#azumabito

[bengaly]

so i drew this

[melishade]

I also want to applaud you for doing something with Mikasa. In the canon she legit has no character so it is always good to see writers going "fine, I'll do it myself."

Yeah, Mikasa’s character development in the show has been attached to Eren in some way shape or form. The only time a major character development that happened that was outside of Eren was Armin, and that involved letting him die and Erwin becoming a titan in the Ackerbowl.

Isayama introducing the Azumabito’s and then saying Mikasa is a goddamn princess had little to no weight for the story. He didn’t do anything with that. You made Mikasa a bad ass warrior and princess and you do nothing with that?! Are you kidding me?! Removing that bit of information in the story probably wouldn’t have changed little to nothing. We don’t even get to see the damn nation in the manga and anime.

Mikasa getting in touch with her roots would have been phenomenal character work for her. She finds out more about herself, she realizes she’s not an anomaly in the Walls, and she’s growing outside of Eren’s shadow. That’s why I wrote the Hizuru chapter in the first place: to give Mikasa some goddamn character focus.

[fortheloveof-ichiruki]

The Kiss activates the Time Loop.

And Mikasa's headache was everytime she almost caught on.

That's why Eren wanted freedom so much because he already knows.

[iamnightduchess]

May I request a headcanon for Mikasa as an Empress? What would her life be like as an Empress and how would people, allies, and enemies treat her? How would treat the women who admire her?

Hello, dear! 💖 Thank you for the Ask.

Empress!Mikasa Azumabito Ackerman Headcanon

The moment she returns to Hizuru, the Azumabito elders tabled the proof of her bloodline as the last living legitimate descendant of the country's ancient shogunate. With a majority of the vote, Mikasa will ascend the imperial throne of Hizuru as the closest heir through the military power held by her ancestors and marriage of her great ancestor to the last Emperor, who did not have any surviving lineage.

Mikasa revived a monarch that had been obsolete for almost a century, while retaining the support of the nation's democratic parliament.

Within a week, an enthronement ceremony was held in the imperial court for the new empress' coronation. In the ceremony, Mikasa wore a beautiful 100 year old Jūnihitoe, a 12-layer formal kimono, that had been worn by the last Empress, who was also the daughter of an Azumabito daimyo.

Her official royal name is "Her Imperial Highness, Empress Mikasa of Azumabito." All her future desecendants carry the Ackerman-Azumabito name.

Her mon or formal royal crest would be the three sacred blades of the Azumabito clan.

Heralded as the People's Princess, Mikasa won the hearts of her people naturally, as a strong bladesman and an honorable Warrior with a compassionate heart. It took her almost a year to adjust and learn the political ropes of the throne but in time, she's proven that she is a headstrong ruler, an unconventional royal who's independent, fearless and never hesitated to step up or step down to the grassroots level as an effort to understand and take action for her people better.

More than just a beautiful placeholder in a powerful position due to her birth, Mikasa gained authority and respect from the people of Hizuru as an experienced battlezone frontliner with titan-slaying experiences that vouched highly of her credibility.

The allies of the Azumabito clan of prominent families descended from legendary bloodlines during the Sengoku era, all swore fealty and loyalty to this new empress.

The moment the news of her enthronement was released by international press, Hizuru's enemies acknowledged that the half-blooded royal of the rare Ackerman family from Paradis is not someone they'd like to trifle or cross with. They propose a permanent truce through a united alliance as they'd rather not be on the receiving end of the new empress' battle prowess.

Mikasa is not only the first monarch to rule by herself, but she's also the first ruler to appoint the first woman minister and first woman military leader in her court. Inspired by her previous Commander, Hange, Mikasa advocates female empowerment during her reign.

This woman would also (unintentionally) has a strong cult following from the women of her age range, as she becomes a trendsetter in not only character, but also in style. Mikasa would be a royal fashion icon that inspires even the western world with her androgynous look, pixie-style haircut and pantsuits.

She inspired women to be strong and brave and abolish the gender-defined traditional expectations within society. Her strength of character and heart couldn't be more obvious through the way she walk, the way she carries herself and the way she talk to all the children, women and men.

Mikasa would be the first female leader to grace the cover of the world's first magazine print series featuring influential people all around the world. This New Age Empress is lauded as the lost Oriental Gem who was born in Paradis but soaring high with Hizuru's global sovereign.

-----

Thank you for the Ask! 👸This woman deserves to be respected as the Empress she was meant to be 💖

[mai-chan12]

Found this mikasa ackerman gif..its really cute so i post it(*´ω｀*)(*´ω｀*)(*´ω｀*)

[poppyholdingseal]

The Azumabito Clan

Sooo now that the manga is over, what was their deal? A theory and explanation for "what their whole point was supposed to be" under the cut

Given how Isayama embues almost everything in SNK with thematic meaning, it's unusual that the Azumabito's "ultimate role in the final arc" didn't have a bigger payoff.

In my opinion, the Azumabito were meant to be taken at face value, to a certain degree. We are supposed to accept that the explanation for the Azumabitos is exactly what Isayama says it is: they're Hizuru's royal family, one heir became friends with King Karl Fritz and got left behind on Paradis.

That being said, I do think there's are deeper thematic meanings for the individual Azumabitos, but not for the clan. Like:

Mikasa: She's an Azumabito descendant whose demonstration of love for Eren is what gets through to Ymir. The Azumabito heir being friends with King Fritz foreshadows this. But this doesn't speak to "what it means to be Azumabito or what Azumabito means." It was just kind of a plot point that had 2 purposes:

1) Explain why there are so few Asians on the island

2) Foreshadow that an Azumabito would be able to connect with a Fritz. But it's not a 1-1 parallel because while Ymir is a Fritz by marriage, the shogun's son was friends with a Fritz who was still ordering Ymir around, not someone who felt that Ymir was a sympathetic person who shouldn't be enslaved.

Kiyomi: She initially was greedy and planned to secure Hizuru's position and also profit off Paradis. I think it added a level of genuine danger for the islanders; the first nation other than Marley defectors that they encounter openly want to exploit them. Everything they've seen of the world is either hostile or nice but with strings attached.

But unless I'm remembering incorrectly, this danger was due to Kiyomi's own views, not because all the other Azumabito wanted to attack the Paradis folks. The others were all embarrassed that Kiyomi was drooling over money and then helped the alliance with their engineering skills. You could argue that the deeper symbolism here is that the views of the leader affect the policy of the nation: Kiyomi's own greediness meant that Hizuru's agenda was to mine and profit off the Paradisians. But again, that's a statement about nations in general, not about the Azumabito clan in particular, or why they matter to the overall themes of SNK. The Azumabito clan doesn't have a pivotal role in the ending; Kiyomi does, because she moves from selfishness to regret and caring about the rest of the world, and Mikasa does, obviously, but the Azumabito clan does not have a larger meaning.

TLDR: Azumabito was a plot point to explain why there are so little Asians and also foreshadow that Mikasa would be the one to prompt Ymir to remove the titans. Feel free to disagree, I'm curious what others think (but be gentle, I just finished sobbing for 45 min straight over Chapter 139)

[cidsideral]

gothkasa is both a rockstar and a sorceress. don’t believe me, ask isayama.

[miss0291]

I’m reading chapter 100 again and a thought popped into my head due to what Willy Tybur says here.

As we know the Akerman's were a bloodline of warriors who protected the king. The East Sea clan were a family of nobility. However, both of these clans memory’s cannot be erased as they are not subjects of Ymir. As a result, the king feared them. Both these clans turned their backs on the king and therefore, they were persecuted and hunted down. The head of the Ackerman offered his own life in order to save his bloodline but even after many generations, the Ackermans were still being oppressed. The East Sea clan rejected the king's offer of nobility and was exiled from society and hunted down to near extinction.

Willy Tybur says that after the titan war, the Tybur family sided with Karl Fritz in order to ensure their safety. He then goes on the say that they sold the Eldians to Marley, and despite being Eldians, they enjoyed a life free of persecution. 

What if someone from the Azumabito family did the same thing? I’m thinking, the shogun clan (Azumabito) had different clans that branch off from the main family. The members from the main house are the ones who rejected the title of nobility and turned their backs on the king. However, there was someone from the branch family who didn’t like the idea of losing their title as nobility, as this would mean that they would become commoners. So in order to prevent that from happening they sold their own family members and the Ackermans to the king by making some sort of agreement with him. This would allow them to retain their status and secure their family’s future. The branch family who orchestrated this act of betrayal is the one Kiyomi belongs to. As a result of being persecuted and hunted down the main branch of the Azumabito family became extinct, thereby, leaving the branch family (Kiyomi) to take over the main house and leaving them in a position of power.

In other words, the Azumabito branch family made an agreement with the King in order to keep their status and position in society. The agreement involved selling out their own kind. Hunting down every last member of the main branch family and making sure the Ackermans never succeed in their endeavors, thereby, hindering their businesses and leaving them poor and unable to find work. Doing this would ensure that the Azumabito clan keep their status in society, it would ensure their safety and it would leave them living a life free of persecution.

Kiyomi says the family was stigmatized into a bunch of grubbing scheming foxes for the sake of their investments.

Someone else who says something similar is Willy Tybur.

So basically, the Azumabito and the Tyburs didn’t earn their positions, they stole it, thus making them, thieves and dishonorable.

Somehow along the line, the nation of Hizuru lost their power. Kiyomi seeks to restore that power but this would require gaining access to Paradis Island’s resources and possibly using Mikasa in some way as she is not only a descendant of the shogun but also an Ackerman. What if Kiyomi intents to sell Mikasa in some way or use her as a bargaining tool? These are just some thoughts.

Thanks for reading.