#rowan watches attack on titan

[skinnyscottishbloke]

Some housekeeping of shows I want to watch over the winter. More below the cut.

SHOWS TO FINISH

1. Black Sails (2/4)

2. Peaky Blinders (5/6)

3. Brooklyn 99 (5/8)

4. The Mentalist (4/7)

5. Justified (3/6)

6. The West Wing (3/7)

7. Sex Education (3/4)

8. Cold Case (4/7)

9. OUAT (6/7)

10. MI-5/Spooks (4/10)

11. ANTM (22/24)

12. Outlander (6/8)

13. Grace and Frankie (5/7)

SHOWS TO WATCH FOR THE FIRST TIME

1. Ted Lasso

2. Our Flag Means Death

3. Foundation

4. Staged

5. Young Royals

6. *continue DT’s filmography*

7. Love Victor

SHOWS I’VE STARTED BUT WILL (PROBABLY) NEVER FINISH

1. Reign

2. Agents of Shield

3. The 100

4. Friends

5. House

6. Arrow

7. Queer As Folk (US)

8. Weeds

9. How to Get Away with Murder

10. Attack on Titan

SHOWS I’M CURRENTLY WATCHING/ RE-WATCHING

1. Buffy (via reaction)

2. Leverage (w/ Rowan)

3. Fellow Travelers (currently airing)

4. Good Omens (via reaction)

5. DW (13’s seasons)

6. catching up on Taskmaster (s08-11, s13-16)

7. catching up on Drag Race (Mexico s01, Brazil s01, UK s05, Germany s01)

SHOWS I HAVE SEEN ALL OF THAT ARE DONE

1. The Tudors (4/4)

2. The White Queen/The White Princess/The Spanish Queen/The Serpent Queen (all 1/1)

3. Buffy (7/7)

4. Angel (5/5)

5. Pillars of the Earth (1/1)

6. HIMYM (9/9)

7. Psych (8/8 + movies)

8. Bones (11/11)

9. Broadchurch (3/3)

10. North and South (1/1)

11. BBC Merlin (5/5)

12. BBC Robin Hood (3/3)

13. Downton Abbey (6/6 + movies)

14. Sense8 (2/2 + special)

15. Jessica Jones (2/2)

16. Daredevil (3/3)

17. The Defenders (1/1)

18. Luke Cage (2/2)

19. Iron Fist (2/2)

20. Game of Thrones (8/8)

21. BBC Sherlock (yes it’s done LOL) (4/4)

22. ATLA (3/3)

23. LOK (5/5)

24. Vicar of Dibley (3/3)

25. OG Gossip Girl (6/6)

26. Leverage (5/5)

27. Versailles (3/3)

28. Veronica Mars (3/3 + movie + reboot)

29. Firefly (1/1 + movie)

30. Castle (8/8)

31. 1995 P&P (1/1)

32. Glee (6/6)

33. Agent Carter (2/2)

SHOWS I’M CURRENT ON BUT ARE STILL ONGOING

1. Heartstopper (2/?)

2. Good Omens (2/ prob 3)

3. Wheel of Time (2/?)

4. Rings of Power (1/?)

5. Drag Race US (15/?)

6. Drag Race All Stars (8/?)

7. Leverage: Redemption (2/?)

8. Queer Eye (7/?)

SHOWS I’VE HEARD OF BUT NEVER WATCHED MORE THAN AN EP OR 2 (AND PROBABLY WON’T)

1. Supernatural

2. any of the Star Treks

3. Breaking Bad

4. NCIS

5. JAG

6. Dexter

7. Chuck

8. Grey’s Anatomy

9. Community

10. The Office (UK or US)

11. Parks and Rec

12. Orange is the New Black

13. Black Mirror

14. Sons of Anarchy

15. One Piece

16. Dragon Ball Z

17. Full Metal Alchemist

18. The Vampire Diaries

19. The OC

20. Dawson’s Creek

21. Gilmore Girls

22. Teen Wolf

23. 24

24. Emily in Paris

25. CSI

26. 911 or any spin offs

27. Scrubs

28. Family Guy

29. The Simpsons

[kuroopaisen]

attack on titan is either a fascinating deconstruction of shounen tropes that examines the senseless cycle of hate, or it’s an anti-pacifistic “war is hell, but it is Necessary” narrative and i simply don’t know how to read it until the ending comes out

[mybrotherisacursedvault]

Just another day at Hogwarts *cue in Seinfeld theme song*

[highqueenofelfhame]

25 Days of Christmas: Rowaelin

Movement. 

you’re getting this early today since I missed one yesterday. enjoy. 

She stood centered in the room, eyes closed and completely still with her arms up in second position. Her head rolled around in a slow circle, lips falling open only just as she exhaled slowly. One last small warm up before she began dancing. It was what she did every time she began, always having a full routine to music that she used to ready herself.  Watching her move, no matter what she did, was absolutely stunning. It was fluid, beautiful, smooth and fluid like her limbs were ribbons of water. 

Watching her dance brought out something in him that he couldn’t quite place. It was the way that from her toes to the tips of her fingers conveyed emotion like no one he had ever seen on stage. To say Rowan Whitethorn was captivated by Aelin Galathynius would be an understatement. He was utterly entranced, completely unable to take his eyes off of her when she began dancing. 

The last two weeks had only heightened that for Rowan, after spending night after night with their bodies tangled and writhing toward an explosive end. Even then, maybe especially then, watching the way that she moved was intoxicating and left him breathless. Everything she did ruined him in all the best ways. Watching her move atop or beneath him while they made love and watching her now in the center of the practice room didn’t seem to be too different. Everything about her was raw and powerful and threatened to bring him to his knees. 

He watched from where he sat, leaning against a wall of mirrors as she sat down on the floor with ease and pulled her pointe shoes. Just earlier, he had already watched her prepare them for practice. They were nearly dead, he could tell, but he’d also watched her use a copious amount of super glue to into the toes to get as much life out of them as possible. 

Gods, even the way she tied her shoes with deft and nimble fingers was beautiful. 

As she tucked the ribbons under their eyes met and she offered him a shy smile, one that he usually saw in the morning when she rolled out of his bed and disappeared into his shower. Rowan smiled back, extending his legs in front of him as she walked over to where he sat. It was only them in the empty room, both of them wanting to practice their pas-de-deux for the Nutcracker, something that she made look so effortless and easy at each and every performance. Getting to dance with her was a dream, it inspired him in all the ways that a partner should.

Aelin’s hands landed with the lightest feather touch on either side of his face, two butterflies landing on his cheeks. Her eyes searched his and her fingers slipping into his freshly cropped hair. Rowan leaned up the slightest bit and she met him halfway. Aelin’s lips were so soft, her fingers against his skin were so soft.  A strand of her hair had managed to fall out of her bun, so when they pulled back he carefully tucked it behind her ear. With another grin, she made her way to the center of the room and hopped up onto her toes to begin practicing her solo once before practicing the duet with Rowan. 

So he sat and watched, watched as she pranced across the floor, watched the elegant and perfect lines and angles she managed to create with her body. Aelin made it look easy, made it look like anyone could do it. She looked like the ballerina in the music box as she turned on her toes. Each leap and extension was perfect, each turn light and airy. Rowan never got tired of this, of watching her do what she did best. 

She was Aphrodite, the most beautiful of the Goddesses down on earth. She was a titan, holding up the his world with so little effort that she did it in her sleep. Aelin was art personified, the stage her canvas, her body the paint brush. He would never tire of this, of watching her. He couldn’t wait for Giselle rehearsals to start in the spring to see what life and beauty she brought to that piece. Rowan wasn’t the only one eager to see what she did with the part, critics had been talking about her effortless grace and beauty for months since she was announced as a Principle Ballerina for Orynth Ballet Company. 

Rowan wasn’t the only one struck completely stupid by her dancing, she had managed to enthrall the entire world. 

In rehearsals, instead of the smile that she wore for her performance on stage, her lips were often in a pout and there was often a crease between her brows as she danced and criticized her movements in the mirror.  Rowan constantly wanted to kiss the pout away, to smooth the crease between her eyes away with his thumb. He wished she wouldn’t be so critical of herself, for she had no reason to be. Not when every move she made was technically perfect and all around stunning. 

He had never seen anyone dance like she did. No other dancer had ever made his heart ache with hope and skip so many beats it felt like a cardiac attack. Rowan had never seen anyone’s hands flutter like little wings quite like this, had never see the sharp lines her body made turn to soft ones with such ease. 

Aelin brought something in the Sugar Plum Fairy to life. It wasn’t a role. She simply was the Sugar Plum Fairy, dancing her way through her sugar coated candy life. Come spring, she would be Giselle, her ghost protecting her lover from anything that could come to harm him. Every role she took on, she became the character. Even when it had just been minor roles, nobody could deny that she was the one your eyes drifted to despite other dancers on stage. 

Watching her was a religion that he would worship until he was nothing more but dust in the wind. Watching her lift onto her toes with such ease and spin, her skirt a blur of pink and white, he came to the realization that this was all he wanted to be. This life, with her, dancing through it together. 

When she danced, he was in perfectly awe of how not flawed every movement was. So free, the way she moved, the way she made him feel. Like for the first time they were breaking free of everything that had held them back for so long. There was always a moment in rehearsals where he could physically see the action of her freeing herself from those moments, freeing herself from the things weighed her down. He watched her become weightless, watched her become water weaving in and out of a current. 

And it moved him beyond measure. 

tags: @starseternalnighttriumphant @mariamuses @keshavomit @faefromthenorth @ifyouwouldseemysoul @murlymoo150 @faerie-queen-fireheart @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @feyre-therabeaux @runawayrowan @someonemagical @stormymeow @singme-t0sleep @tswaney17 @shyvioletcat @city-of-fae @kandasboi @mynewdreamwasyou @tangledraysofsunshine @aelin-is-my-heart @empire-of-wildfire @mynameiscelaenasardothien  @schmlip-scribble @musicmaam  @westofmoon @aaronwarnvrs @acourtofrowaelinandfeysand @im-not-rare-im-rarr​ @ttakeitbacknoww​ @vi0let-femmes​ @dressedindustandshadows @lowhangingtreebranches

[rowenawarden]

When researching for Aurora’s fighting technique, I watched a lot of marvel movies with Black widow in as she is the closest in size and body shape to my head canon for Aurora.

Aurora’s style is aggressive yet elegant, almost raw due to how her emotions fuel her and is scary to watch, due to her unnatural strength and agility she is able to incapacitate attackers who are far heavier than her. Also due to her grandfather’s training and the additional training of ODM gear, she is incredibly flexible and is able to perform quick almost acrobatic style manoeuvres like we see when she fights Reiner in hand to hand combat.

Aurora is sure on her feet and in her fighting capabilities, in fact in my canon, she is more capable than Levi in hand to hand combat and general human on human fighting though he is the better Titan slayer. In the current book we will see how she begins to pull ahead as the one to fear as the legacy of Rowan Sparhawke comes into its own.

[danton-brothers]

“Well old friend, you’ve weathered out a bunch of years now haven’t ya?” Rowan hums as she sits atop a gigantic titan, or rather Golem, that stood easily a hundred feet tall. It sat on the very edge of the coastline, largely unnoticed from the rest of Jamestown. But the spot had become so serene in the giant’s presence. It’d become one of her favorite hideaways. The golem in question had once been active, the markings still of where magma once coursed through it internally as it moved, only now to have cooled and hardened.

“I almost can’t believe it’s already been so long since that day. When we had to fight that behemoth. When I created you and your brethern to push it back from the town... hehe it’s almost crazy huh? Even if you’re just a rock now...” Rowan sighs brushing her hand over the cold black rock she was sitting atop of. “You might be able to move anymore but you and those that watch over us still make me feel a tinsy bit safer. Silly huh? ...if only those council’s soldiers hadn’t come here for safety that Monarch wouldn’t have even looked at our sanctuary...” she sighs laying back and looking up at the sky as one leg bobbed while bent over the other.

“... nah... I shouldn’t say that. It wasn’t the soldier’s fault for it attacking them. They were just following orders.. makes me wonder though... why did it simply let it go once we drove it off? Did you have something to do with it big guy? Oh, how should I know, you’re not gonna talk back anytime soon. I’m just jabbering on to myself! Geez I must sound corny, haha!” Laughing she sits up again and looks down at the ground before deciding to start her decent. “Oh well... hopefully that particular one is still roaming around. It was a pretty one for sure. Maybe it’s navagating the sea floor for fun!”

[snk-oc-guide]

Guinevere Arlert

Sorry it’s a bit long!

Name: Guinevere Arlert Meaning: White shadow, white wave. Nickname: Gwen Alias: Eve Smith

Age: 26 Gender: Female Species: Human Birthday: 13 May Birthplace: Wall Rose (Undefined town) Current Residence: Wall Rose Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Relationship Status: Complicated Languages Spoken: German, English

rowan: i said this before but, the inhabitants of the wall speak in a made-up “un-named” language. all other languages are since dead to them. unless a specific family’s ancestors have worked hard on preserving their “mother tongue” and have passed it down exclusively to the family through the years. it would be easier to just delete the “languages” section from your bio completely.

Life-Long Dream: Explore outside world Goals: Join Survey Corps Likes: Animals, cooking, combat technique Dislikes: Strength training, loud sounds (people based) Bad Habits: Muttering, avoiding eye contact, unclear speech Hobbies: Cooking, 3DMG training, combat Fears: Being touched, her brother and sister dying, The Walls falling.

Personality: Sweet, shy, cunning, quiet

Gwen has a lot of trust issues concerning physical contact. She has an extremely high IQ and is agile and sneaky. She comes across as very shy when you first meet her. That said, even people who have known her for years still find she’s quiet, reserved and even skittish in some situations. The only time she’s really ever comfortable and ‘in her element’ is when she’s on a mission. She’s completely focused and ready to give commands.

rowan: the definition for “cunning” is “having skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit.” if she is shy and sweet, than i doubt she is going to be cunning or manipulative at all.

also, being shy, it won’t be easier for her to “take the lead” and give orders, despite missions being her element. it would be something she has to work past and grow out of. instead of shy, i would call her “antisocial”, in which she is awkward in social situations, and/or doesn’t really want to be in other people’s company/interact with them. just because she is quiet, doesn’t mean she is shy! but people always assume that, so i would keep that assumption in the bio. as i can see a bunch of the characters making that mistake.

Favorites:

Foods: Sweet rice, fruitcake

Colors: Blue and light grey

Seasons: Autumn

Activities: Cooking, horse riding,

Time of Day: Dusk

Appearance:

Height: 5’ 2”

Weight: 54 kg

Hairstyle: Short, slightly curly, kept in a messy bun mostly.

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Hazel (red and gold hints)

rowan: hazel eyes don’t have red tints to them, or any eye color really. that’s a bit too unnatural for the snk-verse. hazel eyes typically look like a mix of brown and green.

Skin Tone: Pale beige

Body Shape/Build: Small build, squishy tummy

Birthmarks: Several on her neck

Scars: One on her right ankle from a piece of shrapnel impaling it.

Health:

Memory (any issues with this?): None

Sight (do they need glasses?): No

Mental: Mild anxiety, Social Anxiety Disorder

Physical: Average

Sleep patterns: 4 hours (at most)

rowan: definitely not a healthy amount of hours to be sleeping.. especially with that “at most” there. if you’ve ever had to run on only four hours (or less) of sleep, then you’d know it’s shit and you feel sick and sluggish. that behavior from a soldier could be fatal.

if she has a reason for lack of sleep (nightmares, perhaps?) then at least raise it up to 5 hours in the least.

Allergies/Other: Mild touch aversion

Abilities/Statistics:

3DMG: 8/10- Technique is refined with natural aerial balance

Intelligence: 11/10- Classed as a technical ‘genius’, high factor IQ

Martial Arts: 7/10- Technique is ideal, however strength is somewhat lacking

rowan: strength behind hits is a big part of fighting. if her strength is a problem, then her stat should be lower. an idea of something is nothing when compared to putting it into action. i would give it a 5 or 6.

Battle Skill: 8/10- Endurance and strength are missing factors

rowan: no idea what battle skill is supposed to apply to, so i’m crossing this out. in my opinion, battle skill speaks for fighting abilities and strategic plays, but martial arts and strategy is already listed. so it cancels out.

Agility: 8/10- Naturally balanced on the ground, but speed is only used in short bursts

rowan: for someone who gets at most, 4 hours of sleep, her agility should be about a 4 or 5. she may feel energetic at one point (a side effect of being sleep deprived), but that short spark will die down and she’ll just be tired and slow-going.

Strategy: 9/10- Intellect contributes greatly under pressure

Initiative: 7/10- When in command of her squad, she does well with coordinating attacks and formations, however struggles when placed elsewhere

rowan: unless you’re going to remove “shy” trait from her personality, her initiative needs to be much lower. i would put it at a 3 or 4. shy people, definitely won’t be the ones to take control when the situation allows it.

if she is shy, and can’t exactly lead because of it, i wonder how she is commanding her own squad at all.

Teamwork: 3/10- Fearful of people and struggles with communication when not in her own squad

Passion: 10/10

rowan: overall, these stats need some work. it’s odd that she seems to be good at everything except teamwork. it looks a little too op, and a lot like levi’s stats.

Affiliation: Survey Corps Grad. Rank: 2nd Status: Alive

Relationships:

Parents: Unnamed (Deceased), Erwin Smith (adoptive brother)

Siblings: Armin Arlert (younger brother), Kira Arlert (twin sister)

Love Interest: Levi Ackerman

Best Friend: Erwin Smith

Friends: Mikasa Ackerman, Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert

Heroes: Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith

Quote: “Never to suffer would to have never been blessed.”

History/Life:

Eve Smith was born Guinevere Arlert. At age eight, she was playing with her twin sister, Kira, in the street with the other girls in their neighbourhood. Her little brother, Armin, was just 1 year old. After the sun went down, they continued playing hide-and-seek in the back streets, alone. Gwen was grabbed by unknown hands and knocked out. When she woke up, she was tied up with many other young girls and boys. All she heard was voices talking about all the awful things old men would do to the children. She was regularly beaten over the course of the week’s journey. Lucky for her, a squad of soldiers intercepted and took her to the nearest town. She was given to the Smith family and told, for safety purposes, her new name was Eve Smith.

rowan: the kidnapping thing is a reasonable and realistic event. giving a random child to the smith family? not so much.. and for safety purposes? what safety purposes? it doesn’t click to me.

from what i’ve read, gwen doesn’t have anything special or extraordinary about her to make her a prime target for constant kidnappings. she was probably just unlucky that time. plus, the squad of soldiers intercepted the and took in the kidnappers, thus the danger was over and she should have been sent home.

Gwen grew up very close to Erwin, they both showed an avid interest in the outside world. Gwen was very quiet and nervous, hardly talking to anyone but Erwin. When he decided to join the military after their father was killed, she went with him, to join the Scouts. Upon joining, she showed natural talent with the 3DMG and was very agile. Her endurance and strength training was a struggle for her though, but she made up for it with her intellect and agility in gymnastic feats.

When training, she met Kira. Identical twins, but complete personality opposites. Once realising they were sisters, they became very close again and formed a tight bond, Gwen and Kira graduated at age 16, 2nd and 6th rank, respectively. Once graduating, Erwin and Levi were sent to the South Scout regiment and Kira and Gwen were sent to the North. After two years showing off high skill and ability, they were moved to the Elite squad, Gwen eventually taking over as Captain Arlert (from graduation, she earns this rank after a total of eight years). (Story takes off sometime between now and next paragraph)

rowan: if gwen was kidnapped at age eight, she would still be able to remember her original family clearly. thus, she would remember kira, and already know she is her sister.

also, there is no such thing as the “south regiment” or “north regiment” there is only “the scout regiment”. another note would be that levi isn’t in the story yet.. he doesn’t enter the survey corps until much latter, when erwin has already taken place as the commander, and he is captured and forced into joining.

i should also point out that erwin and her wouldn’t have been in the same training corps, since he’s older than her (early thirties at least).

After a long mission, in the year 854, with few casualties, they return to Wall Rose. A parade through the streets with the body of a 6m Titan they captured and two days later, Gwen and Kira sit on the streets with their elite members, Tristan, Morgan, Enid, and Gareth. They spent the day on their 3DMG sets, traveling to the South, where the Southern Regiment are returning the next day.

When they arrive, Gwen waits in the crowd, excited to see Erwin. They watch as the Scouts arrive, beaten and weighed down with the dead. The people are not happy. Captain Levi walks up front, clearly exhausted and defeated. Abuse is hollered from the crowd, majorly differing from the reception they got. Kira grips her sister’s hand and pulls her out in the street, stopping the Scouts from moving forward. Kira screams back at the crowd, angered and vengeful. Gwen spots a young man rushing towards Levi from behind with a stick poised to strike. On an impulse, she wrestles him to the ground, gaining an advantage by surprising him. Once other Scouts assist in holding him down and Kira helps her sister up, Erwin finds them. Levi mutters a word of hurried thanks and leaves. Erwin offers them a room with the South Scouts.

I don’t know if she’s too sue-ish. I’d love any constructive criticism or  comments you have!

rowan: overall, gwen could use a little tweaking. i would completely overhaul her backstory. you could keep the part where she is kidnapped, but do not have it so she is given to the smith family. just send her back home.

so! yeah! just work on the things i pointed out (or at least think them through) and you’ll be good to go.

[kuroopaisen]

not to throw my two cents /now/ but for shows like aot (I personally stopped after s2 and i havent rly considered picking it up again yet), there definitely are problematic elements and depictions that should be called out when necessary—and we need to especially listen to those whose identities were unfairly treated. anime and manga aren’t innocent of problems, as are the artists behind it :,)

I won’t lie, japan still continues to be sketchy w how they teach and treat their history, but ig we as watchers/readers these media can remain critical of what we consume ? the act of watching smth w fascist elements doesn’t mean you condone it ! and choosing not to watch or support (i find these to be different things) bc of those problematic elements is also valid.

oH and I personally don’t rly like aot either from what I’ve been seeing LMAO as a person who dedicated 2 years of high school to extensive studying of history it’s just :\\\\\\ I think all the points have been made by ppl before me, and by you!! 

hello miss yuki!! first of all, i think the idea that people can’t consume Problematic Media is. is stupid because. humans are capable of critical thinking DJLSDALKJ that’s like... our thing. and just because something’s ‘problematic’ doesn’t mean there’s nothing valuable to draw from it? and by that, i mean... sometimes i specifically seek out things i know i’ll disagree with so i can actually talk about it properly, instead of relying on heresay. 

i guess it’s like the jk r*wling thing. do i think people who enjoy harry potter are militant transphobes? no! do i think it’s a bit shifty to spend money on harry potter merch that isn’t secondhand and is therefore putting coins in miss transphobes pockets? yes! there’s difference between consuming and supporting for sure. 

people have complicated relationships with media and internet discourse tends to make things too black-and-white. where do we draw the line? does resonating with shinji’s story in neon genesis evangelion mean you now support sexualising underage girls? does enjoying harry potter mean you condone fatphobia? does enjoying my hero academia mean you hate the lower classes? 

but at the same time, if someone wants to steer clear of something because of those kinds of things, they absolutely have a right to and neither them nor their intelligence should be insulted for that. a lot of people like to throw around “oh you just don’t understand” as an insult and honestly, Shut Up. leave people be.

ANYWAY aot 

yeah a lot of my problems with aot come down to isayama using a metaphor that isn’t even his to draw on. even if the pernicious aspects are unintentional, they’re still harmful. and also, it’s pretty obvious that isayama’s done his research? with how well the story emulates certain facts in history (and even referencing the madagascar plan hh), there’s no way isayama doesn’t know what he’s talking about. and you can’t really brush up on your knowledge of wwii without the whole antisemitism thing, so... 

but i think an issue i have with a lot of the criticism towards aot is that it comes from a very Western perspective; and i get that to a degree, but it’s also important to think about where the author comes from and who he’s writing for. that doesn’t exonerate any of the problematic aspects to any degree, but context is. well, sometimes it’s everything 

for example, i don’t think the question is so much “is isayama a nazi” as it is “is isayama trying to justify japanese expansionism” because while both are awful, one question is more relevant to what he’s likely to believe (even in the infamous twitter screenshots, he pretty staunchly seems anti-holocaust). i think ethnocentric criticisms muddy the water. 

i’m a dual major in anthropology and history, and while that absolutely doesn’t give me authority, it means i tend to focus more on this sort of thing? there’s no way isayama could’ve known that attack on titan would become so... global? and an issue with episodic things of any nature is that it’s almost impossible to analyse them in their whole until it’s finished. aaaand in most cases, that takes years.

so regardless of what isayama intended, that means there are still right-wing groups that love aot and see it as a metaphor for the great replacement, or there’s people who see it as a justification to abandon pacifism, and so on. but there are also people who see it as a staunchly anti-war story, or a narrative about the cycle of hatred. 

YEAH w the watching vs. supporting, i’ve actually been streaming aot on gogoanime because i didn’t know what i’d think of it when i started, even though i have an animelab and crunchyroll subscription. the question is, am i giving it social capital by discussing it online? some would say yes (i’ve got a platform, and just talking about it in general gives it affluence), some would say no (even if i have a platform, it’s small in the grand scheme of things, and how many people are actually reading my mini essays?)

ANYWAY this is largely incoherent i’m so sorry sdalkjfslfkdj look after yourself!!  

[kuroopaisen]

When I started watching aot this year i had completely forgot about the fascist themes until I got to the basement reveal. I remember reading an article about it when the chapter had come out cos my friend loved aot but forgot since i never actually was interested in the series. I can definitely see why it would be uncomfortable, especially if you weren't expecting these kind of themes to come up in a show about killing titans. I felt like it was a lot watching Grishas back story the first time.

I find the series so interesting to watch tho, its so different to anything Ive really spent the time to watch and pay a lot of attention to. Espeically watching Eren go from humanity's hope to possibly an enemy of the world. I hate when classic shounens make it out like the main character is the ultimate voice of reason just because they're good natured, so to see a main character act in a way we're supposed to angry at is fascinating. Eren is also at the bottom of my fuckability list too haha, even before season 4 he never was a character i resonated with. Which characters are you liking in the show if there's any?

hello rachel dear!! wonderful to see you back in my inbox!! 

putting this under a cut for reasons (it’s. it’s long)

the basement reveal is... something, yeah. and watching grisha’s backstory was so... harrowing, and everything that happens after that right up until he’s given the power of the attack titan. there’s even the fact that paradis island looks like it’s based of madagascar? and the guy who literally gave birth to the final solution (rot in hell, heydrich) originally wanted to send all the jews to madagascar????? like that has to be a direct reference there’s no way it’s not?? and ofc it’s fiction so everything’s not supposed to be a 1-to-1 comparison of real life but it feels like. a weird thing. to include...  

i will be very honest, i... disliked most characters in the show FDLKJFDLK i didn’t like eren (for obvious reasons), i didn’t like mikasa (her entire character is Good At The Slashy-Slash and Hopelessly Devoted To Eren), i didn’t like armin because the show tried to posit him as the “voice of reason” and the “smart one” but i disagreed with most, if not all of his Hot Takes. 

OH ALSO I FUCKING HATED ERWIN SOOOO MUCH SO SO SO MUCH the show tries to be all “oh he only makes the sacrifices that are necessary this is all very hard on him actually :(” NO!! HE STILL HAS CHOICES!! AND HE CONSISTENTLY MAKES CHOICES WHICH THROW THE LIVES OF THE SOLDIERS UNDER HIM AWAY FOR NOTHING!! NO MATTER HOW MUCH HE TRIES TO DRESS IT UP WITH PRETTY WORDS!! FUCK!! YOU!! I DON’T CARE IF IT’S BEEN HARD FOR HIM THERE’S SO MANY PEOPLE WHO’VE SUFFERED WORSE THAN HIM BECAUSE OF HIS CHOICES 

i didn’t like hange because i found the sheer thrill they get from experimenting on titans really... uncomfortable to watch, especially given who the titans are. and i really don’t think isayama was trying to be discursive there; hanges is just ‘qUiRkY’ like that. 

if anything, other than levi, i liked the side characters best of all? jean, sasha, connie, historia/christa, and even ymir. they were the most endearing to me

[kuroopaisen]

Hi hi!!! As always, I love hearing abt your take on things. And I really wanted to ask who your fave is from aot! I’m an updated manga reader, but even way before this my fave has always been Jean hehe

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it’s kacchan!!! ofc i will give you my thoughts thank you for being interested in them 

i’ll be honest, most of my non-critical thoughts on aot boil down to: levi sexy :3 

but HHHHH my fave is a tie between jean, levi & historia, tbh?  

1) levi sexy. also, i like the contrast he provides to a lot of the other characters, and how his backstory plays into that. and i’m a sucker for the “seems cold and abrasive/distant, but does actually care” type of character, but only when they’re written well. he’s also the character with the least wanky relationship with the military, i guess? which is. refreshing 

2) i always felt like jean was the audience surrogate? or maybe i just related to him the most, and he was always the most reasonable in my eyes. he’s just... a Good Dude and he cares the most about the lives and wellbeing of the civilian population (i feel like that shouldn’t be a unique trait but here we are), and i like that he’s not afraid to challenge eren? because god, someone needs to 

3) i like that she’s kind without being a pushover! at least, at the point i’m at in the story sdlkjfdlkj she embodies the idea that “kindness is a choice”; we’re not inherently ‘kind’ -- empathetic, maybe -- but doing right by other people is often an active decision you make. and being kind doesn’t mean being weak. 

[kuroopaisen]

@kacchand (i couldn't tag your main but i wanted to make sure you saw this fdlkjfdlkj) 

hello dear! i’m sorry it took me so long to respond to this dflskjfdlkfdj i decided to answer your ask in a text post so i can link my thoughts to yours more easily! also, i know i'm going to Ramble, so i wanted to be able to keep it under a cut sdlkfjd

Hi rowan!! I've just finished the final chapter of aot and I just wanted to ask your opinion on it!

(SPOILERS THAT DEPICT MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE STORY'S MEANING AHEAD. READ ONLY IF YOU'VE FINISHED THE CHAPTER)

(FR )

(THERE'S STILL TIME TO BACK OUT)

(DO IT NOW. SPOILER ALERT)

I'd also like to ask a follow up question about it, because it seems that I've come to a different concl. from many of my friends and I'm feeling dumb abt how i feel w it.

first of all (and i say this as sincerely as possible, and if i'm coming off as condesending please let me know hh), please don't feel dumb because you've come to a different conclusion :(

we all read media at different levels (i’ve been told it’s ‘not that deep’ before fdljkfsdlkj) and identify different aspects in it, so the fact that you've had a different experience to some of your friends is absolutely not a reflection on your intelligence. and if anyone's making you feel that way, drop their @. i just want to talk :) furthermore, you’re not wrong for responding to something emotionally, especially if it really... makes you uncomfortable, you know? 

i'm from the PH & I've put off determining whether i'm comfy w the manga til the last chap,,,, but is it wrong that I can't shake the feeling that it's a justification of japanese expansionism and genocide? ik this manga has always been in the grey area, and that's what I love abt it! It often shows that no choice they make is absolutely good or bad, and does such a good job at showing you how each complex character came to that understanding (role of environment, etc...) but this last chapter felt too positive abt the rumbling? Like it was justified because paradis was able to advance and there wasn't much choice? idk.

that's totally valid! some of the best think pieces on the show i read mentioned that the concern with the narrative is less "is isayama a nazi sympathiser?" (he most likely isn't), but if he's a imperial japan apologist. and...

well, let's just say that my father is british, and when i was trying to say that colonisation was bad, using british india as an example, he said "well, we gave them railroads." it's... it's uncomfortable and gross and i think it encapsulates how countries with imperial pasts tend to talk about them; even if they don't officially endorse it, there's often a lot of talk about how "well colonialism was good for this country, actually--"

and if the manga felt like it was justifying japanese expansionism, then chances are it had elements that very much did point towards that. i've had a lot of trouble grappling with reiner, annie and bertolt, because they've existed in this grey area of 'victim of oppression' and 'war criminal'; and their existence raises the question of "do people who commit war crimes simply do what needs to be done?" and by victimising them it... it plays into the whole nuremberg defense of "i was just following orders". it's making you feel bad for the people committing said war crimes (and similarly with eren, and all the awful things he's done). but i'll get more into this point later dsfkjfd

i haven't read the last chapter yet (and don't worry about spoilers! i've been approaching aot from a very... specific perspective anyway, so i actually don't mind spoilers -- i read a bunch of analyses of the series before i'd even watched it hh), but... i think if it came off as too positive about, you know... an awful thing that happened, then it absolutely makes sense that you'd feel uncomfortable?

the modernisation narrative in general is one that always skeeves me out. it's one japanese imperialists use to justify the invasion of korea (and even those infamous tweets from the one account purported to be isayama talk about how the population of korea boomed under japanese imperial occupation, which... stop.)

it's also commonly invoked in cases of development. certain members of society (usually the poor), just 'had' to die for the good of the future. who gives a damn if they consent to that? they have to.

similarly, the 'we had no choice' narrative. that's... a concerning one that crops up time and again with history apologists, the argument that "oh if x country hadn't done y, then someone else would've!" or that acts of aggression were done as pre-emptive self-defence, which is so... ugh. i just. i just hate it.

It also feels really weird w the ymir and the whole loving fritz thing. i wish we got to see more of her thought process and what conclusion she came to that led her to destroying the power of the titans.

i... hate this so much. i get that abuse is complicated and victims often have multifaceted feelings towards their abusers, but... most people would focus on that in their story? the story would be about that? but instead, it's just... a thing in the history of the world and that's... icky.

also having the genesis of the titans come from a slave girl in love with her captor... there's many levels of ick to it and i highly doubt it was handled with the appropriate level of grace and sensitivity.

honestly, this might be one of the things that pissed me off the most because of how... contradictory her backstory was with That One Chapter (you know, instead of ymir crying because she wants to be free or because she’s been trapped she........ wants to see mikasa kiss eren’s decapitated head? i guess? what the fuck?) 

idk...I just think that context is sometimes everything. and i understand that media can portray incorrect things,,,, and that isayama likely didn't intend for it to become a global sensation, but i guess i'm just uncomfortable w the right wing nazis getting a comfort book ahaha.

i totally get that! even if attack on titan is meant to be anti-fascists, the fact of the matter is... a lot of fascists love it. and relate to it. which is... alarming. especially given just how popular aot is worldwide.

it’s hard because before the ending, attack on titan did feel like it was more grey; i remember saying that i wouldn’t know how to feel about it until the ending because the story was either saying “the military is corrupt and war is hell”, or it was saying “the military is corrupt and war is hell, but it is necessary.” 

still sorting out my thoughts, but yeah. I think i'm having a hard time understanding what they really accomplished with the rumbling and how they gave eren a sudden lelouch role and a lot of how they made it out to be a happy thing? perhaps I'm too biased to see it fully but to me it gives a "woah. eren was a hero. he saved us from destruction. those people needed to die for us to achieve this temporary peace and new start". i suppose the rumbling gave them a levelled playing ground?

OH MY GOOOOOD okay. i haven't finished code geass. but i really don't like lelouch. i mean... i think i just don't like characters that sacrifice other people for a purported 'greater good' (i could write an Essay about how much i hate erwin smith looking at him is enough to send me into an unhinged rage), but where i'm up to in the anime, i don't like the direction they're going with eren? i mean, i've never liked eren, but... that whole "martyr for the eldians" is just. ew. especially when you see several eldian characters disagree and resist him. 

why does this one guy get to make choices for everyone else? because he’s sPeCiAL? fuck off 

sorry for not being coherent. maybe i'm basing this too much on feelings ahaha. trust aot to finish it's scandalous run with a scandalous end.

no omg you're being perfectly coherent :( also, if anyone's making you feel bad or stupid for how you experience media, they’re... definitely not as smart as they think they are fdslskjfdlk. 

i'm of that mind that, while media consumption is in part an intellectual exercise, it is inherently very emotional; narrative media tries to make us feel as much as it makes us think. that’s what stories are for, you know? intellectual analysis is well and good but what’s the point of a story if it doesn’t make you feel anything?

that's to say, i don't believe there's such thing as basing your opinion too much on feelings :') especially since it's your personal experience with a piece of media; you don't owe anyone 'objectivity' (which is always a farce when it comes to this sort of thing) or 'logical analysis', because nobody's got any right to criticise you for engaging with media the 'wrong way'.

tl;dr I feel like the mood was too celebratory abt the rumbling, and didn't entail enough on the tragedy so much that it felt like a justification for genocide and expansionism. how do you feel abt it's ending and the message it leaves? is isayama responsible to give a morally correct answer to the cycle of hatred? you're not obligated to answer! and sorry for the rambling.

hhh yeah i guess that’s the thing at the end of the day... is isayama responsible for giving a “morally correct” answer? no, but the way the ending plays out is very telling. 

like armin thanking eren? mikasa’s e n t i r e character boiling down to being in love with a mass murderer no matter how poorly he’s treated her? and one could argue that kind of ending is supposed to be unsettling, supposed to hint that the cycle will just continue, but...

framing is everything. and it’s framed like a Good, Emotional Thing, Aren’t We So Grateful Eren Did All Those Awful Things 

YI think I would've been fine if we got to see more of Eren's or Yif you have a different perspective on how eren is being portrayed please do share! I just felt really yucky watching armin say "thanks for murdering all those people for us" with love,,, I suppose he was trying to make eren feel better. ach maybe I'm just overreacting. idk. im dumb ahaha . i'll send this in anyway cuz I'd love to hear your take!

HHHHHHH i just hate eren and i never got him. i felt bad for him in the beginning, but he's always been too... violent for me. there was a very short period of time in season 2 where i felt bad for him, but otherwise it’s just been... ugh. the main three have always been the weakest part of the series imo, so it’s really not surprising they’re part of the reason the ending was so. bad. 

and... well, that one infamous quote pretty much sums up my issue with armin. he's supposed to be the 'intelligent' one, but he's hopelessly devoted to a homicidal maniac with whom he has a very artificial, unbelievable bond with.

at the end of the day, the "thank you for becoming our monster" thing just makes it seem like attack on titan's core message is "war is horrible, but it is necessary." it feels like it's justifying massacre. and while fiction is fiction, and sometimes it's as simple as that, i think something as politically loaded as attack on titan needs to be looked at with a critical lens when discussing what it’s trying to say or what it means. 

do i think it makes someone a Bad Person for liking aot or being attached to it in some way? no, because that’s dumb, and what media someone likes =/= their Moral Goodness TM. ofc trends are a thing and certain pieces of media appeal to certain types of people, but it’s a false equivalency that misses the point. 

but by that same breath, nobody is wrong or stupid or has Less Valid Opinions just because what they took away from it makes them uncomfortable. 

i’m sorry this is So Long i have so many thoughts about this dskljfslkj 

but at the end of the day, 

levi sexy

[kuroopaisen]

if you take out the Titans in aot, it could be a historical manga. there are so many parallels in world history that it reads like it. even erwin’s past, it’s patterned after the japanese textbook controversy.

also, I don’t see it as fascists nor xenophobic? Isayama wrote aot like a literal history book (or at least drew a lot of inspo from it) and it can’t be denied that all these horrible things happen and keeps on happening.

But that’s just my two cents! People have diff opinions, who knows what’s wrong or right.

oh that’s actually a really interesting point!! because i know a lot of people like to... baby the japanese population and be like “oh, they just don’t know any better, they don’t know about the War Crimes” because of the textbook thing which is........... first of all, grossly insulting, and second of all, ignores the hard work being done by japanese people to amend the whole textbook issue? like please treat non-westerners with more respect please :) 

i think it is interesting how the show starts very straightforward “We Are Cattle Blah Blah Military Only Effective Way Of Doing Anything” to a more... nuanced??? take on the conflict and who the real enemy is and all that?? again, i need to see how it pans out. who knows, maybe i’ll write a whole essay. 

[kuroopaisen]

The way you portray aot is so good! Right now in the manga everything is so crazy. And you’re right, it can be uncomfortable to face your country’s past (as a Spaniard, everytime we have to face what we did with America, Filipinas and the Sahara... it’s really shameful).

Eren... I can’t hate him even if he’s the worst. I still see that little kid that saw how his mom was eaten alive in front of him. But at the same time, he’s so fucked up right now.

I don’t want to tell you anything because you’re still very early in the last season and I don’t want to make spoilers.

And yes I’m okay! But we have to hear things as “If I could I would kill the 27M people that voted for the left” from our military and a couple of political parties justifying it 💀

I COULD BE PORTRAYING IT ALL WRONG WHO’S TO SAY 

but hh yeah... every year there’s a lot of protests about australia day (seeing as the current date is the day when the first fleet arrived, which... marks the beginning of a century of oppression that still hasn’t ended for aboriginal australians). there’s a strong sentiment to “change the date”, but a lot of conservatives push back against that and it’s just so ????? i don’t understand why they can’t just make it the day australia first signed the constitution? anyway-- 

HHHH you’re a better person than me i can’t stand eren (right now, at least). i can definitely sympathise with the whole “having his mother eaten alive in front of him” thing, but he’s just so... idk. there’s a strong contrast between him and everyone else and i think everyone else is far more reasonable. 

OH CHRIST THAT’S???? THAT’S TERRIFYING????? (not so) fun fact: when the un was drawing up the genocide convention political parties were initially included as potential victimised groups but a few countries (guess) didn’t want that because then they could be prosecuted for things they’d done :)