#aot 136

[burnt-venus]

9 days left

Until these panels animated

[alysiusart]

Healing.

[raikiriq]

"IF YOU THINK I'M A TITAN THAT'S ONLY GOOD FOR ODD JOBS AND NOT FIGHTING... YOU'RE DEAD WRONG"

LETS FUCKING GOOOOO PIECK

[hamliet]

The Desire of Your Heart

SnK 136 is out and it’s fantastic, one of my very favorites. Love that Zeke and Pieck aren’t dead. Loved Armin’s breakdown reminding me why he’s been my favorite character.

But anyways. The central theme this chapter is embodied in the title: dedicate your hearts. Everyone has some sort of goal in their heart, both to stop the rumbling and, for the characters who have focus this chapter, something deeper, something related to someone they care deeply about.

Levi and Armin parallels each other quite strongly this chapter, in that they’re both connected to Zeke and that they’re upset they can’t fulfill their purposes related to Erwin’s death, but they actually can. They’re just going to have to give up what they thought was their purpose for the sake of gaining something more akin to the spirit of what Erwin would have wanted.

Clearly, killing Zeke is not actually what Erwin would want were he alive in the current circumstances. The context has changed. Levi doesn’t know the entirety of it yet, but he’s already suspecting killing Zeke isn’t the priority right now. Erwin was on the side of humanity first and foremost, and Levi allowing Erwin to die--even if it meant Erwin’s dream of seeing the basement was never fulfilled--means that humanity has its best chance.

Armin realizes talking to Zeke is a starting place, and it’s up to him now to stop hating himself and focus on the grander picture rather than on the individual desires. He’s literally in the reality of the paths, a grander picture rather than the individuals engaged in battle down below.

SnK has always explored the perceived dichotomy between the grander “good of the world as a whole” picture and individual desires. It does not actually say, as a story, that you should always put the grander picture first, so that isn’t the argument I’m  making. For example, see Historia. Putting the grander picture first is Not Good. Thematically all comes down to Levi’s initial advice to Eren: choose something you won’t regret. Also, see Annie: putting yourself first isn’t always good.

It’s why everything rests on Levi’s choice made in serumbowl, the choice to save Armin.

So let’s talk more personal desires this chapter, namely the Galco and Aruani foiling wherein their goals are to protect their loved one no matter what. Falco’s desire is also shared by Reiner. But both Falco and Annie are also focusing on the big picture at the moment, trying to balance their personal desires with the grander need to save the world.

Aruani and Galco also foil Eremika this chapter, as protect Eren no matter what has been a goal Mikasa has had throughout the series. She’s also been primarily individually motivated, and was only really grander vision motivated during the Serumbowl when she accepted Hange’s words about Armin’s loss, but then Armin came back. Now the question is: will she accept Eren’s loss?

Protect Eren is not just a goal she cannot fulfill, but a goal she must directly counter, as Jean tells her this chapter. It has to be her. I don’t see the narrative going any other way at the moment. (You can also see Jean as putting his personal desires on the backburner as well, because he has to know Mikasa is unlikely to react well to such a statement.)

Not only that, but Mikasa saving Armin (and her cute support of Aruani) is entirely at odds with protecting Eren. She can’t have both. She has to choose one.

She’s now the one in Levi’s position, having to make a terrible choice. This is her serumbowl.

[ackermantihora]

my heart bleeds for him  (⋟﹏⋞) 

[tamiyne]

aot 136

[littlethunderstormm]

Don't mind me I'll be crying in the corner

[rennohara]

Attack on Titan, Chapter 136: Devote your Hearts