Attack on Titan Chapter 138 Analysis (manga spoilers ahead)

This chapter is called “A Long Dream”. In a world where time loop exists, there can be a circular set of events where everything gets repeated after certain interval of time. "If you can't do it, we're doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again. ...who knows? Whose memories could these be?" -Eren Kruger The heroes we see in the world of Attack on Titan, get killed again and again, after each time they die, they wake up alive in another lifetime and get killed again in another way. I also wrote on another analysis regarding this matter, about little Falco and Eren, that history was repeated again and again, each time a bit differently. If you are interested to read the whole theory, this is the link: https://simibraun.tumblr.com/post/637137942881665024/manga-theories-grisha-if-you-cant-do-it-were Here's a part of that theory: "Our heroes lived the same history again and again, they were reborn many times, until Ymir would achieve her goals. Each time our heroes lived, there may have been some failures in Ymir's plans, so history must have been repeated, each time a bit differently. One of my thoughts is, that little Falco in another lifetime, may have been in the place of one of the three Warriors (Reiner, Bertolt, Annie) that were sent to Paradis Island and spent 5 years living there, trained to use the ODM gear and fought Titans. So these memories of fighting with swords may have been connected through the paths and reached him in this lifetime. I also remember reading that, Isayama wants to make an ending which gives a feeling that there is no escape, like nothing is going change. Something like a loop? If you notice, when the s4 anime ep1 begins, there is a loop in the first seconds, we see two times the same image of a falcon flying. It seems that history has been repeated again. Maybe Falco actually died the first time and this was his last image, of that falcon flying and then, history was repeated again, he was reborn and the second time he survived, he sees the falcon again and then history continues on, Colt appears and takes him away from the battlefield. Falco later says these words that were not included in the manga: "Who.. are you guys?" his voice had the same tone as Eren's when he talked in a lower tone, for me Falco almost sounded like him. "Wait.. huh? Wasn't I flying around with a sword just now? Like, whoosh! And there were Titans that I--" A similar experience happened to Eren on the first chapter: “Mikasa, when did your hair get so long? I feel that I just had the longest dream.” And the same experience happened to Mikasa as we see on chapter 138, she woke up in another lifetime or she suddenly saw memories of that lifetime that reached her at that moment: “When did I fall asleep? I feel like I just had a long dream.” Mikasa's headaches must have been something like a Deja vu, which means "already seen", from another lifetime. Some of her memories from another life, probably sparked a connection that reached her in the current lifetime that she lives in. Deja vu feels like a signal that sparks our memory. It gives us a strong sensation that an event or an experience is currently being experienced, although, this experience, may have actually happened in the past, or maybe not, it just feels familiar. Experiences of places that we have already been, of people we already talked with, acts that have already been done, but we have yet to experience. It feels that something is complete and yet at the same time, it is not yet completed but we have a sensation that we know how it was completed. To me, it seems that Mikasa and Eren were made for each other, but no matter the many reincarnations and timeline, Eren's death could not be avoided and it seems that Mikasa was the one who would give him salvation. So having these in mind, let me take you to another matter and think about the bond between Eren and Mikasa in a similar yet different meaning. This bond reminds me of what Plato said in the Symposium, regarding the Greek mythology: “According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.” In Greek mythology, there were three Human genders: The Man, Woman and the Androgynous”.  Androgynous Ανδρόγυνο means man-woman in Greek.  (Andras Άνδρας – Man, Gynaika Γυναίκα - Woman) So before we continue reading the following texts, let's think of Ymir the Founder as a “God” of this mythology and Eren-Mikasa as an “Androgynous”. In Greek mythology, it is said that Humans had great strength at the time and threatened to conquer the Gods. The Gods thought of destroying the Humans but if the Humans were destroyed, there wouldn't be any more tributes to the Gods. (Human tributes kept the Gods alive.) So Zeus decided to split the Androgynous in half and punished them. By doing so, the Gods also would double the population of Humans and by doing that, they would also be doubling the tributes that had to be made to them by Humans. And so they did and the Human Androgynous were split in two. Doesn't this remind you of the Subjects of Ymir and of what King Fritz said to his daughters before he died? He said to keep the blood of Ymir alive, that the Eldians must multiply, so his Titans will reign forever. Ymir – The God Eldians – The Humans, that had to offer tributes (multiply) to the Gods so they won't die. It feels like Zeke's euthanasia plan makes sense when you think about it like this right? If no more Eldians exist, there will be no more “tributes” people to keep the blood of Ymir (the God) alive. (I also wrote a theory regarding Zeke's plan, on the theory link I left above.) So what does Eren and Mikasa have to do with the Androgynous? Let me explain you: Once the Androgynous was split and punished, they were forever in search, no matter the lifetime, no matter the many reincarnations in this world, they longed for their soul and physical other half. According to the myth, when these two halves find each other, there will be a silent understanding of one another, they will feel joined and exist with each other in unison and will know no greater joy than that. And this reminds of the last panels, when Mikasa found Eren and the moment she saw him, she smiled. And then Eren opened his eyes and saw her, seems like he felt relief. It felt like that silent understanding of one another, it felt like they were once again complete, like the Androgynous, that longed for each other in each lifetime they existed, and each, longed to find their other half. Mikasa and Eren always belonged to each other and in a world where time loop exists, their bond feels like an affective resonance..

Attack on Titan, chapter 137 analysis.

Chapter 137 has put everyone to thoughts by giving the answer which is so obvious and simple, an answer that is right before our eyes every single day, regarding the meaning of life and its beautiful simplicity. This chapter has some beautiful parts and I feel that Isayama completes my complex thoughts as a human being. After all, this is why I am so passionate about the story of Attack on Titan, because in one way or another, in the last 11 years reading his story, Isayama described to me, teached me, gave me answers and helped me in his way, to understand my journey in life. I have a lot say and I could write endless things regarding this matter, but I expressed many things in the following texts, regarding the conversation between Zeke and Armin, which is the most interesting part of this chapter. The following texts are a mixture of chapter analysis and personal expression. Let's begin with the quote Zeke said: “Maybe the end of your days are being manipulated.. all in the name of multiplication. Without ever knowing if it means anything at all.” The meaning of life sure is a complicated matter, but as far as we can understand life, a human is able to give and leave behind more things to this world, than just multiplication. A man is born to feel the completeness of his/her journey in life. But nowadays we are mostly lost in the heaviness of a dark life that we created by our own actions or created by others. We forgot the beautiful, meaningful and simple things that exist in our world and we lost our connection to them. Isayama made a story that most of it contains life struggles, we felt many times sadness and heartbroken while reading a chapter. The things that happen in his story and the experiences of his characters, are reflections of our reality and in each reflection, there is a part of us or a part of someone we know. Those reflections evoke to us the emotions from something that happened in our life, and we keep it in our memories. We too struggle in our reality, nowadays we are so busy dealing with problems and we mostly forget to observe and enjoy the beauty of the simplicity that surrounds us, because we are lost in worries and we are blinded by fake sights. I bet you can feel it too, you can see it too, how our daily life is filled mostly with problems, antagonism, people with fake personalities who cannot  even understand their own selves, showing something that they are not. And the result? Spreading misconception which can lead to hatred, setting high standards, do bad actions only to offend other people and see their downfall. That is something that happens too in the story of Attack on Titan, we see reflections of our reality. A human is not born to be lost in the worries and heaviness of a cruel world, which is something that has been created by his own actions. A human is born to connect to life, create, daydream, philosophize and feel its completeness in his/her journey. When Armin held that leaf and then the baseball, he said while showing it to Zeke: “To my eyes, even if there's no need for something like this in order to multiply, it's still something incredibly precious.” And Zeke said: “It doesn't mean a thing but.. you are right.” Reading this part, I can only think of how it is also in our reality, how some people became pragmatists-realists to the point as if they are paralyzed in their own thoughts and cannot allow themselves see and feel the simple beauties in life, feel fondness towards something. Some people cannot understand someone's fondness-affection towards some things. They believe that some things we love, are meaningless, because they don't have a specific purpose in life, rather than just being lifeless objects. You can see it every day around you, each one of us has different interests, different passions, some people may even ask you about the things you love and cannot understand why you love them so much. Regarding the things I love, these are some of the questions I've been asked and not only from people I don't know that much but from people who are very close to me: “Why do you buy all this merch?” ”Why would you spend so much money for these stuff?” “Why are you so obsessed with this anime-character?” “Why do people give you their money, to draw them a fictional character?” “It's funny how you people get so obsessed with these things, why do they even pay you to draw something that is not based in real life people or events? Let me bring you back to reality, they don't exist, there's no meaning to it.” To each one of these questions, the answer is: “Because in every part of these things, are memories and memories evoke emotions." and it's also the opposite, there are emotions that evoke memories. There are some things that people fail to understand, even if they think they do and still they believe that the things we love are meaningless, in reality they are not. A memory is evoked by emotions that are connected to something that happened in our life. Be it a story, a fictional character, an object, an image, these things can connect us to those memories, those emotions that we once felt and to life in general. This is why we love owning some things and are passionate about them, because we see a part of ourselves, they make us feel comfortable, they remind us beautiful memories and emotions, simply they give us life. Nothing is meaningless, no matter if some people cannot understand some things, the emotions that are being evoked through the things we love, will always be personal, not everyone is able to understand them completely and we don't always have to explain to them, simply because they are personal, only we are able understand them deeply. Those who have been following me throughout the years, you may remember some of my comments or talking on livestreams regarding this story, that the reasons for being so passionate with AoT and feeling so attached to it, are reasons so deep and personal. Armin describes his memories, about enjoying the simplicity in life and when describing those moments, he feels peaceful. We often recall memories that evoke a nostalgic feeling about the good old days and somehow, even for a moment, we feel as if we are there living that moment again and we feel peaceful and complete. Those are the moments that connect us in life. As Armin describes some of his beautiful memories and thoughts to Zeke, I want also to describe to you some of mine. Memories that I keep remembering and still cling to them. Some of the memories I keep remembering, are the days I've spent in nature when I was younger, my first house was right in front of the sea, so daily I used to play around the shore and on the other side of the sea, was visible mount Olympus. What a beautiful sight it was. There was a small harbor close to my house and I remember we dived there with the other kids from the village to take out the starfish that were laying on the harbor, we brought them out to the shore and we observed how they were moving their legs and slowly went back to the sea. As Zeke misses and feels about Ksaver, that's how I feel about my grandfather, I remember how I walked with him and his two dogs in a beautiful forest that was close to his house, and specifically I remember the image of a path we walked deep inside the forest. The image of sunlight falling among the branches still frames my thoughts so clearly. I really miss him and those moments, I even saw these memories in my dreams. It felt like I was living it again. Another memory of a village I used to visit, which is among mountains, we used to climb on the mountain's slopes with some kids and we had a specific spot of a rock that was very slippery. We called it “the slide” it was our playground. As Armin remembers that sweet warm breeze, I can also remember that chilly breeze of those moments in the mountain and the sight of its wild nature. I sure cannot forget these memories. Every time I think of them, I feel peaceful, moments so simple yet they make me feel complete, because I was completely connected with life. I remember someone asked me a question on one of my IG livestreams: “What is inspiring you? How do you convey your inspiration into art?” and here also, with this chapter Isayama completes my answer to this question: I said that, anywhere I go, be it for a walk, travel somewhere, even when I just have to go to work, from the moment I step out, I observe everything around me. I don't like to look down as I walk, if I do, it will be only because I am lost to some thoughts that take me to another place. I always observe the things around me, observe the sky and its colors, the clouds and the sunlight, the birds flying, I observe the flowers how they dance in the breeze, I will catch a glimpse of the gaze from the person walking past next to me, sometimes I see beautiful sad gazes, sometimes bright ones, sometimes a smile, it's as if I live in my own world and I see everything in a cinematic view. I love observing, and I love to see things beyond of what I observe, I love trying to understand the deeper part of what I see. And all these emotions along with personal experiences, make me create worlds in my mind that I convey into art. I guess this is why I am so passionate about this story, because it completes my complex thoughts. When Zeke says “So I suppose, I'll thank you. Dad..” to Grisha, it's like what we are used to say regarding some of the hardships that we've been through. That no matter how rough some of our experiences have been, in the end, these experiences made us who we are now and made us stronger. We saw and understood a different part and meaning in life. If Zeke wouldn't have been through those hardships from Grisha, he wouldn't have met and have those precious moments with Ksaver. Although, sometimes we wish that it would be preferable not to have been through these hard times, but still, isn't it somehow a magical thing that we are able to feel such deep emotions that were evoked through hardships? A human is made and is capable to withstand all the hardships of the world. This is also a part of life, to be able to understand its different perspectives, both good and bad ones. These moments and memories give me joy, and I want to continue to create more beautiful memories, even if there will be sad ones too and even if I've been through really tough hardships so far, I still want to feel its completeness. Which beautiful memories and experiences, are the ones that you keep remembering, have the nostalgia to go back to and live them again? The ones you think about, are the ones that prove that you were truly connected to life. Thank you for reading my thoughts.

Attack on Titan episode 67 analysis.

"The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children"  Apart of how we know the characters and their personality, today's episode felt really heavy, reflecting how the world can be so inhuman and unfair to the point of losing your own sanity. Something that if you think about, happens also, in our own reality. One of the scenes that is marked into my thoughts, is the part in the airship, when some of the Scouts attacked the children. We see angry adults shouting, blinded by hate, beating two children without any conscience nor mercy. This is what my eyes saw that moment. The scenes show exactly how inhuman is to grow brainwashed children, to pass the hatred of past times, of past grudges to a new generation, to have the children carry the weight of the sins of adults and their mistakes. Hate is the desire to see someone completely removed from your life and destroyed. Adults who grow children to hate, will never change anything, instead they are doomed to repeat the same history, again and again. As the man on chapter 134 said:" This guilt is shared by every one of us adults. We made use of hatred. We let it grow, we believed it would save us." "War: a massacre of people who don't know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don't massacre each other." -Paul Valery For me it felt kind of shocking to see how a child, 12 years of age, was so skilled and able to use a rifle like that. Falco and Gabi are the reflections and contradictions of this episode. While Gabi is brainwashed and blinded by hate with a gun in her hands, Falco was following and pleading her to stop, showing compassion and trying to understand even a little bit, the reason behind why those people attacked their land. It is exactly as Eren said on chapter 100: "You were still ignorant children and all of that was beaten into you by ignorant adults. You were just a child. What could you have done to fight that? Your environment. Your history. You've suffered, haven't you? I think now.. I understand." And amidst this chaos, of a death and people shouting and beating two children, there was Jean, standing still, witnessing everything that happened right before his eyes. Trying not to lose his sanity, while being caught amidst the madness of a cruel and unfair world. It's something that one's conscience cannot simply take it. "Is throwing some kids out of an airship.. going to stop.. all this bloodshed?"

Manga theories "Grisha, if you can't do it, we're doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again. If you want to save them all.. Mikasa, Armin and the others.. carry out your mission to the end....who knows? Whose memories could these be?" -Eren Kruger Another scene that was not included in the manga, of little Falco being injured, saying some words that may be spoilers for us manga readers for something that is going to happen in the next chapters, who knows, this one is very tricky. There's always something behind a quote or an image that Isayama points out. Let's begin! I've been thinking about some theories regarding the time loop, the memories connected through the paths that Titan shifters are able to see throughout time no matter the era. One of my theories is, that our heroes lived the same history again and again, they were reborn many times, until Ymir would achieve her goals. Each time our heroes lived, there may have been some failures in Ymir's plans, so history must have been repeated, each time a bit differently. One of my thoughts is, that little Falco in another lifetime, may have been in the place of one of the three Warriors (Reiner, Bertolt, Annie) that were sent to Paradis Island and spent 5 years living there, trained to use the ODM gear and fought Titans. So these memories of fighting with swords may have been connected through the paths and reached him in this lifetime. But let's think of another theory. I believe this one connects somehow everything related to Falco's words in the anime and everything that I added in this collage. So I remember that Isayama stated on an interview, that in the scene at the hospital from chapter 97  Eren asked little Falco if that candidate is a girl, and Isayama said that it was not actually Eren who was talking at that moment, it was someone else. I remember myself being a bit confused by that question when I first read it. Why would Eren be interested to make this question? It seemed odd to me for a reason. Could it be that Falco in the future ate Eren? As we know, the Attack Titan has the ability to transcend time, see future memories and Eren also has the power of the Founding Titan, which has the ability to modify the minds and memories of the Eldians. Could it be that grown up Falco from the future was talking to his child self through Eren? That's why he made that question if that candidate was a girl, because Falco is in love with Gabi and he said that he wanted to marry her. It is as future Eren Yeager talked to his father Grisha, through Eren Kruger, before he was even born. “If you want to save them all.. Mikasa, Armin and the others.. carry out your mission to the end.” I also remember reading that, Isayama wants to make an ending which gives a feeling that there is no escape, like nothing is going change. Something like a loop? If you notice, when the s4 anime ep1 begins, there is a loop in the first seconds, we see two times the same image of a falcon flying. It seems that history has been repeated again. Maybe Falco actually died the first time and this was his last image, of that falcon flying and then history was repeated again, he was reborn and the second time he survived, he sees the falcon again and then history continues on, Colt appears and takes him away from the battlefield. Falco later says these words that were not included in the manga: "Who.. are you guys?" his voice had the same tone as Eren's when he talks in a lower tone, for me Falco almost sounded just like him. "Wait.. huh? Wasn't I flying around with a sword just now? Like, whoosh! And there were Titans that I--" Also another part that I find very interesting that may prove that Falco will inherit the Attack Titan, is on chapter 119, when Zeke was about to scream and turn people into Titans, Eren stretched his hand out “Wait--” like he wanted to prevent Zeke from screaming. Reiner seems confused also to see Eren doing this. I found it odd also, why would Eren do this? He knows that this was going to happen, he has seen it though the paths. But what if the one who did this reaction, wasn't Eren, but Falco from the future? Because his brother Colt was about to die moments later. Falco must have been watching from the future through Eren's memories, maybe he tried to change the course of the history at that moment, so Colt would live. I believe that the only way for Falco to have a memories like these and see from the future the past memories, is that he inherited these powers from someone who had the power of the Attack Titan and the Founder, and the one who lives in the same era with Falco having these powers, is Eren Yeager. Even if the final panel says " You are Free" it doesn't mean that the Eldians will be freed, maybe our heroes think that they are finally free after everything that they have been through but in reality they are not. And let me explain you why. Here comes another theory that I connect with the things I wrote so far, on chapter 56 that guy from the Military Police, Djel Sannes, said this to Hange: "One exits.. another enters. The stage always needs someone in this role.. when one actor leaves.. another jumps in to take his place." So keeping this quote in mind, we know that Ymir the Founder was released from the paths, but could it be that someone else will have to take her place? Maybe Zeke who is royal blood? Or could it be Eren the one who will take her place? If Eren dies by Falco, Falco will inherit the Attack and the Founder. Maybe Falco is the next one who will try to change history just as Eren is trying to do in his lifetime. This may also be a meaning of Isayama's statement, that he wants to make an ending which gives a feeling that there is no escape, like nothing is going change. The heroes will never be free even if they think they are, and I will also explain this further. So Eren will continue to live inside the paths, just as Ymir lived inside the paths for 2.000 years and from the day she died, she was waiting for someone to save her. All the Titan shifters that existed, seem to continue living "locked" inside the paths and they can only communicate through memories. "If I inherit the Armored, then.. you'll probably live on inside of me, Reiner."- Gabi said this to Reiner on chapter 95. Eren asked his friends to save him, it seems that he is being controlled by Ymir. Eren seems to be the link that Ymir needed to she can free herself from the paths that she is locked in. This may be the situation now for Eren, that maybe he is the one who is going to take her place. “One exits.. another enters.” "Those actions will follow us until they're repaid. Even if we die, even after we die. In every era, this Titan has always moved ahead seeking Freedom. It has fought on for Freedom. It's name is, the Attack Titan." -Eren Kruger The Attack Titan always moved ahead seeking and fighting for Freedom. But the Founding Titan? Throughout the generations, those who inherited the Founder, seemed to be submissive to Fritz, the first King's ideology. Eren by inheriting both Titans, it seems like he is being captured in a contradiction, of both wanting to fight for Freedom (Attack) but also, he must be submissive to the first King's ideology (Founder). And here comes again the quote of the "role", that when one actor exits, another enters. That the stage always needs someone in this role. The meaning of this quote is similar to what Fritz, the first King said to his daughters when Ymir died : "Eat, my daughters. Ymir's powers will be passed down no matter what. The blood of Ymir must not die out. My Titans will continue their reign. Into eternity, so long as this world of mine remains--" If a Titan shifter dies, the power of the Nine Titans can be passed down even to an Eldian baby without the ritual of inheritance. I'm starting to think that Zeke's ideology may be right, to prevent the Eldians from reproducing, this must be the sole way for the Eldian race to be in peace and free itself from this never-ending curse that has to be passed down from generation to generation and make this never-ending loop stop. "If we'd never been born in the first place...we never would have had to suffer, either."-Zeke Yeager As long as Eldians exist, Fritz's ideology will continue on, "Into eternity, so long as this world of mine remains--".  As Eren Kruger said: “We're doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again.” As long as Eldians exist it is going to be like Erwin Smith said: “Humanity will never stop fighting itself.. until it shrinks to a size of one or fewer.” Even if the rest of the world dies and only the Edlian race remains, in one way or another, people will find reasons to fight each other. The inheritance of the 9 Titans will continue, people will be used even as Titan shifters or Mindless Titans and they will be used in wars between those who remained. Now regarding Falco's Titan form. Birds generally symbolize Freedom, because they can walk on the earth, swim in the sea and they can also fly into the sky. A lot of cultures believe that Birds symbolize eternal life and some would say that they serve as the connection between Heaven and Earth. To me, Birds seem one of the most innocent creatures on Earth. For example, when we talk about a Cat's behavior, as an animal it may show affection or aggressiveness. Dogs also, you never know if some are completely friendly or may attack you at any time, that goes for other animals also. We always hesitate to pet them. But the Birds as animals, how do you feel when you see them? We mostly don't hesitate, we always try to make them come close to us, yet they rarely do, they are free and fly away. They would hardly harm us Humans. Personally I find them so innocent, they sing sweetly and we Humans enjoy their voices, we observe them flying into the sky and we also love and dream to the idea of flying. They just search for food to survive and feed their infants. A simple, free and pure being. The Bird seems to be Falco's spirit animal, even his name is a reference, he is just innocent as a Bird, always so kind-hearted and sweet, with no intentions to harm anyone. (I wrote before a character analysis regarding Falco's Titan forms, if you are interested to read it, it's on this post) https://www.facebook.com/.../a.252840145.../876876202809800/ We mostly believe that every time a Bird appears, it is Eren who is looking through it. What if it's not Eren but grown Falco from the future? The outro of Season 4 features only little Falco and it has many symbolisms. Birds flying, the paths, light that appears in his hand, the light could be a symbolism of Life. Everything has to do with him. There's a deep meaning and symbolism in this character, that's why I love the Grice brothers so much, both Colt and Falco are the purest characters in this story. Thank you so much for reading my thoughts, I hope you enjoyed reading these theories!

On episode 1 of s4, there were some scenes that were not included in the manga. I was surprised when I first saw them, they indicated the struggles of the Eldians. The scenes show the environment in the trenches, desperate Eldians, crying, trembling, hearts that were beating so fast, people that were consumed by terror. It felt heavy seeing this, even a little bit, these scenes made us feel the terror of war. 800 Eldian lives that were just "disposal", lives that were used by the Marleyan military in their liking. Eldians tied with explosives on their body, ordered to suicide, scenes of soldiers being in shock, murmuring to themselves. People that had no choice and they knew that. How terrifying. That Eldian soldier who struggled to continue on, had to step upon dead comrades only to see a field of blood and hundreds of dead Eldians, somewhere in that field he saw the Jaw Titan. Even tho he is an ally, to me at that moment seemed like a monster through that soldier's eyes. The fact that there is no soundtrack when they attack and we only hear sounds of gunshots, explosions and people screaming, that's something that gave me chills. We saw soldiers trying to hold on to something, to encourage themselves to make that final step. Holding on to a comrade, a gun, a thought, a locket with the pictures of beloved ones. Among these scenes, this was the one that made me feel emotional and heartbroken: An Eldian soldier trembling, being in tears while holding on to this locket with the photographs of his beloved ones. I explained yesterday on my livestream why it was so emotional and mind-blowing for me and as far as you understand me as a person, I expressed myself in time of how important this story is for me, for reasons so personal. The entire time that I was watching the episode, I was holding one of my lockets that I made about two years ago, with my artworks of Reiner and Galliard (some of you have seen it, I'll leave an image in the comments). At that moment when I saw this scene, a part of the text I wrote for the AoT Group photo artwork popped in my mind: "I would always hold the picture of you that you gave me, that little oval frame I've put around my neck. Those smiles on a tiny photograph, I could always feel the warmth of its colors. I wished I could be somewhere else with you, to that valley glowing with sunlight, that place we dreamed of walking, me and you." It was just so mind-blowing for me, this is the scene that I will remember the most from the first episode. Can't wait to see the next ones, this season is going to be an emotional roller coaster for us fans, especially the manga readers.

I’ll start livestreaming on my IG in 1 hour. https://www.instagram.com/art_of_simi/?hl=el We will chat about the first episode of s4, the latest manga chapter and QnA. Scouts, join the squad!

No matter how harsh Yashiro's words seem I can translate them as a confession. Because Yashiro was living a worn life and he was ready to let himself go when Hirata was choking him to death, he wanted to free himself from this hell, but Doumeki by saving him, brought him back again into the hell he was living in. +Doumeki is the only one who evoked emotions to Yashiro that he never felt before, (chapter 24,25 emotional masterpieces) that's why he says "also caused me grief". In this world, there may be two or even one person that will evoke to us and make us overflow with true, deep emotions. It is so rare, that when it happens you can never forget that person when you part ways. It hurts to remember and feels like grief.

"Remember the hope we felt when we looked at the sight beyond those old cracked walls we lived in? -That little valley glowing with sunlight. Remember the day we had to depart to lands unknown and how we all anticipated each others' return? How young we were, and shabby, we've never been the battle type. We had no choice and we knew that. We've been alone in a million places, our bodies bore the scars of war. We walked through sunshine and rain, we slept in mud and rest on guns, but in our hearts.. I would always hold the picture of you that you gave me, that little oval frame I've put around my neck. Those smiles on a tiny photograph, I could always feel the warmth of its colors. I wished I could be somewhere else with you, to that valley glowing with sunlight, that place we dreamed of walking, me and you. I wanted you to know that, for us who were called to die, We may live on once we're gone, If you remember us with time, we will live on We will live on.. ” A Group of Special People. I am so happy to finally share with you the AoT group photo! I worked so much on this project and I truly enjoyed creating each part of it. I want to thank Ana Martinez from Las Vegas, for being so supportive during the past months. She is one of the few people who saw the process of this artwork since the beginning. In time we shared so many thoughts and emotions for this story and its characters. Each character is special to us and each one is special for different reasons. I'm glad that I am able to share the same passion for this story with people across the world. Thank you Ana! ❤️

"Our fight gives meaning to those soldiers' lives! The brave fallen, the poor fallen! The only ones who can remember them, are us the living! So we will die here and trust the meaning of our lives to the next generation That is the sole way we can rebel against this cruel world! My soldiers! Fight!" My tribute artwork for Commander Erwin Smith! The fearless leader of the Attack on Titan world. Dedicate your Hearts! 

Yesterday on the stream we talked about some theories regarding chapter 133 and the ending of AoT. I tried to write my thoughts properly, so here is one of the theories regarding Eren and Ymir.

We all know the image of the Devil receiving an apple from a girl and we believe that the Devil is Eren and the girl is Ymir the Founder. The apple could be described as a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin. So based on these symbolisms, Ymir (the girl) used the Devil (Eren) to achieve her goals by giving him the apple which could be described as:

Knowledge: Control the source of all living matter, use the power of the Titans and the Founder who controls all Eldians.

Immortality: Being able to repeat history again and again until he completes his purpose. Eren must have been reborn many times and spoke from the future through the memories of previous holders of the Attack Titan to keep moving forward until he was reborn again. The words Eren Kruger said, must have been Eren Yeager, speaking through him to Grisha.

"Grisha, if you can't do it, we're doomed to repeat it all again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again. If you want to save them all.. Mikasa, Armin and the others.. carry out your mission to the end."

Temptation: Could be also described as the coaxing or inducing of a person into committing such an act, by manipulation or otherwise of curiosity, desire or fear of loss something important to a person. Which in this case, Ymir who manipulates Eren to commit this massacre for her own desires, she gives him the apple, the temptation, which could be a symbolism of his friends' lives. If he wants to save his beloved ones, Eren must do what Ymir desires.

And for Ymir's desire to happen, she gives him the apple, which is Eren's "wish" or "deal" with her, not to manipulate his friends' memories and have their freedom unlike the rest of the Eldians. And by doing this, Eren is now using his friends' freedom to also save himself from this situation, telling them that if they want to stop this massacre, they have to end his life.

The fall of man and sin: Could be what Reiner said on chapter 133, that Eren wishes to be saved, because Eren's sin-the weight of taking a life, is so heavy to bear and cannot be atoned after committing genocide. The only way for him to be atoned is for someone to judge him, for someone to take his life. Eren gives the freedom to his friends to end his life and judge his sins.

Reiner and Gabi! The Braunies are part of the group photo! They were the first ones I posted when I began this project, now I re-worked on them and they are ready to be placed along with the others! Are you ready to begin a new journey in the world of Attack on Titan on December? The story will take us to a new place and we are going to see Reiner's story, understand his perspective, see the environment he grew in, the ones he cares and fights for, his reason to breathe. A story of survival and understanding. We will also see new characters, most of us manga readers know them pretty well. Gabi, his little cousin is a very strong Warrior candidate, you wouldn't want to mess with her! She will do anything to protect those she loves!

“Our bodies full of scars Infinite blood to bleed When there's no hope left We will not fall Among the giants we still stand tall And we will not be stopped.“ The glorious 14th Commander of the Survey Corps, Hange Zoe! The true Queen of the Titans! Hange dedicated her life as a Titan researcher, she spent day after day investigating Titans with no regard to personal safety and she conducted countless experiments on them out of an intense passion to learn their biology. Hange believed that the research contributes to the Survey Corps and that this act also serves in its way, to revenge her fallen comrades. As Erwin said, Hange's intelligence illuminates humanity's future, an indispensable talent to the Survey Corps as it fights on the front lines against the Titans. During Eren's Titan experiments, she created a new weapon, the Thunder Spears in order to take down the Armored Titan. As someone who values the truth more than anything else, Hange was willing to fight anything or anyone if it means getting closer to the truth. She was named the new Commander of the Survey Corps, upon Erwin's dying wishes. Hange's final stand would be fairly described as the Wings of Freedom, as she used her own “Wings” to fly even higher than 60m up in the sky, above a Colossal Titan's height. Hange is the only Veteran so far in Humanity's history, that took down three Colossal Titans and she defeated these massive beings with her own inventions, the Thunder Spears. Shinzou wo Sasageyo! Based on Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan character. Lyrics by Whitechapel - The Saw is the Law

The last character for the AoT group photo is Marcel! And he belongs in the embrace of his brother. 💖

All eleven characters are placed together now 🥰 but I have to re-work on them again, work more on their proportions and details to look even better! The result is going to be beautiful and nostalgic! ✨✨