#snk theories

[eirenses]

rewatching aot with full knowledge of what are the motives of certain characters is just mind blowing. like observing reiner, annie and bertholdt in every scene just gives me such a whiplash. every single little interaction and everything they say gives the viewer clues.

isayama really planned certain scenes years ahead. like every plot twist is so well refined and thought out

[authenticleviackerman]

The takes I see on Levi on TikTok, not showing emotion ≠ not feeling emotions like other people. What Levi does isn't stoicism. It's emotional numbness caused by shutting down emotions in order to survive and not go insane.

Also to clarify, stoicism doesn't equal not feeling emotions, but rather accepting things as they are without outbursts of anger or hatred towards other people, life or even oneself. Levi isn't really an example of that.

[aoehacker]

[theory] Five Year War

tldr: in alternative timeline Mid-East War was 5 years long, instead of 4.

Illustration by Hajime Isayama for 3rd anniversary of Hita's museum opening.

As you can see, it is an alternative timeline where Reiner and Berthold decided to join forces of Paradis (+Marco is alive). As for the reasons... this theory is not about why Reiner joined Paradis, but I will point out some foreshadowing.

chapter 108 - nice foreshadowing: Porco is looking down on Reiner, and calls him traitor.

chapter 46 - foreshadowing of Reiner becoming a soldier.

chapters 15 and 96 - obvious contradiction; in different timelines Reiner had different experience.

chapters 40, 47 and 95 - obvious contradiction; but I'm not sure how it impacted Reiner's personality; I didn't find any clues that could explain his different behavior shown in chapter 15.

chapter 93 - Porco mentions the moment, when contradiction starts.

Alright, enough with Reiner acting different. Let's talk about the war!

chapter 108 - 4 year war, 4 years ago Anti-Marleyan Volunteers

If you are not aware, Isayama is constantly switching back and forth between multiple timelines in his story and trying to present it like it was all a single timeline. It is very easy to spot in artistic choices by WIT. In another cases, you will have to look for contradictions in dialogue. I suggest you read u/Ellen_Yevner theories if you want to be convinced about constant switch of narratives.

So, in essence: every single panel of manga and every single cut of anime can be a completely different timeline. The above image (ch108) is another example of that.

First panel shows Reiner and says that Zeke planned raid on Marley for four years.

Third panel doesn't show Reiner, and says that Zeke snuck Anti-Marleyan Volunteers four years ago.

chapter 90 - waited through winter

Of course it makes absolutely no sense! It was clearly shown in the story, that after battle for Shiganshina, Paradis waited through winter, before they went to explore the southern port, where Marley turned Eldians into Titans. And Paradis came into contact with Anti-Marleyan Volunteers by ambushing them on the sea.

In my opinion, no matter which timeline it is, the earliest Paradis could have met Anti-Marleyan Volunteers is one year after battle for Shiganshina (because they have to clean up the Titans first).

With above assumption in mind, and with the hint from Isayama about Reiner and Berthold joining Paradis, we can conclude that there exists an alternative timeline, where Mid-East War was fought for five years (in this post, I will refer to it as Timeline 2).

Because Reiner & Freckled Ymir didn't return to Marley, Marley would only have Zeke and Pieck. That will surely restrict them in their war efforts, and they would be much more cautious, which would prolong the war for one more year.

chapter 93 - Zeke has 1 year left; ships started missing 3 years ago

In Timeline 2 Zeke would have 0 years left, by the way.

"Alright, but is that it? So what if they fought for five years, instead of four? What does it matter?" I hear you ask.

Well, it does matter! Because what Paradis lacks the most? Time!

Here are some examples of Isayama re-iterating the lack of time for Paradis:

chapter 107

chapter 108

It also matters from strategical perspective, when it comes to The War for Paradis arc.

chapter 108 - Reiner; Zeke has 1 year left; Global Alliance will attack in 6 months

What would change in Timeline 2, if Zeke has 0 years left?

Reiner proposed to attack immediately, because he didn't want to give Zeke time to prepare any plans (because he still has 1 year left).

If Zeke had 0 years left, (we have to remember, that in Timeline 2 Reiner joined Paradis) Magath decision would probably be conservative - to wait for Global Alliance to form and attack in six months.

Although, it is hard to predict. Magath may also think why Zeke even escaped to Paradis, even though he has 0 years left.

From one perspective, Paradis will only gain a mediocre Titan.

From another perspective, Magath may question why raid on Liberio (with the intention of evacuating Zeke) was done in the first place, and what are the future plans of Paradis.

Magath could conclude that they are plotting something, but it is debatable whether he will make a surprise attack. Porco won't propose anything hasty, because in chapter 95 he was described as someone who follows orders.

chapter 118 - Reiner is described as the main reason, why Marley attacked so early.

chapter 118 - sounds very contradicting; isn't Global Alliance not formed yet? Isn't there like still 5 months before they all come together?

So, from above images, without Reiner pushing the decision, I'd say that in Timeline 2 Marley would attack together with Global Alliance, presumably in 6 months (we can't be 100% sure that it will still take 6 months in Timeline 2).

[nikakistos]

Did Mikasa (re)marry?

Exactly three years ago, i wrote a post with the title "Mikasa will kill Eren". I haven't written a lot about AoT since then. I still keep AoT in my heart and i read news and posts about it daily. Although i do not participate that much in discussions about it, i still read what other people have to say. This is about to change. Yes, i know that the anime ended 3 months ago and i know that AoT's time in the spotlight is probably gone for good, with very few events ahead of us. In time, people will move on to other works. That is the cycle of life for fans of stories of any medium. And yet, now, more than ever, i want to start writing about AoT and my favorite characters (Mikasa, Eren etc) again. I will begin by offering my view on whether or not Mikasa married or, more accurately in my opinion, remarried after Eren's unfortunate end.

Why remarry?

Why do i use the term remarry? After all, Mikasa and Eren were never officially married. There was no ceremony, no rings, no nothing. If anything, in the physical world, the last time Mikasa and Eren spoke was when Eren told her he hated her. That is indeed true. However, Mikasa and Eren spent quite some time in the paths together (be it months, years, or a few minutes). The realm of the paths is (was) not a dream place. It wasn't something fictional. It was reality, just like Armin described it in chapter 136. It is a different dimension where time goes by very differently compared to the physical world.

Eren brought all of his friends in there to speak to them and reveal his true intentions. With Armin, he also went on a journey, visiting all the places they wanted to see. With Mikasa, after talking to her about his plan, they decided to forget it all and spend their time together. They replayed the "What am i to you" scene from chapter 123 and Mikasa chose to express her true feelings to him, while also telling him to run away together. Eren then grabbed her arm and they escaped to the mountain cabin. From the way they act towards each other, it is easy to tell that they viewed themselves as husband and wife. This is also showcased by what Mikasa wrote in Eren's tombstone. The last word is "あなた", which typically means "you" in japanese, but, when used by a spouse to her husband, it means "sweetheart, dear etc". So, it is obvious that for Mikasa, Eren was her husband and the same holds true for Eren. This means that if Mikasa were to marry, it would be her second marriage, or, at the very least, this is how it would seem to her. For all intents and purposes, Eren and Mikasa were husband and wife in the Paths and after his death, Mikasa is presented as a widow.

The extra pages and the songs

Anyone who was reading the manga during its run knows that the original ending, the one shown in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, had Mikasa thanking Eren for wrapping the scarf around her while the bird was flying away. The bonus pages expanded the original ending and showed Mikasa visiting Eren's grave again and again, once with a man and a newborn child, still young, and once accompanied by two couples and their young children, while old. The difference between the two is also reflected in the episodic format of the anime ending, where the bonus pages do not appear and the closing song is different. Instead of "二千年… 若しくは… 二万年後の君へ・・・", which played in the special version, the episodic format uses "いってらっしゃい".

The episodic format provides an emotional closure for the relationship between Eren and Mikasa. The lyrics of the song reveal that Mikasa wants to and believes that she will meet Eren again. The original animation of the ED song implies that Eren and Mikasa do meet again in the afterlife after Mikasa's death. They are now free to be with each other for eternity.

The special format represents the theme of "life goes on". Wars never end permanently. They are just interrupted by long periods of peace. The same applies to Mikasas' life. In the anime, Eren's grave is visited by all of his friends, exactly 3 years after his death. Exactly 11 years after his death (7 winters and 8 springs after his friends visit his grave, slow it down as much as possible and count the season changes), Mikasa visits his grave with a man and a child. This scene has 2 very popular interpretations. One is that Mikasa married someone (Jean) and had a child with him and the other one says that Mikasa remained single and virgin forever and that the kid is adopted and that the man is Armin.

Let's start with the second option. The major arguments are that (in the manga) Mikasa still covers her Hizuru tattoo with the bandages and that she she offers roses to Eren's grave and that the number of the roses signify that she never found someone else. Some people also argue that Mikasa loving someone else romantically goes against her character.

I do not agree with this interpretation. Covering her tattoo does not mean that she didn't pass it down to her children and even if she didn't pass it down, it doesn't mean she didn't have kids. Also, in the anime, the flowers she offers are not roses. I would agree that it would be out of character for Mikasa to find someone else, but only as long as Eren was alive. It would probably take her a very long time, but if the right man appeared, maybe she could fall in love again.

During Eren's crying tantrum about Mikasa to Armin, he mentioned that if she were to find someone else it should take her 10 years at least. The anime went out of its way to show Mikasa appearing with her new family, a man and a newborn kid exactly 11 years after his death. This points towards Mikasa remarrying. The anime also added a ring to her left ring finger during her funeral scene. The lyrics that play during Mikasa's visits to Eren's grave with her new family are these "時が運んだ 穏やかな日々 手向けた花のように秘めた言葉は 誰にも告げず逝く". This means that the time brought gentle days to Mikasa and she kept her feelings for Eren to her heart, with the flowers and the words on the tombstone revealing their true extent. In my opinion this showcases that Mikasa spent peaceful days with her new family, but she kept her feelings to Eren deep in her heart, as shown by her constant offering of flowers to his grave and the words she wrote in the gravestone.

For me the biggest indication that Mikasa did remarry is the fact that these scenes exist in the first place, both in the manga and in the anime. Isayama felt the need to show these images, when the Magazine ending was very open to interpretation. There would be no point to adding these scenes, only to make the ending more ambiguous. The bonus pages are there to clarify what happens to Mikasa's life and the island in the long years after Eren's death, not to muddy the waters. If Isayama wanted the ending to be completely open to interpretation, then there would be no reason for the new pages.

Why Jean?

Shipping wars are part of most fandoms and the AoT fandom is no exception. During its run, the biggest rivalry was the one between the EM and EH supporters. Now it is between EM and JK fans. EH was never a thing in the story, but the relationship between Eren and Mikasa was the most important in the story. The entirety of Attack on Titan is built based on the relationship between its male and female leads. They are the backbone of the story and without them there would be no AoT. Of course, a tragic conclusion for them hurts people. Especially when Mikasa eventually gets married to someone that, during the duration of the plot, she didn't show any interest. But, this is not really relevant. The moment Eren died, the plot pretty much ended. The plot does not follow Mikasa's healing process and family life, because it doesn't affect anything. Also, it is so far into the future that the characters involved are practically different people. Maybe in the future Isayama will show this development in a short story, like he will do with Levi in vol. 35, but, for now, this is just an additional detail that is only 3 panels long.

Even without mentioning the physical aspects of the man shown next to Mikasa, Jean, throughout the story has been presented as the "Eren-lite". He is second best to Eren and he compares himself to his "rival". He is jealous of how much Mikasa cares about Eren, he places directly under him in training, he views him as more courageous, strong and cool than him. On the other hand, Jean is presented as a mentally stable person, while Eren is not. Jean of course can never be as passionate as Eren and he can't match Eren's kindness when Eren is kind, but he could also never be as cruel as Eren. He disguises as Eren throughout the story and he is presents himself as the best successor for Eren's titan. Most importantly, Jean shares a special connection with Eren, he understands him and he loves him.

So, it is no suprise that Isayama would have him end up with Mikasa after Eren's death. There really is no one better for Mikasa. Jean is the best option if she can't be with Eren. He cared for her throughout the series, protected her once and he even tried to paint Eren in a better light after the latter offended Mikasa. He is also the only one who can understand her love for Eren and still be with her without getting jealous over the fact that she would never be able to love him as much as she loved Eren. This is something that even Jean's voice actor expressed in the recent Attack on Titan festival that celebrated the 10 years since the beginning of the anime. He felt that Jean got to be with Mikasa and he was comforting her, but he knew that he could never replace Eren in her heart. Yui Ishikawa, Mikasa's voice actress, also said that for Mikasa, no matter how many years pass and how many things she experiences throughout her long lifespan, Eren will always be the number 1 in her heart.

Does that diminish her love for Jean? Does that mean that she never truly loved Eren? No. It simply means that Mikasa fell in love again, 10 years after Eren's death, with a man who is as close to Eren as possible. Jean most likely won her over. She didn't marry him out of some desparate need to be with a man, but because she found the strength in her heart to love someone again, even if it wasn't to the same extent as before. That doesn't make her dirty or impure, like some fans want to believe. This obsession with virginity is frankly stupid. First of all, Mikasa, by the time the she remarries, is, probably not a virgin. Unless she only spent a few minutes with Eren in the world of the paths, the two of them probably did more things than just talking and fishing. Even if she were, virginity is nothing special. Mikasa marrying someone else and having kids with him does not mean Eren got cucked. It doesn't mean that Jean won against Eren Mikasa still loving Eren does not mean that Jean got cucked by a dead man, nor does it mean that he got damaged goods. These points of view are ridiculous and are only expressed by very immature individuals and/or incels. Jean is probably somewhat sad that Mikasa and Eren didn't get to live the life they wanted together and he is probably thankful to Eren for giving him the chance to live his dream life. Jean is not the type to gloat or ridicule his dead comrade, nor the type of guy to be bitter, because Mikasa loved Eren so much.

Mikasa moved forward with her life (not moved on, widows hate this term, because it is closer to forgetting your previous spouse), without ever forgetting her big love or changing her feelings for him. And in the end, after spending many decades with her new family, she passed away peacefully and reunited with her most beloved person in the world in the afterlife. For some, Mikasa reuniting with Eren in the afterlife means that she didn't remarry, because her husband should be her soulmate and if she is with Eren she didn't have a second husband. I disagree here as well. There is no information about how the afterlife works and making assumptions about it based on real world theology is dumb. People can love more than once. If your last spouse is your soulmate, then what happens to people like Grisha? The only thing we can do is go by what is shown and what is shown is that Mikasa both remarried and met Eren in the afterlife.

The same goes for those who believe that Mikasa should not meet Eren in the afterlife, because Eren is a criminal. Attack on Titan does not pass judgement to the actions of its characters that much. Of course, Eren's actions are horrific, but the entirety of the cast and the narrative tries to shift the blame to many more people than just Eren. Eren is not the only one responsible for how things turned out. All the characters sinned. Not to mention, Mikasa expressed her certainty that she would meet Eren again in the end in the final ED song and this is what is shown. Furthermore, after Mikasa's death, the lyrics that play are these "レクイエムレクイエム檜には君た花を 罪を散すなら 暁よ照らせ". This means that if sins are to be forgiven, then dawn will illuminate the flowers under the cypress. Eren's sins by the time Mikasa died have, probably, been forgiven. In any case, repeating my previous words, we can only go by what is shown and what is shown is that the two of them do reunite in the end.

What is the point of the debate?

The debate is probably meaningless. Whether or not Mikasa married does not affect the story in any way. It simply concludes Mikasa's story. Of course, this means that i wrote close to 3 thousand words for nothing, LOL. Nonetheless, i find it ridiculous that large amounts people still debate about the frankly obvious context of 1 panel. This toxic debate should have stopped long ago. What matters is that Mikasa got to live a long and happy life with a person who loved and respected her, just like Eren ultimately wanted and she then reunited with her most beloved. Sure, it hurts that we couldn't see more of Eren and Mikasa as a couple, after being introduced to them from the very first page of the story, but this is no reason to slander other parts of the fandom or the voice actors who did their best to portray these characters for over a decade. Mikasa was lucky enough to be loved so much by two men. She got to spend her time on Earth with one of them and infnity with the other. Despite all of her shortcomings and the bad luck she faced in her life, Mikasa rose stronger from each challenge and earned her happily ever after. This is what's important. In the future, we might get to see more of her family life with Jean and the time she spent with Eren in the paths and her next meeting with him.

[levmada]

How do you feel about people calling Hanges sacrifice a suicide? They quite literally wanted to live but had a responsibility to carry the scouts forward.

i think it’s just about the most moronic, insipid, dumbass take in the entire fandom, which is saying something.

or i guess every time Hange appeared the people who believe this went to sleep or something.

i give my full thoughts here, but i’ll expand on them.

the idea Hange took the opportunity to commit suicide is SO diametrically opposed to their character in every way. Hange is a SCOUT: they put aside any fear of death or desire for family, a career, or a normal life in general in pursuit of living freely; they not only are willing to face the terror of the Titans but revel in learning about them, and by extension understanding the world around them. if there's ANYTHING which defines a scout—like Hange says also—it's their unyielding desire for a better understanding. in a cruel world such as Hange lives in, this is unfathomably brave.

first, their sense of duty, their responsibility, is heightened tenfold when they become commander. Erwin, who they admired deeply, is who they have to replace, and clearly, the person they consider their closest friend Levi (which is canon) believes in their leadership more than COMMANDER ERWIN. that's a lot of pressure.

((from their perspective, that is. it's unknown whether Levi ever told them his true feelings, but even if he did, they would know Levi believed Erwin was the only one who could help the Scouts save humanity. so it's lose-lose. actually that's worse.))

Hange felt so fucking guilty after the four years. it's clear how tired they were. after the Liberio battle, they felt that Erwin's choice to choose them as his successor was his one and only mistake, that it's their fault the Rumbling got as far as it did; they tell the alliance several times that it's unfair to drag them all into this, and they ask whether they're sure about it because of how the world might see Eldians when it's all over.

it's SO unreasonable for them to do, but their guilt overpowers.

one out of several reasons being, they had to dismiss Flegel and Peaure, when during the uprising arc, Hange was the one who pushed so damn hard for them to fight for the truth, and their own family. suddenly Hange can't tell the truth about where Eren is imprisoned and all of that.

now!! this argument between Hange and Flegel is THE EXACT MIRROR of the argument between Hange, Mikasa, and Jean when they all reunite after the rumbling starts. Jean similar to Flegel is arguing that Paradis will be spared, the Rumbling will give them protection for decades after, and it's the definitive way to guarantee their safety.

"a life as a mouse can still be a hard-fought one."

Hange concedes that they don't have the right to force them to fight, but genocide is wrong, and they won't be convinced otherwise. they admit that they're all here because their idealism was a weakness, and that they're a hypocrite because they wanted to run away with Levi, but they still have that responsibility to their comrades to make their sacrifices worth it.

Hange is wrong about their idealism being weak, and what right they have to ask for the others to fight, but it's their guilt. their weakness now is tangible, but their resolve is just as strong. they know, and believe, in their duty. there is absolutely no amount of hopelessness that could break that determination.

how, both knowing the earnestness of their character and the symbolism of the ghosts appearing here, would they lie or embellish here because they're actually suicidal? they want to stay alive and fight for all their sakes.

when the ghosts appeared to Erwin, he was pouring his heart out to Levi, and it's the same here. in fact their are many similarities between them, Erwin who "committed suicide", which is an erroneous take too, and Hange.

they both felt guilty for their actions and lack of action (the differences in their actions aside). Erwin tells Levi that at times he thought death would be easier, but he didn't want to die; he still fights for his dream. it's most likely been the same for Hange at this point.

he would go on to voluntarily die on Levi's order, and be the first to fall among a hundred new recruits. i mean the meaning can't be lost on anyone right? he pays for his sins with his life, and redeems himself with his death the same way every veteran would go on to do. for taking on their "demonic" roles like Sannes warns Hange of here.

it happens to Levi because of his choice and his moral devolution, and he redeems himself by killing Zeke and playing a major role in making the Scouts' collective dream finally realized; it happens to Nile for living with no regard to anyone but his family by being titanized, and redeems himself by helping Gabi and the Braus family escape during the invasion; etc.

Hange's sin was their willingness to run away. again back to the uprising: Hange argues that w/ the Survey Corps on the run, they hunker down in the cabin to remain safe, because Nick was murdered: "i was naive. it's my fault.'"

again do you see the resemblance? because there's more🥰.

besides their duty, it's Levi's resolve/strength, and their friends, that disproves the bullshit suicide theory.

Levi rebukes them by pointing out that their guilt is making them give up, and that hiding will just get them killed.

in the present, Levi again acts as their support. in the forest, they admit that they want to run away and live with him there. Levi tells them that they can't just keep running and hiding, and likely knowing the responsibility Hange feels to their comrades too, he points out that Hange won't be able to stay out of the action, and Hange agrees: they won't run.

and you want to tell me that Hange's sacrifice is them volunteering to quit, to run away, to die? PFFT.

similarly, their comrades give them strength on both sides of the aisle. both Mikasa and Pieck.

in a cosmic burst of irony, Hange does get to run away from the fight, but that's to keep the alliance safe, and give them the time to fix the plane. just like how they wanted to keep the Survey Corps safe during the uprising, and Levi safe after the explosion.

like what Hange chose to do thanks to Levi's support during the uprising, they're running away and fighting at the same time.

it was their duty as a Scout. it was Levi who helped give them bravery. they felt this sacrifice, for it to be "their turn", was their responsibility because they felt they failed the Scouts both living and dead. Hange didn't want to die!!

if Hange wasn't presented with this opporutunity, they would've fought proudly right beside Levi and the others. no doubt.

they even still have hope that Eren wasn't right. they're admitting defeat today, but even so, they believe peace will prevail one day.

it's the same (Hange would also echo levi's sentiment about the value of fighting if you were going to die anyway too.)

also, maybe it's a reach, but it's telling to me that as Hange comments on accepting defeat, they look just as scared when it's their death. Hange ALWAYS considered their life as belonging to the Survey Corps.

if all of this still isn't good enough, just look at how Hange was accepted by the ghosts of Scouts after their death. this is what drives me CRAZY about the suicide theory - it's completely unfounded!!!!

Erwin and Moblit, whose opinions Hange likely cared about most, are smiling at them, and Erwin puts it plainly. the Scouts are proud of Hange. Hange gave their sacrifices meaning, because now the alliance can catch up to the Rumbling. how can this be because of an intentioned suicide?

something that's pointed to is Hange's expression when saying goodbye for the last time.

they look pained and guilty right? but seriously...? knowing just how far Levi's strength got them, that it gave Hange the bravery, even, to do their sacrifice?? only to leave him alone when they were so close to reaching peace? of course they're upset. of course they feel pained and guilty. they probably even feel awful for feeling awful: this is it, and as perfect as that is, Hange feels awful because they were so close, but they had a job to do; Levi gave them strength, but Levi is alone.

to be succinct, i guess, it’s like this: because Jean wanted to block out what was happening and let the Rumbling happen, does that mean he doesn’t give a fuck about humanity and believed in Eren? NO.

it’s the same thing. because Hange quickly volunteered to do what was sure to kill them, did they not give a fuck about the Scouts and wanted to kill themself? NO.

[titan-desuu]

How I rewatch / reread AoT after seeing those symbolism theories

[briebysabs]

It’s so odd seeing that so manga readers were upset with the post-credits scene meanwhile for me, it was arguably the best part of the finale. Except maybe the baby scene, that was so heartbreaking to watch. That is what made this conclusion an Attack on Titan ending. The story didn’t lose itself and maintained what it’s been about from day one. It could’ve been done a somewhat better but the more I reflect on the end, the more I do like it.

Because of course the world will inevitably enter war. Eren didn’t change humanity, he shrunk the population and got rid of Titans. That is literally it.

“Oh well that’s why Eren should’ve done a 100% rumbling.” Then Paradis would grow in size, repopulate what’s left, and eventually go to war against each other. What happened was the most logical outcome. For all we know that may have happened and the conflict we see in the far future had no correlation to Paradis’ past whatsoever.

I have seen reasonable criticism for what could’ve been adjusted or added in which I understand or agree. But I believe a lot, not all, of the irrational hate the ending originally got stemmed from two sides. One side wanted Eren to fully eradicate everything and saw him as this chad, edgelord who appealed to their toxic fantasies. Another side wanted a happy fairytale ending that had peace reign and pain finally vanished.

In the end, something more grey happened and neither got what they wanted.

[lenok993]

THIS

IS

M A S T E R P I E C E

A C K E R T H E O R Y credit to Ellen_Yevner

read

it

!

[happybird16]

Ackerman are strong and resilient, built to withstand and survive in even the worst conditions. We’ve seen that multiple times throughout the series, in Mikasa, Levi and even Kenny.

So, why then did Kuchel die so easily? Such a sweet, strong lady taken down by some seemingly random disease? Despite being trapped in the Underground, selling her body to survive, she had to have been powerful and imposing just like all the other members of her family. Why didn’t the power flowing through her veins, like it does her brother and son, not help her fight and survive?

By all means it should’ve right? But, what if Ackerman’s are uniquely susceptible to this particular disease?

We know that, at some point, there was a plague within the walls. That some non-described unnamed very deadly disease wiped out thousands of Eldians within the walls and that the king at the time had to use his power to warp his subjects, to make them immune to said disease.

We also know that the Ackerman family is uniquely immune to the effects of the kings powers. They can’t get their memories wiped like every other Eldian and, theoretically, they can’t be turned into Titans.

So, what if, Ackerman’s can’t be effected by the king’s biological decree’s as well? What if what Kuchel had caught, what had eventually taken her down slowly and gruesomely, was that very plague? That they weren’t effected by the king’s decree for immunity from that extremely deadly disease.

Some sort of deadly sexually transmitted disease by my estimate, -given that Levi didn’t get sick in the room with her- passed on to her by her customers. They’re all immune, but some still carry it with them, one eventually passing it on to her. Painfully taking her from her son far too early. Something only Ackerman’s can even get anymore, her very strength ending up her weakness.

(Yes, this theory implies that, should Zeke’s sterilization plan have gone through, both Levi and Mikasa wouldn’t have been affected.)

[niwow-s]

What? Levi’s monologue in Ch. 136 AOT

Posting crazy AOT working theories on the art blog b/c I draw so slow.. haha. 

Call me a delusional shipper or whatever but.. what if Levi was saying he didn’t regret choosing Armin over Erwin because Armin’s eyes embodies the “sense of idealistic hope and wonder of what’s out there”. Just like survey corps and...just like Hange’s eye(s). ;)

There’s a frame of Levi telling Erwin to give up on his (arguably dead end) dream. One of Armin excitedly talking about his dreams to see the ocean with his friends and a similar scene of Hange excitedly talking among the survey corps.  

Armin and Hange take on similar roles in their respective group in those two frames and in the next frames they’re in... their face are similarly filled with sparkly eyes. :D. Erwin is there too with a different face ‘-’.

There’s also this scene of when the survey corps visited Marley for the first time.

undefined

(It’s Levi staring at Hange staring at Survey Corps’ next mission with Armin staring too.)

So perhaps part of Levi’s monologue is about his feelings towards Hange. He grips his sword using the hand he Shinzo Wo Sasageyo Hange with, “I didn’t pick Erwin and I don’t regret it because-

[teenitrash]

Another sad AOT post (WARNING: It's kind of long because of the pictures :)). I saw a bunch of TikToks and Tumblr posts about random sad AOT facts and then I thought about some of the ones I saw a little more, and I realised something so damn ironic and sad.

Majority of the main characters who died never achieved their goal or desires, regardless of how trivial it was:

Eren never achieved freedom for himself and was rather a slave to it. He also never got to live his life in peace with Mikasa and Armin like he wanted

Sasha never got to see her people take back their island from the titans (and those who hated Eldians) and farm for more cattle like she wanted. Even after Paradis became "independent" and the titans disappeared, she had to fight in the Survey Corps until she died

Hange never got to see a flying titan and never got to properly ride on the Cart Titan's back

Erwin never got to the basement and never found out the secret of the titans

Petra never got to marry Levi (regardless of who you ship with Petra or Levi in AOT, it is canon that she liked him)

Bertholdt never confessed his feelings to Annie and never got to date her like he wanted

Ymir never got to marry Historia

Hannes never got to avenge Eren's mother, Carla, because he was eaten by the same titan who ate her

Kenny Ackerman never obtained the power of the Founding Titan like he wanted and never got to see the world the way Uri did

Keith Shadis never got to become a hero or "someone special." As the watchers, we can think of him as a hero who sacrificed himself to help humanity, but in the show itself, no one will remember his name because they didn't even know he was on the boat and they didn't know he helped them before they left the port.

Zeke never got to experience life after he finally felt that he wanted to live again. He had a very late realisation of this, but it still counts. After Armin reminded him in the Paths about why we as humans continue to live, he decided that he wanted to live again after reminiscing about his time with Mr Ksaver. Levi killed him before he could

Compared to all the characters who lived and either achieved their goal or never really had goals in the first place, it just makes me so sad thinking about the irony of it all. All those who died, morally grey or not, never got to achieve their dreams because of their circumstances and the cruel world they were born into. Isayama when I catch you

[authenticleviackerman]

Are there any AOT fandom claims that sit wrong with you? I'd like to make posts about what I think about people's opinions or theories ^-^

[inside-levis-pocket]

so, I have a theory about the end of Attack On titan

spoilers under the cut

So many people have been speculating on why Levi is seen in a wheelchair with Gabbi and Falco.

There have been a few theories about why he’s in a wheelchair, the most popular one i’ve seen is that during the final battle, Levi get his leg bitten by a titan rescuing Connie:

But the last panel showing Levi with Gabbi and Falco are three years after the war, and where his leg is broken wouldn’t necessarily warrant using a wheelchair three years after the incident.

I believe the reason why is because he grew up in the underground. Now this is all speculation as there is no direct evidence.

Remember in A Choice With No Regrets, Yan is seen having leg/bone issues and how he needed medicine from the surface to treat him, hence why Levi, Furlan and Isabell are sent out for a hit on Erwin?

Well, leg and bone issues are quite common for those who live in the underground, due to the lack on vitamin D they get.

(this screen shot was taken off of the wiki page so idk if the translation is exact or not)

It is also important to not that lack on vitamin D can cause bone mass issues as well.

My theory goes as this; after the power of the titans is destroyed in the final battle, the power of the Ackerman is also destroyed since Ackermans are titan adjacent. Levi doesn’t have all of his super-human healing or strength, and I think his developmental years in the underground are catching up to him in the form of his legs simply having bone issues from the lack on vitamin D/sunlight from when he was younger.

Like I said, there isn’t much evidence to support this and it’s just pure speculation but idk, it kinda makes sense

[poppyholdingseal]

This might be a hot take but- I think there’s a greater purpose to Yams sharing so little about Farmer-kun’s identity, and it’s not because he wants the shock factor / surprise factor, nor is he just fucking with us. I think it’s because it doesn’t really matter who the farmer is.

All we see of Farmer-kun following Historia’s asking him to be her partner is:

He rubs his head as Eren watches her ask Farmer-kun (implying he might be shy or inexperienced, and therefore implying he’s not a sly character)

He is in the secret house with Historia and he tells Historia to take care of her body while she’s pregnant (implying she has some level of trust in him and he is at the very least human enough to care about the well-being of a woman he impregnated)

He looks worried when Historia is in labour (implying again that he cares)

He is carrying a bottle of wine over to Historia and her daughter. We know that Historia is married = so putting two and two together, it looks like she married the Farmer.

This is Historia’s endgame that we’re talking about. We know that Yams created Historia and Ymir together and that the two of them were critical to both the plot and the themes of the story. Their connection with each other was mutually life changing and literally life saving in Historia’s case. Their relationship provides further evidence for the SNK’s key theme: that we can only be saved and that the cycle of violence can only be broken when we love someone. Ymir outright told Historia more than once that she wanted to marry Historia. So Historia’s chosen partner actually does matter in the sense of supporting the themes, and because Historia and Ymir matter.

So. Why is Farmer-kun such a blank space? We’re given an impression that he’s a nice guy, but that’s it. We don’t know if he has a sense of humour or if he plays the guitar for Historia or if he learned to braid their daughter’s hair. We don’t need to know, because what matters is that he’s not Ymir.

The lack of detail about him emphasizes the wealth of detail we know about Ymir. All we need to know is that there is someone in Historia’s life who has enough of a sense of responsibility to look out for Historia when she was pregnant, and who Historia trusted enough to continue allowing into her and her daughter’s life. The rest doesn’t matter because he’s not Ymir. If Ymir is dead, everyone else doesn’t count and all that matters is that as they have the bare qualifications to be around Historia (they respect her, they don’t abandon her.)

Since Yams didn’t make YumiKuri endgame, he had to indirectly show how important Ymir was to Historia. Everyone after Ymir is a nameless, undetailed thing because they aren’t Ymir.

** I hope this doesn’t come off as anti-Farmhisu. I don’t personally ship it even though I’ve seen some cute fanart. My intention was to explore why the hell we don’t know more about Farmer when Historia is so key to the story.

[levmada]

wait mikasa's mom looks like an asian, dark hair and all. So does Mikasa. ackermans also have dark hair. I mean it's normal that they look similar. You can also look like your ancestors and not like your mother or father, I look like my grandma and nothing like my father or mother. So I never questioned why mikasa doesn't look like her dad. Can you please explain your theory/headcanon a little bit more if you thought about it? it sounds interesting!

first post

second post

thank you :3 i think i’ll put all the parts of my theory together in this post because there’s some stuff i didn’t get into and new stuff i thought about, and i’d love to elaborate !!!

my theory is basically that Mikasa’s dad isn’t the Ackerman, but it’s Mikasa’s mom.

this is every Ackerman showed in the series (now arguably with Mikasa’s mom on the top left).

[+a colored manga panel of kuchel because the lighting is a little weird]

and this is Mikasa’s dad:

genetics can skip generations, and characteristics definitely can remain consistent as they’re passed down. but this is my thought:

1: it’s uncanny. solid black, straight hair, pale skin, thin brows, small hooded bluish-grey eyes, lip shape, larger foreheads, pointed chins, small noses, angular facial structure.

with some expected exceptions. like Kenny’s nose, and Mikasa and her mom’s solid grey eyes, plus all their heights vary. that’s realistic enough for me to believe that all Ackermans generally look alike, while giving room for normal variations in looks.

Kiyomi, head of the Azumabitos, looks like this:

this resemblance also is unmistakable and uncanny (besides her nose).

in aot, the two groups that were persecuted by the Eldian king were the Asians and the Ackermans.

i severely doubt the Ackermans always resembled them. Ackermans are the product of accidental Titan science made in Marley hundreds of years before the Great Titan War (and it was after that war that the Ackermans and Asians were banished/hunted to extinction/persecuted).

the Ackermans and the Asians were rejected by the same country they were once a part of or otherwise were loyal to. wouldn’t that have brought them together?—especially taking into account that the Ackermans were being hunted to extinction. as well as the fact that Ackermans have strength of the Titans inside them, so interbreeding would’ve been beneficial for both. i believe that’s why, in the present day, Asians and Ackermans both look alike.

Ackerman physical traits always appear more than an Eldian, Marleyan, or whoever the other parent is.

1: Levi’s father was confirmed to be a nobleman, average-looking, and short. that makes him an Eldian.(source)

Mikasa’s father looks like most other eldians behind the walls. generally German or west European?

those parents aren’t Ackermans, and yet Mikasa and Levi resemble their respective mothers and each other more closely than should be coincidental/by chance.

2: Ackermans as we know are unnaturally strong. also, they’re all connected via the paths where they draw the experience of every other Ackerman during life or death circumstances. this connection by itself is a reason i believe in my theory.

3: but also, wouldn’t that strength also translate to genetics? so whether the baby has a parent that looks like Mikasa’s dad, it would come out most resembling the Ackerman parent (with a few traits from the other parent of course).

like height (as much as height can be based on genetics rather than environment). Levi is very short for a man, while Kenny is way above average height, and so on. also Kenny’s nose shape, and Mikasa and her mom’s solid grey eyes as opposed to bluish-grey.

Kenny’s grandpa has grey hair, but Isayama has confirmed that he designed him to look like Levi as an old man (source) (and he’s Levi’s great grandfather) so there’s credence to the idea Isayama’s designs are purposeful. every detail matters (as usual with aot). aot shows that exact looks can skip generations.

but Mikasa’s mom and Kuchel weren’t strong?

an Ackerman’s powers have a chance of awakening inside them during a life or death moment.

but we also don’t know nearly enough about Kuchel to say whether or not she did. we don’t know for sure if an Ackerman can die from sickness, or how long it took for Kuchel to die, or whether she ever told Levi (but she probably didn’t seeing how she didn’t even tell him their last name).

Mikasa’s mom put up more of a fight than her dad did. he didn’t have that Ackerman *shudder* moment and react fast enough. but Mikasa’s mom was also too weak to overpower one of her attackers.

so the presence of powers have nothing to do with my theory

about Mikasa’s family specifically

(i get my exact heights from the official aot character guidebook)

Mikasa’s dad was 6’0, and Mikasa’s mom was 5’2. she turned out 5’7 at 18 years old, which is a good average.

Mikasa has a pointed chin, thin brows, and larger forehead like her dad, but that doesn’t say much when that’s a trait across all Ackermans in the series. it could go either way.

her dad’s skin is tan, with round hazel eyes, big ears, dark blond hair, and an oval shaped face (as opposed to the heart shape of other Ackermans, except Kenny). so many characteristics Mikasa doesn’t take on. but she does have some.

so i feel it’s realistic to theorize that Mikasa’s mom was the Ackerman.

but there are also other reasons.

now i can talk about the most major detracting argument that should shoot down my theory from the beginning:

i think Mikasa’s mom and dad told her the wrong information on purpose.

we know next to nothing about Mikasa’s mom’s character. we do know she was a descendant of the Azumabito clan, which is royalty in Hizuru. she gave the tattoo of the symbol to Mikasa and told her to pass it on to her children.

so she’s Asian at any rate.

but 1: we have reason to believe that Ackermans and Asians interbred after the Great Titan War.

2: all Ackermans (in the series) have several uncannily matching physical characteristics - Mikasa’s dad, supposedly the Ackerman, being the only glaring odd one out.

Asians and Ackermans are equally ostracized on Paradis. imagine if you were both :/

you retreat to the mountains to be safe, and meet an Eldian. years pass, and you have a child together.

i want to believe that Mikasa’s mother’s character falls in with one of the prevalent themes in aot, which is the idea of living your life with pride, unapologetically, despite the burdens you were born with.

for example, Historia taking back her name, freckles Ymir rejecting the life and identity forced upon her, Reiner being the son of an Eldian and Marleyan (which was extremely illegal), putting aside that he could never make his father proud, and moving forward to make his mom proud and "save the world" anyway. there are multiple examples.

we know at least that Mikasa’s mom was proud of her Asian heritage and wanted to pass it down to Mikasa and Mikasa’s children, so if she was an Ackerman, wouldn't she want to be proud of that too and keep the name?

so when she married Mikasa’s father, she would've asked him if he would take her last name. that would've been extremely unconventional for the time (1800s western European society?), but it's unthinkable that they would've gotten married on official terms under the Ackerman name!!

so Mikasa’s mother tells her father about the Ackermans and the Asians and the persecution they face, and the reason she fled to the mountains. Mikasa’s mom also could've very well been unaware of the reason her groups were persecuted against.

then Mikasa comes along.

it makes perfect sense in my mind that her mom and dad would've stretched the truth.

1: that puts Mikasa in much less danger if her mom's dual identity ever got out. like how they couldn't guarantee that Mikasa wouldn't one day go into the cities.

2: but when that day came, they would know that it was safe to have that last name again because of Grisha, who is certainly in the know about what being Ackerman/Asian means, and his visits to the Interior also would've let him know when that day came.

(and it did when Kenny met Uri, long before year 843 when Mikasa went to live with Eren’s family.)

and that's the reason why they gave the last name Ackerman to Mikasa and told her the story of the Ackerman-Asian persecution. they just stretched the truth to more ensure their family's safety against the wrong individuals + if Mikasa, an Ackerman, looked Asian, no one would've batted an eye because every Ackerman in the modern age on Paradis looks like that - and like that, Mikasa’s mom can live (relatively) with her Asian heritage and Ackerman identity openly.

so i believe Mikasa’s mom was the Ackerman, not her father.

[hanahakiqueen]

HEAR ME OUT

If the ackerbond does not exist but mikasa still haves weird headaches or starts feeling dizzy without a reason (the scene with Louise for example) What if she is in fact ill but no one brings out the subject because shes the second strongest. Think about it , the headaches come espontaneously along with her feeling weak or spacing out also in the jail scene in season 3 and in the jeagerist headquarters she looks really sick, not to mention Eren saying that she has gotten too thin and needs to take care of hersef or armin in season 2 telling her she fainted because of a head injury although shes not showing any signs of it and it just looks like she fainted out of nowhere.

PD: This is just a silly theory i made up with my dad in the car so im sorry if it doesnt make any sense