt, emotions, and inactions reach a boiling point that compromises the warriors’ mission. He lets Armin use his feelings toward Annie as leverage to distract him, and he has a breakdown as he confesses to his friends in the Scouts that he hates what he’s done, that he genuinely does consider them friends, and that he wants to pay for what he’s done.

He knows that it was because of him that Eren ended up getting away, that he’d be the reason that Reiner and Annie would continue being in danger in Paradis, their mission now prolonged—his guilt only continues to build.

Moments before the return to Shiganshina, Zeke and Reiner had both told him that he needs to begin acting on his own, Reiner even going so far as to call him unreliable.

As someone who relies on the people he cares about and seeks direction from them, hearing that his own friends and comrades actually doubt his abilities and reliability would shake him to his core.

This interaction surely made him steel himself, made him push down his emotions, made him act. It made him put on a mask of apathy toward the Scouts, his friends, and nihilism toward the world around him, and play a role.

(Not to mention, Bertholdt has now seen Reiner—this person who was seen as weak, who was never even meant to be a warrior in the first place—grow into an actionable leader, and I can only imagine that would make his own self-doubts grow.)

I think when he transformed into the Colossal, part of him also genuinely did want it all to end, there, no matter the consequences. Reiner was too injured at that point to be the leader; it was his one, final chance to prove himself, to show that he is capable of doing something.

And I believe, too, that he was a terrified kid who just wanted the fighting to end—knowing that if it didn’t happen there, it would happen eventually, after more and more death and destruction.

He knows these people, his so-called enemies aren’t devils, aren’t evil, and don’t deserve death simply for being born on the opposite side of a war, but they have to die to prevent further bloodshed and catastrophe.

He knows the world is a cruel place, and there’s no changing it. He’s one of the first people to acknowledge that both sides are just doing what they think is the right thing, and if that’s the case, then the “right thing” ceases to exist. There are no devils; there are simply two sides and the hatred that fuels them.

There was no other way out this time—he couldn’t crumble under the weight of his guilt and risk compromising their mission again, for the sake of Reiner, for the sake of Annie, for the sake of his father, for the sake of everyone. He’d already done that before, and he couldn’t do it again—his true nature, to him, was nothing but a weakness.

He’d been fighting for his whole life, had seen and done unimaginable things that tormented him, had learned truths about the world that shattered what he’d been taught since childhood, and he knew that one way or another, things were going to play out in a horrific, gruesome way.

And at that moment, he accepted it because he had no other choice.

You could see his behavior in his last moments as true apathy—but I don’t. I see it as a terrified, exhausted, guilt-riddled kid living in a painfully cruel world, wanting to make it all stop and knowing that a peaceful outcome was never going to happen, that the cycles of hatred never cease.

I see it as him putting on a metaphorical armor to push past his own fears, guilts, and powerlessness.

And in his death, you see him return to his true self, his true nature—a timid, scared, lost and lonely boy, reaching out for the help of his friends…

[persephozee]

thinking about Tom Ksaver's titan form being a ram kinda indirectly alludes to Zeke being a lamb because Tom Ksaver wasn't ever meant to be his own character more so just Zeke's father figure and the child of a ram is a lamb

and Zeke ends up literally being the sacrificial lamb to end the rumbling

[sunflowersunite]

Hi, Sun (can I call you that?). You're a writer of Eremika, so you're experienced in writing Eren and Mikasa. What are your tips on writing Mikasa in particular? Her characterisation, manner of speaking, or body language, etc. And if you're very experienced in writing Armin, how would you imagine their relationship to be after Eren's death, as well as Mikasa's relationship with Annie as Armin's love interest?

Hey Star! Sure you can call me Sun, that's a really nice nickname 😃

I loved this question, thank you for asking! I do my best to make sure everyone is in character in my fics, it's very important to me (as it is for most fanfic writers), so that was a really interesting question to receive. This way I get to voice what goes through my head every time I open my documents lol. (If I may, are you planning to write Mikasa or is this out of curiosity?)

So here are some points I consider.

Writing Mikasa:

Characterisation

The short answer to what I keep in mind when writing her is:

love

strength

duty.

For the long answer, here it is (prepare for an essay)

So, starting off. I originally wanted to start with a different point in mind but let me begin with what is the most important part of Mikasa: her love. This is what she yearns for deep down, a peaceful life full of love.

🌾 Mikasa has strong emotional connections with those she cares about, most importantly Eren and Armin. She will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to ensure their safety. Venturing deeper into her mind, the future she imagines for herself specifically includes people, namely Eren.

Everyone has their own desires, Armin dreams of seeing the ocean and Eren dreams of being free. Surely both boys want the whole EMA friend group to be together while they live their dreams, but Mikasa has explicitly stated that all she ever wanted was to be by Eren's side. Everything else matters little, she can be inside the walls all her life for all she cares.

[! Of course this does not mean "all she cared about was Eren", a girl in love can care for others as well and we've seen what Armin, Sasha and others mean to her. Romantic feelings don't suck the meaning out of everything else, people seem to forget that for some reason.]

🌾 But here's the thing: saving humanity is also important. Mikasa initially joined the Scouts specifically to be by Eren's side and protect him. However as she grew, she developed a strong sense of duty much like Levi's. She had compassion inside her from before, caring for those in need and making sure they don't suffer the same trauma she went through. Eventually she chose to sacrifice her love and future to save the world, showing extreme selflessness and proving once and for all her benevolence.

(for me that character development was why neither Eren nor Mikasa were brimming with joy in the cabin, and why I don't find full comfort in cabin AUs. This life is what Mikasa wanted in the beginning, to be with her beloved and not care for all that death around her, but now, leaving her friends at the mercy of Marley doesn't sit right with her. Abandoning her duty doesn't feel right for either of them anymore).

-- second point: strength.

🌾Mikasa is well aware of how strong she is, her skills and limits, and she doesn't underestimate herself. She doesn't waste time being humble; if she knows she can accomplish something, she steps forth because she's confident in her skills.

Also, she's more action-oriented than thought-oriented. Others do the thinking and she does the fighting, same as Levi. That doesn't mean she can't think obviously, but her strength lies elsewhere. She leaves the thinking to the thinkers.

--Point number 3: Mikasa has a strong sense of duty.

🌾She's aware that out of almost everyone around her, she is the strongest and she has the biggest chances of success, so most of the work is up to her. Kind of like Levi, who always zipped across forests and towns in ODM gear to make sure everything went according to Erwin's orders (because who else could handle it better than him? He's the strongest).

Mikasa knows she is strong, so if an enemy ambushed them and kidnapped Eren, out of everyone she is more responsible. (To avoid misunderstandings, Mikasa isn't at fault for everything that happened to Eren in the story. What I wrote above is what I imagine goes through her head, not mine).

[fun fact: Eren's deepest desire, so deep that he himself didn't realise until it was too late, revolved around people as well. Eren's whole deal was that he never grew up, the angry kid inside him just shouted louder and louder, filling all his senses with anger, leaving no room for healing.

But in his very last moments, when regret had brought him down and he wished he hadn't listened to that voice, he admits "I don't want to die. I want to be with Mikasa, with all of you". Also in the post credit scene of the movie, we see him focusing on Armin and Mikasa's company more rather than anything else because he cares for people. So he and Mikasa are much more alike than what we see at first]

I will split this answer into two or three parts, so that's the end of the first. Again, thank you for asking me 😃 I had fun thinking about this. I kind of turned it into an Eremika analysis as well but Eremika is very important for Mikasa and also it's me we're talking about, so that was bound to happen. I don't know your opinion on Eremika but I hope you don't mind it. I hope you're satisfied so far!

[annawayne]

Hi, Anna! I was wondering for some small opinion and possibly suggestions to do with AruAni, mainly their names! In my opinion, I like to imagine Annie's name is actually "Annabelle", though she's never said it to anyone, ever, having the name everyone is more used to be the one that everyone calls her. Though, it would be fun if she slipped up and then have Armin, the adorable nuisance he is, start calling her Anaya, Arianna, etc - as he tries figuring out her full name. Bit silly, but fun stuff! And I was wondering, if you ever had thought of that, or the possibility of them having middle names, since I don't believe many have spoken about that and you're very creative when it comes to that! Have a lovely day, Toodle-oo!

Hello-hello!~

Oh, thank you a lot for asking this! I'm a huge fan of the whole name topic in general, and I think it's a significant topic for such characters as Armin and Annie. I can tell that I'll touch on this topic a bit in the next MYLYSW chapter with my attempts to explore Annie's past in Liberio, so you just HIT ✨the spot✨

I adore the exploration of all of it, so let's begin!

First of all, I want to say that despite everything, I really love the way both Annie Leonhardt and Armin Arlert sound: Annie's full name sounds, first, like a sigh, with the double ringing 'n,' only to flow into quite firm combinations of sounds, with the same respite right in the middle; Armin's name gives me a very metallic sound with a harsh and resonating tune.

I really love how their names sing, and we can explore many of their meanings. However, I want to focus more on the origins - not the meaning and roots of their names, but how they were given and what they meant for them.

We know that Armin's name is given by his grandfather. However, it's also quite an interesting moment for me since parents usually give the name to a child, and his parents disappeared much later when Armin wasn't a newborn. Probably, it's more like Grandpa Arlert was there from the very early time of Armin's childhood, and so he has this honor to give a name for his grandson (we skip here a theory that Armin was an unwanted child who was more of an "accident" rather a desired and planned child, who "stole" from his parents their dreams to fly away - it's a big topic and theory, and I would love to focus on other aspects this time since otherwise it would lead into long essay).

So, Armin, despite losing all his family at a very young age, has a personal connection to his name - he knows that this name wasn't an "accident" or "casually thrown" into him like a label. This name has old Germanic, Latin, and Persian roots, "a Warrior," "a Fighter," and also "goal" and "universal," which all fall into Armin's life path - he fights for the right to appreciate the whole world, even if it's not the one he has read in his book. However, with time, I think he starts to hate this name as his self-hatred grows as well, associating this combination of letters with the downfall and problems (in his opinion) he has caused since often his name was screamed in anguish and fear, or despair. Still, Armin, despite anything, knows his real name, which he learns to embrace and live up to. He knows this name is given with the love and warmth of his grandpa.

But what about Annie? We know that she was found by Mr Leonhardt on the street near the rich-looking mansion and that she has a biological Marleayn mother and Eldian father. Then, she was adopted by Mr Leonhardt (it's also interesting that we don't have any name for him throughout the whole series, which also gives me several ideas, but it's also for another time). Probably, Mr Leonhardt gave her this name by the logic "it sounds simple and doesn't show any relation to her possible noble blood by mother's line", which gives me an actual idea, based on your ask: what if Annie's name, given by her biological parents, was indeed something like Annabelle, Annette or Annalise (or any other form), which sounds more like "noble," rather than Annie, which directly shows her relation to some high-class Marleyan society?

We have not to forget that Marley - is an empire. Any empire does everything to erase any relations to the authentic roots of the people it colonized, and changing names/surnames - is one of these very well-known practices, since when you took the name from a person, you also took the part of their identity and ethnical background to make the person "fit" within the empire as their own, and yet, this is only to play a role of "generosity," when in reality people from colonized territories always won't be equal - the citizens of any metropole look down at them.

I think this happened to Mr. Leonhardt, who in reality isn't Mr. Leonhardt at all but was given this very Germanic surname, which aligns pretty much well with Marleyan traditions. So, the same might probably happen to Annie - maybe when he found her, there was a small card or note with her full name, but when he read "Annabelle/ Annette/Annalise" (or anything similar), he decided that with this name she wouldn't survive in the internment zone with such "noble" name, and simplified it to "Annie," both as an act of erasing any roots for her to start questioning her background and also of an act of owning - just like the empire did to him when he was shipped to internment zone. Just like Edward Said in one of his works, "There is nothing mysterious or natural about authority. It is formed, irradiated, disseminated; it is instrumental, it is persuasive; it has status; it establishes canons of taste and value; it is virtually indistinguishable from certain ideas it dignifies as true and from traditions, perceptions, and judgments it forms, transmits, reproduces."

There's really nothing mysterious. A plain act of cutting the roots, replacing it with himself - no wonder that Annie, on the day of her departure to Paradis, felt such a strong connection with the words her father said to her. It was not only a first showcase of care and love (which I highly doubt of its genuinity, and I don't think any of these words were towards Annie, but only to whitewash his ego), but also the attempt to keep her in his claws - like any empire does to its colonies by erasing everything and replacing with what is comfortable and needed for it to make it looks like the colony is incapable of living without it. I honestly have no questions why for Annie it was all her sole goal - to return to him. I swear, I will always defend Annie and try to highlight the whole complexity of her character.

So, I think, if it really happened at some point in history, then, after the Rumbling, when everything settles down a bit, Mr . Leonhardt confesses that Annie's full name is different (personally, if you would ask me, I really love Annette). For her, it's a huge shock because she realizes where it comes from.

I think it becomes a pretty sensitive topic for her - she would immediately dismiss it, however, she would understand with time passing that this name is hers and isn't hers at the same time since she has no association, no history with it, no attachments, and it also provokes some inner conflict she tries to ignore.

But Armin would notice, and eventually, she would tell him, however, it takes a long time, firstly, for Annie to embrace it as a part of her she has never known, but it's the only thing her parents left for her, aside her birth, and even longer - for Annie accepting it as an alternative - not a replacement - to her name.

I think Armin would be cautious with this, and the first time he calls Annie "Nettie", she would be a bit in shock - but more of the fact that this part of her is also loved and embraced by him. It would never replace Annie from his lips, the way she knows how he sighs it and how his tongue pushes this double "n" in her name only to string it with the mellow tune of "e," but she thinks that "Nettie" also deserves some love - the one Annette never had, denied almost immediately after her birth, but, maybe with him, Annette could learn it, too.

As for the middle names, I'm familiar with them, of course, but this concept is so rare in my country that this whole thing just doesn't appear too much in my head. But we instead have patronyms, and I also thought of all of it, and it just makes me quite sad since if Armin and Annie had patronyms tradition, it would remind them so much of their fathers... Who, well, let's be honest, both left quite a lot of angst in their lives, even if in different ways.

Oh, well... maybe you expected another answer and a more fluffy one, but sorry, I went into the angsty depths of some meta and headcanons :D

If anyone reached the end, thank you so much! I appreciate your time spent on it!

Thank you once again for asking, I enjoyed answering it a lot!

Have a wonderful *timezone* (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

[cerise-apple]

That’s it. That’s the only reason Attack on Titan exists. Good day

( follow me i post smart content )