#vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

I am so very late to this, I know.

But we finally know exactly why Eren had such a horrified expression after unlocking some of Grisha's memories during that ceremony.

I always thought it was an angry reaction to Frieda/King Fritz choosing to doom his own people. But it was actually horror.

Because not only did he realize, yet again, that men are their own enemies, they will kill each other and sometimes, in their world, it is the only way to change things ー and for Eren, sacrifices of this kind have always been hard to accept. He also actually experienced the sensation of crushing children with his own hands.

And I wonder if this is the only memory he unlocked at the time. I wonder if, later on, he hasn't seen and felt, through Kruger's memories, how it is to torture someone, to skin people alive. To be tortured, through Grisha's memories.

I don't think anyone in the snk cast can fully understand how much rage, and sorrow, and pain, and horror he must have felt...and still be feeling, because of how inevitable everything looks to him, who has experienced at least three cycles of this hell. No wonder he is so dead set on ending things during the time he has left.

#eren yeager #got the feels tonight #eren jaeger #snk #snk spoilers #snk meta #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

Of course, I have no way of knowing if Isayama was involved in the addition of this scene, but as he stated in his most recent interview, "he consulted with the anime team on how to let the “last scene” end. It’s not a matter of his feelings changing after publication, it has more to do with how he would like his unchanged thoughts [about the scene] to be expressed in an effective way through its direction."

We also know that during some scenes, he gives instructions to the voice actors on the exact feelings he wants them to convey.

So I was thinking... if he went out of his way to point out that his feelings haven't changed - and this implies that we may think they have upon seeing the scene - there must have been a reason. Eren looks and sounds even more compassionate, sympathetic, exhausted and completely defeated and unsure at the ocean, does this mean it was Isayama's intention all along?

There have been two main interpretations of the ocean scene, depending on how favorably each part has always seen and perceived Eren.

To summarize, one has Eren's monologue be proof of his psychotic, genocidal and self-centered nature.

The other one saw Eren's words as him feeling absolutely lost on what to do, deeply damaged by the horrible memories and truths he unlocked.

If the anime is to be considered at least a bit canon, especially considering Isayama was heavily and personally involved in this final scene, then I feel like this second one was the most appropriate read.

I agree that Eren then shifted his hatred for the titan (his perceived enemies) to the people outside the walls, and later on to just specific individuals (yet to be pinpointed exactly, but the general idea is: people who try to strip other people of their intrinsic freedom). We can see this during the flashbacks of the timeskip, though his feelings are mostly based on facts and a defensive stance. And when we see him in Marley, sure, we get confirmation of this, but also that his view has changed. He just looks and sounds tired, but compassionate, just like with that titan in the last episode. 

Though, of course, he has made up his mind on what to do now, he doesn't seem to be lost anymore.

I like that Armin remembered, with uneasiness, that moment at the ocean, in the most recent chapter. It's what we all thought at some point, because I know even some Eren fans have struggled with some of Eren's actions and words and so they have tried to look at things in a less positive and biased way - just like Armin did.

I interpreted that "...No way." as Armin merely filing his doubts away for the moment, but not rejecting the possibility. I think the fandom has interpreted it differently, as if he rejected the notion, but from his expression and his words, even in Japanese (まさか, masaka = expression of feelings such as "I can't believe it..."), I think he's even more anxious about it. 

I'm not saying he is 100% right about it, but he isn't wrong in feeling like this. However, we have insight on Eren in Marley, something that Armin doesn't have. Armin also hasn't experienced, as far as we know, the most brutal memories Eren has. And there's also Yelena&Eren's talk to explore.

I don't know, I feel like the manga makes it clear that Armin is not trusting Eren completely (and again, it makes sense), but we were shown an even more compassionate side of Eren during the last episode of the anime, as if to remind us how that scene really was.

Maybe it's just my wishful thinking, but I don't feel I'm that wrong.

#snk spoilers #shingeki no kyojin #snk 118 #snk meta #I feel like there aren't many people online now to read this but oh well #eren yeager #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

Does Zeke plan makes sense to you? Also the sterilization thing doesn't explain how they're going to defend themselves against the world inevitably attacking Paradis. Why did Zeke go through all that effort arranging the declaration of war and the battle at Liberio if his end goal is for eldians to disappear peacefully?

I don’t think the declaration of war was orchestrated by Zeke.

Zeke tried to push Marley to lead an attack to Paradis so he could go there again and take a hold of the Founding. The Marleyan Commander agreed to discuss it with other higher-ups and they decided on 1) the festival, 2) involving the Tybur, 3) declaring a World War on Paradis. Everything was done to shift the focus of the other Nations to Paradis, away from Marley’s weakening military power. Here Zeke is explaining the plan the higher-ups have decided upon.

Zeke wanted to involve a group of Marleyans+Eldians only. 

So he had to damage-control the situation: he used Marley+Willy’s plan and orchestrated in secret the attack on Liberio to delay the attack on Paradis by taking out Marley’s military, steal the WHT (Eren and Zeke probably need it…or needed it to be out of commission), and finally head to Paradis.

What I don’t understand is, why couldn’t Eren and Zeke just meet in Marley and do whatever they wanted there? Maybe, since the world’s attack on Paradis was unavoidable, they have decided on a plan (the Rumbling?) to stop the world’s army and that’s why they have to be on the island. 

We’re missing too many pieces, still, to come to certain conclusions.

Anyway, Zeke’s plan of making Eldians infertile makes sense…from his perspective.

As a child, the love he received from his parents had conditions attached, then Xaver led him to believe he never got loved by them at all. Xaver’s love stemmed from depression and the brutal loss of a child and it wasn’t enough to heal his broken soul. All that Zeke saw was despair and suffering that engulfed every one of the few good things in his life and then, he realized, even the life of his mentor and father figure.

Zeke never had a childhood. He looks 4-5 years old here.

Still, the abuse and lack of genuine love and affection didn’t break him. He accepted his death sentence and he was scared, but he could still cherish the few good things that had happened in his short life.

It was Xaver who broke him. Twice. In two of Zeke’s most fragile moments.

The first one, when Zeke believed he and his family were gonna effectively die and had lost all hope. I believe Zeke still held some hope in his heart that his parents loved him. Xaver told him that wasn’t the case and that he was justified if he let them die.

The second, when he idly gave voice to one of his deepest, saddest wishes, that he had never been born. This is a feeling some other characters went through, most notably Eren. He had a moment like this in the Uprising arc and it lasted probably a week. It was resolved when Shadis relayed to him all the love Carla had for him. 

Zeke probably felt like that for years, because the quiet way he brings up the topic is almost like he’s voicing some worn-out thought he has had for a while. Contrary to Carla’s, Xaver’s words pushed Zeke over the edge. Zeke had been depressed and probably cursed his own existence but not to the point of actively wishing for the death of his race, imo, because he had never been like that.

His wondering how better it would’ve been if they had never been born mirrors Eren’s defeated question at the ocean. They are both 16, coincidentally. They don’t like the idea, but their mind is wandering there because of the horrible things they have seen in life. 

Eren’s musings are fuelled by indignation and pain, but also pride and love for his people, and that’s why he had room for a change of heart when he infiltrated Marley. Zeke’s are born from pain and depression only, and his experiences only add more to it, over and over again. Xaver enabled Zeke by reinforcing his view on life. 

By telling Zeke his tragic story, and giving him proof that even his mentor, someone who seemed to have clear objectives and peace of mind, was suffering to the point of planning a drawn-out suicide and welcoming death, Zeke came to his own personal realization that pain is far stronger than happiness. He loves Xaver, and in this moment he feels pity and compassion for him. So he makes him a promise. He will save the children of the world, both the world’s and the Eldians’.

The difference is Zeke was left with no one. Eren had his friends, a family, his mom’s words. Love. The idea of obtainable freedom pushing him forward.

This chapter also compares Zeke with Reiner, who at least had Bertolt to help him out.

My impression is that Zeke promised Xaver something he wasn’t exactly really convinced about, he was just dejectedly entertaining the thought. He convinced himself that euthanization was the only option because he wanted to bring peace of mind to Xaver.

(Coincidentally, there’s another character who is keeping in mind a promise made in the final moments of a person he looked up to. And that involved mercy killing. And the planned suicide/killing of other people. That promise brought Levi pain in more ways than one, he had to accept some difficult outcomes/do terrible things to follow that promise. It’s interesting how many parallels there are in this series.)

Zeke steeled himself, he understood the full meaning of what he was setting his mind up to do. To me, it doesn’t look like Zeke is particularly thrilled by it. In the first panel on the right (panel above), he's looking down to the side. It’s something he’s done repeatedly in this chapter whenever he felt compelled, or rather, forced, to please another person. Even if he doesn’t really share the mindset.

A thing I have noticed is that he has never had wishes of his own (barring that time he wished for his parents to stop doing dangerous things and was yelled at to tears), and it's quite a common things in children/adults who were emotionally abused. Not wanting anything for their own. Going to great lengths to please others. So they will be loved.

This sterilization plan seems to me like another one of those “things done for others”, this time for Xaver. Up until this point, it didn’t seem like he cared about who was wrong or who was right in the conflict between Eldians and Marleyans/the World. He was going to inherit the Beast Titan for Marley and fight for them because he didn’t have anything else. But now he has a goal.

In his mind, it is mercy killing. I disagree. I hope someone can make him finally look at the world in a different way. If he’s going to die thinking the world is just like he currently thinks it is, it’s gonna be too painful.

#shingeki ask #snk 114 #snk spoilers #zeke yeager #tom xaver #character analysis #snk meta #anonymous #vivimetas #answer spiralled out of control #long post

[yaboylevi]

What do you think about the possible fight between Eren and Levi? a lot of people are saying that and while I do think is possible since Isayama loves some drama I still think Eren was pretending to trust Zeke.

Okay, um…I had to talk this out with my friends a bit and I’m still really unsure about it but: 

We saw Zeke being very polite and kind and kinda goofy only when he was…lying, imo (Marley’s military, Pieck, Colt, Kiyomi are the first ones who come to mind). When did we feel he was saying the truth? Shiganshina. He was kinda harsh with his words, and sarcastic. And he’s being harsh and rude (mockingly polite) and sarcastic with Levi. So I think he’s being partly genuine. I say partly because who knows, really lol

Anyway, considering Eren and Levi’s relationship up until now and considering Levi didn’t react harshly to Eren mocking him in chapter 105 - I’d say Levi won’t attack Eren first and Eren has no reason to start attacking Levi now. He would do it only if Levi opposed him. But would Levi do that? He’s been talking with Zeke. He’s clearly been trying to assess Zeke’s loyalties and real thoughts. Why would Isayama spend so many pages on them? Because he wants to entertain redditors joking about zevi? I doubt it. Levi hates Zeke, so why is he even trying to make Zeke talk, as of chapter 110? Sure, it could be orders…but I don’t think so.

I think Eren wants/needs Levi as a sort of protection agaisnt the SC/the military/even Zeke, if things go awry. So he asked Levi to side with him, and/or asked Zeke to accept/bring Levi on their side. This is just a hunch based on my own theories and my own interpretation of the characters, of course, so feel free to dismiss all of this. But Eren knows Levi would be the only one ready to truly dirty his hands if it meant putting an end to this hell. The flashbacks of the timeskip showed us that Eren felt frustrated when everyone was basically pro-inactivity. Levi was the only main player keeping silent about this, not really siding with Armin or Hange… Also, the anime cut this, but I think it is fairly important to understand where Levi stands and what he’s willing to do, and Eren knows:

Eren also said the same in chapter 100. He’s willing to kill people to put an end to this hell.

Their views align, imo. They always sort of have. 

Then there’s the letter(s) that Eren sent to the SC, and I suspect Eren bringing it up only with Levi in chapter 105 so far could mean that Levi had special instructions other than him having to be the one to retrieve his sworn enemy in Marley. 

That’s why I believe there is something more between those three, like Zeke and Levi obviously don’t want to work with each other so why would they even talk? Why would Isayama keep showing us that they’re bantering, insulting each other, mocking one another but still talking about fairly important stuff? I feel like he wants us to think they could never work together, but they’re willing to reach a compromise and the twist will be that they will work alongside in the end. Again:

ch.106: Levi says he’s willing to hear about Zeke’s secret plan.

ch.108: when Armin says “…Eren is on our side.” we see Eren, then Zeke and Levi.

ch.110: Zeke says there’s not much time, Levi agrees, like he knows what’s gonna happen. Maybe he has to make a choice (to trust Zeke or not) before the time comes. My bet is Eren told him this, to make a choice, and it would be in line with their leitmotif throughout the whole story so far.

About Eren…I am not sure he’s 100% with Zeke. And I’m not sure Zeke is above betraying Eren and everyone else if he needs to…to do whatever he wants to do. Same with Eren. But Levi will side with Eren if it comes to that, of course. Anyway, I don’t see Eren and Levi fighting against one another as soon as they meet. Maybe argue/have a harsh conversation, I dont know. But Eren hasn’t purposely injured anyone from Paradis so far, I doubt he’d start now. And I mean, I think Levi’s willing to listen to Eren, again. He’s made it pretty clear.

In ch.106,  there's this panel:

It could mean nothing, but the option of helping Eren is next to Mikasa and Levi. While Hange and Armin, who have been really, really skeptical and opposed Eren in, uh, different ways, are next to the “abandon Eren” speech bubble. 

There were another 2 panels that could have the same meaning. I talked a bit about them here at the end and here. These two:

I don’t know. I think we don’t have conclusive proofs for an Eren vs Levi fight, but I’d love to hear some well-thought theories about this (because I want to suffer) but at the same time I know we don’t have final proofs for the opposite outcome. I chose to believe in what I’d be more interested in reading.

#snk spoilers #snk 110 #platonic ereri #snk #this got long oops #vivimetas #shingeki asks

[yaboylevi]

so I loved your posts about eren and levi's relationship after 106! And you mentioned how in each arc, they have some sort of talk. And I was wondering if you could tell me what each of those talks were? or when they happened? I just love more content for my boys and I have shit memory and want to go back and look at this!

Thanks for this wonderful ask. While compiling it, I found out a couple of things I had never realized before! I apologize in advance for how massive this compilation is, Eren and Levi’s talks are just so many and so meaningful, I couldn’t stop myself from explaining them a bit. 

I’m going to talk about them chronologically.

FEMALE TITAN ARC

The Prison, Part 1

The first time we see Eren and Levi talk is in the dungeon of the Courtroom. It’s a peculiar encounter that sets a standard for every other one of their interactions. 

Levi meets this 15-year-old soldier who is also a titan, enemy of humankind, and asks him “What do you want to do?”. Eren was having a PTSD episode just a second prior, remembering all the people he’s seen die in front of him, and gives his answer. What Eren wants to do is something that Levi himself has dedicated the past 5+ years to: kill every titan. 

This is their defining moment. Eren’s intensity only draws Levi in, it doesn’t worry him like it happens with everyone else. Here, Levi decides to become Eren’s guardian. He can’t trust Eren, he doesn’t know him. But he feels a connection. 

Eren, on the other hand, has always admired Humanity’s Strongest, and now the very man is accepting him and letting him get a step closer to what fuelled him, revenge. It’s an important moment, especially because Eren had been feeling like he didn’t belong anymore, like he was a monster.

The Prison, Part 2

After a beating from the person he’s idolized for years, after being accepted into the Survey Corps and by Levi (“He is not my enemy,” Levi says in the courtroom), Eren starts living in an old headquarter with Squad Levi and gets experimented on. He is keenly aware he is not normal, but if he can help humanity, he can feel a bit better about his newfound condition. 

Yet, when the very first experiment goes wrong, his new teammates turn on him, treating him like a monster, asking Eren to “prove he’s not an enemy of the human race” and threatening to kill him if he so much as moves a muscle. 

Then we have this scene.

“I’m…here, so I assume you’re letting me live. …And I guess you don’t think I’m a mortal enemy of the human race either… But…”

He knows Levi accepts him, and he had believed him when Levi had treated him like a normal recruit. But now Eren is confronted with the harsh reality. Not everyone is like Captain Levi, ready to protect him just because of a gut feeling. No one was perceptive enough to ask Eren how he was feeling right after the incident. So Eren feels he can open up to the Captain.

They are just outside a prison cell. Levi was probably tasked with locking Eren up in the basement but they stopped outside. Considering their future interactions, I can guess Levi sensed something was weighing on Eren’s mind, so he waited there, patiently. Eren gets straight to the point. 

It looks like Levi needs a moment to recollect himself and to decide what to say to this young man who is feeling miserable. He chooses to be frank with Eren.

He catches Eren’s attention right away. This is the start of their leitmotif, the anxiety of making choices and the following regret that threatens to held soldiers back.

“When facing a Titan, you never know enough. Think all you want. A lot of the time, you’re going into a situation you know nothing about. So what you need is to be quick to act…and make tough decisions in worst-case scenarios.”

Their moment alone ends here. Eren’s focused on Levi and his words. They uplift him a bit, and while I think Eren still hasn’t understood what they really mean (because he still has to find himself in a “worst-case scenario”), the seed is planted. 

Levi doesn’t hold the key to having no regrets. He says his squad has no regrets, even in regards to how they treated Eren, but right after this, they all apologize to Eren. This “no regrets” speech is faulted.

The Forest of the Giant Trees

Their next talk, even if it’s not private, is extremely personal. 

Eren wants to turn into a titan and stop the madness of people dying right behind him. He has the power for it. He may be a monster, but he can use that monstrous power to save soldiers, people. Petra interrupts him, but Levi gives him free choice. Eren stops and listens.

“I know. He’s a true monster. It’s got nothing to do with his titan power. No matter how much he’s held back…No matter what cage he’s in…”

Eren is reminded that Levi doesn’t see him as a man-eating monster.

This is Levi’s first impression of Eren. In a single instant, he understood that Eren’s strongest, wildest part isn’t his titan. It’s his will, and he knows that what Eren really craves is freedom, including freedom of choice. He understands this because he is the same.

Then Levi turns and looks directly at Eren. He says, “the difference between our judgment and yours is experience. But…You don’t have to fall back on that. Choose… Believe in yourself…or believe in me and them…the Survey Corps. I don’t know the answer. I never have. Whether you trust in your own strength…or trust in the choices made by reliable comrades. No one knows what the outcome will be.” 

Levi’s core thought-process is all here. Eren thinks he understands now. It wasn’t about not having regrets. It was about choosing whatever you would regret the least once things are said and done.

So Eren chooses to believe in himself, because Levi’s words validated his feelings.

But Petra, again, asks him to believe in them and Eren is reminded of how they had apologized and accepted him and formed a bond. If Eren transforms here, he fears he might destroy that trust. He has found comrades and friends in Squad Levi, so he doesn’t transform and we, the readers, and Levi himself…are surprised. Eren has chosen to listen to his friends’ requests over following his instinct of protecting them. He loses everyone.

The Forest of the Giant Trees, the Aftermath

Here they are again, alone. 

They are not facing each other. They are facing their respective feelings of guilt.

But Levi realizes he needs to say something. He feels uncomfortable because the worst-case scenario he talked to Eren about has happened way too fast and he doesn’t know how to approach Eren about it. Again, he feels Eren is burdened by something, but this time, Eren is not willingly opening up to him.

So Levi needs to put effort into it and starts babbling about random stuff for who knows how long. 

Eren is unresponsive, he doesn’t even look at him. He feels guilty for Squad Levi’s death, he feels guilty for all the people he could have saved if only he had trusted in himself. Levi had given him permission. He feels responsible because Levi, Humanity’s Strongest, injured his leg. He is paralyzed by all the other possible outcomes. It could have gone worse, but it also could have gone way better. 

Levi tries one last time, and it’s a shit joke.

Eren looks briefly at him and laughs. Levi feels like he has accomplished something. Ensues awkward sipping sound.

Then their real talk begins.

Levi is assessing Eren. Eren, who seemed to have such a strong will, is completely crushed. Levi forlornly says, in its roundabout way, that it’s not Eren’s fault, but he’s aware such words sound empty when people have died and you could have done more. He is familiar with this feeling.

So they go back to silence, and even Levi turns completely away. He probably feels helpless. He has no words of comfort.

CLASH OF THE TITANS ARC

The Cart Ride

The Female Titan’s threat is over. Armin and Hange have come up with the idea of closing the breach in Wall Rose with Eren’s titan. He is expected to harden his titan body and close the hole. It’s a crazy idea and Eren thinks he can’t do it, he’s devoured by uncertainty. Hange tries not to pressure him into it, but it has the opposite effect, Eren is about to say he can’t do it after all. 

Before that, Levi orders him to do it. It sounds harsh. It is harsh. But it comes from a place of trust. He trusts Eren’s capabilities. He is relying on him. They are all powerless and desperate, and Eren is their — his — hope. He is the miracle that happened to humankind. 

It puts a lot of expectations on Eren, and he still isn’t sure he can actually do it. But sensing such strong faith and certainty from someone he holds in such high esteem, helps him out of his insecurities and gives him strength and purpose. 

UPRISING ARC

After a Perceived Failure, Part 1

Eren can’t harden his titan. After this particular experiment, everyone feels dispirited. It’s not Eren’s fault, but everyone probably had higher expectations than they thought. 

Levi doesn’t sugarcoat his words. He’s being harsh, just like every time something doesn’t go well. He did so after their very first experiment, but something has changed now.

During that first experiment, this is what he said.

I don’t think he is blaming Eren, previously he had said Eren’s abilities weren’t reliable, but it is exactly how it sounds. Eren is confused and probably a bit scared, the courtroom beating still fresh in his mind. What happens right after this scene, is Levi protecting him, and offering him guidance during “The Prison Scene, Part 2” (above). Levi is just pissed at the situation, but he doesn’t know how to handle such frustration and, while he may be conscious that he was too harsh (Petra trying to calm him down probably made him realize as much), he doesn’t know how to change.

Now let’s go back to the actual scene I was talking about.

Levi goes off on a frustrated tangent.

“We can’t let any more time go to waste. […] We’re in a shitty situation. […]”

Mikasa interrupts him and says it’s not Eren’s fault. But that’s how Levi was coming off, again.

And here is what he was trying to do. Just going over their failures so they can move on. He is a pragmatic man. In order to not feel trapped or paralyzed by your failures, he believes you need to acknowledge and accept them.

“Right now we can’t close that hole. Take a whiff. Inside these walls, the air’s always stunk like trash. It’s been that way for over a hundred years. We’ve always lived in shit. That’s our situation. I didn’t notice it until just a few years ago. After all, I’ve sucked in this stink since the day I was born. I saw it as normal.”

Somehow, the word “freedom” strikes a chord in Eren’s tired and demotivated mind. He doesn’t understand what Levi is really trying to say, but something feels right. Hange comes to the rescue. Levi’s “…” is him realizing how bad he is at words. It’s like he’s thinking “I already said that, why are you repeating it?”

But Hange goes on listing all the positive parts of their situation. This is usually the shakiest (or absent) part in Levi’s speeches. A way to accept failures therapists teach is 1) acknowledge what went wrong and 2) focus on the positive aspects of it. This is what Hange is doing. 

They say, “that’s not all! We also learned how long you can stay a titan after multiple transformations, and we got a rough idea of your versatility and limitations. Everything that happened during this experiment gave us useful information. We’ll probably have to pay for the price of letting off that smoke signal…but our job now is to make the most of these results.”

Levi has surely something to learn. 

Eren finds purpose again.

After a Perceived Failure, Part 2

Eren has just found out that he’s not a special person, he’s just a normal boy with special powers that weren’t meant for him. He thinks he’s not the right person, that he’s just getting in humanity’s safety’s way. Historia and Eren also have a negative exchange about the end situation. And Eren’s go-to reaction is to focus on that failure.

It’s in this scene we finally see Levi’s speech capabilities to their full potential. He has grown, he has made a conscious effort to change and be a better leader, a better mentor, a better friend.

“…and your titan hardened, something that you were never able to do all this time. You supported the roof, kept it from caving in, and protected us from both the heat and the rocks. Obviously, no one taught you how to do this, yet…you created this huge structure in the blink of an eye.”

Words of affirmation.

Eren is fully focused on Levi’s words. His subconscious needed to hear them. They won’t be enough to shake him out of his depression, but they’re enough for now. 

RETURN TO SHIGANSHINA ARC

This is where things start to change in a peculiar direction. 

So far, Levi has grown to trust Eren, he knows how to speak to him and receive a positive response. He knows he can guide him. They’ve come a long way. From not having the slightest idea of how to go about a personal confrontation with Eren, he is now confident he can do that much and the outcome will be a positive one, for the both of them. 

I just want to point out that sometimes he had positive confrontations with his soldiers by being kind but, at the same time, lying (when he gave the armband to that one soldier). When it comes to Eren, I think he wants to repay Eren’s straightforwardness and honesty by acting just the same way. In the beginning, his way of approaching Eren was too harsh, confusing or just plain awkward at best. But he has learned and he is sure he can reach Eren, always.

Eren has grown to trust Levi as a comrade in return, not just as Humanity’s Strongest. His hero worship was quickly crushed when everything he thought about Levi turned out to be untrue. Yet, he still accepted Captain Levi and his quirks. Relied on Levi because Levi respected him and gave him freedom. I believe it was a mutual understanding. Eren deferred willingly to Levi, Levi always gave him a choice when it mattered to Eren.

Now, the confrontation in Shiganshina is something the both of them weren’t expecting. Both of them acted uncharacteristically in regards to one another.

Levi hesitated in regards to Eren’s choice/request. Eren opposed Levi’s decision. Levi tried to reach out to Eren with words, to reason with him, like he learned to do. Eren didn’t listen, was out of reach, physically rebelled against him. Levi didn’t know what to do, so he regressed to violence. 

Eren has never asked anything of Levi. But he felt they trusted each other. So when Levi didn’t give him the serum right away, he may have felt betrayed. Levi, who had supported him and who had been by his side since Eren’s world had gone upside-down, was pushing him away. He felt desperate, Levi's reticence was incomprehensible.

Levi tries to talk Eren out of it, but it’s in a way that doesn’t work, and I think it’s because Levi himself was lying. It’s the wrong approach with Eren, he should have known. And Eren calls him out on it.

“Eren…Look past your own feelings.” “My feelings? Why did you hesitate before handing over the injection?”

Levi was trying to push his own feelings down and present the situation as objectively as he could, but that was not how Levi felt. After Eren’s words, he reverts to telling the truth.

“I was considering the possibility that Erwin was alive.”

Eren is mad, though. He feels betrayed. Levi can’t do anything else than punch him when Eren refuses to back down and tries to snatch the serum away. It’s not a pretty thing. It hurt them, in more ways than one.

Levi doesn’t have time to think, Mikasa assaults him. He tries the same tactic he initially used on Eren, talking her out of it with grand words about humanity. But this is not a brawl for humanity, personal feelings are on the line. Dear friends are about to die. It’s Hange who gets through to Mikasa. Again, by telling the truth. They have to accept that friends are gonna die on the battlefield.

“I have people I wish I could bring back, too… Hundreds of them. Ever since I joined the Survey Corps, every day has brought a new farewell. But, you understand, don’t you? Everyone you meet will be parted from you one day. I know it’s difficult to accept. It’s hard to stay sane, living like that. It’s painful. So painful. I know that. But even so…we need to move forward.” 

It’s a lesson for everyone. Levi, Eren, Floch, Jean, Mikasa, Connie. They all stop and think for a moment.

Still, Eren tries one last time, because Levi…Levi has always given him a chance to speak up, has always sided with him, more or less. When Erwin, Mikasa and Armin were basing their accusations towards Annie on a hunch, Levi was the only one who backed Eren up. Levi was the superior who was always open with him, ready to listen.

Eren shares something he only ever shared with Armin, in a desperate attempt to reconnect with Levi. Levi, who talked about freedom. Levi, who should understand that dream, that feeling. And Levi finally turns and looks at Eren, here, and listens to him. I feel like Levi, before this point, had been deaf to Eren’s cries, because he was focused on what he had to do.

Deep inside, I'm sure he was aware it was a decision that would have broken Eren and Mikasa to the point that, in those moments he couldn’t even face them. Thinking that he was about to inflict on them the same kind of pain he felt throughout his whole life, when the people he cared about died and he couldn’t do anything to save them.

“But [the ocean] was a dream we had as little kids. I’d forgotten it a long time ago… All I had left inside me was hate…revenge for my mom…wiping out the titans…But Armin’s different. Fighting isn’t all he has. He has dreams!!”

Levi is thinking. Eren’s speech strikes a chord in Levi and he starts thinking, about dreams, and burdens, and obsessions that enslave everyone. When he’s about to inject Erwin, he pauses. He makes his choice with no regrets, he saves both Erwin and Armin, in different ways. Eren was right.

When Armin wakes up, Levi says the harsh truth, once again. “You could never replace Erwin.” But he has learned that he needs to speak his mind about what he feels, about the positives. So he goes on, “But…It is true that you have a power that no human has. Got that? Don’t let us regret this. Not me. Not them. Not anyone. Not even yourself. Make regrets impossible. That is your mission.”

His trusted relationship with Eren doesn’t seem to have suffered that much from it. Levi ruffles Eren’s and Mikasa’s hair in a sort of apology, and they accept their punishment. 

MARLEY ARC

The time skip happened and didn’t let us see if, in the long run, their relationship was damaged because of the Serumbowl. But I don’t think so. Levi stood up again for Eren in a third prison scene, effectively protecting Eren from Hange’s insensitive prodding. It may have been Eren who has decided not to trust Levi anymore, but I'm not really sure about it. True, it wasn’t for Eren, but Levi’s biggest gift was Armin’s life and no hard feelings for Eren’s insubordination.

I think the problems between them were born from something else. Eren was fed up with the SC in general.

Their talk on the blimp is important (I will link a wonderful meta in the comments that explains the encounter very well). In light of what I explained in this way too long post, I think Levi, after doing his job as Eren’s guardian (the kick), showed his true feelings, something that managed to reach Eren’s emotional part. 

#platonic ereri #snk meta #shingeki asks #snk #eren yeager #levi ackerman #ereri meta #snk spoilers #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

Aside from the whole squad blushing at Eren's words in the last chapter, people are talking about that separate panel of Eren and Mikasa where she's smiling at him and I'm pretty confused. Could that be considered as a moment? What do you think about that panel?

A moment? A romantic moment? I personally don’t think so. A shippy moment? Sure! 

If my otp was looking at each other like that, I would have been dead by now probably ahah then again, it’s not like Eren and Mikasa are blushing at each other exclusively.

Mikasa is really so, so happy, she looks at Eren in a knowing way, as if to say that she’s glad and she approves of Eren baring his feelings to them, finally. I think she might have been worried in the past years (as I was). Because in chapter 106 Eren sounded so cynical, he wasn’t much fun to be around because he was skeptical of everything and everyone. When EMA were talking at the shooting field, he sort of ruined the mood. In chapter 107, he looked really worried and anxious in general. Then, in 108, we see this: Eren surprisingly opens up to them, and make them all blush. I am sure everyone is relieved. Jean complains about the mood Eren’s words set, but I bet he’s relieved that Eren’s just…their Eren, he cares about them. And while it’s unusual that Eren so openly expresses such a thing to the point that he himself is surprised, I think they all needed it.

So Mikasa is happy and relieved and she’s silently communicating all of this through her eyes. 

Eren may be focusing on her because she’s the one he knows the most, and he may be feeling a bit exposed, surely embarrassed. So he looks at her because he knows she won’t judge him. Not that the others would, but… I think when you’re embarrassed you kinda look away (like he initially did or like Jean does) or to the person you know supports you no matter what, while you try to regain your composure. In general, it could be a parent, a sibling, a friend, a lover…whoever you feel really comfortable with. Armin and Mikasa are these people for Eren, but Armin is driving the train (and he already helped him by saying it’s the sun’s fault their faces are red), so he searches for support in Mikasa. And she gives that support wholeheartedly.

I love that scene and those two panels a lot. I feel they have both grown so much, especially if you compare them now to how they were in the beginning (Mikasa was always worried she needed to express that support constantly, Eren was always rejecting it).

I personally don’t see their relationship as a romantic one, as I have already explained in another post, and chapter 108 only reinforced my opinion on it, but I believe everyone can interpret their bond and ch108’s moment however they want to. 

#i adore how their friendship evolved 😭 #snk spoilers #snk 108 #shingeki asks #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

There something different about levi after 4 years i know its long period a person changes a lot but i just cant pinpoint what i fell is different i know iam not making any sense but i just cant express it

Mmm.

I think that feeling comes from the fact that we’ve been totally shut out from seeing how he reacts to…well, everything, at least during the timeskip. In the current timeline, we saw a few of his reactions but they’re cherry-picked.

During the timeskip, we know he didn’t attend certain meetings but he was informed about their content later; he was taken aback by Zeke’s first pacifist requests, surprised by Eren’s withholding of information and by Mikasa’s connection to the Azumabito; he was willing to talk with Eren; he was probably tasked with protecting him from the Anti-Marley Volunteers. He worked together with Hange. In chapter 108, he looks displeased at Historia’s and Paradis’ circumstances. It means he is still closely involved with everything that’s happening, even if we barely see him.

We aren't shown much else of his actual thoughts. But we can see that his sarcasm is the same. He still makes shit jokes, he’s still cynical. 

Now, after the timeskip…he still isn’t that different, imo. Aside from his looks, that is pretty much unchanged (he may be prettier, actually), we know that:

he still fights as usual, with purpose, he doesn’t seem weaker, in my opinion.

he is still fighting for freedom, he kept the cape (which I believe is the symbol of what he’s fighting for: a better world).

he still makes sure to tell his squad to survive, and cares about every soldier.

he is still quite scary when confronting/threatening his opponents.

he still wants to listen to what Eren has to say. I’m sorry if I’m putting particular emphasis on this, but considering Eren’s best friends almost can’t even look Eren in the eyes, I think it means they’ve all changed…except for Levi.

he still gets affected by his subordinates’ deaths.

Moreover, we know he is willing to listen to Zeke, which just makes sense considering his personality. He won’t mess things up for his squad/his people for a personal revenge. He went through the same thing in ACWNR and what he learned at the time was that he can’t succumb completely to his ego, his anger, his desire for vengeance. Because, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, that anger will only cloud his judgment and put the persons he cares about at risk. So no, revenge isn’t the answer, he knows. And in this case, the situation with Zeke is more complicated than how it seems, collaborating with him is of the utmost importance. 10 years have passed since ACWNR, he has succumbed to rage sometimes and things didn’t go well. I sure hope he has learned by now.

So yeah, considering all the things that haven’t changed, I believe the reason something feels off about Levi is that we don’t know exactly his opinions/we haven’t been shown his immediate reactions, probably for a specific purpose (I think he was told a bit more about Eren/Zeke’s real plan than the rest of the SC, so Isayama is hiding this. Coincidentally, we don’t know anything about what Eren and Zeke are thinking, too). 

I’m sure we will soon get into his head. 

#levi ackerman #snk spoilers #shingeki asks #snk #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

Hi, Vi. My interpretation was that the clan mark is only given to those who are apart of the family relating to the Shogun. The clan mark is for the Shogun and only the Shogun, so Kiyomi may represent that clan, but she's not apart of it. Do I make sense of did I misread?

Hi!

I…don’t know? What I understood is:

Kiyomi Azumabito is part of the Azumabito clan and the Shogun who had contacts with King Fritz was part of the Azumabito clan as well. So Kiyomi is part of it, since she has the same surname.

Mikasa is a descendant of the Shogun, while Kiyomi might be a part of a branch family but still with the surname Azumabito. Branch families are still part of the clan…I think? And anyway ->

-> Mikasa’s mom told her to give the tattoo to her “children” (plural, I checked the Japanese version), while Mikasa in 107 talks about giving it to her “child” (singular). If branch families don’t have to wear a mark on their skin, then why would Mikasa’s mom tell her to give it to Mikasa’s secondborn, too, in case she had more than one child?

Ok, so maybe Kiyomi married into the family, then, and the people who don’t share the Shogun’s blood directly don’t wear the tattoo? This could make sense. But who knows, really…I’m just confused by their horrified faces at the tattoo story. 

These are their initial faces at seeing the mark.

And this is when Mikasa talks about the family of her mother and about passing the tattoo to her child. Pretty different, mmm.

To me at least, it doesn’t look like they are surprised, and why would they need to feel surprised, anyway? Like, they already knew the only asian-looking person inside the walls was a descendant of the Shogun…

But the guy right behind Kiyomi looks shocked. Kiyomi herself looks like she’s thinking “oh my damn”. In general, their expressions give me vibes of “what the fuck?”. That’s not the face you make when you find a long lost member of your family. 

But maybe I’m overthinking this, sorry ahah. Suspicious lady is suspicious. More than Zeke, I don’t trust her, maybe she’s the one who informed Magath about spies in Marley…And her interaction with Willy felt also kinda genuine, like “Willy, we both know you’re going to die. Thank you for sacrificing yourself and unifying people against Paradis. Giving your life to the cause will make Eren Yeager look like a devil, according to plans. Now let’s get the show started, I’m outta here byeee”

#idk i don’t trust her one bit #we know nothing about Hiizuru and she also kinda lied about it so mmmmmmm #shingeki asks #snk spoilers #vivimetas #kiyomi asks

[yaboylevi]

(Part 1) In chapter 89, when hange keeps asking eren why he was talking to himself, levi replies that he's fifteen and everyone has a phase like that. And when hange is, understandably, like "wtf does that mean?" Levi says, "please I'll explain later, so can you stop talking about it in front of him?". I always thought this was interesting. He clearly just says that bullshit about him being fifteen to get hange to leave eren alone, so it seems that he know what is going on with eren.

(Part 2) As in, he knows he is dealing with these horrible memories right now and doesn’t want hange to upset him further. So I always wondered how he found out. Did he talk to eren and mikasa while in their cells, did armin tell him what was going on? Maybe I’m reaching idk, but I feel like he knows and doesn’t want hange upsetting him when he is already in a fragile state. So, I was just wondering your thoughts on this!

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that was Armin. Levi said the part about “Eren’s phase” while it’s Armin who politely asked Hange to drop it. I know some readers thought it was Levi because of continuity, plus it wasn’t really clear because we don’t see who actually is speaking, but can you picture Levi saying “please”? I think he hasn’t said it once in the manga, or maybe he said it a couple of times in a very sarcastic way, surely never with politeness in mind.

I checked the Japanese version and that way of speaking is clearly not Levi’s. Levi always uses informal language: his sentences end with だ and ある, which are the plain (i.e. informal) forms of です and あります; he also calls Hange ハンジ, has always done so, he has never called them “Hanji-san” or “Hanji-buntaicho (squad leader)”. In the speech bubble you were referring to, the person speaking says “ハンジさん” (Hanji-san) and uses formal Japanese (ください and わかりませんが are pretty formal, you talk like this with people you are not really close to and want to show respect to). 

Further proof is the pronouns used to address themselves. Levi always uses 俺 (ore), while Armin uses 僕 (boku, a more boyish/soft way of saying “I”). Sorry for the impromptu Japanese lesson, but I’ve already seen this misunderstanding a couple of times so I took the chance to clear it up.

But yeah, I believe Levi sensed Eren’s distress (it was pretty difficult to miss, but Hange was in “crazy-mode” so they didn’t realise how far they were pushing Eren…). Levi is a really sensitive/emphatic person, in my opinion, he understands other people’s emotions very well, especially if those emotions are pain, distress or uncertainty…He knows them well because he’s familiar with them (sadly), so he notices them right away in others, too. He used to check on Eren when he was distressed previously and he always watches him to check how he is faring with new/unexpected/stressful situations. Here some examples:

So I’m pretty sure he knows Eren’s going through something. I’m not sure he knows exactly what that something is, but I guess what they discovered in Grisha’s journals is enough of a clue. Even if Eren hadn’t been seeing overwhelming memories, the truth about his father and the world is enough to shake our protagonists to the core, so of course Eren, who has a central role in it, would be the one more affected by it . So, Levi was probably worried, as usual. Nothing new, really, but endearing all the same. He could have simply said “Hange, shut up.” but instead he chose to sort-of stand up for Eren’s strange behaviour (and we know he’s not great with words, but he tries when he deems it necessary), much like Armin. Then again, I feel like maybe he overheard Eren and Armin talking about memories and things in general. I wouldn’t be surprised, he seems to like doing that a lot…

Also, look at Levi’s face in that page in chapter 89, the one you were talking about. He looks so troubled. Armin’s showing a decent amount of concern/worry, but Levi is full-on glowering and scowling at the floor. He always does this when he’s worried. So, even though he might not know 100% about Eren’s predicament, he understands that he’s going through something major and worries.

Thanks for the ask, I had fun going through these moments in the manga!

#snk spoilers #snk #ereri #ereri meta #mine #I will answer later or during the weekend to the other stuff bc I'm sick and overwhelmed by irl happenings rn #shingeki asks #vivitranslates #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

 Levi screaming/saying Eren’s name in relief when he rescues him from the female titan really gets to me.

This is the expression he’s wearing when he asks if Eren’s dead.

Like, just a few minutes before that, he had flown through the forest, had found out that every member of his squad was killed, and he obviously thought Eren was dead too since he saw Eren’s titan’s neck torn to shreds. Mikasa confirmed that she saw the FT biting Eren out of his titan. Levi’s already so used to lose people by now, but he decides to trust Mikasa on this one anyway and hopes Eren’s still alive, even though he doesn’t look too sure of it. Like I said, losing people is almost second nature to him. He’s used to it, but he certainly does not like it.

He then proceeds to literally destroy Annie, like it’s his personal vengeance. I don’t think he really expected Eren to be in her mouth, I don’t think he expected him to be alive either. But. He is there. So Levi shouts Eren’s name (in the visual novel. He murmurs it in the manga. And he’s completely cut off from the anime, iirc, jeez…).

The look on his face, my god. So much relief floods him as he looks upon Eren’s emerging form, and he seems to almost whisper in shock, “Eren…”. And all he wanna do now is go back to safety. And so he does. They could have, I don’t know, put Eren on a tree and killed Annie but no, he just wanted to go away from there and put distance from danger and Eren/himself/Mikasa. Mainly Eren, I think. He has orders he has to follow, and those orders are “protect Eren with all you’ve got.“ 

He thought he had failed at protecting him but Eren’s alive. It’s a miracle. It’s hope. Eren is the exception to everyone else, because he lives.

Levi looked so stunned that Eren was actually alive, like…I bet he was already thinking that he could have done something different, could’ve done something more to save his squad and Eren, who was put in his care just a month before. He was already punishing himself with thoughts of failure and loss and defeat. He is relieved, yes, but I feel like he also can’t quite believe it. 

Either way, I think that, for someone who tries so hard to live with no regrets, Levi lives with a lot of them on his shoulders, constantly plaguing his thoughts. Proof: after so many years, he was still trying to figure out the reason why Kenny abandoned him back in the underground. 

Levi remembers all his dead comrades. And while he really doesn’t know what the best course of action is, he’s still so sensitive about deaths and emotional losses, and friends and comrades, because he’s just like that. He cares too much for his own good. He can’t not care. It’s not in his nature. And I love him for it.

#this got longer than I expected #I just have so many feelings for him and this scene just...makes me emotional #after all these years yeah! #snk #snk spoilers #implied ereri? idk man I just love their canon relationship #snk meta #mine #this is probably a mess its just thoughts and emotions written down at 1 am #goodnight people! #ereri meta #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

The Heroes’ Dilemmas - SNK Final Exhibition

Once you got to the “Heroes” room - where all the main characters had their own little spot, with original manga pages of their most famous scenes hanged on the walls - Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Levi, and Erwin, in this order, had a panel on which (what I think are) the characters’ personal dilemmas were displayed. You can see a brief recording of the room here at minute 6:40. 

The questions were as follow:

Eren: Was it justice or liberty that he sacrificed?

Mikasa: Will it be tears or a smile that she will show at the end?

Armin: Is it truth or friendship that he has chosen to believe in?

Levi: Is it hope or despair that his strength comes from?

Erwin: Was it dreams or duties he was protecting to the end?

These questions got me thinking. Because some of them are in the past tense, some in the future, and other ones in the present.

Spoilers under the cut, and personal opinions, interpretations, and speculations on future events. Feel free to ignore them, they are mostly written for me, but I figured they might be a starting point for respectful discussions...

**warning: my opinion on some of these characters (mainly Mikasa and Erwin) are complete, meaning that no matter how many analyses that argue the opposite I read, I can never seem to agree, so no need to try and change my mind on those. They are the result of deep introspections and private discussions so I am settled on those, nothing can be done, sorry. You are though encouraged to use the above questions for your own analyses! Would love to read those! :)

Was it dreams or duties he was protecting to the end?

Erwin is the only one whose story is complete, so I used his arc/dilemma as a reference in order to analyse and theorise on the others.

I’m not sure many people can agree with me on this, but I believe that Erwin’s character turned deep when it became clear he was prioritizing his dream above “the greater good", sacrificing soldiers, chances, futures, lives, - his own included - just to get a bit closer to the truth. It was an obsession. As long as his dream to prove his father right and find out the truth overlapped with helping humanity inside the walls, there were virtually no problems. But since the end of Clash of the Titans arc, we see that these two sides began to split, and in particular the dream element started to take over.

I think it was probably also because Erwin, after losing an arm, realised that he was starting to have fewer chances to get to the truth, and then, with all the revelations happening at the time, he felt he needed to rush. Since he still had a conscience, it caught up to him at one point, and so his personal dilemma began. He was torn between his duty and his dream. In the end, he wanted to keep protecting and following his dream.

In his final speech, he tried to convince himself that "protecting the duty" was what he really wanted. But in reality, Levi had to choose for him. He never let go of his dream until the very end, he was still feverishly muttering, hunted, about it in his final moments. 

Levi acted as his moral compass and gave him the push he needed to do what a "good" commander and person (the one everyone thought Erwin was, and Levi wanted him to be) should have done and he died for his duties. (The best commander would’ve stayed behind when physically crippled, if they knew their best quality was their calculating intelligence anyway, but that’s not how it went, because, again, he was lost in his need to “protect” the dream).

So we can see how the two words in the original question coexisted in the character and battled to gain the upper hand. In the end, the second word, duties, won on a practical point of view, but spiritually, the dreams were still there, untouched.

If I apply the same reasoning to the other characters, well…

Is it hope or despair that his strength comes from?

Levi has started as a character whose strength seemed to very clearly come from the deaths of his comrades. At the time, he managed to redirect the despair of these situations in a hopeful, positive direction, because one day he would avenge their deaths, making their sacrifices count towards their freedom. So his strength came from hope.

Currently, however, all of these deaths, coupled with the shocking realization that defeating the titans was never the final goal, and freedom doesn’t even seem attainable anymore - these deaths seem meaningless. The need to have been right, to make them count, has become a real obsession, almost as if it’s the only thing pushing him forward. I’ve had the feeling for a while now that he is constantly looking back, rather than forward like he used to do, when confronted with deaths.

Despair and anger and vengeance have fuelled his final actions, we can see it in his thought process. The hope represented by Eren still came to his mind. He questioned it, but ultimately decided to continue believing in it. However, it’s not freedom (and their future) what his eyes are fixated on. It’s death (and the past).

Hope and despair are still closely linked and probably aren’t so easily discernible. And once again, Levi is identified with strength, so I wonder what it’ll be of him once he loses it. If he survives, anyway.

Now the ones that interest me the most. The trio. I think they are connected.

Is it truth or friendship that he has chosen to believe in?

I believe in chapter 106 and 118 we briefly saw Armin’s main struggle between these options. Has he decided to believe in his friendship or to explore the truth? This is clearly about Eren. He has been trying to understand Eren and so finding the truth behind his behaviour. But when confronted with what could possibly be the truth, he averted his eyes, he rejected it.

Ever since the timeskip, he’s been struggling between reconciling what seems to be the truth (that Eren has betrayed them and hates them and wants to destroy everything), with his friendship with the very same boy he grew up with and who saved him so many times. In ch.118, he wants to believe not what logic, or gut feelings, are telling him; he wants to trust in Eren’s heart being in the right place, still.

Granted, we don’t know what the truth is. But if these “dilemmas”’s trend is anything to go by, I feel like he will have to face and accept the “truth”, but he still won’t give up on their friendship. That’s also the impression the “final sounds” gave me, if I have to be honest. It sounded like Armin was desperately trying to reach his friend, in spite of everything.

Will it be tears or a smile that she will show at the end?

Now, Mikasa. Tears or a smile? I feel like a tearful, bittersweet smile is the answer. Her main conflict has always been about Eren. More specifically, how her feelings for Eren both uplift and saved her, but also made her suffer, when he “kept leaving them behind”. It’s not Eren’s fault, of course, I’m talking about how Mikasa perceives Eren’s whole existence.

She’s been so happy with him (ch.108 and many others), she’s also cried a lot for him (ch.112 and many others). But ultimately, I feel she’ll realize she really cares about him, it’s not something her blood forced her to feel. However Eren’s story and life end, I trust she will shed tears - of pain - but she will also have a smile on her face.

And finally, Eren. 

Was it justice or liberty that he sacrificed?

A big theme of the story is “giving up something important in order to bring about meaningful change”. Eren’s question is the only one talking about sacrificing something.

Eren started out as a character striving so hard for a just, idealised freedom. He was a kid, so of course, he couldn’t know it wasn’t so simple, but the very fact that freedom in his mind was equal to justice, because being free is a birthright and they were unjustly robbed of it, is commendable. This freedom was obtainable only through winning that basic right back, by fighting. Their world was simple back then. Go over the walls (a cage), defeat the titans, and you'll be free. But he has struggled with this view of his, sometimes taming his urge to fight, choosing what seemed the right thing to do at that moment, rather acting freely (forest of the giant trees, Reiss' cave, etc). Sometimes he was rewarded for it, sometimes he was punished. Sometimes he believed he was right about wanting freedom and he could help "humanity" to get to it, other times he thought he didn’t deserve it, that he was a hindrance to it. There’s always been a pull between the two.

Anyway, he changed, realised that maybe, most probably, the world isn’t just.

His memories, too, taught him that you can’t gain freedom through just, moral methods. Sacrifices will need to happen, but it's fine if they're in the name of love and you won't succumb to hate.

So? It seems he has decided to sacrifice his justice in order to gain that freedom. He has given up being on the “right” side, somewhere he has often believed he belonged to. He stole innocent lives knowingly. He has already paid the price for it: his dear friend died, his country has been attacked again, he has lost the moral ground when he willingly killed civilians (it's "irredeemable", Mikasa told him - and he knows), a seemingly irreparable rift was born between him and the ones he loves.

He told Reiner that he realised they are all the same. There’s no wrong and right when you’re in their position. Eren isn’t better than Reiner, and Reiner isn’t better than Eren. He has abandoned his black and white view, and his "being just", but he still believes Freedom is a Right.

So if justice and freedom are the same in his mind...has he sacrificed freedom, too? If I am to take the dilemma’s question as if the answer is “kind of both”, he hasn’t abandoned only justice and being right. He has sacrificed freedom as well, his own in particular, I believe.

Because if he survives to see judgment, I doubt he’ll be acclaimed as a hero. He’ll most probably be seen, by the survivors, as a war criminal. His friends and some readers will probably understand the truth (and I believe the truth is that he’s saving everyone, ultimately). And he will spend the rest of his days burdened by the sacrifices he made. There’s no freedom in that, like there’s no freedom in hurting people. That’s why Armin’s words stung.

And if Eren doesn’t survive, if he dies, if he sacrifices himself…he will be giving up his freedom, literally. Some may say there might be freedom in death, but I am not so sure, it depends. Either way, he probably has already decided on it, hence why the past tense. We just have to wait and see.

Interestingly enough, the word used in Japanese (犠牲にする) is generally used in sentences like "to sacrifice one's life; do something at the cost of one's life/at a great expense" because its definition is "giving up something precious/important (often life itself) for one (bigger) goal".

But anyway, yes, I believe he’s both giving up his "liberty" and his "justice", so that everyone else can be free.

#snk theories #eren yeager #snk exhibition #snk spoilers #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #levi ackerman #vivimetas #snk meta #shingeki no kyojin

[yaboylevi]

1/ Sometimes I think about Zeke and I'm torn between sadness and anger, like why on earth is there anyone on the snk world who never take the time to told him that life can be good, that people can love for what you are and you have to keep moving despite of everything and not just giving in to nihilist and suicidal thoughts. I know Eren couldn't be that person when he was in Marley, otherwise there won't be any conflict left between the jaegerbro, but come on

2/ don’t tell someone like Zeke wouldn’t change his mind if someone he cares about would take 2min to convince him. People like him crave to find someone who would cheer them up. That’s why I’ll always be mad at Xaver, Grisha wasn’t the best father but it was Xaver who broke him twice (I think you wrote something about it ? I enjoy reading all your meta btw). I guess that in term of storywise it’s probably too late for Zeke to see the light though…?

I share your same feelings. I am really sad that nobody took the time to tell him that life is worth living. We have followed characters that have had his same mindset at one point and we felt relieved when another character told them to not give up, that they are loved, that they are worthy of existing. Knowing that Zeke has suffocated in those feelings for years (approximately from when he was 7 years old to 17) before even voicing them out loud, is just too horrible. To think that those feelings were even validated and instrumentalized…

But yeah, Grisha and Dina told him since he was way too young that life as an Eldian wasn’t worth it, so they had to fight. They didn’t comfort him when they were targets of racism. Instead, they used that accident to fuel hatred for the world. They tried to pass anger and indignation onto him, but a 4, 5-years-old can only feel scared. It scarred him.

The janitor compared them to devils, animals, mass-murderers, all the while focusing the verbal attack on “giving birth” and children, as if Zeke himself was a sin, his existence an insult. Grisha reinforced this belief, that they are seen like that. That’s why I’m always a bit concerned when I see the fandom making fun of 16yo Zeke’s mind wandering back to that incident.

His parents gave him pills of “truth” that a 5-year-old shouldn’t be aware of at that age. Around the same age, Eren had the same realization: they weren’t free because the world was preventing them to be.

Eren’s was a personal, intimate realization. Zeke’s was forced.

Anyway, yes, I was the one who shared those thoughts about Xaver. As soon as I read the chapter, I realized how…wrong and warped his presence in Zeke’s life really had been. It was even creepy, so much that I started feeling really weirded out about his existence in Zeke’s life halfway through my first reading.

I really can’t forgive him. There are some things you don’t tell a child, especially if you think of him as your own child. You don’t manipulate him into believing he was never loved. You don’t tell him he needs to be the one to sentence his parents to death, that that’s the Good and Right Thing to Do. You don’t tell him the best thing that can happen is to die, or never being born. That life is nothing but a curse and that everyone is suffering. You don’t enable your kid’s suicidal thoughts, no matter how much they resonate with you.

The thing is, Zeke was a sweet little thing, like every child he just wanted his parents’ affection. So he tried really hard in everything they wanted him to do. Failing repeatedly, but never giving up. Because his worst fear was for them to be disappointed in him; because if he did, he wouldn’t be on the receiving end of their love, he wouldn’t be “their boy” anymore.

So when he found Xaver, he found another person he didn’t want to disappoint and that didn’t seem disappointed in him yet. Someone who listened to him, instead of dismissing his problems for once. Someone who loved him and played with him. So when Xaver had a request (“turn your parents in. they never loved you, just used you.”), even if it horrified him and created a hole into his chest because Zeke did love his parents anyway, he did it.

Xaver hit all of Zeke’s fears. They gave up on him (because Zeke disappointed them?), they didn’t care about him (because Zeke wasn’t good enough?), they never loved him (Zeke didn’t deserve it?).

And then, you can see how Zeke reacts to being praised. In the horror of it all, could he be worthy of love again, because at least he didn’t disappoint Xaver?

And to expand a bit on my other Zeke - Xaver post, I want to reiterate that Zeke seems to be so obsessed with accomplishing what he promised to Xaver, because he understands pain very well and his promise alleviated that anguish for Xaver, someone Zeke deeply cherished.

Xaver's final words were “I will look over you even when I'm gone”. It sounds reassuring on the one hand, but it really feels like a curse, all things considered. So if Xaver is watching, Zeke won’t, can’t disappoint him. He will die trying. I’m really sure Zeke didn't feel that much of a personal attachment to their plan, it’s merely his need to be a “good boy” for Xaver, because if he is good, his dad can rest in peace. Xaver, who is always watching him. Zeke’s “I hope you’re watching, Mr. Xaver” before blowing himself up is gutwrenching.

Zeke isn’t unfeeling. After chapter 119, I am actually convinced that he cares a lot about the people he lived with, he cares about his grandparents, about Gabi and Falco, about the other Warriors. But he has come to accept that life equals suffering and that death is liberation, freedom. That’s why, even if it hurts him and the people he cares about, he could scream in chapter 119. Besides the fact that not screaming would equal to Eren’s death and possibly Zeke’s, and so accepting to be a disappointment to Xaver.

I don’t know if he has realized how fucked up (there is really no other way to say it) Xaver’s influence was on him. Everything is still about and for Xaver. It’s not for himself. It’s for Tom Xaver, and maybe even for everyone who is suffering. Proofs are the glasses - Xaver’s. But maybe he has realized. That's why when his idealized, happy, reliable image of Xaver broke, he decided to help him. He promised a dying, depressed man something destructive that put this man's mind at peace, and he can’t let go of it, so he's convinced himself that's the only way.

It's the first time Zeke looks this old, while Xaver is depicted as a crying, helpless child...

All of this to get to the main point (sorry, I can’t seem to stop talking about Zeke’s situation once I start): Can’t someone tell Zeke life is worth living?

As I said in my other post, Eren, in his lowest moments, had people that tried really hard to lift him up. He also had his parents’ love, his mother’s, in particular. I talked on my Twitter a week ago or so about how, in my opinion, words from friends can be a momentary fix, but in many cases, they can’t be the cure. On the other hand, the words of a parent, of family, or someone really, really important to you, have much more impact and meaning, and Eren could bounce back mainly because of them. We can see the same with Historia (with Ymir and Frieda’s words in mind), Mikasa (with Eren’s words) and Levi (with Kenny’s).

Zeke had no one that could be there like that for him. All he had were broken adults who ill-advised him, pressured him and ultimately broke him. Zeke couldn’t even count on having genuine relationships with the people he cared about because of his need to constantly keep secrets, about his royal blood for example. I imagine it’s something always in the back of his mind, so even before his “never being born is salvation” conversation with Xaver, I believe he was pretty conscious of the secrets he had to keep. Constantly hiding, on edge, lying. Keeping a certain distance. That’s also how Eren started getting lost in himself/his most negative thoughts, and growing distant from his friends/found family. It started with secrecy, when he began lying, or better yet, his avoiding to say the whole truth caused a rift.

So no-one could really understand how deeply scarred he had been when he was a child. No one could really show him another way of looking at life. All he saw was people in the same situation, forced to become warriors, then titan shifters with a cruel 13 years time limit and to fight someone else’s wars, forced to kill people.

I wish someone would spend the time to show Zeke the real meaning of life. I already expressed this sentiment plenty of times. I really wish it was Eren, but I’m not sure where Eren’s head is at right now (oh god, I didn’t mean this as a pun). I am pretty sure he saw, in Grisha’s memories, how Zeke was treated. He may not know about Xaver, but he can guess.

Eren knows how it is to feel worthless. He showed compassion for Reiner. When Reiner admitted that the guilt for his sins was so heavy on his mind to the point that he wanted to die, Eren said, “we’re the same”. So I really do wonder why he wasn’t shown to feel a bit of sympathy for his brother, yet. But well, he certainly isn’t indifferent to Zeke. I do wonder, though, what he feels exactly, aside from anger, probably (atm, I think Eren's main reason for going to Marley was that he was angry and desperate upon knowing about the wine).

Another outcome I'd like would be for Zeke to meet Historia and have a talk about babies, and parental love, and life. She, too, is family, in a sense. And she, too, went through some real abuse, negligence, and manipulation from her parents, and she searched validation in others, while being suicidal. She was only shown how worthy of a proud life she was when she was 15, and she still struggles with it, because overcoming traumas and depressions, and fighting bad habits and relapses is a battle that will last for years once you’ve been there once. There’s no magic word to cure it completely, to make it all disappear forever. If there’s something I appreciate in hindsight about Isayama’s writing, it’s that the characters keep falling back into old habits, patterns, bad coping mechanisms even when they seemed to have overcome them in their character arcs. It's frustrating, but it feels real. It’s a constant battle. Eren fights Historia on this, when she was regressing to her sacrificing self from her Christa days.

So the point is, Historia could be that person for Zeke. She said that if she saw someone who said they weren’t needed in life, she wanted to be the person to tell them that’s not true. It could be a nice continuation of this scene.

With Eren it wasn’t that effective because, as I said earlier, Eren needed something more, never mind that he wasn’t very close to Historia at the time. Only hearing Carla’s words could shake him out of it. But Zeke is different, he seems to feel a need, an instant empathy for and attachment to the people that are his family in some way. Just look at how much he seems to need Eren, and the way he has already adopted part of Eren's mindset ("keep moving forward").

In many ways, I feel like Shingeki is a story about families. 

I’m not sure how Isayama feels about Zeke and so if he even wants to “redeem” him, or give him a chance at repentance or a change of heart. All I know is, he hasn’t portrayed Zeke as a heartless monster like he did with Gross. So there may be something more than a cruel death for Zeke, but I can’t be sure. I’m not even sure about how he feels about the main character and how he wants to develop him so, really…I can only wish.

#zeke yeager #snk spoilers #snk meta #shingeki no kyojin #Anonymous #shingeki asks #zeke jaeger #tom xaver #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

Hi, I was wondering if you have specific hasshtag s to your thoughts or question answered about the snk manga. I’m new to the snk aand your account appeared up on searches and when i read one of your thoughts, i like how un biased and well you show your review or observation. It makes sense. I would like to read more of your written things about the snk manga? Sorry for my poor english thank you have a good day :)

Hi!! Your English is very good, don’t worry!!

First of all, let me say thank you for your kind words!

I have some tags, as you can see above, that you can check on my tag page here, but to sum it up:

- All questions I get related to SnK are tagged as #shingeki asks. It’s a bit of a mess because not all questions are answered in-depth, and not all of them require an analysis of a topic.

- I apparently had a tag that I used to use for my thoughts, which is #vivimetas, but I had completely forgotten about it. As you can see, I last used it more than one year ago. BUT! Considering I have lost a lot of interest in the series since back then, I don’t think I would’ve used it much more because I barely write about SnK anymore.

- Now I mostly tag my thoughts as just the characters’ full names. So for example, art reblogs about Mikasa are only tagged as #mikasa, but my personal thoughts about Mikasa are tagged as #Mikasa Ackerman. The same applies to all the other characters (but I alternate between “Jaeger” and “Yeager” for Eren and Zeke, oops).

- Some other times I unfortunately simply use the “vivitalks” tag, which contains all my random thoughts about many, many topics (and fandoms). Sometimes those thoughts resemble short analysis, but I am not confident enough to call them meta anymore, because they are not as well-thought and well-written as they used to be - or so I believe.

- Then, I have different tags for different topics that come up often, for example, eren’s plan, historia’s pregnancy, levi’s sexuality, snk exhibition, ereri meta, etc. My translations sometimes include my thoughts as well (and people hate me for it ahah)

- And finally, I also (used to) tag chapters, so snk 100, snk 101, etc, but I grew lazy recently, and these tags also contain art and other people’s thoughts (so it’s a good way for you to find more people to follow and enjoy their writing of, if you are interested!).

Have a great day, and I hope my answer could help you a bit in navigating my messy blog!

#shingeki asks #anonymous #snk spoilers

[yaboylevi]

I would like to believe that Zeke is on paradis side but that panel where he throws the rocks at the sc and while talking about his father just seemed like he really couldn't stand his father and not to mention he was talking to HIMSELF. He wasn't trying to put an act.

You know, I reread Grisha’s story today and…honestly…Grisha was very gullible. The Restorationists were gullible people, because they were desperate. Still, Kruger played them like a fiddle and manipulated them without even showing his face.

I’ve believed for so long that even Zeke was manipulated by Kruger, but he may have understood that Grisha&Co weren’t gonna succeed in anything anyway, they were just putting their families in danger.

True, what Zeke said in Shigashina was genuine because he was talking to himself. He said that his father was led simply by anger, and anger doesn’t help you do a great job, it makes you sloppy. Zeke needs a cold mind to do what he needs to do, just like Kruger.

This is how Grisha and Kruger act in most situations. 

Grisha screams, Kruger observes. Zeke grew up seeing Grisha being desperate, angry, hateful. I won’t underestimate the influence your parents’ behavior has on you as you grow up around them. Have you ever caught yourself thinking or acting like one of your parents even if you despised that behavior? Children with trauma often need to rationalize this and make a conscious effort to try and become someone different from their parent(s). I see this in Zeke. “You’re not like your father,” he says to himself. It is a sentiment I, unfortunately, can understand very well, it makes you angry and frustrated, and I relate. 

In my other reply, I said I think he may not be on Paradis’ side, so I agree with you. He has his plan. This plan may not be favorable for our protagonists, but it may be favorable for the story. I am willing to have faith in him putting an end to this cycle of hate, whatever it takes. (To be honest, I have more faith in Eren, but how I see it is that Eren could work with Zeke and so they could stop things together, or Zeke and Eren’s ideologies will clash in the end and Eren will be the one ending up saving everyone.)

There is surely more to it, in regards to why he killed the Survey Corps. We will find out soon enough. But I don’t think his anger was sadistic or unjustified if you take into consideration his childhood, his hatred for Grisha’s methods and his character, although we don’t know much about it. 

#zeke yeager #shingeki asks #snk spoilers #snk #vivimetas

[yaboylevi]

Since the fandom's fixation with Levi calling Eren "shitty brat" hasn't completely dissipated yet, I took it upon myself to check how many times Levi calls him that in the manga. You'll be surprised by what I've found out (I certainly was).

Levi refers to Eren a grand total of 81 times in 103 chapters. Here's a detailed list nobody asked for:

エレン “Eren”: 45 times

お前 “You”: 21

コイツ・ヤツ “Him”: 13

グズ野郎 “Scum”: 1 (this is the first time he addresses Eren, in the dungeon)

クソガキ “Shitty brat”: 1 (during the Female Titan arc, in the forest, when they're under pressure, he refers to Eren like this, when he is confirming with his squad that their mission is to protect Eren from harm, not kill him)

俺の敵じゃない “Not my enemy”: 1 (in the courtroom scene)

奇跡 “A miracle”: 1 

Let's see for comparison how he calls some other characters, just to check if he holds some particular grudge against Eren. 

エルヴィン “Erwin”: 28

お前 “You”: 15

ヤツ “Him”: 2

団長 Commander: 1 (sarcastically)

エルヴィー "Erwi—": 1 (interrupted by the shock regarding Erwin's grin)

気持ちの悪い奴め translated as "You're gonna make me sick" by CR, but lit. "What a disgusting guy": 1

ハンジ “Hanji”: 17

あいつ “Them”: 2

クソメガネ "Shitty glasses": 2

メガネ "Glasses": 2

ケニー “Kenny”: 8

ヤツ “Him”: 4

切り裂きケニー "Kenny the Ripper": 2

ケニーアッカーマン "Kenny Ackerman": 2

ヒストリア “Historia”: 11

クリスタ “Christa”: 2 (only when someone else called her Christa, otherwise he refers to her as Historia)

アルミン "Armin": 7

ガキ "Kid": 1

ミカサ "Mikasa": 2

お前 “You”: 5

根暗野郎 "Gloomy little brat", lit. "Gloomy bastard": 1

Connie: 3

Sasha: 2

Jean: 2

ガキ供 "Brats": 3 (usually when referring to EMA)

Petra, Oluo, Eld: a couple of times each by their names

＊ Names are used both to address the person and when talking with others about said person. 

I also checked how many times (and how) Eren calls Levi, and I was surprised to find out that it's not that many (compared to how many times Levi uses Eren's name/talks about him). I had an impression Eren was the Mikasa of the situation, always saying "Captain Levi!", but that's not the case, apparently. I am curious to know how many times Mikasa actually says Eren's name, too, but I grew interested in it when I was already at about half of my skimming of the manga. Hit me up if you know.

Eren calls/refers to Levi as:

リヴァイ兵長 “Captain Levi”: 11

兵長 “Captain”: 16

人類の最強の兵士リヴァイ兵長 "Humanity's strongest soldier Captain Levi": 1 (the first time he talks about Levi)

チビオヤジ “Little old man”: 1 (referring to Rod Reiss, but Levi got concerned Eren was addressing him as such)

自由の翼 “Wings of Freedom": 1 (i am a sap)

just "Levi": ??? (i'm still waiting)

So, my conclusion is: Levi called Eren "shitty brat" just one (1) time. Levi doesn't hate Eren and isn't set on verbally insulting him. Eren is a beautiful name. Let Levi call Eren by his name, please. Also, Levi is a lot more fixated on Eren than vice-versa, who would have thought, hah!

#ereri #snk meta #snk spoilers #mine #vivimetas