Originally, To Chain A God was conceived through the idea of Maria first, with the plot and quite literally everything else falling into place after. Maria was created in 2020-2021 following an insert-idea of a Katniss Everdeen-coded character into the world of AOT, and how that character might change the flow of things. This was because of the many striking parallels between both media.
However, I quickly became disinterested in AOT following its ending, particularly because I was unimpressed and deeply unsatisfied with the moral that cycles of violence are doomed to repeat, and humanity at its core is power hungry, selfish, and driven by destruction.
As an Arab, this was a deeply troubling takeaway.
Specifically, I find that quite an essentialist and imperialist perspective that overshadows and mutes how life is understood by grassroots communities of colour that lie outside of the imperial core.
Granted, AOT does touch on themes of love, community building, forgiveness and mutual respect, but I find this wholly unexplored to a degree that undermines AOT’s narrative.
As a Sociology student, I think AOT is such fertile ground for exploring political sociology as it relates to the overarching thematic structure of the story.
So the original history that I interweave into this story is largely drawn from, in order of greatest inspiration, by:
The continued marginalization and struggle for self-determination as well as dignity by Romani peoples, specifically the Sinti peoples.
The Palestinian — and by extension— Arab question.
As well as the Indigenous peoples of what many communities recognize as Turtle Island, or colonially as North America
In doing so, I draw a lot from “Environmentalism of the Poor”, i.e., movements led by marginalized communities of colour against the destruction of their livelihoods and ecologies.
I will be linking here all of my sources gradually with the chapters I drop because I don’t want to hint at any spoilers or future events until the plot points themselves drop.
Buuut as you can probably tell, I have SO MUCH PASSION for this little project of mine, it’s consumed my being so you bet I’ll be dropping more lore behind the story with time :)
’•.¸♡ FF Author Inspirations♡¸.•’
I’ve also been super inspired by these legends in the AOT ff — their work and writing are all completely phenomenal so highly HIGHlY recommend to check them out
@/Jaegerworm
@/besotted-eros
@/Bosom-of-your-mistress
@/concacaf
@/terriblyvexed
@/leorisingprincess
@/philliamwrites
@/jaegersed
Now, to return to the creation of my main original character — Maria Sage Walden — I wanted to include ALL the sources of inspiration behind her below here because I think they deserve their own shout-out too (to be updated!):
’•.¸♡ Maria Sage Walden sources of inspiration♡¸.•’
So I couldn’t resist and ended up posting Chapter 1: Part 1 a few days ago of To Chain A God 🫣 my plan was to have the whole of season one ready to go but rlly I couldn’t help myself lmfao
You can find it on AO3 here:
To Chain A God
Its around 10k words and covers the first half of the prologue showing Maria’s life before the fall of Wall Maria/Shiganshina
Chapter 1 Part 2 is completed and Chapter 2 is nearing a final first draft. I’ve also written across the whole season so I have a lot of content down already (since that’s the way my adhd brain likes to write) but just need to stitch stuff together and fully flesh stuff out.
The first few chapters are gonna be really lore heavy with original content (with lots of Easter eggs/details yall should keep an eye out for)but chapter 3 (part 1 potentially) is when I plan on starting the Cadet Corps training arc.
If you enjoyed the first chapter plz lemme know what yall think/leave a kudos perhaps <333 thanks yall hehe!!!
A little sacrifice for a new friend. Azu's shadow is ever-reaching, and Val wonders if she's all people see when they look at him. Or perhaps they only see what he ought to be.
TCaG is a passion project supported only through KoFi and my Patreon! Episodes drop early for all tiers.
Check out more updates over on Twitter: twitter.com/TCaG_Comic
Despite how deliberately Luadiira tried to tear down Mateo's family name, despite how she attempted to put Val down, it's not enough to break a budding friendship. For the moment, dens and family names mean nothing.
TCaG is a passion project supported only through KoFi and my Patreon! Episodes drop early for all tiers.
Check out more updates over on Twitter: twitter.com/TCaG_Comic
