#snk meta post

[kylermalloy]

This has probably already been said, but I have to talk about the courtroom scene and why it was a fantastic introduction to not only Levi, but Erwin too—and their relationship.

So we first meet Levi in the heat of battle. We see very quickly the type of fighter he is—confident, but not overly so. He has a strong command of himself and the people under him. He’s The Guy.

Then Erwin shows up and announces they’re pulling back—Levi immediately argues this. We might assume Levi is being set up as the guy who ~doesn’t do well with authority.~ You know the type. He does his own thing. Doesn’t play well with others. Chafes under orders. He’s too big and too important for all of that!

This impression continues when Eren meets Levi and Erwin in the dungeon. Levi is rude and mouthy, and Erwin’s chastisements do little to curb this. Levi’s confidence and skill give him authority issues…right?

So then we move to the courtroom scene, Eren’s trial. Erwin says beforehand that he has a plan, but we’re told nothing more. We see him propose to the court that Eren be given to the Scouts, and he says nothing more.

Levi is the one to scathingly go after the MPs during the debate, pointing out the flaws in their plan and how likely it is that they’re trying to save their own skin. First time viewers might assume that, again, while Erwin is a charismatic leader, he doesn’t go far enough. Levi is the one to say the quiet part out loud, to go to the places Erwin’s too ~respectable~ to go.

Then things start to go sideways. The court’s favor seems to be turning against Eren and the Scouts, fear and paranoia winning out. Eren is getting desperate.

Enter Levi.

And we get this glorious scene. Levi convinces the court that Eren is harmless to the likes of someone like him. Their best bet is to do what Erwin asked and give Eren to the Scouts. Please.

(Notice how Erwin is not shocked, nor does he try to stop Levi.)

Now again, to a first time viewer, this scene feeds into our preconceived notion of Levi. He’s the guy who isn’t deterred by silly things like rank or authority. He saw that things weren’t going Erwin’s way, so he took matters into his own hands. Maybe Erwin will be mad about this later, but Levi will shrug and roll his eyes and say “but I got results, didn’t I?” and Erwin will have no argument for that.

…Right?

Cut to the next scene, after the court has granted the Scouts custody of Eren—and Erwin’s like, “sooo…sorry about that. We had to make it look good.”

This whole thing was planned by Erwin.

The scene was more or less staged by the Scouts. Erwin wanted to present himself as the calm, collected leader with clean hands. And Levi was the one to do the dirty work, be the brutalizer—even though it was all on Erwin’s orders.

He’ll play that role. He’ll be the rogue, the rough one, the problem child, because his personality fits so well into that niche anyway. But he does it because Erwin wanted him to. If Erwin had wanted him to stand nice and quiet the entire time during the trial, if that’s what needed to be done, Levi would’ve done that instead. He’s not looking to get results; he trusts Erwin’s methods and does what he’s told.

And in this case, he was told to beat up this helpless brat. Gladly.

(How much do you want to bet one of the MPs said to Erwin after, “you need to keep your dog under control.” I would simply implode.)

Like, if this display will land anyone in trouble, it wouldn’t be Erwin—it would be Levi. Levi’s the one who got violent and mouthy during a military trial. He broke rank. He attacked the defendant. Erwin isn’t, ostensibly, responsible for this at all. Levi willingly put himself in that position because he trusted Erwin.

And so everything we thought we knew about Levi is turned on its head! Eren even says so in the next episode—he expresses surprise that Levi’s so diligent about following orders.

Eren, silly boy, assumes that being skilled means you don’t have to take orders from anyone. But Levi does. It’s his whole character. (Notice how, despite him ending up being the oldest member of the Scouts, he’s never in line for Commander? He’s the hands, not the head.)

And this whole thing provides so much insight into Erwin’s character as well! Pyxis says at the beginning of the episode that Erwin is very straight-laced. Well, by the end of the episode, we can see that’s…not quite true.

Erwin is conniving, willing to play dirty, do whatever it takes, to get things to go his way. All while keeping his own hands clean, maintaining the image of the honorable Commander. He simply uses the tools at his disposal (Levi) to do the dirty bits for him.

It’s a fantastic introduction to the Scouts, their leader, and his right hand (or is it the left hand that does the dirty work?)

[firwhorl]

aot post-canon character dynamic that i'm suddenly interested in: armin and reiner

armin generally puts aside his own feelings--or more like doesn't consider them in the first place--and is pleasant and kind to people, right

now remember that scene where there was a delay in preparing the flying boat. armin's immediate suggestion was for him to stay behind to delay the colossal titans (and die), said in a 'this is unfortunate but it only makes sense, nothing that can be done 😔' way. jean was like wtf no, you're our best chance to both stop eren or reason with him, this is a horrible plan. then reiner immediately volunteered to stay behind, but with a much more obviously ..sad, self-hating demeanor.

i think this way that reiner tends to be very obvious about what armin's also feeling but not expressing (and would probably find pathetic to express) would annoy armin. despite his best efforts not to be annoyed lol. and it could be messy and interesting, they would get closer in the end + armin would have to confront his attitude towards himself a bit

[six-paths-of-jeanmarco]

Thank you for killing me slowly by a thousand mental cuts the ask, anon! First of all, lemme apologize for taking so long to answer, but in my defence, you asked me quite the question here.

I want to say first that I used to be a big snk fan. And then the final chapter was released. It was so bad that it made me look at the whole series with a very critical eye, which made me realize that snk has never been that great to begin with. What really made this story good was the anime produced by WIT, and what really carried the story was its big mystery box. The moment we opened it, everything went downhill bc this was no longer a fantasy world, but a lazy parody of ww2 Germany & Japan.

But more importantly, and referring to the final arc, I started to notice all the rot hidden in plain sight: its fascist and antisemitic undertones, the awful writing, the lackluster worldbuilding, the braindead politics and the inconsistent treatment of characters.

Despite my newfound interest for the cautionary symbolism of Reiner and his character arc, I still think it was handled poorly. I have the same problem with characters like Gabi, Annie, Magath, and Pieck. Their individual arcs ended with them facing no real consequences for their crimes. Magath, despite being a literal representation of the nazi, was rewarded by the plot with a heroic death (a baffling choice when you think about who he is and what he did, and just how brutal and meaningless all of the Scouts deaths were pre timeskip). Reiner, Annie, Pieck, and Gabi were all rewarded with the promise of a new, happier life ahead of them, despite being responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths directly or indirectly.

Gabi herself is proof of just how bad the writing is: RBA lived inside the walls for around 3 years, and yet they still went on with their mission. They still killed Marco. Annie still massacred those Scouts. It took Reiner 7 years to fully acknowledge that what he did was wrong and to finally make amends ... by joining an alliance that had the same goal as that of the warriors for the whole goddamn arc: take down Eren. However, Gabi realized she was wrong in like what, just a few months at best? Their development is dictated by however the plot needs them to be or act. But there's more:

Marco, the Levi Squad, Sasha, and -- as victims of similar circumstances -- Pixis, and Hange, the embodiment of pacifism, were all condemned for being good people, and some of them for believing that there is good in everybody, even in their enemies; and punished for believing that conflicts could be solved in peaceful ways. Does the cautionary symbolism of their brutal deaths still holds up when the story rewards violence and crushes pacifism?

I don't think it does.

Showing that even the worst of the worst are capable of change and doing the right thing in the end is an important message, but. The idea that everyone is just a victim of their uprising or their circumstances is simply wrong. Ideologies don't exist without people, cowardice does not justify orders carried out that lead to attrocities. This idea fails to acknowledge that evil exists. Not just nuanced evil, but pure evil as well. It also goes the other way around. This idea also fails to acknowledge that good can exist.

And also to sympathize with Pieck, who was still loyal to marley despite what they're doing to her own people. And Magath, who in his final moments, revealed that he actually cared about the kids he was indoctrinating and instructing to commit genocide all along. I can't ignore the similarity with the way neonazi like to bring up hitler's friendship with Bernile Nienau, a girl of Jewish origins, as an attempt to humanize him. Heck, even Zeke's final moments painted him as more sympathetic than he was. Such is the case with Floch, and the way Jean reacted to his death. All those characters were redeemed in the audience's eyes without facing any substantial accountability.

I also have a huge issue with the false equivalences that were supposed to show us how morally grey everyone and everything is.

-> The link to the post in the screenshot

Jean and Connie and the Scouts that attacked Liberio aren't just wrongfully presented as something they're not, they're also used as tools to rationalize what Reiner and co have done to them throughout most of the series. Jean briefly does that with what Reiner did to Marco before he punches him to a pulp. Then again with the "we're the same" bs. Then again with implying Reiner is one of them as a Scout. There's also no real tension between the warriors and the Paradis side of the alliance. What the warriors did to Paradis is truly horrific, so their only way for redemption is through their victims.

The mistake that most people do when they interpret their relationship or the characters themselves is to only look at the characters' in-story intent. But there's also this thing called the author's intent that overrides everything. Sometimes, you cannot separate an author from their work. Especially when it comes to the final 12 chapters, where the quality of the writing is in the sewer.

But there's actually another way through which these characters were redeemed: the introduction of a much greater evil and a much horrific event that makes everything else pale in comparison. The main conflict of the story was revealed to have always been Eldians vs Eldians. But that wasn't always the case. Not until isayama retconned Eren, and then treated him the same way he treated the warriors. Eren's friends refused to condemn his actions, and instead repeatedly rationalized, then absolved and thanked him for what he did. It doesn't matter that they still did what was right in the end, that Mikasa killed him, or that Armin admitted they're both going to hell for the atrocities they've individually committed. In the anime. Which came out almost 3 years after the release of chapter 139+the extras and the massive backlash that followed. Let's not forget how that conversation went in the manga:

None of that matters because there's a dissonance between their actions & words and their attitude. isayama couldn't condemn any of his genocidal characters in a way that matters, in a way that would leave no room for moral ambiguity. But perhaps the greatest injustice isayama has committed to his own characters, story and messages was to retcon Eren, the character that was at the center of a message as powerful as the idea that we're all special because we're simply born in this world, into a genocidal maniac that cared about no one and nothing (if he actually cared about his friends, he wouldn't have put them through living hell, not when he actually had the power to prevent it, and if he actually cared about his mother, he wouldn't have killed her) through one of the worst executions of the time travel trope I've ever seen.

Snk is not a story that condemns fascism, let a lone a "masterpiece" when it comes to social or political themes, because it's centralized on justifying the oppression of the Eldians and making it an integral part of the plot. Not only are the Eldians an obvious metaphor for Jews, which is antisemitic on its own given how it's executed, but isayama ends up making them truly horrific because he takes real world antisemitic conspiracies and turns them into factual realities in his own story, all while seemingly acknowledging that Jews have been oppressed and the victims of the worst genocide in history. Moreover, the Eldians also seem to be ideologically inspired by imperial Japan, Paradis in particular. As @ shangyang points out in their essay, we shouldn't forget the fact that this is a manga authored by a Japanese man, nor that Japan has its own history with fascism. (Plesse don't skip any of the posts linked here)

All that being said, isayama's true intent is more than clear: violence is praised because his characters were written so to see violence as their only option, and the fascist mentality of eternal warfare as the status quo. Pacifism is not presented as an option. There's no nuance, only extremism. Even the cycle of hatred at the very end only serves as proof that the intent of the story is to present an extremely narrow worldview in which the human species is only capable of perpetual warmongering, hatred, destruction, and death. Which is wrong and is the very opposite of what I'd call "nuance", imo. And the reason this bothers me so much is because snk and other "morally grey" works alike aren't portraying evil people as just that, people, and evil as something that exists in all of us - no, what they're doing is making the unlikeable likeable, the unjustifiable justifiable, and they're making people sympathetic towards things they shouldn't be sympathizing. Such narratives are banalizing evil (if I had a nickel for how many posts I've seen justifying what Magath did or outright saying they love the guy, well I'd have a lot of nickels) and depreciating good (lots of nickels for all the posts I've seen bashing the Scouts). Such narratives serve as propaganda for the things they claim to condemn.

The result is that such stories beget ignorance, and ignorance is a fertile ground, whether is the case of people who are only interested in shipping and blorbofication, or the people who are not properly educated to know what they're dealing with.

And there's a reason actual fascists and neonazi are circling the series like flies, identifying with the yeagerists, and saying that "Eren was right". They're not taking control of the narrative, they're seeing it for what it really is. The progression of Eren's character arc, his motivations, the retcons, the conclusion of the story, Ymir's motivation, the undeserved redemptions, the characters not behaving in ways they should based on their history, none of those things make sense because they don't have to make sense. They're only pretexts meant to mask the actual intent of the story. The cycle of hatred didn't end because the rumbling truly failed. Because "the enemy" (the people outside Paradis, all of them, as Eren made it very clear) wasn't completely obliterated. Because as long as there's "the enemy", there can't be peace. Fascists have a complex relationship with war. They don’t like it, but "the enemy" is always forcing their hand. The rumbling was meant to succeed.

This is not a cautionary tale for anti-fascists.

Snk is a cautionary tale for fascists.

Now recontextualize all of that in present-day fascist politics, and see where it takes you. But ofc, this is only my interpretation, based exclusively on the story itself.

[oxygenbefore1775]

ok just one more thing about color analysis

(here is the my full post about the color analysis on other characters including Hange)

This one is specifically about Erwin. What I like about his "official" color is that it's the same as Hange's - purple, mirroring their similar fate of becoming Scouts leader. But there's difference in hue, Hange's looks balanced due to having equal ratio of red and blue whereas Erwin's is magenta and warm-toned due to addition of red. And this addition of red is where the root lies.

Beyond the shared qualities that Erwin and Hange possess and that the color purple symbolizes, such as knowledge, ingenuity, dreams and energy - the very attributes that propelled both into great commanders - the additional touch of red in Erwin's color introduces another layer of connotation to his personality, complementing the classic purple symbolism.

Red symbolizes many things but ones that are relevant to my rant are as follows:

The first and obvious one is bloodshed (cuz blood is also red believe it or not). This connotation ties in with Erwin's treatment of his soldiers and subordinates. Although he cares about them, he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice them for the sake of the mission's success which would often result in lives being lost and blood being spilt.

Going off the blood association, the color red also invokes danger - the feeling that was very evident in each of Erwin's endeavors as his plans would entail endangering the lives of other soldiers.

On the positive note, one of connotations of this color that also pertains to Erwin is passion and driving force. In Erwin's case it mirrors his dream to see what lies beyond the walls, the thing that dictated Erwin's decision.

Another thing worth mentioning is that red is commonly known as the color of revolution - a pretty low hanging fruit for me to point out, considering that Erwin went and did just that in season 3.

All in all, the added hint of red to Erwin's "official" color only underscores the aspects that distinguish him from Hange's approach to leadership. On one hand it's more bloodier and cruel when it comes to soldiers' lives but on the other hand it is more driven and inspiring (not that Hange's isn't it's just their dream doesn't really require an army of soldiers, their dream is more "scientific")

[velociheroviridi]

Just watched the last episode of AoT, and man it's wild that I started reading the manga and watching the show when I started high school and now it's finished as I graduate college

Anyways, here are my shower thoughts:

Attack on Titan is a tragedy. Obviously. Eren is young, foolish, and emotional, as many tragedy protags tend to be, ala Hamlet.

But what I think a lot of people take issue with is that a lot of people tend to view the story thru a shounen lens of the main character is the good guy and is always fighting for what's right, and once he wins, everything will turn out great - which is ahem not aot in the slightest

And I think that's how you get all those people showing their support for one side or the other, especially with the jeagerists. Cuz Eren's the main character and ofc he's in the right, he's the mc!

But that's not what a tragedy is about. It's not about the epic fights or about defeating a single opponent and then everything turning out dandy. It's about the consequences of your actions, no matter your intentions, and the cycle of anger and violence that keeps ever turning. And Aot is a really well written tragedy in my opinion! It really spells across how hopeless you are in the face of war and violence and how this violence can create people who believe they're doing right but are actually just causing more death and destruction (really my mind is just going crazy with the Hamlet/Eren parallels here). Eren is 19, angry, traumatized, and trapped by all this crazy future and past knowledge that can't be good for his psyche obviously. He's not the same as a shounen protag, you can't expect him to be in the right, and for everything to turn out okay after what he's done, basically. Tragedies end in tragedy unfortunately

Anyways tldr: Aot is a tragedy and Eren is a literal 19yo who was not gonna make the right decisions and that's the point - and not enough people view it this way. I haven't seen people's reactions to the anime finale yet but I feel like quite a few people might not like the ending, or who knows maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised

[moonspirit]

Since we're giving Armin parent trauma...

HC that he's not used to small acts of affection. Mate gets a headpat and bluescreens.

Source?

We, we know that Eren and Mikasa care for him. He knows that Eren and Mikasa care for him. But those have always been big acts of affection. Eren pulling him out of the titan. Mikasa kicking the blade out of his hand that one time and then threatening to kill Levi. Scene he was unconscious for. Eren hugging him post Titanification.

Thing is, those are big things. I love mikasa but I'll be honest, up until the taking of Shiganshina, i was not sure she cared about Armin as much as she tolerated him bcs he was Eren's other soulmate.

( Armin and Mikasa would not pass an Eren based Bechtel test, but that's a rant for a diff time if anyone's interested)

My point is, Armin is not used to outward expressions of affection. If we are to add the " parents were more preoccupied with travelling than him" and the " you were the better choice to Erwin from a logical side", i feel like it could be interesting if Armin had a hard time accepting that people like him as a person.

So yeah, this is my rant/hc that Armin would be completely unprepared for casual affection and that Connie, Jean and Sasha would take advantage of that

( Annie too post canon. She leans into his ear and sais something sweet and Armin blushes worse than if she'd suggested exhibitionism)

Heeeelllo!

I agree y'know? I feel the same way. As you said, Armin knows Eren and Mikasa love him; it's not like he's oblivious to it.

His problem is that it's hard for him to take in this love and really absorb it because he doesn't see anything in himself worth loving. The things you've mentioned, i.e., his parents leaving him behind, the survivor's guilt + the pressure of living up to Erwin and failing - all meet here at this common point. He knows people love him, he knows they care and he knows it's not just because he can be useful in some ways. But as much as he can feel the love and even be comforted by it for a few moments, it's very hard to sustain that feeling over long periods of time.

I believe what will benefit Armin the most is to know that he's wanted.

Not 'needed', because the military needs him (a working brain + able bodied soldier), Mikasa needs him (to get through to Eren sometimes), Eren needs him (someone to talk to), the 104th needs him (because "sometimes" he comes up with good plans right?), but does anyone truly want him? Just for being him and nothing more?

Cuz if his parents didn't want him (a question he might have as he grows up), then who will? He was their only son after all.

So, back to what you say, any act of affection that drives home the point that Armin's simply wanted by the people around him is bound to affect him to the moon and back. He'll blush and stammer and not know what to do because it's an overwhelming surge of feelings he's not sure he deserves but they're there anyway, arresting his heartbeat.

This can be extremely wonderful to see during his cadet years if Jean, Sasha and Connie sling their arms over his shoulders and take him shopping because "We want to go shopping with you Armin!" or Marco and Reiner save him some special kind of bread in the mess hall during a morning he's running late for breakfast since, "We know you like this bread, Armin."

That aside, my personal favourite thing is to see him receiving this kind of love post rumbling because he's so broken and damaged at this point of time having committed more heinous crimes, and therefore being told and shown that he's wanted, so very very wanted, no matter how silly or serious or even sexual, over and over again across years, will really heal him.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, this made me very happy :3

[shesalittlelost]

Breaking down AoT's ending and Mikasa's role in it.

AoT's ending couldn't have been more perfect imo. A story about cycle of violence and abuse that starts with two traumatized children.

The series itself with Eren and the history of their world with Ymir.

A scared, lonely child who experienced violence and cruelty plenty but happiness and love she only witnesses as an outsider, so she develops an illusion of it in her head. She didn't know life outside of servitude, for her Fritz choosing her as his favoured slave meant love and that she earned by her obedience. So she stays obeying his command for 2000 years.

Until Mikasa shows her, that you can love and still make the right choice, that you can love and let them go, that love isn't slavery and she no longer has to obey Fritz because she is a FREE person not a slave. Mikasa's ability to make this choice and be a person independent of her immense love for Eren is what inspires Ymir to do the same and since the past, present and future all occured at the same time her choice to let Fritz die meant her daughters never ate her spine and so the titan ability was never passed down to anymore humans.

Eren and Ymir both appearing as children in paths symbolising how Eren was still the scared, angry child who lost his mother to the titans and Ymir still the traumatized girl who never healed and knew nothing but to obey

until she learns to be free from Mikasa.

and finally find peace.

Mikasa was able to end the 2000yr old titan curse and free them both from the long loop of nightmare that they were stuck in because while Eren longed for freedom Mikasa was the one who was truly free from the beginning. She too suffered since her childhood, lost her family twice, lost her best friend and still saved her murderer because she never let her emotions rule her. She has always been able to detach herself and make the right choice.

Mikasa Ackerman represents freedom.

[edwardsissyhandsthtdanceslikeabb]

eruri & finding peace

of the things i remember recently gaining insight into with eruri, its that they're fundamental reflections of each other, and through this their relationship enabled a resolving of their internal quandaries.

its pretty well known that they're mirror characters (hence their synchronicity), with purpose also informing both their narratives, but they were able to access the truth of their purpose within each other. — erwin was confronted with duty vs drive and the pairs' fight for prominence within him, whereas levi was confronted with self-objectification vs fallibility.

levi idealized erwin as a wholly dedicated person with no personalized conflicts of interest. he saw him as elevated, uninhibited, humanity's paramount heart — a beacon — and was thusly able to dedicate his life in turn, doubly forgiving the loss of his fallen friends in the service of the greater good and the ability to be unflinchingly active in one's pursuits and efforts (i.e dedication/purpose).

erwin, on the other hand neglected a part of his authenticity: both in his ambitions and his responsibilities to humanity. he assumed a relentless resolve which strained the juvenile, personal nature of his wants, and denied him from openly espousing his perspective and ambitions with others, seeking validation/satisfaction through success and output. but, as vindication loomed, he was unable to suppress his truth, with his allegiance to duty distressing him given selfishness opposing his all or nothing/dedication mindset.

levi, while disillusioned, also received a sobering look at his encapsulation of humanity's finest, coming to realize that his romanticization and consequent emulation/endeavoring towards self-objectification was unrealistic, and neglects the fundamental impurities and selfishness which make us human. levi is able to accept erwin in his jejune wants, and places value over his autonomy / rest over service and being a mere tool.

levi has always been one with humanity since his recruitment, with his prioritizing of eren's autonomy wrt turning [early in the show] acting as a key example, however, this is furthered in him humanizing humanity's beacon, displaying an overt and pivotal evolution to his aspirations.

erwin, conversely, is emboldened in the sanctity of his duty. in relinquishing his true humanity/vulnerability to levi and enabling him to be purposeful for the both of them, trusting levi fully in a way reminiscent of the latter's own former idealization, erwin finds true purpose. and so, when levi commands him to make the selfless choice, erwin can die fulfilled, can die with a heart dedicated, having truly ascended above fallibility and into an apex of human will.

thusly, when levi desperately clings to his need for erwin, one now pure and wholly accepting [obfuscating it through utility], it is erwin who emulates levi and allows himself to wholly embrace peace, satisfied truly, and granted purpose even in his rest. and it is levi who relinquishes the toil for the decided heart of another, able to make peace with humanity once more, releasing erwin from the clutches of duty and allowing personhood/self to endure. both united by unfettered humanity.

a man consumed by duty dies at the will of hands and not the machine, and a man consumed by the machine makes an ultimate sacrifice in service of another, and both are granted purpose through fulfilling the other.

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Hello Lost I hope you are having a good day. Do you think Levi actually hated Erwin post-ACWNR? I read a lot of post-ACWNR fics because I'm obsessed with the first steps of Eruri but most of them make me feel like I didn't quite understand the manga. To me, it always looked like Levi didn't personally hate Erwin, he was pissed off at everything that made his and his friends' lives a living hell. Those nobles put them down there and were keeping them down there and then used one of their friends to blackmail them into doing his dirty work. Which, by the way, interestingly never mentioned in post-ACWNR fics and always written in a way he was doing it for himself or he just hated Erwin but his hatred for Erwin comes from the fact that to him, Erwin was just another person from above that came down to use him and his friends, they were just tools to Erwin at that moment so he was mostly pissed off at not even being seen as people? Everyone was using poor underground people as their pawns. But after Isabel and Furlan died, it sounded like Levi was blaming himself more than blaming Erwin and that's why Erwin's "it was the titans not you" speech hit him so hard? I'm pretty sure Levi still didn't like Erwin so much post-ACWNR but I don't see him actually wanting to kill him or hating him passionately and I was wondering what do you think about this and which post-ACWNR fic is your favorite?

Anonymous asked:

In a lot of fics Levi is depicted as taking an attitude against Erwin after acwnr, as if he still has a grudge against him. In the fandom this is a real interpretation some people have of the canon story as well. I don't understand why, this clearly doesn't sit well with Levi's character. Once he said that he would follow him that was it. I think they seek for him to have some sort of character development as his decision to follow Erwin was all so sudden but what they do to him is character regression, not development.

I don’t know if these asks are both from the same person, or if there was some discourse about ACWNR recently that I missed.  Either way, I hope you don’t mind me answering them together.  I’m going to answer these on the basis of the manga and the visual novel because I think we can all agree that the anime goes to shit at this point.  

We don’t actually get much insight into Levi’s thought process after Erwin’s impassioned “IT WAS THE TITANS” speech in the manga.  After Erwin implores him to fight for the Survey Corps Levi’s only response is “I’m not making a deal with you this time…” We learn a lot more from the visual novel about what Levi is thinking. This is the famous “what a man” internal dialogue and never let it be said that I would miss a chance to quote it in full. 

“What a man—Levi thought to himself.  When he'd gotten caught in the underground, he'd felt humiliated. He had thought that Erwin was brimming with an air of superiority as he looked down at his catch—but now, Levi knew that he'd been mistaken. That kind of quarrel about superiority or inferiority had never concerned Erwin even in the slightest. He was, after all, fighting a more important war against the titans—no, perhaps, it was against something even bigger than that. Fixing his sight on that something, he'd carried on fighting, trying his hardest to defeat it. Levi thought—he'd been obsessed only with his pride, limiting his horizons only to that, and had then lost important friends as a result—with his current self, he definitely had no chance at winning against this man. If that's the case—"All right… It looks like you have something that I lack. Until I know what that 'something' is, I'll go with you."

In both cases I’d say that Levi cautiously agrees to follow Erwin but his decision is conditional.  He knows that Erwin is fighting for a greater purpose, and he knows that Erwin has something he lacks, so he provisionally agrees to follow him until he finds out what that is.  Added to which he doesn’t really have many other options left open to him, so as I see it, his decision to follow Erwin is cautious at best. 

It’s clear that Levi does still feel enormous guilt over his friends’ deaths, despite Erwin’s speech that it was the Titans fault, not his own.  I think Erwin’s words did get  through to him, but you can’t switch off such intense feelings just like that.  I can easily believe he continued to experience guilt and grief long after he joined the Survey Corps.  People who are hurting and grieving often lash out at those who are closest to them, and in this case Levi doesn’t really have anyone else left other than Erwin, so it wouldn't be surprising if Erwin bore the brunt of his grief.   Personally I have a real soft spot for fics that explore Levi’s grief and how he came to terms with his loss as his relationship with Erwin developed. 

We know from chapter 20 of the manga that Levi had an antagonistic attitude to authority but that he recognises Erwin’s rank and command.  However we don’t know if he placidly submitted to Erwin’s authority immediately after joining the Survey Corps, or if he gradually or grudgingly came to accept it. I tend to think it would have been a gradual process at best, with many missteps along the way.

All this is to say that I don’t think it’s unrealistic for Levi’s relationship with Erwin post ACWNR to be complex, antagonistic and intense. It may even veer into hatred at times, reflecting Levi’s own guilt and grief, but it also grows into unconditional trust and respect.  This complexity is why I never tire of reading post-ACWNR fics; every author has their own unique take on how Levi and Erwin’s relationship evolved. If you put me up against a wall and forced me to choose a favourite it would be Black Dog by @stereobone, but there are many more that I love too, which you can find on a rec list here: post-ACWNR fics.

[erudianokabe]

— "I remember what you said. You promised we'd pay for what we did, and you promised pain. So are you here to make me pay?"

— "Yeah. I did say that, didn't I?"

— "Huh?"

— "Let's forget about that. At first, I considered every person on this side of the sea an enemy. But later, I crossed the sea and slept under my enemies' roof…ate the food they offered me… Reiner, I'm the same as you. Some of these people are awful, but some are good. Same where I'm from. Inside the walls, we're all just people. But you were taught that the people in the walls weren't like you. That we were demons. You were just kids who got brainwashed. Hatred was part of your training. As young as you were, how could you have fought that? You couldn't have and will it. It looks like you've already paid."

— "No. You're wrong, Eren! That day... when the titan got Marcel, Annie and Bertolt wanted to end the mission right then, and they would have. But I convinced them to keep going, not just to save my own skin but… because I wanted to become a hero! I wanted to be respected! It's my fault! The truth is your mother was eaten by a titan because of me!

For me, personally, this bit of conversation here was such a turning point— or rather, it was a very good culmination of Eren and Reiner's character.

The way that Eren can outright say the things that's probably been living inside Reiner's head all this time. A major source of his emotional struggles. I’m pretty sure that the knowledge of everyone being just the same as they were began to sink in inside his head at such an early stage. It’s probably even before they joined the cadets. The anime showed Reiner and Bertolt’s reaction after they made that hole in the wall.

Among the crowd you can see the surprise— the horror on their faces. Murder is murder no matter how you slice it, and the same can be said for being a child. No matter how determined or dedicated Reiner was to this grand cause of saving the world, no matter how prepared he felt to kill these devils… words and actions tend to weigh differently once you're on the part where you need to do it. Granted he performed his task of breaching the outer wall, I don’t think anything could have prepared him from the sight of these devils scrambling like humans once death and chaos were added into the equation. As a kid, Reiner’s tremendously honest and kind. He’s not the type that could pull of an act of feigning empathy or sympathy for the enemy. The shock on their faces here? Damn genuine, if you ask me. Although, at this point in time, I don’t think he’d doubt the teachings of Marley about the people from Paradis. However, I do think he'd begin to ask questions, if only for him to make something out of it. Coz I feel like Reiner has a certain defense mechanism to shock… wherein he tries his best to reason and make sense of things, coming to an acceptable and realistic conclusion that he can fathom and work with. In this situation, I feel like he’d be asking, “They’re devils, aren’t they? So… why are they so scared?”

Of course, he can’t keep dwelling on that. Not when they have a mission to do, not when they had goals that needs to be accomplished. Out of all of them, Reiner knows he’s the one who can’t afford to be affected or lose heart because he was the one who forced Annie and Bertolt to continue the mission. He assumed the responsibility of being in charge in place of Marcel. So, he of all people can’t be dissuaded, can’t be half-assed about it, shouldn’t have a change of heart regarding the filth within those walls.

However, as time progresses, as the years come and go, Reiner observes, he learns. He has to, in order to infiltrate and do his mission properly. He has to act in a way that’ll get THEIR enemies’ sympathy so that moving inside the walls become easier. Living out their lives as people from Paradis, sticking to someone else’s borrowed truth (the story the old man told them before he hung himself) as Bertolt narrated in the earliest part of the series… in order to cement their own identities, so no one would become suspicious. Still, I guess nothing could have prepared Reiner for the bonds that he’d eventually forge with the cadets from the 104th battalion either. This was most probably the time wherein him, Annie, and Bertolt actually got the most interaction. Living with them day to day. Doing the same things, eating the same food… and this time, sharing a similar goal— to save humanity, to save the world. In the earlier stages of being a cadet, I’m sure he still has his mind on the warrior’s mission. But I’m also of the opinion that his “fraternizing with the enemy” wasn’t just for its sake anymore. He may say that it’s to get on their good side, but this was probably also the time where he’s actually treated like an actual human being by his fellow peers. Not as a warrior, not as a soldier… but just as a person who gets his fair share of acknowledgment. That some part of him was actually good enough. To think that his so-called devils, the people he’d held in contempt for so long, the evils of this world, would be the people who saw him as well… a person. Shit, he even became someone’s hero.

When Eren asked him how to be like Mikasa and him? I’m sure we all know that Reiner saw himself for a moment in this strong-willed but desperate boy who just wanted to make a change before he ended up dying…because that’s how he felt when he was in Marley. When he was the weakest of them all. When he was desperately running after a dream— only to be denied, so he had to go after the next. “Just do what you have to. Keep moving forward. That’s all we can do.” While these were real words of advice that he had for Eren, I firmly believe that this is a reminder for himself too. That he has to keep moving forward. A creed he has lived by since day one, because for someone like him who knew what it was like to be the worst at everything, doing what you can and moving forward was the only real way to get results. That’s what he’s done, and that’s what he’ll do… regardless of whatever it was that he believes to be right… which of course, blurs somewhere along the way. Something further reinforced by Marco’s death— at the hands of Reiner’s own decision making. One which we also know that his guilt and conscience couldn’t handle. SO. If the line was already blurring somewhere along the way, Marco’s death, for me, was the trigger of him solidly compartmentalizing who he is as a warrior and who he is as a soldier. At this particular junction, this was the only way for him to function properly. Where he loses himself in one persona, and then switches when either the need arises or when he is reminded that he’s actually a warrior.

Coz like, at some point, I really believe that Reiner would have wanted to just be a soldier. To be with these people who gave him the validation and respect that he never really got back in Marley, but also to protect the friends that he’s made along the way. I think this want had been strong enough at one point. Specifically, when he saved Connie. Him remembering Marcel’s deeds; him having incorporated who Marcel was in his soldier persona makes it even stronger. Because at the end of the day, Reiner just wants to save his comrades, his friends. I don’t think this has ever changed. From the time he apologized to Annie and Bertolt… promising that he’d be the warrior he was meant to be, up to this point in time. He’s got their backs. Which is why I think that in Reiner’s character development, the conversation between Connie and Bertolt about Reiner being so self-sacrificing is important. Because this was the point where Bertolt was reminding Reiner of who he really is only for Reiner to shut it out completely, his head not even beginning to register what the hell a warrior was or what it even meant.

But again, the reality of the situation rears its ugly head. The trigger of which, again for me, are two things. One, was Eren mentioning that Bert and Reiner were driven far away from their hometown. If you go to episode six of Season 2, you’ll notice how his reaction drastically changes. Because before Eren mentions it, Reiner was in the moment of being a soldier. Where all that registers to him was the near-death experiences he had with titans. Again, it’s not as if he was lying. These were the truths of his experiences regardless of what the reason behind his actions were. At this time, he doesn't remember telling Annie Eren’s location, most likely doesn’t even register Annie as the female titan. He’s not trying to deceive anyone; he was just reliving the trauma of having almost died. So much that he even wanted Armin to validate the prior situation. The second one was when Bertolt reacted to what Eren said after seeing Reiner’s expression. Like, bam. Bertolt sees the opportunity to once again pull Reiner out from the deep end by reminding him of home. Which works. However, not in the way that he himself expected.

I don’t have enough Bertolt in me to interpret his words of “Truer words were never spoken. Home! Let’s go! We’ve been here long enough. Compared to everything else we’ve had to go through; the rest is easy.” But I’m sure as hell Bertolt didn’t mean for Reiner to just so casually reveal the truth to Eren like that. Maybe it was more a nod to ‘Let’s escape while we have the chance. Let’s go back with what we know. We've done enough. If we get punished, I'm sure we can take it.’ But not Reiner’s “I’m the Armored Titan. He’s the Colossal.” spiel.

After all that’s happened, what they’ve been through. Reiner knew that Bertolt was right. Everything moving forward would be easier. So, for a while, Reiner just gave in. He wants to go home, just like anyone else. Wants the mission he forced on his fellow Warriors to finally come to an end. Everyone’s tired of all the fighting. All the death. Reiner now has a better understanding of the people of Paradis whether he wants to acknowledge it or not. He can bargain. In a way, he sees a kindred spirit in Eren. So, he took the chance of telling him the truth. See, knowing what he knows now, I am a firm believer that a chunk of who he is as a person just wants to avoid killing anyone else. Because he knows that there were no devils behind these walls, only people. Like him. Like Bertolt, like Annie. Like those they’ve left behind and were waiting for them in Marley. He just wants to avoid a fight at all costs, even if it meant spilling the beans. Eren, in part, wants the same thing. To prevent any more people from dying, to save as many as he possibly can. So, to Reiner, he thought that maybe Eren would understand if he explained the situation. That him going with them was the optimal way to avoid a major crisis. The best solution anyone could ever ask for. Which… of course, didn’t go exactly as planned. Because as Eren mentioned, “What’d you expect me to do? Say yes, let myself be kidnapped just coz you asked politely?” things don't always go well when you ask politely.

AND YOU REALLY SEE the look on Reiner’s face here. For me, this is when he snaps back to reality, and not just any reality. He snaps back to the entirety of the situation, of how everything that they’ve known wasn’t all that it was cut out to be. The realization that they weren’t fighting devils, but they were fighting people just like them. That he can no longer really consider himself a hero, because heroes dont murder innocent people. How he no longer knows what’s right from wrong, but despite knowing all that, he has to go back to his roots, to his duty as a warrior. So, you know… for the first time in a long while, we get to see Reiner for who he actually is. Not Reiner as a Soldier, not Reiner as Warrior… but the Reiner who always has to make a choice and choose the path that he needs to stick by due to the realizations he brings himself to accept, by force or otherwise. And man, when he says that he’s choosing the road that leads to the bitter end. It’s not even about coming back as a hero anymore, he really just wants it to be over. Because that's the only way for it to be over, he’ll accept what he’s done; take responsibility, pay for it. Because again, that’s all he can really do— accept the outcome no matter how painful it is and move forward.

And then the switch from warrior to soldier happens again without warning when they were taking a rest after capturing Eren and Ymir. God. The way that they showed his internal struggle here, from having been reminded that he’s not a soldier to being reminded of Marco’s death, to Ymir and Eren just rubbing salt to the wound of his sins. Out of all of them, he gets it. It’s not as if he wants to be a victim or chooses to be one, it’s just that… he actually is a victim whether he wanted to be or not— but at the same time, it’s not as if he’s trying to run away from the murder, from the death, from the sins. He’s trying his best to resolve it within himself. But it just isn’t easy. Because he’s never lied about how he felt. Because somewhere along the way, he understood what Paradis really was. What those devils really were. So, when Eren just kept throwing his rage at him, he loses it. Telling him outright that he’s aware that they were, at this point, murderers. And that he didn’t need to be constantly reminded of it. Reiner understands that no amount of apology can fix the damage that they— that he had caused the day they breached Wall Maria. I think what hurts Reiner the most in this entire exchange was Eren saying that they were not human, not one of them, never been. Again, if there’s someone here who doesn’t need this constant reminder, it’s Reiner. Only this time, he’s faced with someone who was just like him once. Three years ago, Reiner would have shared the same sentiment, without a doubt. But now? He knows the truth, that they were, indeed the same. Only this time, there was no way to prove it because to the rest of Paradis, they were the monsters, the bad guys, the devils.

The irony is though, when Reiner asked, “want us to feel bad, want us to take the blame”, four years after, he does just this: Feel bad while taking the blame for everything that has happened back on the island. One helluva foreshadowing for our broken man.

When Eren mentions that Reiner already paid the price, Eren now understands where the former was coming from. Based on how he appeared, how he carried himself, pretty sure Eren more than anyone, understands what Reiner had and was still going through. Why Eren himself can just drop the whole revenge agenda. But Reiner can’t. Deep down, somewhere, he’s always wanted this. Always waited for this chance. Wanting for his wrongs to be brought up, for him to get the punishment that he deserved because his guilt couldn’t take it. Which is why he was doing everything, groveling even, to plead his case… his sins to Eren. Reiner doesn't want to be forgiven, understands that he can’t be, doesn’t even expect anyone to do that for him. Which is why it came as a shock when Eren just dropped it. Among everyone, Reiner expected Eren to be the one to deliver that justice, the pain the execution he deserved. But that never came, and it never will. I do think that in Eren's point of view, seeing Reiner like this, he's convinced that Reiner was suffering enough, pained enough. And for someone who had no choice in the matter at the time, didn't know any better, what he was going through now was already comparable to death; maybe even worse.

I think it’s pretty brilliant how Eren literally just reiterates what Reiner airs out four years ago, of them being the same. Of how Reiner and the others were just kids, and how they didn’t know a damn thing. Knew that hatred was part of the training, that children so young couldn’t have known better, couldn’t have willed it. And Reiner despite knowing the truth denies those very words in order to validate his crimes and his self-loathing. Of how he doesn’t want to accept that a murderer like him can just be let off the hook that easy. Even trying to appeal that it was because of him that Carla got eaten in order to make Eren change his mind. But he won’t. Not when Eren understands the truth that he didn’t four years ago. Not when Eren understands what he has to do in order to achieve his own goal. Not when Eren's future actions would be far worse than what Reiner had done all those years ago.

In a way they were just two kids trying to save the world. One simply grew up fighting a war he never should have fought and trying his best to push forward despite being someone who was unable to let go of the past— despite of the mistakes that have been made along the way. While the other never really changed, simply accepting the truth, unable to let go of the future that'd eventually bring about the freedom that everybody sought after.

[firwhorl]

what's Yelena's deal?

i mean her purpose in the story. i see that she wanted to see Eren as special, which could undo development he had in s3, but Eren didn't buy into her idea of him so i don't see the point. was it to just make us believe that he regressed in this way and that's the reason for his actions?

wait no it was pretty visible that he didn't really connect with Yelena, was it to show that he's still disillusioned by the idea of being special. she reminds me of Mikasa in this sense, or more accurately i feel she'd remind Eren of her - on both sides there's someone who believes he's special and unquestionable, and he knows that they're not actually seeing him since he doesn't deserve it (becoming less true for Mikasa at this point, but Eren's not really privy to that). also Yelena wants him to be both special and basically a god, and he is going to take role of a god for a bit, even as a very flawed person.

this doesn't satisfy me as an answer at all btw

there's of course also the point that aot sprinkles in all kinds of characters with different viewpoints formed in reaction to the world they live in to just show them to us, and in that sense i am pretty satisfied with Yelena as a character. it is pretty interesting that she wants to have this religious reverence seemingly for the sake of it. she probably also went against Marley not because of any real moral opposition to them but because she wanted to have a cause, like Pieck implied. ohhhh wait that's like Eren. also never satisfied with life but she did live in a time where she's not in any existential threat so she manufactured a conflict to participate in. ofc it could be that she actually does have a reason to dislike Marley, and it would explain why her conflict of choice isn't to fight for Marley. wait but i kinda like the idea that she was really into saving the world by defeating the island devils and preventing the rumbling or whatever the fuck, but then she saw Zeke

[erwinsarmrest]

this fandom does make me laugh a little because i’ll see someone analyze a scene to hell and jump through so many hoops to prove/disprove ships using so much critical thinking and media literacy skills and then turn around and completely miss the hardly even underlying themes and messages that the story is trying to convey

[edwardsissyhandsthtdanceslikeabb]

a realization which really clicked for me and allowed me to really reconcile all the contrasting facets of levi's character, is that his almost uncanny ability to continue, his relentless drive —which due to its unwavering nature, can be misconstrued as flawed or unfeeling — is in fact the opposite.

levi is a very passionate character, yet often wears a face of immovability, and i think its not only bc he HAS to — bc levi finds drive and purpose in service and dedicating himself to that which is bigger than his individuality and fleeting concerns — but bc what can read as impassiveness, is actually peace.

levi finds peace in being able to give meaning to those who can no longer fight for themselves, he finds peace in not soiling their memory, in maintaining gratitude for life and pouring his passion into fulfilling their fight. but levi also takes it upon himself to stay strong FOR others, FOR the fight, his composure, like almost all of his facets, is a selflessness.

it never mattered to levi WHO had passed, he was never one for scaling, levi appreciates whoever is placed in his life and takes to their spirits with equal zeal, he was ready to kill for furlan and isobel, ready to die for erwin, and ready to let go of hange in prioritizing their autonomy. and throughout, his foremost priority was an uncompromising pursuit of life, an uncompromising care for a life desired, a life true to itself - his whole mission is affording ppl freedom after all, securing them their humanity.

which is why seemingly failing the ppl in his life — e.g. erwin, kenny — makes him so angry (there's more to this tho, cant get into it w/o being shippy lol).

however, the thing, (or person lol), which really cemented my stance, is levi's last interaction with hange, you can feel him pause, you can feel the weight and history and burden of being asked to let someone he cares deeply for, sacrifice themself unchallenged, of standing unequivocally between that. But Levi recognizes his irrelevance in the equation, he recognizes Hange's sincerity, he recognizes the weight of their sacrifice, and in that is able to tell them that whatever they do, they should dedicate their heart, he's able to recognize hange's autonomy, their passion THEIR life, and what giving it means to them, and is able to find peace in knowing that hange lived as they died, fully.

he lets them die with no regrets.

levi is the personification of one's dedicated heart, he is uncompromising faith, he is unflinching support, and he is relentless sacrifice. levi is life, and he is proof of life after death, and he is, primarily, peace after death - peace in dying for having lived.

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Hello! Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language-...

Soo... I'm kinda new in fandom (I watched full AoT in April 2024) but I wanna know more abt Eruri. I read all page in shipping wiki about Eruri and some of smartpass au (but... Not much). But I'm Still unsure. Is there anything you would recommend to read from official/canonical things? Idk-... I JUST WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING ABT ERURI😭😭😭

I'd like ANY recommendations, it would really help me 👉🏼👈🏼

Thanks!!!

Hello and a very warm, if belated, welcome to the Eruri fandom!  Your English is perfect, no need to apologise at all.  The good news is that there is a HUGE archive of Eruri meta and information here on tumblr that fans have created over the years.  A lot of it is old now, because it was written at the time the manga was being published, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant, quite the opposite in fact! There is a treasure trove of canon information and analysis here that some newer fans may not be aware of.  I have an old Eruri Starter Pack post and also a Meta Rec post, some of the blogs recommended here are no longer active but it’s well worth browsing through their archives.  

My own meta is tagged Eruri Relationship,  Erwin Meta,  Levi Meta. Other people’s meta that I’ve reblogged is tagged Amazing Meta.   @tsuki-no-ura is the most active meta blogger on tumblr these days.  They are incredibly generous, patient and insightful with their translation skills. Diving into their blog is endlessly fascinating and educational. @momtaku’s blog is still one of the most comprehensive in the fandom and all her posts are tagged and organised.  @yusekni translated a lot of the supplementary material such as the Smartpass stories, guidebooks and fan Q&A’s.  Don’t miss the Smartpass Erwin and Levi Up Close interviews (part 1 / part 2). @ningen-suki also shared a lot of great information from the Japanese side of the fandom. @erbeansandravioli’s Eruri Receipts post is very old now, but it’s still a great source. 

If you haven’t already read the SnK and ACWNR mangas, read them now! Erwin and Levi’s relationship has so much more depth and nuance than in the anime.  I can also highly recommend reading the official Answers book and Character Encyclopaedia which include key information from Isayama himself about Erwin and Levi’s characters, motivations and relationship.

Hopefully that will keep you occupied for a while! If you're looking for anything in particular, or you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to ask ♡

[ourmondobongo]

For you. What was the perfect way Hange arc would’ve ended?

I have two answers:

My heart: alive, retired from SC, an active researcher and inventor helping rebuilding the destroyed world, working close with other nations to strengthen their relationships post-rumbling, staying in the continent with Levi (not necessarily as couple or anything - just away from Paradis, where they would lit up the stakes for her.) A LH friend also commented it would be nice to see Hanji gathering the stories of other people and help register them as to not be forgotten! I felt it was also in character for her story with books, knowledge and understanding.

My mind: I hold such a grudge over the general conclusion of snk plot, I honestly don't think I can meta anything deep about a Hanji "perfect ending". I honestly wouldn't even mind if she died - I just didn't want it to be the way it was: a blatant kill off that in the next chapter rubs salt in the deep wound with the damn flying titan.

[firwhorl]

so you know how disappointment that the outside world wasn't free of people was apparently a big part of eren's motivation, while armin was still excited to explore marley, right

i think the point of this issue is that city tourism isn't really for eren, and he should have tried hiking or something