#levi: “two animals what bond for life. that's who we are”

[maegalkarven]

I love how differently Levi and Gortash deal with their feelings for each other.

Because thing is: Levi is a simple man. He is a simple and emotional man, so strong feelings are not new to him, and he never actually dwells on them enough for them to be distressing or to realize what these feelings are. (at least pre-tadpole).

He wants Gortash for himself, body and soul. His Father says he can't have him. Which, combined with newly awoken by Gortash feeling of superiority and "But I Am God" complex, and the fact what Levi hasn't asked for anything before, kicks the strongest defiant response Levi ever had. "What do you mean "no"? What do you mean I can't have him? I know you're god, but so am I; I am your hopes and dreams, I am you come anew- You cannot deny me that."

Gortash's involvement is what finishes Levi's splitting into something other than just Bhaalspawn, which started when he was ten and began to learn what it's like to be a druid.

For Levi feeling what he feels is natural, it's a flow of water, there's no reason to resist feelings, only obstacles on his way.

For Gortash tho? Oh, he absolutely resists these feelings. He fights them tooth and nail and nothing works. His feelings for Levi make him human again, after he has worked to hard to claw his way out of humanity, after he stumbled and fell all the way to being Above.

But feelings for Levi drag him back, make him flesh and blood again (they do the same to Levi, but Levi hardly notices that. He gets less "force of nature" and more "person", but the difference is subtle).

I think Gortash despises these feelings, hates feeling this way. He takes the best out of the worst situation and works on making Bhaalspawn dependable on him, but even that is a small comfort.

I think at some point he wants Levi gone, completely out of the existence and his life-

Only to get what he wished for when Orin strikes.

He got what he wanted, Levi is no more, and he is free to proceed with his plans as intended.

But why does it feel so wrong? Why does it feel like someone cut a piece out of him and made a run with it? Why is the world suddenly so bleak, so...insignificant?

He got what he wanted, so why isn't he happy?

I think Enver only accepts the depths of his feelings for Levi when Levi is gone.

And so when Levi is back, he is determined to never let him go.

[neosatsuma]

Scavengers Reign finale spoilers ahead:

There's something about the way Levi was the solution to Hollow, like... Kamen and the creature were in this feedback loop, right, making each other worse, isolated and focused only on each other. I was so unclear about Hollow's behavior and possible "motives" as it grew -- it wasn't behaving like an animal filling a niche in an ecosystem, but it didn't seem to have goals that made sentient sense either -- until I realized the extent to which their psychic bond went both ways. And nowhere was that more breathtakingly clear than when it found Fiona's body, looked at her with what seemed to be deep and genuine sorrow, then laid down beside her. Who knows if it would ever have moved again if she hadn't been destroyed. Like. This was a creature initially in tune and connected with its surroundings -- we see how the other members of its species go about their business -- until it enthralled Kamen and the two of them started feeding this circular obsession with themselves and Fiona, to the point that Hollow left its forest and trekked a vast distance to an alien hunk of metal that offered no sustenance, to go sit alone with a corpse. Completely disconnected from its home and the life on this planet.

And then. And then what breaks it, what boils away the monster, is this massive connection. Levi's deep and profound connection with the vast network of living things all over the planet, all intertwined -- it utterly overwhelms Hollow and Kamen, peels the creature down to a version of itself no longer bloated with the completely self-referential miasma it and Kamen had fostered in the closed system of their psyches.

And it gets another chance! That new little creature gets to go back and become a part of things again -- and so does Kamen. When we see him gently releasing that little green animal into the vibrant forest... That's the least selfish thing we've seen him do in the entire show. It's quite possibly the least selfish thing he's done in years. It's a step outside of himself, finally.

And I think it's interesting that the crucial moment was when the creature tried to enthrall Levi; it tried to suck Levi in the same way it did Kamen but Levi utterly RATIO-ED it through the awesome power of already BEING connected to a degree infinitely greater than the link Hollow was offering. Hollow couldn't contain all that; its capacity was too small. just. MAN!!!!

[melishade]

Z-King: You know, we've been talking about what if the other Autobots and Decepticons came to the AOT world with Optimus and Megatron, but here is a question, what if Jack, Miko and Raf joined as well?

"Medieval Spiderman!" Miko shouts with joy.

"Miko, no!" Jack tells her.

"Miko, yes!" Miko replies back.

"This is going to be a long day," Raf grumbles to himself.

The three of them would definitely be older in this scenario, at least by two years, because that's where I am story wise in Attack on Prime. Jack and Miko are training to be agents while Raf is brushing up on his tech skills. Miko would have gotten rid of the pink streaks due to military protocol (and also Asian women having a streak of dyed hair as an act of defiance is a stereotype at this point. We're not doing that here)

So, how would they get there. Say the US government is trying their own experimental spacebridge, using information from both MECH and the Autobots. However, the calculations are off and it quickly turns into a wormhole. Jack and Miko help get others to safety, Miko using the Apex Armor, but Raf gets caught in the cross fire and gets sucked in. Miko and Jack quickly jump after him.

Only to land right in the middle of Historia and Ymir's orphanage, scaring the hell out of everyone. Because Miko's still in Apex Armor, Ymir sees an automatic threat, transforms into her Sharkticon titan form and jumps her, surprising Miko.

The Survey Corps and Optimus gets alerted by this, and arrive to see Jack pointing a gun at MP's who have their rifles trained on him while protecting Raf, and he's shouting at Miko to keep collateral to a minimum.

"The damn shark is making it super hard!" Miko shouts.

Optimus is stunned at the sight, and immediately calls out their names, causing everyone to pause and the kids to stare in shock, calling out Optimus' name and trying to process the fact that he's still alive. Unfortunately, military gets wind of this, so they are interrogated for a bit, even after Optimus explains who the hell they are. Everything does get cleared in that department, but now Jack, Miko, and Raf are bombarding Optimus with questions about HOW THE HELL HE'S ALIVE?!

Optimus does his best to explain what happened and what's going on now. He introduces them to the Survey Corps, explains Eren and Ymir's powers, and the unfortunate fact that Megatron is here (but he's in Marley right now). And Jack, Miko, and Raf cannot compute.

"This is a damn anime. I swear to god," Miko declared.

"The Autobots are going to kill General Bryce," Raf adds.

"Not unless my mom and Agent Fowler kill him first," Jack said.

*cuts to June and Agent Fowler chewing Bryce out*

So after the explanation goes down, the kids are relieved that Optimus is alive and hug, the bonding and the gushing begin between them and the Survey Corps because “Oh my god, Medieval Spidermen!” and “Oh my god, the Apex Armor!” and “Oh my god, titans!” and “Oh my god, you’re so advanced!” It is just back and forth banter, but they click. However, Jack and Levi take one look at Hanji and Miko before turning to each other and saying “You too?”

Now a lot of shit goes down after words. One:

It is so fucking awkward when Megatron shows up because it’s Megatron, but also why does he have a human form? Miko tries to flip him off, but Jack has to reign her in because he values her life. The kids ask the 104th if they’re really okay with that asshole being here.

“Look, it’s not like we have a lot of options,” Jean retorted.

“So you partner with the guy that kidnapped Optimus?” Miko questioned.

“Poisoned me with dark energon,” Raf adds.

“Tried to kill over 7 billion people on five occasions,” Jack adds.

“Really? Five?” Raf asks.

“Zombie-cons, Unicron, Omega Lock, Darkmount, Omega Lock 2,” Jack counted on his fingers, “Yeah, five.”

“God damn it!” Sasha swears.

Also, Jack, Miko, and Raf are aware of Soundwave’s loyalty and Megatron’s favoritism of the TIC, so they don’t bring up the fact that they sent him to the Shadowzone. They take it to the grave.

Two:

The Survey Corps definitely sees a massive advantage all three kids being there. Raf’s technological expertise, Jack and Miko’s training, the Apex Armor. Eren and Ymir are both able to train in titan forms against Miko in Apex. Now they have five titans to use for combat. And that armor is really fucking efficient. However, Hanji tries to use it once, and it results in both Megatron and Optimus nodding their heads at each other and tackling Hanji to the ground to get her to remove the armor. It’s a struggle that lasts for five minutes. Levi asks about it later, but Optimus states that he cannot trust Hanji with that kind of power. Considering her streak, Levi agrees. She has to earn it.

Three:

Jack, Miko, and Raf end up introducing a bunch of stuff to the Survey Corps. They still have their phones and show them pictures and all that stuff, but it takes a while for Raf to create makeshift portable chargers so the phones don’t die out. Like it is so overwhelming for everyone. They make references they don’t understand and sometimes they hate it.

“Jesus Christ!” Miko swears.

“Who the hell is Jesus Christ?” Sasha asks.

“Wait, are you serious?” Miko asks her.

“Different world, Miko,” Raf reminds her.

Four:

Raf’s technological knowledge leads to significant increases in advancements. Hanji tries to kidnap him. Jack and Miko gotta chase her down. Raf just accepts this.

Five:

Mikasa is so fucking shocked to see Miko because that’s another person that looks like her. Holy shit! Mikasa does approach her and introduces herself, and Miko’s like:

“Your parents named you after a battleship?” Miko asked her.

“Battleship?” Mikasa tilts her head in confusion.

“Yeah, you’re named after a battleship in Japan,” Miko explained, “So you’re Japanese, right?”

“Um...,” Mikasa begins to choke up, because there’s an identity. She’s not an anomaly in the Walls. There’s someone out there like her, “My father isn’t...can you...can you tell me what you know?”

Miko notices the longing look in Mikasa’s eyes and gets it. “No problem. What do you want to know?”

Mikasa’s never been this excited before.

Six:

The kids learn to use the 3D gear, because if they’re staying and they want to help, they gotta learn. Also, the fact of being Medieval Spiderman motivates them greatly. (They do show a video of Spiderman and they get the reference now.) Although they crash into shit a lot.

Seven:

Levi looks at how Miko and Jack are arguing and it reminds him of Farlan and Isabel. When Levi spots a picture of Miko as a teen with her pigtails and her dyed hair, it only enforces the similarities. 

Eight:

The Survey Corps are floored with the kids’ accomplishments with the Autobots during the war. For a little while, they thought they didn’t really get involved with the war because Optimus wanted to keep humans out of the line of fire. But the stories! Miko took out an Insection and stole the Apex Armor from Starscream before kicking the shit out of him. Rafael created a virus to steal the Iacon Database for the Autobots. Jack fucking went to Cybertron to help restore Optimus’ memories. They are so accomplished!

And Eren is thinking back on the fight he had with Megatron before the coup, how Megatron considered them more of a threat than him. Now, he fucking got it.

Nine: 

Jack, Miko, and Raf see the way Historia and Ymir interact and make a bet to see if they’re dating or not. Jack and Miko say ‘yes’, but Raf says that they’re married because they act the exact same way his tías’ do. There’s an accidental slip up on the Survey Corps’ part and:

“You two are married?!” Miko exclaimed in disbelief and excitement.

“Damn it, we owe Raf money!” Jack swears.

“Pay up,” Raf smirks with a hand out, and the two begrudgingly put money in there.

“Wait a minute! Why are you guys acting like this is normal?!” Ymir demands out of shock.

“It just became legal in all 50 states,” Raf explained, “It’s become widely accepted over time.”

“Eh,” Miko did a so-so gesture with her hands.

“Okay, there’s homophobia and transphobia, but people are more accepting of it there than here,” Raf explained.

“We’re called the LGBT community,” Miko explained.

“’We’?” Historia picked up on the phrasing.

“Oh, I’m bisexual,” Miko told her, “Means I think both guys and girls are hot. I’d be willing to date either.”

“Aromatic,” Raf explained, “I think. I don’t feel like I need to pursue a romantic relationship.”

“You have time to figure it out,” Miko said to him, “Could be something else.”

“The token straight,” Jack shrugged.

“Who is on thin ice,” Miko added with a smirk, causing Jack to shove his hand in her face, “This is a hate crime, Jack!”

Ymir and Historia are just shocked at the information. There’s a place...where they could live more openly and freely. The two agree that they need to visit Earth.

Ten:

Jack, Miko, and Raf are millennials/possibly gen z. I’m certain that they are. Which means they have the ability to be full blown menaces if they wanted to.

Enter Zeke and his war crimes!

Zeke grew tense, feeling the three, new, allies judgmental eyes on him. They had been staring at him for a while. He couldn’t take it anymore and faced them. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Miko looked the titan shifter up and down, clearly unimpressed by what she saw. “You look like someone who has daddy issues.”

Levi spit out his tea. Optimus stared with concern. Hanji covered her mouth while the rest of the Survey Corps watched on with baffled expressions. Megatron, meanwhile, was grinning.

“I-I!...don’t,” Zeke stumbled with his wording, turning his gaze away.

Jack tilted his head and replied sarcastically. “Spoken with the confidence of someone who doesn’t have daddy issue.”

“I never thought I’d meet associates of Optimus Prime that could be so immature,” Zeke tried to regain his composure and demean them.

“Buddy, that’s a compliment,” Miko crossed her arms, “We can go lower if you’d like~.”

“Excuse you?” Zeke glared.

Raf lifted his phone. “Hey Siri, play “Daddy Issues” by the Neighbourhood.”

The music plays, Jack and Miko dances to the song and sing the lyrics right in Zeke’s face, and it’s so dramatic. Zeke is flustered with embarrassment and orders them to stop but they don’t. The 104th’s eyes look like they’re going to pop out of their head. Optimus facepalms at their antics. Levi is holding in his laughter. Hanji and Megatron are both audibly laughing their asses off.

(The Autobots are still frantically trying to end up where the three are and chew Bryce out in the meantime. But there’s definitely a lot more that could happen that I’m missing in this scenario.) 

[zerogate]

Animism is the ‘Big Step’ for our culture to make – acquiring the understanding, the sense, that the elements of the non-human world are animate in some way and have a spiritual nature: rocks, rivers, soil, not to mention all the other-than-human entities (which include not only plants and living organisms but also what are called ‘spirits’ in old parlance). It requires our mainstream cultural re-education as to the nature of reality, and the shedding of a number of received prejudices about the nature of mind. As it stands, animism is utter anathema to modern thought. But it has been a reality, a spiritual fact, to the countless ages of humanity that have preceded us.

Such mythopoetic relationship with the environment was one example of what the ethnologist Lucien Lévy-Bruhl called participation mystique. By this is meant a local relationship with the land that went beyond mere utility and subsistence. To the indigenous person, ‘Earth and sea are to him as living books in which the myths are inscribed,’ Levy-Bruhl stated (1935). Another anthropologist, A. P. Elkin, put it more specifically when writing about indigenous Australasian peoples: ‘The bond between a person and his (or her) country is not merely geographical or fortuitous, but living and spiritual and sacred. His country … is the symbol of, and gateway to, the great unseen world of heroes, ancestors, and life-giving powers which avail for man and nature’ (cited in Lévy-Bruhl, 1935, p.43).

In the West, this kind of relationship was noted at least as long ago as ancient Greece, where there were two words for subtly different senses of place, chora and topos. Chora is the older of the two terms, and was an holistic reference to place: place as expressive, place as a keeper of memory, imagination and mythic presence. Topos, on the other hand, signified place in much the way we think of it nowadays – simple location, and the objective, physical features of a locale. Topography. But, ultimately, even sacred places have become topoi.

[...]

Concepts of animism can take various forms. For many ancient societies the land was so alive it had a voice in their dreams. A clear account of this was provided by a Paiute Indian, Hoavadunuki, who was a hundred years old by the time he was interviewed by ethnographers in the 1930s. The old Indian stated that a local peak, Birch Mountain, spoke to him in his dreams, urging him to become a ‘doctor’ (shaman). The Paiute resisted, he said, because he didn’t want the pressures and problems that would come with that (Steward, 1934). Communication from this mountain occurred a number of times throughout the old man’s long life and was not seen as strange or peculiar by him – indeed, the idea of the land being capable of speaking to humans was probably widespread in ancient sensibility.

[...]

Sacred soundscapes were simply a natural corollary of that sensibility. The basic notion of the land having speech, or of being read like a text, was lodged deeply in some schools of Japanese Buddhism – in early medieval Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, founded by Kūkai, for instance. He likened the natural landscape around Chuzenji temple and the lake at the foot of Mount Nantai, near Nikko, to descriptions in the Buddhist scriptures of the Pure Land, the habitation of the buddhas. Kūkai considered that the landscape not only symbolised but was of the same essence as the mind of the Buddha. Like the Buddha mind, the landscape spoke in a natural language, offering supernatural discourse. ‘Thus, waves, pebbles, winds, and birds were the elementary and unconscious performers of the cosmic speech of buddhas and bodhisattvas,’ explains Allan Grapard (1994).

-- Jack Hunter (ed.), Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience

[youre-ackermine]

1. gun to your head, you gotta save one of them and the other's going to die : levi or hange? 😈

2. who's your fave metal band/artist of all times, and which type of metal do you enjoy most?

3. how do you handle hange's fate most days and does it vary? are you more Team Denial or have you accepted it because you think it's a fitting ending for their character, or anything in between?

yeah i'm curious and i can't sleep either hehehe

Krikkit 🙂

Thanks for asking ! Sorry to reply so late, but I finally fell asleep earlier than expected 😴

*****

1/ I should have known you would ask a tricky question like this, you evil moot lmao !!

[speaking of canon characters here] According to my preferences -even if I almost love both of them equally by now- you could fairly expect me to choose Levi, but I would save Hange ! [Disclaimer : me not saying Levi's life is not valuable, don't misinterpret my words, people, please & thank you]

Besides Hange's fighting skills, their brains still have so much to offer to Humanity after war, in terms of progress, knowledge, improvement, technology, based on their scientific experimentation & enthusiastic curiosity. Their kindness & heartwarming sunshine personality would spread positivity & comfort around them as well, helping those close to them cope with their griefs & heal their emotional wounds. [But this would be so cruel, as I imagine they would mourn Levi for years & -secretly- hate me so much for choosing them over him 😭😭😭]

2/ My musical tastes are basically goth (mainly old school lmao) & metal since I was 12 yo. As far as metal is concerned, I used to listen to Rammstein & Marilyn Manson A .F*CKING .LOT !!

But as I grow older, my interest focuses on Black Metal, especially Satyricon [Dark Medieval Times & Nemesis Divina are my all times fav BM albums] & I recently experienced musical epiphany thanks to @stellar-smth 's advice : I literally fell in love with the Swiss band BORGNE omg I love their music so much !! If someone is interested, I can send the link to my Spotify playlist 🤘

3/ Oh my, this one pierces right through my kokoro 💔 I DON'T handle their fate AT ALL, I can't ! The more we get close to March 3rd, the more I get depressed. After reading chapter 132, I cried for 2 full hours at least, I couldn't stop, even after re-realizing they were a fictional character. So when I'll watch the animated scene...

I'd say I'm somewhere in between. The way Hange sacrifices themself of their own free will to save their comrades - & thus humanity- totally fits the character imo. It's no surprise they follow their convictions & beliefs until the very end. Once again, I'll say they are the real hero of the story as they SAVE EVERYBODY ELSE'S ASS for f*ck's sake !!!

On the other hand, I wish they could survive the Rumbling & live a peaceful life with Levi 💚💜😢 So I'm more than often Team Denial & read so so much fics where they're both alive & happy together, I also focus on what happened during the 4 years time lapse in the story [mainly Levihan working together, lovingly taking care of their growing brats together, increasing their bond/love just being together all the time & so on & so forth, Levihan living rent free in my mind 24/7 tbh] Also : Hange is the most underrated character in snk, even more than Levi, & we need a f*cking back story for them please I'm on my knees begging you Isayama 🛐

*****

I hope you finally fell asleep, I don't know how you can survive your long shifts !!

Thanks for passing by, always a pleasure to see Krikkit in my notifs ❤️

Mwah kith 😘

*****

BONUS : RANDOM SHIT

The two dorks Valentine's Day gifts they found for each other [just to cheer up the mood]

Since I'm also a dork, here's a Levihan kiss 💚💜

[konohamaru-sensei]

OP, I'm so very delighted to have stumbled over this and I agree with my whole heart with everything you said. I do not come to argue (because I'm very argument shy), I just want to add my five own thoughts.

I started FT in January because JJK made me so miserable (and this is not to say jjk sucks or whatever, I love that story) and it had this reputation of "nobody dies" and I really wanted "nobody dies" so I thought, why not? I had seen a few ep back in 2009, a long time ago and remembered nothing so I went in with a fresh mind. Let me tell you, I did not expect to cry as often and as hard as I did watching this.

It has the reputation to be "good at the beginning" but then to "fall off" like so many shonen do, but I watched it from beginning to end in a few months and I can't say I noticed a big decline. The opposite really, I noticed how things were set up arcs in advance that got a pay off later, something one piece fans praise oda (rightfully) for. LIke sure, here and there one or two things I would have liked differently but when is a narrative ever perfect?

I don't have a problem with people that want a more gruesome story, a little less friendship saves the day and hey, there are enough manga /anime out there to find with exactly that, but to me Fairy Tail is about love in all forms, family in all forms and bonds in all forms. And how all those different types of bonds and love help you overcome the darkest times. Mashima loves his happy endings yes, so what? I love them too.

What I also noticed is that though all of its fanservice (which, I can blend out well, but I also don't need it), the female charactes are treated with much more respect than in other shonen series. It sounds goofy, but not only is LUcy a clear leading lady (not sidelined for a male character or whatever, she definitely has the center of attention), Erza (and Mira) is also mentioned over and over and over again as being stronger as the main character, even when Natsu punches bad guy. Heck, in the tartaros arc FT would have lost if not for Lucy. Erza gets to take down a big bad in the final arc and there is no guy to help the damsell in distress.

(Inicdentially thats what I love about erza and jellal so much. I mean I love when he jumps in to help her, Im a stupid romantic and thats my otp, but often than not they just nod at each other from afar and go "no, he/ she can handle himself / herself"....ahh)

Sigh, there is so much there! So much pain and misery and love and belonging. But if I would go too much into detail it would just be a rehash of what you, op, already said, so I will refrain. I will just say how much it guts me that all three of Ur's children, that she sacrificed her life for, not only carried that death with them their whole lives but also in turn became self-sacrificial too. Ultear of course gets her own redemption but Lyon doesn't get absolve until the very end and well Gray just loads more guilt onto himself (also not to derail but that scene when gray tells lyon that he needs to move forward is my favourite thing oh my god help me im going to cry)

These characters have so much trauma. They have so much baggage. Friendship wins, yes, but what is the cost? The people who stayed behind SEVEN YEARS and waited for their friends to come back, they suffered, and its not like we don't get to see that. Gajeel still regrets what he did to levy after years have passed, Juvia still apologises when it rains, even though she didn't do anything...

Ok I'm trying to wrap this up, because I'm forgetting things I wanted to say, but, I see you didn't mention Gray and Juvia, which is fine of course maybe you don't like their dynamic - but I do :D (sorry) And i know, I KNOW mashima didn't write juvia that way, I KNOW she is supposed to be a joke character to laugh at, but the dynamic of a boy who just hates everything about himself, looks down on how he is, thinks he is weak and the girl who just like loves him, loud and aggressive and unwavering - its so lovely.

It's a good series. I have been advertising it to friends heavily since I've seen it. It's not the best narrative ive ever read or my favourite anime, but it gets a reputation it does not deserve and I will fight for it.

Probably no one cares but I need to rant about Fairy Tail now that I finally finished it. Because I feel like it gets a lot more hate than it deserves considering that almost everything it set out to do it did right. Starting from characterization and relationship dynamics. Those were fucking great. They're so fucking fleshed out, I love them.

And I've seen people complaining about Natsu and Lucy's relationship being dragged out but I feel they're missing on the fact that, first and foremost, they're partners, and no amount of romance or lack thereof can change that. Not long after meeting him Lucy jumps out of a window with no hesitation and no back up plan because she heard Natsu's voice and that meant she would be safe. That is not just a high level of trust, that is insane. And that's the entirety of their relationship. Making them romantic wouldn't change anything. It would just mean slapping a different label on it, because their relationship simply cannot be more deep and meaningful than it already is. (And this might be my aroace ass speaking, but I cannot imagine Natsu being stereotypically romantic. Even if they decided that they were, in fact, dating, I feel nothing would change in the ways they act around each other)

Also about Erza and Jellal, really. They're clearly meant to be together, they love each other. But they can't share any amount of time on the same room without it becoming awkward or dramatic because the amount of shared trauma between them is fucking astronomical. They need twenty years of therapy before they can do any significantly romantic thing and that's great. It's awesome! Just because you're in love with someone doesn't mean that being together will be easy! But that doesn't make their relationship any less meaningful or tender.

And the platonic relationships! The family ones! Makarov will risk himself and use the fairy law and Mavis tries to stop him. Tells him she has a plan that will lead to victory. Only for Makarov to say "I know this. But I need it now because the children are suffering and I won't wait a second longer" before obliterating an entire army.

Gildarts might be a womanizer but he's good with kids and he's so fucking delighted at having a child. He's so proud, and so embarrassing. I love him.

The raijinshuu are friends, and it shows, and I kinda love that the one to have a raging crush on Laxus is not Ever, the only woman among them. And the Strauss siblings have such a good relationship too. And thankfully don't fall into any of the worst sibling cliches. Levi and Gajeel spend the whole time they know eachother developing a relationship on the background, and by the time you pay atention they're sleeping together. That's hilarious. It's fantastic.

And speaking of Laxus, he goes from being a crazy fuck to incredibly cool and dependable without it feeling like he got a complete personality transplant. Partly because it soon becomes clear that most dragon slayers are, at any given time, one wrong turn away from completely losing the plot regardless of their best intentions. But also because his core values remain the same. Guild pride is the thing that drives him. When we first see him he's obsessed with making Fairy Tail strong so that it can stand proud on the face of anything. After taking a forceful journey of self discovery he learns that the guild is the sum of every individual person on it, instead of an abstract ideal of power, but the fact remains that the guild is the important thing to him. That's why he gets Natsu to defeat Hades instead of doing it himself. Because at that point he's not a part of the guild, so if he's the one to win it'd mean that Fairy Tail didn't, and that simply cannot stand.

All in all, it does such a good job of depicting good and complicated relationships with care and nuance, and makes a place for the ones that are bad. Lucy's dad has to work to get accepted back into her life, and that's amaizing. Where else have you seen a parent that doesn't get instant forgiveness after saying sorry? It's certainly not as often as I would like.

But I mostly feel like talking about the "darker" things, because it sometimes gets labeled as childish because no one dies (which is a big fucking lie. And I did not sign up for that. At all. I was fucking counting on it, and it was a LIE. And sure, Silver was technically already dead, but still) and like. I get it. Most main characters who "die" get miraculously saved. But that doesn't mean trauma in-world is any lighter.

On the seven year timeskip most people don't care about the characters that stayed behind, because they're secondary, and weaker, and not very cool. But we're told the reason the guild fell behing wasn't because it lost it's stronger members, but because they spent years upon years neglecting jobs for the sake of searching for the missing ones. And that's very fucking big.

But, again. The darker shit. They're not happy go lucky. They're not naive. They declare war no less than three times and every single one they make it clear that it is not about justice, it's about vengeance. About retribution. About "you don't fucking fuck with us". (And, lets remember, declaring war was fucking illegal).

They repeatedly say that they don't do good things because they're the good guys. They do the shit they wanted to do and it might just be that it could be considered good (and if not, they can convince people in high places to overlook it, pretty please. Because they have the friends to manage that).

Natsu has a whole argument with an outright assassin, and it never comes up that "murder is bad". It's framed more as a professional disagreement, rather than a moral argument. Natsu's main problem is that, while taking killing jobs, they call themselves a guild, the thing he asociates with family. The thing he considers sacred above all else. And since killing jobs are dirty (not unethical) they should, therefore, never touch a guild.

Before the final batle he outright says that killing kinda sucks but he will do it if he has to. And then kills around 900 people in a single second. Lucy is ready to kill. She's alone with Brandish in the bath and she's ready to shiv her in the neck. She might feel cornered, like this is the only option she has left. But in that moment she's ready and willing to see it through.

Invel is facing Gray and tells him "yes! Sucumb to the darkness so you may understand and join our purpose". Only for Gray to go "you dumb ass bitch. Do you think I care about going dark? Do you seriously believe I'm playing hero? All I care about is taking you down and if I have to be evil for that then that's how we roll".

All of that. I love that. They don't give a single fuck. Family comes first not because that's good, but because that's the way they are. They don't much care about what place their guild occupies relative to the rest of the world, or where any one member falls on a scale from good to bad. When all is said and done, all that mathers to them is the line between them and us, and they don't care to sugarcoat it.

And so many shows do that wrong. You get good guys who commit untold atrocities that go unaknowledged because they're the good guys! They can do no wrong! And I feel Fairy Tail should get more credit than it does on those grounds alone, but it does help that the character dynamics are good.

And I could write an entire (incoherent) essay on how Zeref is truly the most sympathetic villain I've ever seen. Everything about how he ended up makes perfect sense with his fucked up situation beyond a simple "I suffered so now I'm a self righteous asshole". You can see all the ways his mind had to twist itself into pretzels for him to maintain any semblance of functionality. If you're an hyperempathetic young man who suddenly and involuntarily kills anything he cares about then you really need to convince your brain that you don't care about anything, actually. Problem with that is that you're now convinced that it's true, because it doesn't work unless it's true. But the thing is that you also want to die, and you can't do it while actively wanting to die, so you need to die while thinking you don't want to. What's the best way to do that? You need someone else's help. And the best way to get someone to kill you is probably if they really really hate you. And the best way to do that is to become a supervillain, probably. Which also comes in handy for the whole "convince myself I'm truly an asshole" thing. And you end up becoming a calamity and fucking over the lives of anyone who could have loved you. But at least you can finally die.

And Mavis! The sweet looking, undeniably good person who turned out to be a ruthless strategist, quite detached from the world around her, who has a hard time weighing the value of individual human lives when there's a bigger picture to look at. But she's not an unfeeling stereotype either. She does love people, she wants them to have good things. But that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't relate to people the way others do, even if she could've lived her life without ever realizing (and I love that they tell us the wars the mages participated in were merchant wars. Just a random little tidbit, but yes. Wars do tend to be about money)

And this was a very long post and I said a whole bunch of nothing because I can't keep a train of thought to save my life. I just wordvomited a bunch of things that I liked. Long story short: characteryzation in Fairy Tail is top tier and I won't be taking criticism about it. You can try to critisize me though, I do enjoy arguing when I have enough braincells to put words together in the right order

[madraleen]

Attack on Titan - Hajime Isayama Vol.34: The "It's Done, It's Finally Done" Commentary

(*final verdict: i currently consider this one of my favorite stories of all time)

-oh. oh i don't like that cover. i mean it’s a great cover, but it feels like a eulogy for someone is what i'm saying

-me to me, trying to get through the final volume without getting unhinged again: DEDICATE YOUR HEART!

-no body no crime, armin's fiiine, he's hanging out with ymir i'm sure. that wasn’t a painful enough way to die, just pointless, and we’re not doing ‘pointless’ in this manga.

-heh, jean saved reiner :)

-'but they dragged him off toward eren's ass.' never change, levi, never change.

-OH! THE NINE TITANS FROM THROUGHOUT THE AGES! SPLENDID! THAT ISN'T HELL ON EARTH AT ALL! THAT'S JUST GREAT! THAT'S- that's not a titan, that's the Thing from Fantastic 4.

-the visual of titan eren looking like he's in chains and hanging down his head is deliberate i assume

-oh so you're saying eren isn't attacking you, it's ymir

-jean and reiner bonding moment as they hang on for dear life

-mikasa 'bring it on' <3

-help from the skies. literally. thank you falco et al

-i am very afraid that i won't like the ending and i'm bracing myself for disappointment but i'm still holding on to hope and i want to work with what i'm given, and if that's not a parallel to the fight we're having with eren and the gang's feelings on it, i don't know what it is

-so few of the core cast have died that i honestly wouldn't be shocked at a rocks-fall-everyone-dies ending.

-gabi babe, WE can't fight at this point, let alone you. THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP DIDN'T WORK!

-yeah no, i see the parallels - gabi a child born to hate turning to kindness, eren a child born to (sort of) kindness turning to hate, it's nice.

-lmao annie, 'so how's armin' <3

-the fact that levi uses the word 'worrying' when he says 'we don't have the luxury of worrying about eren.’ awfully sentimental, for levi. 

-marleyans: LET'S ALL VOW FOR WORLD PEACE AND ELIMINATION OF HATE IF WE SURVIVE! marleyans two minutes later, seeing the eldians: I'LL SHOOT YOU, SCUM!

-i don't know why, but seeing jean and reiner work together makes me happy

-'your turn, jean!!' 'hold on, reiner!!' ASFSFHS

-oH INTERESTING, levi not having regrets about not choosing erwin. 'because i entrusted the future to that kid who had the same look in his eyes as all of you.' yes levi why don't you twist the knife in a little deeper, why don't you stomp my heart to the ground while you're at it

-'useless' that's what eren called armin too, coincidence?

-oh! zeke! hi! thoughts? 'hello. mr zeke.' oh armin.

-LOOK AT ZEKE'S SAND CASTLE

-BERTOLT SAVED ANNIE?!?! LESSSGOOOO! OOOH OUR TITANS ARE FIGHTING FOR US YESSS

-i'm very glad to see that all in all levi isn't stupid and isn't randomly trying to fight even though he can't

-oh man these fights are so messy (in a good way) that the panels just can't do them justice compared to what it'll be like in the anime i think

-the times connie has saved armin's ass. armin's specifically

-TITAN GRISHA! ! !

-please stop torturing levi, his eyes have never been so wide

-I WAS JUST SAYING THAT LEVI ISN'T STUPID AND HE JUST FLEW OFF AND DECAPITATED ZEKE, WHAT! FALCO, CATCH HIM! DON'T LET LEVI DIE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! (iconic moment tho)

-oh eren DID need zeke to use the founding titan? despite being given the founding titan’s power, he still needed the royal blood? interesting.

-some of jean's action panels with his hair all swept back are so cool

-'goodbye, you suicidal blockhead' shut up shut up shut upppp

-imagine having to wait monthly for the next chapter? torture

-OH THAT ONE BABY WAS SAVED! YAY!

-enough death for now, yeah? if eren's dead, let him be the last.

-oh of course. eren version 5.1 or something. because if his titans can't march, he'll march himself. now i assume it's mikasa's time to use the power of love

-some day i'll be able to make jokes on the progression of eren's hair. this is not that day. this chapter is called ‘a long dream,’ but i'd call it a nightmare. respectfully.

-oh. oh i see. we gathered everyone here just to see them turn into titans for maximum pain, i see.  you didn't have TO DO THIS, SENSEI, YOU DID NOT

-jean and connie holding each other before the end help me.

-don't show me young eren. please don't show me young eren, you know it makes this harder

-er. mikasa is kissing eren's decapitated head... (thrice decapitated). at least ymir is enjoying the sight...?

-is he really...? is eren really...? was that really...? did we really never get to talk to him...?

-i won't pretend to understand what's going on. i'm just sad at seeing little eren and little armin talk at the moment

-so time works all at once? so baby eren is blissfully ignorant while older eren sends dina to inadvertently attack his mother?

-HA ARMIN PUNCHED EREN

-i am like... i am close to tears, then i'm laughing at eren's breakdown over not wanting mikasa to love anyone else, what the hell is happening

-eren I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE EITHER

-well, you CAN'T be forgiven. that doesn't change.

-'i swear i won't let this terrible mistake you're making be in vain' jesus, armin

-EREN CRADLING ARMIN'S HEAD WHEN THEY HUG

-the gang are humans again,  i'm happy i promise. i’m just. it’s a lot. eren visited them all. on paths!zoom. which we didn’t see. which why.

-i'm surprised so many of the core cast had plot armor, but i'm not complaining

-the way they're just holding eren's head

-i can't believe eren's dead

-can we wrap this up, eren is dead and i'm exhausted

-three years time skip and please let this be the end, it's been enough, i can't take anymore

-i'm tired. i'm done. it's done. i get it. eren had to bring it all to pass in order for mikasa to kill him and get rid of the titans. he had to push them away to get them to that point, but he explained it all to us through the paths. he couldn't possibly survive. but. eren. god. there’s so much to wrap my head around, imma need a minute.

[absolutepokemontrash]

I come bearing a request! The Brothers with an MC who's really good at cooking and baking? Like, the stuff food blogs dream of. Master-level instagram pastries. Could compete with the chocolate guy if they put their mind to it.

👀 ooooo, I do love me some pastries-

(I know you have an *ahem* distaste for Lucifer, dear moot, so enjoy Lucifer acting like a bit of a dingus in his section!)

Lucifer

Oh, the human can cook. *insert asshole eyeroll here*. Great. Wonderful. Groundbreaking. That’s what’s got all his brothers acting like- what was that word Levi used? Simps? This human has turned six of the seven rulers of hell into a bunch of simps.

Sure, the human has near godlike cooking prowess. Sure, everyone looks forward to their day for cooking. And sure, everyone thinks the human’s pretty great.

Tsk, not him though. He’s a refined demon. Some silly food isn’t going to make him a lovesick fool… did he smell eclairs..?

Lucifer peered into the kitchen to see MC carefully taking a tray of eclairs out of the oven and letting them cool off on the counter. His favourite dessert… right there in front of him…

Due to not being a total moron, MC notices Lucifer and asks him what the hell he’s doing just standing ominously in the doorway. Lucifer makes up some bullshit excuse about reminding MC to do their homework and just leaves. Okay, game plan, he needs those fucking eclairs or he will spontaneously combust.

As he snuck into the kitchen that night, Lucifer took a moment to briefly wonder why he was creeping around his own house. He was the Avatar of Pride for pity’s sake! He could eat whatever he damn well pleased! Oh shit was someone coming- no? Okay, back to sneaking.

Lucifer crept into the kitchen, saw the eclairs, and all logic was thrown out the window. Time to eat!

“BEEL NO! NOT THE- Lucifer..?” “…” “…” “…you’re very talented, MC, do you mind making more of these?”

SOMEONE SNAP A PICTURE! THIS IS THE CLOSEST LUCIFER HAS GOTTEN TO BEGGING IN THE LAST THOUSAND YEARS!

Mammon

Ugh, stuck babysittin’ some dumb human, how lame…

As Mammon was throwing a “I’m broke and I’m stuck in a pact with a dumb human” pity party, the most heavenly smell entered his nostrils. Cooking… good cooking… was Barbatos visiting or somethin’? Nah, Lucifer woulda made a big fuss about gettin’ ready for Lord Diavolo. Huh, so what was goin’ on in the kitchen?

Huh? The human? The human can cook? Well damn, maybe this whole deal wouldn’t be so bad. Oi! MC! As payment for babysittin’ ‘em, he got to have an extra big share of- OW!

Did- did the human just hit him with a spoon?! Th-they can’t do that!

Apparently they fucking can. Mammon gets told to sit the fuck down and wait for the food like everyone else. He grumbles on the way to the dining room, but he can’t fully hide his excitement to try the food.

The food even looked pretty! How did they do that?! Magic. It had to be!

After everyone’s tastebuds were blessed with the heavenly substance that is MC’s culinary exploits, Mammon decides he needs to get on this human’s good side in order to receive more food! Maybe even find some way to make a profit or somethin’!

After weeks go by of trying to suck up to the human without looking like too much of a chump, Mammon eventually realizes… hey, this human ain’t so bad. They’re nice, they make him feel good about himself, they give him headpats… he’s really hit the jackpot here!

He’ll offer to help MC bake or cook, but beware, he will try and sample the food before it’s done. Don’t let him lick the spoon!!!

Leviathan

First thought? This human ain’t shit. Thought after seeing their food? WOAAAAAAAH! JUST LIKE THAT ONE ANIME-

He was unceremoniously cut off by Beel asking demanding seconds. Humph, fine, he doesn’t actually care about this dumb normie food anyway.

…well at least until Levi saw a little something something on TV that he just had to ask MC to try and make. He shyly knocked on their door and when they answered, Levi shoved the screenshot in their face and stuttered out a dinner request.

On the day MC was supposed to make dinner, Levi poked his head into the kitchen and tried to make it look like he was just standing in the same room as MC and not checking to see if they were making his dinner request.

Not that he’d blame them for not doing that… who’d wanna make some anime dinner for a yucky Otaku- OMG JAHSHSHABA THEY’RE MAKING IT! *fangirl squeals*

As Levi continues to commit the SIN of being in the kitchen at the same time as someone else, MC eventually just asks him if he’d like to help out.

“Here! Just keep turning the takoyaki.” “R-really? You trust me?” “Yes, Levi. You watched how they made it on your show, right?” “Yes! I won’t mess up! I swear on my honour as an otaku!”

All in all, it was a very cute bonding experience for the two. Now it’s a regular thing. Levi requests something for dinner or dessert, MC makes it, Levi helps out.

Satan

So, the human can cook. That’s nice. At least someone in this literally god forsaken house can.

He makes sure to thank MC every time they cook, then he makes sure to thank whatever deity is watching over him that Solomon wasn’t the human staying with them.

As the months progress, Satan realizes, he should learn how to cook better. I mean, Levi and Mammon were somehow both improving in their cooking endeavours, and if MC could teach those two, then he would be a breeze.

Satan walked into the kitchen and simply asked if MC needed any assistance with what they were doing. MC just slid him some garlic to dice and that’s how this mentor/student relationship was formed.

Satan was a star pupil, but Mammon and Levi weren’t above trying to sabotage Satan’s progress to get him to leave.

Here’s the thing, the sabotage worked, but it only worked once, and the two idiots didn’t stop to think that maybe they shouldn’t sabotage the meal they were going to have to eat later.

Well, cooking lessons continued uninterrupted after the ghost pepper incident…

Even when he’s ‘graduated’ their little cooking class, Satan’s always willing to lend a hand if needed. He also will slyly hand over some recipe books and cute baking supplies that he finds. MC should be prepared for lots of cat related things to come their way.

Asmodeus

The human can cook? Oh frabcious day! He’s saved from a life of his brother’s mediocre cooking! And the human’s so cute too! What a bonus!

Not only is the human cute, but their food is just so… aesthetic??? Pretty???? Omigosh he just has to get a picture for Devilgram!

For the first few months, MC’s relationship with Asmo consists of Asmo not at all subtly asking to take pictures of their food and post it to his Devilgram. Listen MC, his followers would just love it!

Being the saint-sheep they are, MC lets Asmo sit in whenever they’re making anything in the kitchen. And Asmo slowly realizes “hey, this cute human with the awesome food is actually pretty cool too!”

New Mission: Make the human fall madly in love with him so they’ll want to hang out more.

Whether the mission succeeds is up to MC of course. (I mean, I’m already smitten with him sooooooooo-)

MC offers Asmo a lot of the pastries they make, but the Avatar of Lust almost always declines. Listen honey, he’s on a diet- wait, don’t make that sad face! He’ll eat it! Look! It’s- it’s delicious…

Diet cheat day is now every day MC makes dessert. The feeling of bliss Asmo gets when he takes a bite out of anything MC makes is only second of the treats is second only to the joy he feels at seeing MC happy that he likes their food. It’s just so wholesome I can’t-

MC’s food Devilgram has almost surpassed Asmo in terms of followers and honestly- he isn’t even mad.

Beelzebub

Gasp! Lucifer finally got him the pet personal chef he’d always wanted! Thanks big bro! :D he’ll be sure not to eat this human!

On the first night MC was supposed to make dinner, Lucifer needed to hold Beel back from breaking into the kitchen to see what was causing that heavenly smell. It was, difficult… especially because Lucifer hadn’t slept in three days.

When they all sat down to eat, Beel practically inhaled everything and held up his half bitten plate for seconds.

We here at Stupid Headcanons incorporated recommend that MC have as many bodyguards as possible stationed around the kitchen at all times to ward off a hungry Beel. We don’t want him eating the ingredients and half-tempered chocolate.

A cinnamon roll through and through, he’ll eat everything MC gives him with a big ol’ smile on his cute little face. He’s not the best person to go to if MC wants advice or critique because the best thing Beel can usually muster is “it was really good.”

As Luke said in Lesson 5, Beel would make an awful food reporter. But we love him.

Similar to Levi, he’ll give meal requests on what to make for dinner. (At this rate, MC’s going to have to make some kind of list).

He kind of just waits by the door like a sad puppy whenever MC is making anything because he can’t get into the kitchen :(

Belphegor

The smell of freshly made chocolate chip cookies wafting through the house did reach the attic and it only fuelled his rage more. How dare the human win everyone over with cookies?!

After the attic incident, Belphie was won over with cookies.

Belphie just stands creepily in the kitchen doorway whenever MC is making anything and just makes shit really uncomfortable. Why’s he doing that, you may be wondering, well, he’s trying to calculate the energy needed to swipe the bowl of cookie dough and sprint to safety.

He never succeeds, mainly because once he gets to the bowl, MC already has the wooden spoon ready to smack him, so he just freezes mid-theft and slowly puts the bowl down.

“Oh my gosh, it says let the bread dough rest overnight? Let’s get a headstart and go to sleep now.” “Belphie what-” “I made a pillow Fort, come in. Let’s sleep.” “In the kitchen????”

How’d he make the pillow Fort without MC noticing? Years of experience. He’s trained in the art of- MC? What do you mean you can’t sleep right now and you need to get a head start on shaping fondant?

…he may have eaten the fondant while MC wasn’t looking… whoops… Beel may have rubbed off on him a little…

[inhonoredglory]

another character based question - how do you feel about mikasa? a lot of fans dont like her, im curious about how you feel! - armin anon

Hellooooo Armin Anon. OMG it’s been forever since I had the time to sit down and do a proper meta, and I apologize.

First off, I finished the manga!!! (So, spoilers ahead for anyone else reading this.) I had to lie down after reading 139. It’s a tremendous story and I’m still taking it all in. The set pieces and personal/emotional stakes of everything that happens is just astounding. If it’s one thing Isayama does good, it’s the gut-wrenching personal anguish that underlies the action. I’m absolutely floored. My favorite bit was probably the timey-wimey stuff in Paths and Eren. That blew my freaking mind. But onto Mikasa!!

A Cruel Yet Beautiful World

I remember way back when I started the anime that I started liking Mikasa first out of the group. I liked how sullenly silent and no-nonsense she was, and I liked her loyalty to Eren. Her emotion, especially when Eren died in Trost, was palpable and terrifyingly beautiful. Her grief was incredibly realistic––rushing off with a death wish that even she couldn’t succumb to in the end, because of the drive to fight that she got from Eren. In a world like SNK, her relentlessness breaking through her grief was incredibly moving. And her philosophy is basically the driving theme of SNK: “This is a cruel world, and yet so beautiful.”

This is the same moral message she gives Eren when he can’t find the strength in him to fight Annie––and gives him that warm, understanding, inscrutable smile that allows him to finally accept his own monsters, fight Annie, and save her and Armin. (One of my favorite panels of her from the manga, actually.) Mikasa is basically the first character we meet who embodies this contradictory morality, which grows to engulf SNK and other characters as well (Levi, Reiner, and Armin especially come to mind). Which could be why I was drawn to her at the start, since the complex moral outlook of SNK was the primary reason I fell hard for this story.

(And gosh, it’s tragic to realize that it’s teaching moments like the scene above that made Eren into the person who could influence his own child self to murder, the person who could wipe out so much of humanity, the person who could take Ymir’s challenge to free her by destroying the love of the person who cared the most about him. I’m still processing yo.)

Acker-parallels

I started really analyzing Mikasa when I had to defend her from a friend of mine who accused her of resenting Levi (for beating up Eren) and that’s why she attacked him so violently in the RTS serumbowl. Because of my research into rebutting that, a lot of my affection for Mikasa now comes in seeing the little ways in which she cares and trusts other people, including Armin, Levi, Gabi, and Jean. And her quiet sensibility that goes beyond her love and protectiveness of Eren.

With Levi in particular, I find a lot I like about her. Because you can definitely see her annoyance at him, but she also trusts him more than anyone else in the Corps outside of Armin. After Levi’s violent encounter with Historia, she was the only one who implicitly trusted Levi’s judgement, backing up Armin’s more reasoned logic. She sees beyond her own emotions and even moral feelings and realizes the world is cruel enough that sometimes people have to do dark things to help others and survive.

This is very much the same statement Levi made to the 104th when he had asked them to follow Erwin’s orders when the commander’s plans were questionable on the surface: “Do you trust him? Those dumb enough to say yes… come with me.” These two understand each other on a moral level, and they ask for their comrades’ loyalty without demanding it, because they each know that everyone’s conscience is their own.

There’s a clear parallel between Mikasa and Levi, not only because of their Ackerman heritage and sensibilities (loyal to a fault to their chosen person, impossibly strong, quiet and grim), but their frustration when they cannot protect the people they are responsible for. They both know they are the strongest around, and if they cannot fulfill on that power, a lot of people will die.

There are many moments in which Mikasa puts aside her personal feelings to do her soldierly duty, from leaving Eren to help with the evacuation of Trost to leaving Eren and Armin to fight the Colossal Titan alone in Shigonshina.

And then there’s the fact that Levi’s the one who could break past Mikasa’s headspace and distraction so that she can do the right thing. He understands her strong emotion, he respects it, but he also knows when that has to be put aside for the greater good. But he doesn’t put her down for having those emotions, either.

Strength from Eren, Humanity from Armin

Mikasa’s love and loyalty to Eren challenges her tremendously after the timeskip and her sorrow at Eren’s change is what really stands out to me about her character in the Marley arc. The absolute grief in her eyes when she tells Eren what he’s done is devastating, and it shows just how much goodness and compassion she does have.

And yet she longs to understand Eren, to trust him, to believe there can be something redeeming, and not merely jaded and tired, in what he taught her so many years ago––to fight, to win, to live.

There’s such a difference between these same words said here by Mikasa, so many years later, after so much heartbreak, to the anger and flame that were in them when she first heard them, back when she realized that this was the way of the world. That death and killing happens in the natural world everyday and that’s how you survive. That the world is both cruel and beautiful.

And yet as the years wore on, as Mikasa grew closer to others, found purpose in protecting others, sought a life with Eren… as she wandered further into the forest of life and society and relationships, she lost some of that simple injunction... to live is to fight, to fight is to win. She, like so many of the 104th and the others on this journey, found that it’s not enough to just fight and live and be satisfied. We really want it all to mean something, to have our actions be redemptive. To allow ourselves to believe that we do what we’re doing because we’re not just saving ourselves, but saving others, “saving the world” like Yelena points out (in the forest therapy session pfff). And it’s that drive for something bigger in our actions that grieves her so much with Eren, because as she wants her own actions to be fundamentally good and selfless, she wants his actions to be moral as well.

So while Eren is the person that frustrates Mikasa and motivates her to become stronger and braver than she ever was, Armin is the person who humanizes Mikasa and allows her the space to be gentle and vulnerable. She comforts Armin, confides in him, puts her faith in him, and puts her life in his hands.

She trusts Armin with Eren, and she values Armin’s intellect and compassion, qualities she doesn’t have in nearly as much quantities as he does: “There are only so many lives I can value. And… I decided who those people were six years ago. So... you shouldn’t try to ask for my pity. Because right now, I don’t have time to spare or room in my heart.”

This bit from her confrontation with Ymir and Historia was a defining moment for me with Mikasa. It’s honest and realistic in a way that few of us care to admit about ourselves, and it’s just super chilling and badass coming from her, too. It also shows how much she fights for Armin and Eren both. They are the two people she loves the most in the world, and she never gave up on saving either of them––from death or from themselves.

I’m looking back on Trost now and finding so much irony with the ending to SNK. In Trost, she was the one to give up on Eren, telling Armin that it was hopeless to try to extract Eren’s personality from his Titan form. And yet, like in the end, it’s always been between Armin and Mikasa to try to salvage Eren’s humanity. In Trost, Armin tells Mikasa to leave––to go do what she’s good at (saving lives)––and to entrust Eren to him.

It’s a huge expression of both Mikasa’s trust in Armin, and her belief in Armin’s abilities and friendship for Eren. And in the end, it’s the two of them again debating on if there’s any humanity left in Eren. The bond they share is intimate and deep. With all the military doubting Eren and scheming to take away his Titan (with even Jean and Connie unavailable to them emotionally), it’s only Armin and Mikasa against the world––the only two people who can truly consider Eren’s actions and hold off on judging him. And you can feel their love for him even as they doubt him.

And like back then, it has always been Armin who understands Eren most, the one who recognizes his own evil and Eren’s and finds a redemption in having others stop you, because you cannot stop yourself.

And that’s the thing I really take away from SNK and from Mikasa’s journey, that we all have devils inside us, and yet there is still beauty to be found, within us and in the world––from the natural wonders that Armin dreams of, to the comfort of purpose and companionship that Mikasa has in Eren. Love and wonder is what redeems us of our devils. And yet love itself is complicated, and can turn ugly in its obsession. That giving up that love is what makes the love selfless and beautiful, what absolves us of the selfishness within us. That’s what Mikasa learned. And in the end, she was able to release that love for the good of the world.

So I guess to sum up, I really love Mikasa. I can see why her dogged loyalty to Eren might annoy some fans, but I think there’s a lot more to her than simply that, and in fact, her journey and growth is heart-rending and one of the most symbolic arcs of SNK and fundamental to its entire theme. She’s a badass with a lot of emotion and depth behind her cold mask.

[kachuusha]

I swear levi and hanji's bond is just so pure. it's really something special and I would never get tired of saying this. most people would probably think that they wouldn't work well together in the long run because "they are too different" but they aren't actually that different? from what we have scene right at the moment they were introduced they are already close. right from the start isayama established that yes these two characters are friends. yes they have different personalities—levi is quiet and reserved while hanji is energetic. levi likes cleaning and it is said that hanji forgets to take care of their hygiene. but that's not all there is to their characters! also if you ask me I think hanji being unhygienic is just something that got blown way out of proportion because of the existing side materials. I don't remember this ever being addressed in the manga or anime? I think that hanji just gets too distracted with their work that they would sometimes forget to take showers. it's not that they hate being clean but rather they don't want to get taken away from their research. I don't think levi resents them for that either? it seems to me that he is worried about hanji's health that's why he has taken it upon himself to remind them to bathe.

if you look at their characters on suface value, they look like complete opposite. but if you look deeper, you would notice how similar they are. both have the same penchant for shit jokes. hanj is the only character we've seen respond to levi's jokes and the only one who dares to challenge levi's occasional sarcastic remarks. the two also share similar ideologies and are very compassionate and selfless people. they strongly value life—a common theme about levi is how always tells his comrades before battle to not die. one of the aspects of his character arcs is to give meanings to the deaths of his fallen comrades. whenever hanji makes plans or inventions what they always keep in mind is to minimize deaths. hanji was able to achieve that through the invention of executioner from hell. under hanji's command the scouts were able to wipe out the titans in the island by while avoiding casualties. they carried the wills of their comrades. levi and hanji both believed that the rumbling isn't something that their comrades would want. they are two of the very few characters who were shown to be vocally against the rumbling.

another set of similarities they have is how the two are regarded as different. hanji is often seen as eccentric because of their genius while levi is socially awkward and easily misunderstood. hanji is viewed as odd for their unconventional ideas and even though levi might tease them sometimes, it is undeniable that levi highly values their insights and acknowledges that they are an intelligent individual. levi is often misunderstood because of how crude he speaks at times but hanji sees way past that and knows of the kind mind behind that facade.

all these similarities are what allowed them to have that very deep understanding. that understading between them is consistently developed throughout the series. you can see it with the way they talk during missions and how comfortable they are with each other's presence. they are each other's confidants because they know they would never judge the other. need proof? just read 126. that deep level of understanding is the strongest aspect of their bond—it's what allowed them to let go of each other. that's where their love manifests.

[revirushifaa]

Sweet Memories

Summary: One night when Lucifer is checking old books for paperwork that he needs done, he stumbles with an old photo album with his angel years with the rest of his brothers. Leviathan is the only brother he knows being awake, so he calls him to check them with him.

Note: These are my headcanons on how the bros were as angels. Satan is not there for obvious reasons, these events happened before the Celestial War, so Satan is non-existent there.

------------------------------

"Where could I have put it? Hm..." Lucifer mused as he was searching for some old documents that could help him with the paperwork he was currently doing, late night and busy as ever, he was given the chance to rest but he decided to work instead.

"Hm? Hey, this is..." when he spotted a certain book, he stopped his search and picked it up, the book was a bit dusty, so he blew it and wiped it off with his gloves, seeing what the book was about, he sighed softly.

His angel years with his brothers, that was the photo album that they all agreed to have as memories for when they had their previous life. Lucifer flipped the book open and began looking at the pictures, a small smile crossing his features. All his brothers as little angels.

He had an idea, he grabbed his D.D.D and texted Leviathan.

'Levi, can you come to my room?'

Levi was likely still awake having a marathon of his favorite anime. He, however felt his phone vibrated and pulled it out, blinking.

"Lucifer wants to see me? Wonder what he wants."

He wasn't all that nervous since he and Lucifer had very positive bonding times just the two of them, he paused his anime and got up, sending an 'on my way' text back to Lucifer. He knocked on the eldest's door.

"Lucifer, I'm here."

The door was open and Lucifer greeted his younger brother with a small smile.

"Come in, Levi."

Levi walked in, as the door behind him closed behind and took a seat on a couch in Lucifer's room.

"Remember this?"

Levi's eyes widened at seeing the photo album. "No way! You have our photo album! I never thought, you would save that..."

"I did of course. I could never let these memories go lost in space... the only memories of being a angel that I would never forget." Lucifer nodded, showing the pictures to his brother. Levi looked at them with a certain fondness, he had to admit, these moments were really magical, they all were very close as angels, but didn't mean now as demons they were not anymore, they still were brothers, but some differences were in the way, still though, they appreciated one another in their own way.

"Oh this one photo..." Levi looked at the picture. It was one when he was just a few years born, like four. He was afraid of swinging in a swing that was put their merely for the little angels' fun. "I was so frightened, until you swung with me, Lucifer, I didn't even want to swing with Mammon, but you." he chuckled a bit. "Guess, I was a bit of a skiddish baby angel."

Lucifer chuckled. "Yes, only with me, you were able to cast your fear away. Look at that, I still remember as if it was just yesterday you were born, you're so grown up, little brother..." he sighed, where had time gone to. His brother was an adult demon, not that sweet shy little angel of the picture.

Levi looked embarrassed. "Lucifer, please, you're embarrassing me.." he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed at his brother's words, but smiled fondly the picture, remembering how it went.

Long, long ago...

"What's that?" Little angel Leviathan asked, as he stared at the new structure while he was hiding behind Mammon.

"It's just a swing, Father ordered for it to be put for our fun! I think it's awesome, wanna try it, Levi?" Mammon asked his little brother, turning around a little to see him.

"N-no, thanks. Seems dangerous." Levi shook his head, refusing to go on and sit on the swing in front of him.

"Oh, c'mon, Levi! It'll be much fun!" The white-haired angel moved to pick up his little brother, who squirmed in his hold and cried.

"No, no, no! Put me down, Mammon! Put me DOWN!" He wailed, his eyes pricking with tears at the corners.

"What seems to be the matter." A deep voice asked behind the angels. Angel Lucifer had come to check on his little brothers, seeing Levi crying in Mammon's arms.

"Mammon, put Leviathan down, he is scared. You should not force him to do something he does not not want to do." Lucifer ordered, folding his arms and eyeing his second brother disapprovingly.

Mammon pouted and placed, sobbing little Levi down. "But I just wanted to show him the swings and swing with him! I wasn't even hurting him, Lucifer!"

"Yes, I know that. But, he does not want that." The older angel stated as he approached his brothers and crouched down to Levi, putting a hand on his head, speaking softly to him. "Levi, it is alright, it is just a swing." He held his small hand.

Levi sniffled and looked up at his brother. "It won't hurt me?"

"No, it will not," Lucifer cleaned up Levi's teary eyes with his thumb and smiled gently down at him. "Would you like to try it? I will go with you." Unlike how Mammon asked him, Lucifer didn't immediately pick him up to put him there by force, he used words first, instead of actions.

Seeing that his wise older brother was asking him gently first, Levi nodded his head a little. "Okay, but, Lucifer, go with me."

"Of course, brother mine, I will go."

The older angel led the younger angel by the hand to the swing and let him see him, not urging him to sit on if he didn't want to. Levi let go of his brother's hand and moved slowly to the swing, lightly poking it, seeing it didn't do a thing to him back. But he didn't want to sit on, still unsure of it.

"Do you want me to sit with you, brother?" Lucifer offered him and Levi thought for a moment, before nodding, trusting him. Lucifer picked him up gently, sitting down on the swing, placing Levi on his lap, holding him with an arm around the child's chest, and holding onto the side of the swing with his free arm.

"Mammon, can you push us?"

"Yes, I can!" Cheerily, Mammon moved forward and started pushing Lucifer in the swing with Levi.

"W-woooooooaaaah! I can see our room from here!" Levi squeaked, seeing the sight before him as he went back and forth.

Lucifer chuckled. "Impressive, right? This is what you see when you swing." He replied gently, holding securely onto the swing and his brother.

"And I can push you the highest, you haven't seen a thing yet, brothers!" Mammon giggled with a grin, and pushed the other angels as high as he could.

Levi kept aweing as Lucifer calmly swung with him, replying to anything the child told him, having much fun. He was a teenager angel, but he didn't mind being around his kid brothers, that was what he enjoyed doing, he was their big brother and as their big brother, he promised to be with them always.

A picture was taken without the brothers' knowledge, one that would be saved as a very dear memory.

Present time

Levi sighed as he remembered how that went. "Lucifer, this memory is by far my favorite one. There's more I know... but this one, makes it very special." He smiled, looking at his kid self holding onto the swing with his brother, he looked so excited and Mammon happily pushing them from behind.

Lucifer had also remembered the memory, a look full of fondness as he sighed. "Sometimes I wish things were like those times again, where we didn't have to worry about a thing, just of living and staying together... will never forget these wholesome times." He flipped the pages and smiled softly, at the next picture.

"Ah, look at this one, you fell ill and I had to stay behind to care for you, missing the feast with the other brothers. You were a little older here."

Levi smiled back. "I was like ten/eleven, can't remember but, I felt happy you cared too much for staying with me." He really did, Lucifer's will was to stay with him until he got better with his cares.

Long, long ago

"Where is Leviathan?" Lucifer asked his younger brothers, he was holding his infant sister Lilith in arms. "The feast is starting soon and we cannot go without him."

"Last I checked, he was still sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up, so I let him sleep more." Mammon replied, he was holding little baby angel Belphie in arms while Asmo had Beel in his own arms.

Lucifer frowned softly. "Still in bed? Odd for him, normally he's up at the same time as Mammon... I will go check on him." He gently put Lilith in Mammon's arms. "Watch Lilith, too." He instructed as Mammon adjusted the infant angel in arms, so she fit in as he was holding Belphie at the same time.

Lucifer walked inside the temple and to his brother's room, knocing in softly. "Levi?" He called and waited. When he got no answer, he opened the door and stepped inside, seeing his brother still in bed. He walked over to him and placed his hand on his forehead to wake him, frowning concerned, seeing he had a fever.

"Oh no. This can't be good." His brother had a fever, that meant it was some heavenly flu that he came down with.

Levi groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "L-Lucifer...? Is it the feast already?" his voice was hoarse.

"Almost, but you aren't well, are you?"

Levi shook his head. "I feel hot and very yucky." He had bas taste because of his cold.

Lucifer frowned. "You have heavenly flu, brother mine. You cannot get out of bed like this."

"B-but what about the feast?! Father's not gonna be happy with me skipping it, you know how he is..." Levi bit his lip a little.

Lucifer shook his head. "No. I will tell him you caught a cold, and I will stay behind to take care of you until you get better."

Levi smiled feebly. "Thank you, big brother... you're so nice to me."

Lucifer ruffled his indigo hair and sent a message by thought to his Father, explaining everything to him. Then nodded when he was immediately replied.

"Do not worry, Levi. Father knows now and he will not be mad for skipping the feast, I will stay here with you." He said reassuringly, then stood. "I just have to tell the rest of our siblings that we won't be joining them in the feast."

At Levi's nod, the older angel left the room to see his other siblings and spoke to them.

"Listen, everyone. Levi is ill with heavenly flu and won't be joining us. I will stay behind and take care of him, the rest of you will go to the feast with no exception."

"Do we take our baby siblings there? Beel and Belphie can eat solids now, but Lilith is merely born a few hours ago, what should she eat while all of us are eating?" Mammon asked, a little thoughtful.

"Feed the twins with bland food, there should be bottles of milk for our sister. Your caretaker, Uriel will take you to the feast and watch over you, while I'm with Levi. Now, behave yourselves and do not cause any sort of trouble, or there will be consequences. You don't wish to upset Father either." Lucifer said to the rest of the little angels and they all nodded at him or rather Mammon and Asmo, for the last of the siblings were still very young to speak clearly.

Pleased with their answers, Lucifer whirled to stay with sick little Levi and sat by his bed side. "I am here, Levi." he assured softly, rubbing his hot forehead.

"Big brother, I feel yucky..." Levi whimpered, being the sensitive little brother, he was beginning to whine at being sick.

"Shh, shh, do not speak much, sleep," Lucifer hushed him softly. "Do you want me to sing a lullabye to you?"

Levi nodded, his brother's soothing voice helped him calm down easily. Lucifer cleared his throat and began singing to his little brother, holding his hand.

"Little brother mine,

Hush now, close your eyes,

Dream of a wonderful world with all of us,

Little brother mine,

Hush now, lay your head close to my chest,

You will dream peacefully, not a single nightmare,

Little brother mine,

Hush now, sleep tightly, tightly..."

When he was done singing, Lucifer turned to look at Levi and he was once again sleeping, his little hand holding his tightly and the older angel smiled warmly, reaching over and planting a brotherly kiss to his head. That lullabye was sung to him when he was a mere baby, he sung it to Mammon and Levi when they were little infants, and still sung it to them and the rest of his siblings, only changing the lyrics when it was sung to Lilith.

"Sleep well, get well soon, little brother mine..."

Present time

"Lucifer..." Levi suddenly mumbled. Lucifer turned to him from the book.

"Yes?"

"What changed you to who you are now? You were so caring, rarely even yelled or punished us like how you do now..." Lucifer sighed. He knew he would be asked that question eventually, so he was honest with his answer, not telling a single lie.

"I turned strict because of your own good and the others... you all needed a firm hand in discipline, not just gentleness or not consequences at all. I... I would not take it to see any of you go forever for any rash behavior... you all are very important to me... all of you. Even if I'm hard as a rock or unmoving... you will always be my little brothers, nothing will ever change that."

Leviathan understood the need to be more firmer now that they all were demons, when they were angels they didn't do any mischief as the one most of them did nowadays.

"Yeah, I get that, I just miss your old caring you so much..."

Lucifer wrapped an arm around Levi's shoulders. "I'm still caring, you all just don't know when I do it and I prefer doing it secretly." He explained, squeezing Levi's shoulder.

"Hm. Well, I should be grateful you still show me the same care as when I was a tiny angel, thank you, Lucifer..." shyly, Levi admitted earning a quick chuckle from Lucifer.

"Don't mention it, brother mine. Still want to see more photos?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

And both brothers kept watching more pictures of sweet memories and remembering the sweet and dear moments that they had back at the Celestial Realm.

[tundrainafrica]

"A couple hours ago Levi couldn't even stand and he let Hanji sacrifice themselves and didn't fight in their stead because he only wanted to kill the monkey ("two fingers are enough). Now he's suddenly wooshing in on the battlefield with more severe injuries for killing Zeke" is what most criticism revolving Levi's character says and I don't even understand why 😔 Can you please share your thoughts? I just want them to stop after reading your post! 😩

I made a post about this a while back (You can check it here) but I’m going to point stuff some out here because... these types of comments frustrate me. 

"A couple hours ago Levi couldn't even stand and he let Hanji sacrifice themselves and didn't fight in their stead because he only wanted to kill the monkey ("two fingers are enough). Now he's suddenly wooshing in on the battlefield with more severe injuries for killing Zeke"

This statement, this observation up here can actually be interpreted to add more depth to Levi’s character and consequently, to Levihan. Levi’s character is one of the more fleshed out ones in the manga and anime overall like no one can tell me that Levi has ever been an ‘I don’t care about anyone,’ ‘woosh woosh Zeke’ type of guy. Like literally, when has he ever lived for himself??

Like the moment Isabel and Farland died, a few minutes later, we kinda saw him scrambling for someone else to live for? And when Erwin died? Thank god Hange was there. 

And Hange and Levi’s relationship (regardless if you interpret it as romantic or platonic) runs deep and I personally just do not believe their relationship should be invalidated at all. 

Let’s look at the moments post Levi’s injury and what that says about their relationship. 

To answer your question “Levi couldn’t even stand” 

YES HE COULD. It would have been painful, an ideal. BUT YES HE COULD.

Levi’s humanity’s strongest soldier. And look, hours after the injury, as soon as he was conscious, he could have sat up and he could have forced himself too stand.

But who pushes him down? Tells him he doesn’t need to stand?

Hange? 

And if you look at every other scene after?

And where does Levi sit up for the first time?

When Hange has to leave him to fight.

So really, my interpretation behind this was just as long as Hange was there to take care of him, Levi wouldn’t sit up, Levi would let himself rest. 

I honestly think given Levi’s character it would have been harder for him to rest than to fight. He was only letting himself rest and recover because he trusted Hange that much to take care of him. And he was doing it for her.

Which brings up another thing. As soon as Levi realizes it’s an inevitable to fight, like I’m sure Hange told him about what happened in Odiha and when Yelena told that himself, he saw it as an inevitable.

So he forces himself out of bed.

Levi prepared himself to fight long before Hange’s death, long before they found out that Hange was gonna have to sacrifice herself. 

I have this headcanon that if Hange didn’t die, Levi wouldn’t have pushed himself much harder because Hange would have been there to stop him and at least she would have been there to carry half the burden. 

The thing is Hange, wasn’t there any more? So suddenly, out of nowhere, Levi had to carry the weight of being the last veteran there. And we all know that Levi is motivated by bonds and relationships more than anything and Hange was the bond that ran deepest. 

I’ll digress to explain something. 

I mentioned above that Levi is always scrambling for something to live for right? And it’s always relationships. Remember Isabel and Farland right? And suddenly he goes for Erwin. 

And remember when Erwin died? Erwin is a very important person to Levi, undeniably but this moment, where Erwin died, look at Levi’s reaction. 

When Hange die... You could literally see the moment where the light left Levi’s eyes. 

I’m not here to invalidate Erwin and Levi’s relationship. In fact, I think the loss of Erwin really was a gutpunch to Levi but the presence of Hange made Erwin’s death almost bearable. 

Because I really believe that to a degree, Levi took Hange’s presence for granted. Because they got into the survey corps at almost the same time and I’m 99% sure they work closely together because really, why would they ride next to each other during every canon mission even if they’re in different squads and of different ranks if they weren’t. 

So Hange was a constant to Levi so Levi’s thought process when Erwin died was: “It’s okay, Hange and I will get through this.”  

 Because who was next to him when Erwin died? HANGE. And Hange as mentioned above is really one of the biggest constants in Levi’s life. 

I’m sure that Levi did not expect her to die, I’m sure he didn’t expect her to leave that fast. I’m pretty sure Levi’s naturally instinct after that, whenever something shitty happened was: “It’s okay Hange and I will get through this.” 

Because before that Erwin had so many death flags but I think even the fans weren’t prepared for her death? 

And I think similarly, Levi imagined a future with Hange. Like he was sure there was the possibility that she could die but at the same time, I feel like Levi had the natural instinct or just the natural thought process of shoehorning Hange in future interactions he imagined..

And that’s why her death was so fucking painful. 

And he lost this constant without any time to think “Okay, yeah so who do I live for now...” 

So yes, Levi is ready to fight, he already prepared but we all know he need chapter 133 to mourn. 

So he just instantly didn’t go ‘woosh’ where’s Zeke.

And there are some serious similarities with the way he handled Isabel and Farland’s death and going straight to serving Erwin from there. The thing is, after Hange’s death, he lost someone incredibly close to him and someone he didn’t expect to die at all. Isabel and Farland’s I feel like Levi almost saw that coming. With Erwin, Levi saw that coming too. 

But after this bullshit that came out of nowhere where Hange was like “let me go?” 

He mourns of course. But what does he do when he first joins the battle. (As if he were scrambling for another reason to fight.)

He saves Connie and Jean right? Because suddenly he realized that they’re the people he’ll be fighting for next, and he literally throws away all natural self preservation instincts to save them. 

And really?? People are focusing on Zeke?? If Levi were so damned focused on killing Zeke, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have jumped to save Jean or fucked up his knee to save Connie. 

Because he would have wanted to be in tip top form to kill Zeke right? 

Anyway, I dunno who’s saying stuff like this but I’m kinda suspecting we’re not following the same show. 

[randomposterofstuff]

What if RivaMika becomes canon through the official character guidebook/encyclopedia?

Okay. So, before I delve into this, I’d just like to address the news regarding the Eren and Mikasa love comedy segment that will be released in a magazine on June 5.

On the EreMika love comedy thing, I think it will be meant as something humorous and light-hearted. I don't think that it's going to be meant as something serious. After all, Eren is already dead. And Mikasa's grief was greatly emphasized. So, it's probably going to be some AU/non-canon skit. I did see an illustration featuring cabin-dream Eren and Mikasa, though. (But I’m not sure if it’s a preview from the Da Vinci magazine, the caption was not really clear on that.) So, these love comedy moments may be meant to take place in the "dream world" that was shown in Chapter 138. But even if that were the case, the fact remains that Eren is dead, and Mikasa now lives her life without him.

I also did a little digging and learned that it will be published by a Japanese magazine called Da Vinci.

And as far as I know, all past official character guidebooks and encyclopedias have been published by Kodansha. So, I'm not sure about the "canon-ness" of the Da Vinci contents. I also tried to look for information that says that Isayama-sensei himself is the source, but I can't find any. So... yeah.

I also checked and learned that Da Vinci is published by Kadokawa Future Publishing and not by Kodansha. My digging also confirmed that the two are completely separate and different publishing companies. So... you know... Hahaha.

In any case, I think that the Da Vinci magazine contents are separate and distinct from the final character guidebook which will be released alongside the reprint with the additional pages. Also, regarding the character guide that Da Vinci will include, I don't think that it will be as complete and as comprehensive as the OFFICIAL guidebook which will be released.

(So, there's still a chance for RivaMika to become canon in the OFFICIAL guidebook. Hihi.)

---

Okay. So, moving forward…

I read that a final character book will be published on June 9 - which is the same day that the reprint with the additional pages will be released.

Regarding this character book, I can't help but think that even if RivaMika becoming canon won't be explicitly shown in the additional pages, it could be officially confirmed as canon through the contents of the character book.

Since the series has already ended, we're probably going to get post-war statistics and information about the characters.

Concerning this, my RM-shipping mind couldn't help but think about what Levi and Mikasa's statistics and info would look like. (Hehehe.) I imagine that it would be something like this:

Mikasa Ackerman

Status: Alive

Known Family:

Mother

Father

Eren Yeager (Adoptive Brother)

Grisha Yeager (Adoptive Father)

Carla Yeager (Adoptive Mother)

Levi Ackerman (Husband)

---

Many years after the war, Mikasa and Levi reconnected and deepened their bond!

When Levi visited Paradis Island three (3) years after the war, he and Mikasa met again. During their reunion, the pair recalled their past missions and talked about how they've been coping since the war ended. From that day onwards, Levi and Mikasa began to keep in touch more frequently. A stronger and deeper bond grew which eventually led to marriage!

---

Learned more about her Ackerman heritage with the help of the Paradis Island Royal Archives and Marleyan Historical Records.

During the time they became closer, Levi and Mikasa decided to dig deeper into their Ackerman heritage. Research had revealed that she and Levi hail from one common ancestor who lived even before the Walls on the Island were built.

Attempts to create an accurately detailed family tree proved difficult due to their respective family lines being separated from each other by several generations of ascendants from several family branches.

Mikasa: I knew that we weren't closely related, but I never thought that our clan was this large.

Levi: Tch. With how distant our relation is, we might as well not be related.

Mikasa: But we're related by marriage, captain.

Levi: I know that, brat. And stop calling me 'captain'. I'm your husband now.

Mikasa: Only if you stop calling me 'brat'. I'm your wife now.

Hahaha. Please forgive me. I couldn't help but indulge my RivaMika dreams and fantasies.

---

Anyway, in the article I read, there was also a mention of a new character.

If there really will be a new character, who could it be? Maybe... the child of a certain couple of post-Rumbling survivors? Perhaps this character had already made a brief cameo in the anime?

Image taken from the end credits of Episode 22 of Part 2 of Season 3 of the "Attack on Titan" anime.

Maybe it's a possible Ackerbaby attending a private school in Marley or Paradis? 👀 Hahaha.

---

Final Note: This is just a very fanciful hope of mine. I admit that I'm new to the fandom, but I became invested rather quickly. Haha. In any case, I think that this is certainly a possibility. The probability of it is another matter entirely. But it's still possible, though. Hahaha.

On a more serious note, I'm glad that I joined the RM fandom. The community is really fun and open-minded!

[warm-starlight]

Hello! I am not in the Levihan fandom, so I don't really know where to go, but I really wanted to ask a few questions about the ship and how the shippers view it. Sorry if I'm in the wrong place or if this bothers you at all.

One, how do you guys view the forest scene, really? Do you view it as a love confession? Or do you think they already knew of each other's feelings? And do you think Hange really would've run away with Levi, or was it just a selfish desire or statement thrown out out of desperation?

Two, do shippers actually believe that the plane in the ending was meant to symbolize/represent Hange similarly to how the bird represented Eren? (I was never sure if this was serious or joking.)

Three, what do you think of Levi's motivation after Return to Shiganshina? (I know this isn't directly related to Levihan, but I know different shippers will have different answers on this!) Do you think he was driven by the vow? Or was he driven purely by his comrades and hope for a better future? Or was he driven by both? What about his vow to kill Zeke? Do you feel that was purely for humanity's goal, or do you think it was personal? Or a combination of both?

Four, what do you think of Levi's other relationships and friendships? Such as his relationships with Erwin, the other veterans, Petra and his squad, etc. (Like, I'm not a Levihan shipper but I absolutely adore what they had!)

And five, what was the moment that made you realize Levi and Hange had something special?

(Sorry for the long ask! I'm just very curious!)

Hello! I am glad you are interested in the best ship in SnK-LeviHan. 😄

Your ask is long and consists on different questions so i will try to break it down and answer each one separately. Mind you this is my personal perspective and observation, but i assure you there are as many opinions as there are shippers, so make sure to read around Levihan tag to get a better picture.

Let's begin!

I personally believe it was Hange's love confession. I believe they had a deep bond that transcended platonic friendship, considering the scene WIT added to introduce them and their bond in which Levi is borderline teasing/flirting, but they never really thought much of it, or maybe they were afraid to think about it, considering they lose people they love all the time due to their line of work. On the other hand, Hange seemed to always believe in Levi's strength. I believe they never really considered something bad could happen to him of all people, that's why their reaction to finding Levi in that vulnerable state was of pure shock. I think right then they experienced a realization, that they could Lose Levi. I believe on top of other things this is what drove them to say "Maybe we should just live here together" because the threat of being persecuted by Yegerists was on their backs.

I don't think it was desperation as much as just Hange stating how they truly feel and allowing themselves a moment of weakness, considering they tell Jean "I wanted to run away... I wanted to throw it all away"...I believe they did consider running away with Levi, that said a sense of duty was stronger, that's why Hange simultaneously started working on a way to go back into battle.

Yes, it's a serious parallel. Only Hange and to some extent Levi and Onyankopon were connected to the plane and aircraft troughout the latter part of the series. Hange was the one who gave their life to secure the plane so they could reach Eren. Levi looking at it and Onyankopon giving him a look is an obvious hint that he is thinking back to that day. It was also Eren's and Hange's death anniversary. They died on the same day. In the draft Yams also added "They want to know what we saw... The pain we felt"... Next to Levi's panel which is another huge hint.

The vow is for his comrades. They are not mutually exclusive. Levi's main objective has always been about giving meaning to the ones who gave their lives for humanity's future. I think for him it was a relief when he found out Zeke is still the enemy, because that meant killing him will not be meaningless and that he was right... Later on Hange theorized that killing Zeke will stop the rumbling and so he strove to do that, but in chapter 136 his inner monologue showed how he is no longer sure what they did it all for. Maybe killing Zeke wasn't the answer? That is when he was able to let go of his fixation on Zeke and only when he appeared and made it obvious he wants Levi to kill him, he did so with an anguished expression, however he never stopped there. He continued to push forward until they killed Eren and got rid of the titans and really gave meaning to his comrades lives.

I think Levi had an immense respect and admiration for Erwin. Like Isayama said, Erwin's goal seemed unbelievably altruistic and something Levi never considered himself, so he made it his personal live's mission and in a way he wanted to push Erwin to meet his expectations. Their dynamics is interesting for me, but for Erwin, i don't think Levi was more special than Hange or Mike. As the smartpass story described, Erwin was happy to have those bonds, but he was ready to throw them away should the need arose. This is why i can't ever view them romanticaly. Erwin was married to his dream so to speak. Petra and his old squad... I think they were precious subordinates for him, but i don't think they were Friends in the realest sense of the word. Isayama said in his interview that Levi was not able to freely be himself around them and that he only found that kind of trust with the 104th.That said i think Levi gets attached to all his squad membera and loves and values every single person working under him. He takes it extremely hard when he loses them as was made obvious with his first squad, Hange squad and the ones he worked with when guarding Zeke. I do think that only Erwin and Hange *truly* were his friends.

It was all the little things from the hair grab scene in the anime to them interacting with each other in a familiar way troughout the manga, refering to each other only by name which is done only by very close people, understanding each other without words, Levi sensing when they're around and knowing them by their knock, them guarding each other's back, roasting each other and getting away with it, worrying about each other.. Hange seemed to hang around Levi even when they weren't on missions like when they came to the castle early to meet Eren or when they were sitting in the room when Levi talked about his plan to cut Eren out without killing him, Levi helped Hange exact Revenge on Sanes for killing Pastor Nick even though he didn't need to, just to make them feel better... They just seem like they feel good and comfortable together and i think it's wonderful. All the extra material too, the smartpass stories, spinoffs and intervies also imply they have a special relationship.

I hope this answered your questions.

Thank you for the ask!

[softinkshadows]

Shingeki no Kyojin Astrology: sun-moon-rising combinations

I was looking around tumblr for detailed astrology speculations of my fave anime characters, but there aren't that many! Being q well-versed in astro myself, i thought why not do my own version (very spoiler-free, don’t worry)! I followed the birth dates given by isayama:

Eren Jaeger - Aries sun, Scorpio moon, Cancer rising Aside from the fact that he can be hotheaded and impulsive, Eren's feelings of vengeance run deep and explosive. Remember that time he was chained to the bed after the attack on trost, and his eyes were wild with the need to violently eradicate all titans? He's so tenacious and emotionally stubborn too (a Scorp moon trait) to the point of being closed off from everyone else, especially towards the end where he seems to take the weight of the world's burden on his own shoulders. And all for the sake of protecting his community and ensuring the safety of his friends for the rest of their lives. His comrades and family are his motivation. This is his Cancer rising steering his life.

Mikasa Ackerman - Aries sun, Aquarius moon, Aries rising "Look that moody brat is running off on her own again." Mikasa is similar to Eren in her impulsiveness and determination, but different in two ways- what they aim to protect and their extent of fearlessness. Eren is aware of his own weaknesses and helplessness, but Mikasa's amazing physical prowess makes her act without any hesitation at all. She's hella fierce and driven to keep herself in shape too, doing all those sit-ups and chopping firewood post-injury. I think she deserves a double Aries! An Aries rising means a Libra descendant too, which is reflected her whole-hearted devotion in her close partnerships (Eren and Armin). Her aquarius moon really shines thru with her stoic independence, focus and perseverance.

Armin Arlet - Scorpio sun, Virgo moon, Pisces rising He's the brain of the 104th cadet corps, and is second to Erwin in terms of strategy! An intelligent planner with low self-esteem often found second guessing his own analytical abilities, Armin is a true blue Virgo moon. His emotional self stands out the most from the main three protagonists - Eren & Mikasa mostly express anger and desperation, whereas Armin is usually shrouded in fear and worry. He's a very soft bb, hence the Pisces rising, not to mention he gets so dreamy imagining the sea, the vast plains, and the magical world beyond the walled universe he knows. A spiritually-attuned and curious explorer :")

Levi Ackerman - Capricorn sun, Scorpio moon, Virgo rising Levi is such a complex person, thanks to Isayama's brilliance. Like many Cap suns, Levi is authoritative, cold and incredibly savage. That's not to say he doesn't feel anything either. Levi is an evolved Scorp moon (maybe even moon in 11th house) because his feelings are never for himself, but he hurts so much for others - you can tell every death hits him so hard, but he doesn't show this to anyone else. He also exudes this quietly intimidating aura of natural competence, a common characteristic of this sun-moon combo. He can take things personally as well (re: height issues) but it never snowballs into more than passing irritation. The turbulence of his emotions and habit for violence is balanced out by his earthy Virgo rising, which is emotionally subdued, quite thin and delicate in physique, and super neurotic and nitpicky when it comes to cleanliness and health. Cap, Virgo and Scorp are some of the most guarded signs, and a combi of all 3 are hellish. You can tell this poor beautiful man is always caught between feeling and thinking, between maintaining his humanity and forsaking it.

Erwin Smith - Libra sun, Capricorn moon, Leo rising In another life, Erwin Smith would be the damn CEO of a global conglomerate because he oozes so much charisma. Hell if charisma were energy Erwin Smith would be its prime, eternally renewable source. His stature alone is so commanding, and I find some strong Leonine traits in his thickset physique, strong eyebrows, beautiful hair, and that way he shouted in full glory atop wall Rose in that one episode to the cheering masses below. He might be a Libra sun, diplomatic in political affairs, but his Capricorn moon is what drives his decisions. Cap moon has a rep for being cold and unemotional, but i believe they are way more than that! Cap moons rarely boast about their long list of achievements, instead looking forward to the next goal. They struggle with emotional expression, and are super driven and disciplined. Erwin is capable of making the hardest decisions, putting aside emotions to strive for an abstract ideal, and this is to be expected of the commander who takes on the role of the devil.

Hange Zoe - Virgo sun, Sagittarius moon, Gemini rising All hail our favourite mad scientist!! Hange is such a breath of fresh air in the Survey Corps, balancing out the heaviness of missions with their wacky tales of titan research and experimentation. Their penchant for study and higher knowledge is typical of a Sagittarius moon, who is drawn to advanced academic study and spiritual truths. It's also a lighthearted and optimistic sign, true to Hange's upbeat personality. The Virgo in them contributes to their sheer intelligence and obsessiveness with research subjects. We also know they LOVE to talk, and once Eren asks Hange about experiments, they cannot stop (Gemini governs communication). Virgo, Sag and Gemini are the most intellectual signs, and because they are mutuable Hange tends to follow orders rather than give them, making it difficult to adapt to their new role towards the end of the series. Mutable signs also means rapidly-changing emotional states, and a whole lot of chaos, which suits our beloved squad leader.

Jean Kirstein - Aries sun, Virgo moon, Taurus rising Our third Aries on the list ohmygod. The snk universe is full of feisty hotheads. Jean is always seen clashing with Eren, fuelled by Eren's closeness with Mikasa and his own adorable jealousy. I mean, they had a full on fist fight right after dinner in the mess hall, although everything went downhill after the first few punches. Our first impression of Jean during his cadet days is coloured by his desire to work in the interior, and this favour for material safety and wealth is perhaps common to a Taurus rising. Also, Taurus is ruled by Venus, planet of beauty and harmony, and thus often figures in the charts of artists. If you've seen Jean's drawing skills in that special episode, you'll know that his artistic abilities are the finest we have seen, exceeding even that of isayama himself. Jean's strong principles such as being averse to killing people and oftentimes cynical nature, is also characteristic of the moral and cautious Virgo moon.

Sasha Braus - Leo sun, Gemini moon, Taurus rising Not all Leos are showmans. Sasha is the type of Leo who displays more of the quirky, unabrashed personality suited to her opposite sister sign Aquarius. Authority doesn't exist when food comes into play, as we see when she breaks potato with Shadis and later steals a slab of meat from the officer's warehouse. Unlike the visual artistry that Jean possesses with his Taurus rising, Sasha's Taurus centers around her love for food, and hell she can have fiery determination for it (rmb the wild night she mistook Jean's hand for meat?). I love that both of them were pitted with each other in that cooking special episode. I considered placing her as a Taurus moon, but Taurus moons are usually steadier and classier in emotion, whereas Sasha is often breezy, gets nervous and chaotic, with stellar intuition, making her likely a Gemini moon.

Connie Springer - Taurus sun, Cancer moon, Gemini rising Although not much attention is paid to Connie's growth, his character development reminds me a lot of Aang from ATLA. Cheery and happy-go-lucky at first, before the incident with his mother made him more prone to feelings of anger and vengeance, especially near the later chapters. His strong protective bond with his mother is what compels me to say he is a Cancer moon, which is a moon sign that is very homebody and drawn to family and traditions. His goofy self and him referring to Sasha as "his twin" puts him as the spunky Gemini rising, another sign he shares with her.

Reiner Braun - Leo sun, Pisces moon, Capricorn rising Aside from his natural leader personality (Leonine), Reiner likes to take on the persona of the big brother of the group. His outward stoicism, decisiveness and task-oriented nature is typical of a Cap rising, who is often serious and solemn in appearance. He reminds me of that Cap rising workaholic who does his best in a corporate organization, working 9 to 5 plus overtime as it fulfills his sense of purpose. Beyond his stoic facade reveals a more troubled personality. Like a Pisces moon, Reiner is impressionable, and it's difficult to tell if his emotions and personalities are his own, wavering and absorbing traits from those around him. His internal war with his identity and the ensuing fatigue characterises him during the second half of the series.

Annie Leonhart - Aries sun, Aquarius moon, Virgo rising Annie is the kind of Aries that is so motivated to achieve her goals that everything else is sidelined, including her own emotions. She's quite ruthless in chasing her objectives, and her composure, focus and endurance is highlighted with an Aquarius moon. I'm guessing she has a 4th house influence somewhere because of her motivations to go home to her father and lead a normal life. I find the daintiness and delicateness of her features similar to Levi, who is also a Virgo rising. The Virgo effect also registers as a brutal, unfiltered honesty (also seen in Levi), and Annie doesn't hesitate to speak the truth about her own or her opponent's capabilities.

Other characters which I won't go into much detail about:

Bertholdt Hoover - Capricorn sun, Virgo moon, Pisces rising Bertholdt is quiet with an unobtrusive personality. His lack of supposed iniative and aggression can perhaps be attributed to the mutuability of Virgo and Pisces, which goes with the flow instead of charging forward. He keeps his feelings to himself, but reacts when the people he wants to protect are threatened.

Historia Reiss - Capricorn sun, Libra moon, Cancer rising Historia initially lives for the sake of others (esp Ymir), and is more co-dependent than many of her other squadmates. She also tends to put up a front of pleasantness, afraid of disappointing or offending people. She has a strong tie to family, and a profound sense of duty.

Ymir - Aquarius sun, Pisces moon, Aries rising Ymir is extremely astute when it comes to evaluating human behaviour. The religiosity of her background is also usually found in this sun-moon combination, which tends to attract paths of strong spirituality. She also has a bold and noble sacrificial streak for the sake of her companions.

Zeke Jaeger - Leo sun, Capricorn moon, Scorpio rising A headstrong, intelligent and radical character. In a way similar to Erwin in his ruthlessness, but emotionally darker and much more sinisterly private.

Kenny Ackerman - Aquarius sun, Sagittarius moon

Rod Reiss - Virgo sun, Libra moon

Dot Pixis - Virgo sun, Sagittarius moon

Hannes - Capricorn sun, Taurus moon

[helena-thessa]

Hi Helena! Big fan of your writing here🥺♥️ Your rivamika fics are my safe space 😭 (if you have time to answer) i’d love to know when you first started shipping them, why, and what made you continue to love this ship (or anything else to do with your journey as an RM shipper)? i love your characterisation of both levi and mikasa individually, but even more so, your portrayal of their dynamic as a couple, which is why i wanted to ask so badly ☺️ x

Hey anon! Oh woah, first of all, thank you so much. Second of all, oh god, you probably shouldn't have handed me the mic. heh 😅

I’m afraid to look at the word count of this response, I’m sure it’s much more than you bargained for, but I appreciate the question and enjoyed thinking through my response (: Most importantly, I’m so glad you find my stories as a safe space. It’s really an honor. Thank you for sharing with me 🖤🖤

TL; DR As a longtime reader, writer and lover of stories and story-telling, by being someone who pays attention to how stories are crafted and deliberately developed from beginning to end, I sincerely thought Isayama was setting up rivamika as an endgame relationship. So, I read into and interpreted meaning out of ALL their interactions and became deeply invested.

I don’t necessarily ship them cause of the parallels, age gap, enemies to lover trope, height difference, or some of those common reasons and/or kinks. I’m more basic and boring than that. I love the concept of them coming together as though it’s inevitable.

They both are unbelievably strong, selfless, and have suffered so much loss— so, no one else could truly understand them as well as they can understand each other. They both probably would have always settled for a stable, simple life, and been alone and lonely even without realizing it— instead, they find each other, and realize what it means to actually no longer be alone, to do more than just survive. It’s this understated bond, as opposed to a dramatic and passionate romance, that I envision in them and that I love so much.

Then, the passion, heat, the romantic "spark"— I think that’s an added bonus, the cherry on top, the perfect final puzzle piece. They’re both so physically capable, can speak through their actions, and don’t show much need or capacity for emotional/ verbal communication, so the ability to connect with each other through physical intimacy and mind-blowing sex seems like another given.

Still, at the end of the day, for me it comes back to their ability to fully depend on each other, to the inevitability. Not like some soulmate trope where they 'have no choice' in it, but like the stars aligned to prove it's right. How each of them have only one other person on the whole planet who could see and understand them, to be on par with them, to make them realize there’s more to life than settling and surviving, and they happen to find it in each other.

You asked, I rambled 😅 Here’s a breakdown of my thought process in my rivamika journey. For those who make it to the end or want to skip to the end, I'll finish with the excerpt of the very first rivamika scene I felt compelled to to write.

I've tried before to re-watch and remember the exact scenes, exact moments, that initially captured my full attention, but I guess it was all of them, the gradual and cumulative compilation of their earliest interactions.

Mikasa always appearing cool and indifferent, and paying no attention whatsoever to others fawning over, like Jean initially falling for her, but then her strongly reacting over Levi in the courtroom showed how uniquely capable he was at getting under her skin.

Of course, the scene in the forest chasing the Female Titan was a critical one. I think of that as the first time both Levi and Mikasa were truly able to see the other's strength, mental and physical. And for them, orphans and trauma survivors who have suffered extensive loss, I think that seeing strength in another person made them feel less alone. Less alone in a deep, quiet but cataclysm, life-altering sort of way, even if not a romantic one. Like they didn't know it was something they didn't have, something they didn't expect to get from life, but then found it with each other.

(Even when we found out Levi was an Ackerman, I was disappointed if it meant they were immediate relatives, but willing to accept it wouldn't be a romantic end to loneliness, it would be a familial end to loneliness. But... the author never explored that. Not once.)

In that forest scene, manga and anime, the way that Levi pauses to really look and see Mikasa and think about who she is, what she’s gone through, and how strong and dedicated she is now— that was a defining moment. It was also a visual demonstration of Levi breaking character, from aloof and ruthless, to considering and curious. I thought Yams was showing both of them do that on purpose.

Then, Levi getting hurt because of Mikasa in that scene felt like another clue. Sure, it was while saving Eren, and sure, it could have been meant to humanize super-soldier Levi, or sure, it could have been another aspect of how Mikasa rushing into things over Eren ends up hurting other people that later changes in her character development, but it felt like a very pointed statement about Mikasa being a vulnerability for Levi. And that's swoon-worthy, right? Most of us have been exposed to and conditioned by stories about how special and romantic it is to be the one and only girl who can make an otherwise disinterested or unattainable guy actually pay attention to her, and so admittedly I fall right for it.

I’m sure I’m forgetting plenty, but the opening of season 3 felt like confirmation. When Levi figures out Kenny's behind things and entrusts Mikasa with instructions to share with the others, instructions about fighting people instead of titans that ultimately everyone else besides her struggles with, and when Mikasa lets Levi hold her back from chasing after Eren, her most important way of trusting and having faith in Levi, I honestly took that as cues from the author that rivamika was endgame. I let myself get truly invested from then on. That’s that understated bond I was referring to. To me, that unspoken but undeniable trust is the most important dynamic.

Seeing them fight together or fight similarly has always been fun and powerful and fulfilling.

I'm newer to the snk club. I was originally an anime-only fan and started watching in fall 2019, I think. I wasn't on tumblr, twitter, or anything else to see fandom discourse. So, I didn't know that the rooftop scene of Mikasa fighting Levi over the serum was such a staple for our ship until much later. I love the scene just like many do for all the reasons we do, but I don't think the actual scene was pivotal for me, so much as it's aftermath. I thought it represented two things.

One, it was an important marker in Levi's characterization. Hands-down one of the most striking scenes to me is the one where Levi is in the alley, somber and alone, listening in on Eren, Armin, and Mikasa talking together. It artfully shows his longing for hope and connection. So, when Levi chose Armin for the serum, that represented Levi choosing hope. And when Mikasa ultimately gave up fighting Levi and didn't choose Armin, which Armin finds out about later on, I see that as an important marker in Mikasa's development. It puts a wedge between her and Armin/Eren [Armin, because he knows she would have let him die, and Eren, because Armin is too special to him and he couldn't look at her the same way after realizing she would have let him die]. That distance between her and her childhood friends is one I don't think could ever be healed completely, one of those painful lessons in growing up. By doing that, it then also puts a distance in Mikasa's own childhood self to her current self. I thought that matured her and separated her out in a way that was another clue toward eventual rivamika developments.

That's a whole other conversation on Mikasa, but I’ll stay on track. Her love for Armin was absolutely authentic and fierce, but at the end of the day, at the core of her being, she chose survival over hope. Meanwhile, Levi chose hope over survival. To me, that was soft, fertile ground for the reasons why eventually, if/when Mikasa found hope and chose hope, that could directly tie together with her inevitably in coming together with Levi. Again, less butterflies and fireworks, but more natural and in a way that was just a given.

I wrote Beyond the Walls before reading the manga from the Marley Arc and on, so that's why most of that story is her journey into embracing that hope. *manga spoilers* There's a lot of meta, criticism and talk about Mikasa's silent, off-screen and subtle style of character development in the Marley Arc and afterward. I won't go down that road, I'm still processing the end of the manga to be honest, but I think it's fair to say she does eventually end up choosing hope over survival when she lets go of Eren and saves humanity instead. I love the “Stay with Me” line and think it’s perfect; a simple but profound display of trust and their deep-rooted bond in a really understated way. *end manga spoilers*

Here's something I always wanted to talk about in full but haven't. It honestly reads to me like Yams was building toward rivamika, and didn’t do anything to stop that until too late. There are tools authors can use to ensure we stop shipping a pair or start shipping a new one; love triangles are commonly used in every artistic medium and we’ve all been persuaded by these tools. But Yams didn’t use these tools to make sure readers didn’t feel convinced by rivamika. For all the reasons I listed above, more I'm forgetting, and for the following:

If he wanted us to think they were family and it would be incest, he should have added in a conversation between them realizing they were (close) family and that they weren't the only ones left in their biological family like they thought. But he didn't.

If he wanted us to think it was completely inappropriate between a child-and-adult and student-and-teacher, then he could have done something to ensure Mikasa looked childish or Levi looked older, but no. They barely look ten years apart. I do think it's unacceptable and that there's a power imbalance between a child-and-adult relationship regardless of that, and that there can't be true consent when one is a superior and another a subordinate, so I personally age-up Mikasa in my head and try to handle his position of power responsibly in my writings... but the point being, by the end of canon, there's no inappropriate or non-consensual romance between them, yet there's a lot of history and chemistry that could naturally lead to an age-appropriate and consensual relationship. If Yams didn't want us to think so, he could have made it more clear that there were reasons it wouldn't happen.

The only thing that makes sense to me is the author planned on rivamika endgame but was shamed/pressured out of it (either internally or due to others) OR that the author somehow accidentally created such vibrant chemistry and an incredible dynamic between them. Like, he didn't put enough convincing substance of eremika in, didn't make Levi look old enough, didn’t have one of them do something unforgivable in the other’s eyes, etc. Those are some of those tools he could have used. Romance was never a key component in snk. And since we now know Yams planned or needed eremika endgame for sake of plot and the conclusion of the manga, I personally think he didn't know what to do with the riveting rivamika substance and chemistry being much more convincing to readers. Once he had them so well built-up, maybe the only option he felt he had was to just stop putting the characters together. We get little-to-no rivamika interaction, platonic or practical, after season 3 all the way up until the very end. But there was so much of it beforehand ?? So, it simply doesn't make sense. I think the author just straight-up cut any and all interactions out between them because it was too convincing and moving, more convincing and substantial than eremika. But, as the end of canon shows, we needed to have some eremika buy-in. It's messy writing and unskilled in the romance department, but considering for how long and how complicated snk has been in a creative process and how lackluster the eremika romance (the main and apparently pivotal romance) is developed, I think it’s plausible to say the author effed up.

As far as writing fanfiction goes, there's just so much room to explore them. In canon, we aren't given enough insight into their individual perspectives, let alone their dynamic together, so it feels like a blank canvas to work from. I think that's part of why I love to write them, and also why I don't necessarily read much of them. When I first started shipping them while watching the anime, I read a few of the classics that were canon-verse, but I haven’t really read much since. For me, exploring and discovering them as a writer is the most fun. (It's one of the reasons Naruto and Harry Potter have such large fanfiction collections. There's so much world-building and so many characters, but there's also so much left to the imagination.)

In general, I'm drawn to strong characters, especially women, who are multidimensional enough to be real, vulnerable and soft. Mikasa is the pinnacle of that. I don’t necessarily like to write about her love or infatuation with Eren, but I do respect and admire and consider it integral to her character and her amazing capacity to love. We can have strong, kickass women who falter when it comes to love but are still considered strong for it. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive and Mikasa is a beautiful example of that.

And Levi is strong, but real and vulnerable too; he’s honestly a fantastically developed character, from Petra explaining to Eren in the beginning how he’s not the amazing hero he’s painted to be to the public, to how Levi genuinely cares for Erwin and others and chooses hope despite all he’s suffered.

The end of the manga wrecked me a bit. Kind of like Games of Thrones. You have something that was so epic and well-done for so long, a rushed ending that isn't immediately sensical and isn't fulfilling is hard to stomach. Eventually, I'll move on from the denial of that and process what I think and feel about it. The whole reason we have fanfiction is to expand on canon, but it's made me put rivamika on the back burner until I figure it out. So I'm a little less hyper-fixated on the pairing right now even though interacting with you all and asks like this remind me what brought me here in the first place. 😊

To conclude, I’ll share that the very first rivamika content I wrote was a compilation of moments I thought could be inserted into season 3. These are still moments I plan to edit and publish one day. For anyone that actually read this far, I’ll put a rough and unedited excerpt of the first scene I ever wrote about them.

Thank you again anon 🖤😊

BEGIN EXCERPT [after the rooftop fight for the serum, immediately following the ceremony where Eren touched Historia by kissing her hand]:

Part of her was embarrassed at such a flagrant act of disobedience to a superior, especially to one who saved her and countless others' lives in the past. But mostly, she was anguished by the situation Captain Levi put her in once he revoked the serum meant to save Armin and planned to use it on Commander Erwin instead. Her current ostracization and self-loathing was not entirely her own fault. Anger she felt toward herself was just as easy to wield against him.

It must have shown in the grit of her teeth or defiant tone, because he turned to look at her, more aloof than curious.

Like a flint struck to steel, it ignited the fury she felt toward him.

“I shouldn’t have hesitated. I should have just killed you,” she answered him at last, piercing him with eyes darker than the night.

He wasn’t concerned. “You’re good, but not that good.”

Her hands fell to her side, fists clenched as she stood with a single, fluid movement. Before she could let loose a threat, he sighed.

“What’s the problem, Ackerman?” He was dismissive, his shoulders relaxed and posture loose.

The fire too furious to contain, she went sailing for him with the same speed from the battlefield. Her fingers already curled, she tightened her grasp as she swung her fist into his gods-damned apathetic face.

Levi wasn’t unprepared. He easily side-stepped her, then snatched her wrist to steal her momentum. Though he tried to toss her aside, she was no less fast; Mikasa dug her heel in and spun, her other arm shoving hard into his chest.

Too graceful to stumble, Levi used the chance to hook her second arm too. He caged both her wrists in a grip so strong, she was sure it bruised her bones. Still, he only looked at her warily, almost bored.

“Shouldn’t you be grateful? I chose Armin.” If his reminder was meant to ease her anger, it had the opposite effect.

Fury and desperation gifted her additional strength. She shoved into his chest hard. Levi shifted backward, nearly forced into loosening his grip; within that split second of an opening, Mikasa slammed her elbow into his chin, rocking his head backward.

“You did,” she seethed, but as fast as the fire inside her exploded, it was doused. Her next words came out broken and damp. “But I didn’t.”

Levi remained stern and otherwise unmoving as he attempted to flex his jaw through the spasm of pain. As the momentum of the fight died down, he loosened his hold on her wrists and evaluated her distraught frame.

Mikasa immediately released her own hands and turned away from him, eyes stinging from tears she refused to shed as she focused on the stars ahead. Admitting the harsh words aloud hurt her far more than any injury she could inflict onto him.

Not only was Armin one of the only friends she had, but he’d been a steadfast one throughout almost all she could remember of her life. After the trauma of her childhood, it was Eren and Armin who embraced her, whom she learned to love. Now, though, there was a wedge between her and Armin she was not sure could ever be removed. What was worse, as deplorable and selfish as she knew it proved her to be, was the painful wedge it now put between her and Eren too.

Once again, she found Levi standing at the peripheral of her sight, close enough to see but far enough to be a blur at the edge of her watery vision.

“You almost killed me.” Levi repeated his earlier words, but he said them with an odd bite, torn between frustration and patience. “You would have killed me to save him.”

Too late, Mikasa realized he hadn’t meant these words as an accusation, but an odd form of validation. She bit her bottom lip, teeth puncturing too hard; the tang of metal was sharp on her tongue when she swallowed blood.

“You thought about letting your closest friend die,” Levi said quietly, tiredly. “But I did let mine die. I left him for dead, when I could have saved him.”

Mikasa was startled from her selfish reverie, for the first time acknowledging the sacrifice he made on that fateful afternoon. She’d been too absorbed in her own relief, and then, her own regrets to consider what the decision had done to him.

For a brief moment, she considered turning to face him, but the stark reality of the matter made her refrain. How could she feel pity for his loss, when his loss enabled her gain? An uncomfortable knot tightened in her stomach.

“Tch,” Levi sighed. He was only one notch less taciturn, but for him, that was soft. “You’ll live with your guilt, and I’ll live with mine.”

His words granted Mikasa’s tears the permission to spill. She buried her face further into her scarf, both hands trembling at the worn threads. As quietly as he arrived onto the roof, Levi disappeared from it.

.

.

It was rare for him to indulge in alcohol or celebrations, but Erwin’s absence felt more tangible than his presence ever did. Levi distracted himself with the chaos of the few remaining Scouts that Erwin had died entrusting his legacy to, and attempted to drown the pain with whatever drink Connie Springer shoved into his hands.

He found Hanji with their ale long-forgotten about on the table as they half-stood from their seat, frantic while explaining some morbid experiment in great, vivid detail to an unsuspecting and slightly horrified MP officer.

Though Levi wordlessly took the seat beside them, Hanji paused their rant to slap him hard on the back, an enthusiastic greeting flying from their drunken lips. The MP took this chance to excuse himself, a pathetic attempt at politeness, but Hanji either didn’t care or didn’t notice.

“Ah, Levi,” they smiled at his drink, though it didn’t entirely reach their one eye. “Where you been?”

Levi didn’t answer. “You know, shitty-glasses, you’re even more unbearable about your experiments when you’re drunk.”

Hanji waved dismissively and reached for their ale. Years spent in battle and command together had gifted both of them with an eased familiarity, and sometimes, genuine friendship. In the same manner he ignored their question, Hanji ignored his lack of response and went on with their original inquiry.

“Careful, Captain,” Hanji warned lightly. “Now that there’s far fewer Scouts, you having a favorite might cause some division.”

Even though Hanji meant the words, there was a glint of mischief that twinkled in their remaining eye.

“It’s not favoritism,” Levi countered bluntly, turning his vision toward the young man on the far side of the room. “Eren is simply the best chance that we have in this war.”

Hanji laughed as if he’d made a joke and Levi looked back to stare at them, unable to be surprised at their quirks or oddities any longer, but still a touch curious about what spurned this current demonstration.

“I wasn’t talking about Eren,” Hanji said at last, a pointed nod toward his injured chin.

Levi blinked. He didn’t realize he was nursing his injury with the hand not on his drink. As though it were too hot to touch, Levi dropped his hand.

Hanji was not judgmental, nor inquisitive. In a war-torn life of losing too many cadets entrusted to him, the fact that Levi found a soldier with the strength and skill to remain safe was not only rare, but worth special attention. Still, it made him too lenient.

“Sometimes I think you’d let her get away with murder,” Hanji chided halfheartedly.

When he thought of Erwin dead in his grasp, sometimes he wasn’t sure if he already had.